Dolphins emphasize speed, playing faster
New players, some holdovers offer missing element.
DAVIE — Tight end Julius Thomas’ 40-yard dash time last season is not known, and coaches will say it’s not as important as how fast a player actually plays. But nothing about anything was fast.
It wasn’t Thomas’ fault. It seems due in large part to injuries, his body wasn’t able to do the things it could do when he was younger. And really, this isn’t about Thomas, whose Dolphins’ stay was brief and uneventful.
There are a few things Dolphins coach Adam Gase has wanted more of from his underperforming offense. He’s wanted to play faster and run faster. To that end, Gase and Miami have drafted and signed some players who can change a game with their pure speed.
It’s something first-year offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains couldn’t stop talking about the other day.
“I think they’re a fast group that, as their knowledge of the offense grows, and going back to no huddle, they’ll play faster,” Loggains said of what he’s seen on film. “Knowledge builds confidence, confidence allows you to play fast, but the thing that showed up was speed.”
Miami dumped monster truck Jay Ajayi, in part to clear room for Ferrari Kenyan Drake at running back. Miami dropped sluggish Thomas and drafted uber-athlete Mike Gesicki.
As incredibly productive as wide receiver Jarvis Landry was, he was slower in NFL draft testing (4.77 seconds) than Grant, Kenny Stills, Albert Wilson, DeVante Parker and Danny Amendola.
Receiver Jakeem Grant has said he is a step faster than Drake and Stills, though he’d love to have a race. That probably won’t happen, but based on reported 40-yard dash times from the NFL scouting combine and/or pro days, here are the fastest Dolphins on offense:
1. WR Jakeem Grant: 4.38 seconds
2. WR Kenny Stills: 4.38 seconds
3. WR Albert Wilson: 4.43 seconds
4. RB Kenyan Drake: 4.45 seconds
5. WR DeVante Parker: 4.45 seconds
6. RB Kalen Ballage: 4.46 seconds
7. TE Mike Gesicki: 4.54 seconds
8. WR Danny Amendola: 4.58 seconds
Dolphins new kicker not automatic: Everyone knows Dolphins special teams coach Darren Rizzi hand-selected kicker Jason Sanders in the seventh round.
So, Rizzi came to a recent news conference prepared to explain why a player who missed 29 percent of his college chances could be worthy of being one of only two kickers drafted in April.
“The first thing is when I go in and evaluate, when we look at the kicker position, the number one thing you’re looking at is the kicker, the talent, the ability,” Rizzi said. “A lot of people don’t want to hear this but really, when you look at a college placekicker, one of the last things I look at is field goal percentage; and there’s a reason for that.”
Rizzi explained that in college, the snapping and holding just isn’t as consistent as it is at the NFL level. Rizzi then went on to outline how Stephen Gostkowski (76 percent), Matt Bryant (72 percent), Mason Crosby (74 percent), Phil Dawson (74 percent) and Robbie Gould (63 percent) were much better in the pros than in college.
“Between those five guys, they have over 70 years of NFL experience,” Rizzi said.
Sanders has connected on 111 of 112 career extra points. And as a junior at New Mexico, Sanders was outstanding, making 12 of 13 field goals.
Miami needs Rizzi to be right. Because local boy Cody Parkey was a juggernaut last season for Miami, connecting on 21 of 23 field goals and 26 of 29 extra points, landing a gargantuan freeagent deal to take his talents to Chicago.
Miami will enter organized team activities with a battle at kicker between Sanders and undrafted rookie free agent Greg Joseph of Florida Atlantic (and American Heritage).
Joseph made 57 of 82 field goal tries at FAU, for 69.5 percent, less than Sanders’ 71.4 percent. Both kickers have strong legs.
“I’m not going to say it’s number one; but obviously you want a guy who … I call it an NFL leg,” Rizzi said. “It’s probably easier to take a guy with great leg strength and get him a little bit more in tune or fixed or technique-wise on field goals than it is to go the other way. It’s much harder. You can’t teach leg strength. You can teach a guy technique. You can teach a guy to get better certainly at accuracy and things like that.”
Sanders says he views himself in an “open competition” with Joseph. Rizzi went out of his way to bring Joseph into the conversation, too.
“He has to work and finetune some stuff with the field goal; but he’s another guy that when you guys see him kick, you’ll be very, very impressed with his leg strength,” he said.