Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Passing game will stay focus of OTAs this week
DAVIE — The reviews from the Dolphins’ first round of organized team activities last week were glowing. It’s coach Adam Gase’s second year, and the familiarity with his system has led to efficiency, which, players and coaches say, has led to accomplishment.
The Dolphins hope that productivity continues in this week’s OTAs, which begin today and end Thursday.
“It’s a comfort level when you’ve done something,” right tackle Ja’Wuan James said. “Last year, everything was new. We were learning plays, so your mind is thinking, ‘What do I do on this play?’ or ‘How’s this going to go?’ or ‘How’s practice set up?’
“Now you already know that, so you’re perfecting the plays. Now you’re like, ‘How can I do it the best?’ I feel like everybody’s playing a lot faster, everybody’s moving a lot faster. We’re already miles ahead from where we were last year.”
One of the most encouraging signs from last week was quarterback Ryan Tannehill having no issues practicing with a brace on his left knee. Tannehill, who missed the final three regular season games and the wild-card playoff loss at Pittsburgh due to two sprained ligaments in the knee, said he wasn’t inhibited in any way.
“The brace doesn’t really do anything for stability,” he said. “It’s more just protection and getting used to it, getting comfortable. I am going to be wearing it during the season, so I just want to wear it now so that I’m comfortable throughout the year and it’s just second nature at that point.”
Tannehill, who started wearing the brace in January, said he wore a knee brace in college and it inhibited his movement. Because of that, he was skeptical about this brace. But he seems to like its performance.
“I guess the [advances in] brace technology, the fitting is a little better,” he said. “There’s an extra strap on there that I think that wasn’t on there on my previous brace and that kind of holds it in place and allows you to keep the mobility.”
Beyond Tannehill, the Dolphins said they made progress last week despite missing numerous players, particularly offensive linemen, due to injuries and/or injury care. Among the players nursing what Gase termed “minor” injuries were James, right guard Jermon Bushrod, linebacker Koa Misi and defensive end William Hayes. Center Mike Pouncey, who played only five games last season due to a hip injury, will likely be limited in practice all season because of the hip, according to Gase.
But those absences didn’t, and won’t, prevent the Dolphins from working on their passing game, which is a point of emphasis during OTAs. Gase thinks players tend to get too physical working on the running game, and that leads to players falling to the ground, which could lead to more injuries. Gase thinks keeping players on their feet by working more on the passing game is the better option. And it helps with crucial assessments on both sides of the ball.
“By leaning a little more on the passing side, it gives you a lot of experiences with your corners and wide outs and safeties and tight ends and running backs to see who can cover, who can play fairly tight coverage and still stay up and play within the rules of what we have for OTAs,” Gase said. “It’s repetition. Just seeing guys do it over and over and over again and see who can cover who.”