The Miami Dolphins started their second day of mandatory mini-camps inside their bubble. Once the coaches saw the weather was going to be clear, the players and coaches made their way outside onto the field. Here are my tidbits from day two of Dolphins minicamp.
The Dolphins’ offense looked a lot better compared to the first day when there were three interceptions thrown. The team mainly worked on end-of-half and end-of-game situations, which makes sense considering 10 of their 16 games in 2014 were decided by seven points or less. Head coach Joe Philbin talked more about that after practice.
“I thought we got a lot of things accomplished,” said Philbin. “We took a lot of time to cover end-of-half and end-of-game situations that are really important. Some of them have happened to us. Some of them have happened to other teams in the league and we kind of do our best to simulate that with the guys. As we all know, a lot of games are going to be decided in the last couple of minutes in this league. That’s just the way it is. We devoted a lot of time to that. (We) did some red zone and a little bit of pressure as well.”
The Dolphins also work on red zone situations and added in a variety of blitz packages.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw two touchdowns (Mike Wallace, Michael Egnew) and two interceptions. His best throw was a pass to Wallace, in which Tannehill threaded the needle pass two defenders.
Cameron Wake intercepted Tannehill after linebacker Phil Wheeler tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage. Reshad Jones’ interception came on a long pass down field intended for Wallace.
Receiver Armon Binns had the catch of the day when he leaped over cornerback Jamar Taylor to catch a deep sideline pass from Tannehill.
Knowshon Moreno was again invisible in practice. The running again spent most of Wednesday’s practice jogging on the sideline.
Philbin continues to say he likes what he sees from Moreno, but what is Philbin really seeing? Moreno appears to be in the doghouse after coming into camp out of shape. It is obvious that Philbin is not going to insert Moreno into more drills until he loses more weight.
Daniel Thomas continues to get more reps in 11-on-11 drills. After a disappointing three seasons, Thomas is trying to show coaches why he deserves to make the roster.
Rookie receiver Jarvis Landry has been impressive in camp. He caught a number of passes today including a touchdown pass from Matt Moore.
Receivers Brian Hartline and Brandon Gibson both look fully healthy after both suffering injuries last season. With Wallace, Landry, Brian Hartline and Gibson, the Dolphins will have one of the deepest receiver corps in the NFL.
Linebacker Jelani Jenkins practiced with the first team defense after Koa Misi rested.
“He (Jenkins) does have good play speed and I think part of that is because he’s an intelligent player. He’s a guy that, if you’re teaching a concept or scheme or blitz or a coverage, he’s not what we would call a high-rep guy. He picks things up quickly. I noticed him today, one time in punt protection, working with (Mike) Gillislee on a twist and (it was) kind of effortless, kind of smooth. He’s athletic. He’s another playing that’s making good progress.”
Kicker Caleb Sturgis showed off his huge leg today as he kicked near 60 yard field goal. With his range, there’s no reason Sturgis can’t become one of the best kickers in the league.
Landry, Marcus Thigpen, Damian Williams, and Rantavious Wooten participated in special team return drills. Last season’s kickoff and punt returner Thigpen struggled as he finishing 18th in kick returns and 19th in punt returns.
Just like last year, the Dolphins will end their mandatory mini-camps with a spring game.
“We’re looking for competition,” Philbin said. “We’re going to mix it up, we’re going to throw guys into a pot and stir it around. We’re looking for guys to communicate, potentially with guys maybe that they haven’t lined up next to and gotten a ton of reps next to. Just see how they respond. I think it’ll be good. The main things are the competitive nature, the ability to communicate, the ability to play the calls with everybody kind of off to the side and go from there.”
