Tannehill not afraid to respond to defense’s trash talk at OTAs
DAVIE — Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill maintains as nondescript a public personality as possible, but he’s feisty behind the scenes.
As Tannehill gets back into the offense after missing the last yearplus with a knee injury, he and the defense have had some good battles during organized team activities.
“It’s going good,” safety T.J. McDonald said after practice Tuesday. “It’s still early. We just finished our fourth practice, but the first couple days I felt like the defense got the upper hand, and (the offense) did a great job today. We’ve been competing together.”
Sometimes, when the defense starts building momentum, players such as McDonald let Tannehill hear it. And he doesn’t hesitate to fire back.
“He’s a competitor, too,” McDonald said. “Sometimes he’ll say a little something to somebody. You can talk a little trash to the offense, and a lot of guys will turn around and walk back to the huddle, but he’ll come back at you.”
Tannehill has not played since December 2016 because of ongoing knee problems, and the Dolphins have pointed to his return as their biggest cause for optimism coming off a 6-10 season.
Rookie RB “so smooth”: Kalen Ballage is the tallest and heaviest player in the Dolphins’ running back room. He is 6 feet 3, 230 pounds, and really, really fast. It’s hard to understand how Ballage lasted until the fourth round of last month’s draft, but count running back Kenyan Drake among those who are happy he did.
“(Ballage) runs so smooth that it doesn’t really seem like he’s running fast. Obviously, me being a long, tall back, I always had trouble running behind my pads. He always seems to have a natural bend, a natural ability to catch the ball out of the backfield,” Drake said Tuesday.
Dolphins offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains believes Ballage will be able to pass protect.
“When he walks through the door, that’s what they’re supposed to look like,” Loggains said. “He’s big, he’s put together and he’s a really smart kid. We’re excited about trying to tap him out and make sure his head is hitting the ceiling. He’s got size, he’s got height, weight, speed. Doing those things, we’ve got to figure out what he does well.”
The Dolphins acquired Ballage with a pick acquired from Philadelphia for Jay Ajayi. Coach Adam Gase believes the additions of free agent Frank Gore and Ballage creates an opportunity for increased competition and results.
“He’s a big man that runs fast and can catch the ball well,” Gase said. “He really has all of the things that you’re looking for in an allaround back.”