Rookie Fitzpatrick makes good impression on Burke

DAVIE — Highlights of Dolphins defensive coordinator Matt Burke’s chat with the media Saturday:

■ On replacing Ndamukong Suh: “Organizations have to make decisions on certain things. … That’s part of the business.” Says he’s excited about defensive linemen anyway. Expectation is to roll in four DTs.

■ On S Minkah Fitzpatrick: Says he seems to be a big-picture thinker and student of the game. “My initial impression is he has the ability to absorb a lot.”

■ On LB Jerome Baker, third-round pick: Speed was fifirst thing that stood out.

■ On LB Raekwon McMillan: “If it works out the way we think it can and hope it does, it’s a huge acquisition.” Said watching tape of his practices last summer, coaches were reminded of how he looked ready to take step as a starter before being sidelined for the season with a knee injury in the fifirst preseason game.

■On the vision for safeties Fitzpatrick, Res had Jones, T.J. McDonald: Burke confirmed there may be some three-safety alignments this year.

■ With three safeties: “It’s all about matchups. Whether it’s on tight ends or backs, or having a bigger body.” Maybe Fitzpatrick can be a first-down nickel back. “The more players you get that are multidimensional, that have di ff ff ff ff ff ff er en ts kill sets ,” the more you can do to stop of ff ff ff ff ff fens es.

■ On DE Robert Quinn: When possibility of trading for him was brought up, Burke thought it was a joke at fifirst. Burke says he has been high on Quinn even when he was coming out of college. “I’m real excited to see what he can do for us.”

Size not concern for rookie LB: Baker’s heard it his whole life. Even when he was dominating youth leagues and high school football, everyone kept telling him he was too small.

At every turn, he’s quieted those concerns. Ohio State and Florida went to battle trying to recruit him, and his time with the Buckeyes was impressive enough the Dolphins took him in the third round of the draft.

They felt good about what he can do at 6 feet 1, 225 pounds with a 4.4 time in the 40-yard dash, and Baker plans to show once again there’s nothing small about the way he plays.

“If you ask anybody that plays against me, they don’t mention my size at all,” he said. “Guys say it, but once I actually play against you, you really don’t even notice how small or big I am. It’s all good.”

Baker’s most appealing attribute is his ability in pass coverage, which would help the Dolphins shore up a deficiency that hurt them last year. He had 72 tackles, 3.5 sacks and three pass breakups last season.

Miami goes into the season with McMillan, another Buckeye, returning at middle linebacker and Kiko Alonso a certain starter on the outside. Baker is competing for a role against a group that includes Mike Hull, Chase Allen, Stephone Anthony and seventh-rounder Quentin Poling. All of the team’s linebackers are taller and bigger than Baker except for Hull (6-0, 232) and Poling ( 6-0, 235).

Rookie TE say sUM fans broke Notre Dame bus window: Tight end Durham Smythe, a fourthround draft pick of the Dolphins, can expect a warmer welcome at Hard Rock Stadium than the last time he was there.

Smythe played at Notre Dame, which isn’t exactly popular in the Miami Hurricanes’ stadium. So unpopular, in fact, Smythe described the rowdy welcome the Irish received last season.

“We kind of expected a loud atmosphere but nothing close to what it was,” Smythe said. “That was one of the loudest stadiums I’ve played in my fifive years.”

The “incredible” atmosphere, as Smythe called it, was fueled by the unbeaten Hurricanes pounding No. 3 Notre Dame 41-8 on a night that conjured memories of UM Saturday nights in the Orange Bowl. It was a party for everybody but the Irish.

“We had people throwing stuffff at the buses driving up,” Smythe said. “Actually our window was shattered and we had to get a new bus. It was pretty crazy stuff.”

Go figure, but Smythe insisted he still has good memories of his new home stadium. “The atmosphere was great,” he said. “Obviously the outcome was terrible, but I did love playing in that stadium.”