Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Young team can grow together
Team’s best scenario is to grow together
TAMPA — Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores may believe savvy veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick could give his team its best chance to win heading into Flores’ first season. But that does not mean Flores isn’t keeping an an eye on the future, too.
As Fitzpatrick and second-year newcomer Josh Rosen compete for Miami’s starting job, which could be decided following Friday’s second preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Flores has intently grouped some of his young players together in specific practice lineups with hopes they can develop, mature and strive for continuity for years to come.
On offense, the Dolphins have a “young guns” group,
featuring players that could potentially play major roles for the franchise well into Flores’ tenure as a first-time NFL head coach.
That group includes Rosen, who got his first taste of firstteam action with the offense during Miami’s two joint practices with the Buccaneers this week. While Flores said Fitzpatrick could start against the Buccaneers, Rosen could again see the lion-share of quarterback snaps during Friday’s game at 7:30 p.m. inside Raymond James Stadium.
The group also includes second-year running backs Kalen Ballage and Mark Walton, taking advantage of an injury this week to fourth-year veteran Kenyan Drake, with rookies Myles Gaskin and Patrick Laird in the mix, as well.
This group also features the most intriguing young gun on the Dolphins roster: receiver Preston Williams, the talk of training camp and this preseason.
Second-year receiver Isaiah Ford, who had one of the most consistent training camps of any Dolphins player, and even second-year tight end Mike Gesicki, who has made strides in camp and has a new role on offense lining up as an outside receiver, also fit into Flores’ young-guns dynamic.
“I think it’s an opportunity for them to develop, get in there, get plays, [and] get those experiences,” Flores said of the players he hopes to fast-track before the start of the 2019 season, which begins Sept. 8 against the Baltimore Ravens at Hard Rock Stadium.
“When you’re a young player in this league, in training camp, your opportunities, you don’t get very many. We’re working a lot of guys, we tried to take a period there where we’re working that group and they’re getting those reps that they need to develop.
“Ultimately, that’s what this is about,” Flores continued. “We’re trying to rep young players, give them an opportunity to show what they can do. And if they do a good job with those reps, we’ll give them more.”
Ballage, the 2018 fourth-round pick from Arizona State, started training camp sharing time with Drake on the first-team offense. The Dolphins will need both players, and their dynamic playmaking ability to offset the offensive line’s shortcomings, to help sustain the offense this season.
With Drake injuring his right foot this week, Ballage took advantage of a greater opportunity with the starters, torching the Buccaneers’ defenders with several speedy touchdown runs during joint practices.
Walton, a former Miami Hurricane standout trying to rebuild his career after three offseason arrests and his release from the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this year, also took advantage with more runs with the second-team offense. He will also have to fend off Gaskin and Laird, who both continue to learn and show flashes at times, to be the Dolphins’ third-team running back.
“I think young guys have to be able to come out here and make plays,” Ballage said. “This [isn’t] college [anymore.] It’s not high school. In my opinion, age doesn’t really matter.
“I think you just come out here and if you can ball, you can ball. I think that’s a big part of it.”
Williams, the undrafted rookie who played at Tennessee and Colorado State, has quickly developed an on-field rapport with Rosen and become a new favorite among Dolphins fans.
Williams sparked excitement with four highlight catches for 96 yards during the Dolphins’ preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons last week. He showed an innate ability to shed pesky defenders, fight for possession on passes that could go either way and use every inch of the field while staying inbounds and tip-toeing the sidelines.
Both Williams and Ford have worked with first-team receivers Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker, capitalizing on the limited action Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant have seen as they work their ways back from injuries this preseason.
Veteran receiver Brice Butler, former University of Miami veteran Allen Hurns and rookie Trenton Irwin, who has played slot receiver and backup punt returner, are also vying for roster spots at the position.
“If you make plays, people notice,” said Williams, who appreciates the recent fanfare he has received on social media.
With Williams’ help, Rosen has made some plays and gotten Flores to notice his progression in the Dolphins quarterback battle.
After the first joint practice Tuesday, Flores criticized Rosen for his poor body language following plays that did not go his way, whether he’s at fault or another player has a miscue. Following the second joint practice Wednesday, Flores complimented Rosen for his mechanics, technique and ability to get the football to his playmakers like Ballage and Williams.
Flores wanted to see how Rosen, who started 13 games as a rookie with the Cardinals last season, would respond this week playing with the first-team offense against Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ respected and exotic defensive schemes.
“I thought he had a good day, and he’s headed in the right direction,” Flores said of Rosen after Wednesday’s practice.
More than two weeks after naming Fitzpatrick the leader in Miami’s quarterback battle, Flores was bullish on naming a leader between his longtime veteran and young gun after the joint practices. That answer could come on its own following Friday’s preseason game.
“Look, it’s a competition. It’s a competition at every position,” Flores said. “My job is to help these guys become the best players they can possibly be and competition is all of that.
“So who’s leading? Who’s not leading? That’s irrelevant to me,” he continued. “I want these guys to try to get better and improve every day. That’s kind of where I’m at.”