Hot, not bothered
Brutal heat doesn’t wilt Dolphins’ optimistic feelings about 2018
DAVIE — Such as any first day of Miami Dolphins training camp, the initial observations are the stifling heat and oppressive humidity.
Yes, quarterback Ryan Tannehill was wearing a brace on his left knee, something he didn’t do during offseason workouts. Yes, all 90 players on the roster were healthy and practicing. And, yes, there’s a general feel of optimism despite low expectations from Las Vegas and media prognosticators.
“We’re not being talked about, and that’s what we love,” running back Kenyan Drake said. “We don’t want anybody to talk about us because we just want to go out there and play football. We don’t have any expectations of anything. We just want to go out there and do what we do, win games, and make these fans happy.”
The defensive tackles, who are being eyed as suspiciously as the entire team, had the right training camp attitude.
“We’re all going to play a lot,” second-year defensive tackle Davon Godchaux said of the likely four-man rotation. “We’re all going to play aggressively, and we’re going to be damn good at it.”
That’s what coach Adam Gase wants to hear. Gase, the Dolphins’ third-year coach,
wants to build a roughand-tumble squad that gets tougher as adversity comes, as it inevitably will in the NFL.
But, man, it was hot and humid at the Dolphins’ training facility. That’s typical for South Florida at this time of year. However, that doesn’t make it easier to take for the players. By the time Miami completed its two-hour practice, around 10:30 a.m., it was about 91 degrees. Factoring in the humidity, it felt like it was more than 100.
“It was good to go through probably one of the hotter days I’ve experienced in the last two years,” Gase said.
Left guard Josh Sitton, a 10-year veteran and fourtime Pro Bowl selection, was asked what’s different about this camp.
“It feels a little bit hotter,” said Sitton, who spent the past two years in Chicago and the previous eight in Green Bay, places where his shoulder-length hair and long beard weren’t an issue.
So the hair might be cut? “We’ll see how it goes,” Sitton said. “It might be gone.”
Moving beyond the weather, it was a good first day of training camp for the Dolphins, who will be in shoulder pads Saturday and full pads Sunday.
The offense, which seemed to focus more on the passing game Thursday, had a decent day. Tannehill was protected well enough to throw a couple of nice passes to wide receiver Danny Amendola. Rookie tight end Durham Smythe went to the ground to make a nice catch, and several running backs — including Drake, Frank Gore, and rookies Buddy Howell and Kalen Ballage — had big holes to run through, thanks to the offensive line.
Defensively, backup middle linebacker Chase Allen and cornerback Tony Lippett had interceptions. Godchaux scored a sack, and defensive tackle Vincent Taylor batted down a Tannehill pass at the line of scrimmage.
On special teams, kicker Jason Sanders, the rookie seventh-round pick from New Mexico, was 6 of 6 on field-goal attempts.
All things considered it was a good first day of training camp. No one got injured, no played especially poorly (although third-team quarterback Brock Osweiler came close), and players seemed to retain what they learned during offseason workouts, which is something else Gase is watching closely.
After practice it was a casual, family-friendly atmosphere, as usual. Numerous players had their wives and children on the field. Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips had his son, Malik Vonn Phillips (yes, his initials are MVP), on the field. And Ryan Tannehill had his son, Steel, on the field.
“It’s fun having my little guy out here,” Tannehill said. “It’s really a special time we get to share. It’s tough being away from him, but getting to spend these few minutes with him on the field is huge.”
Back to football, Miami was 6-10 last year. Predictions for this year aren’t much better. Players don’t care.
“There’s a lot of excitement within this building,” Sitton said. “We feel like we can be a good football team.”