Dolphins Camp Notebook: No More Mr. Nice Guy For Ryan Tannehill
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DAVIE (CBSMiami) - When teammates discuss Ryan Tannehill's evolution as a quarterback, they often bring up his leadership.
So far in training camp, Tannehill looks more vocal and fired up than ever before. It's a side of him rarely seen during his first four years in the league - before Adam Gase's arrival.
On Monday, Tannehill was seen pulling about 30 teammates aside to deliver a fiery speech. On Wednesday, he explained the situation.
"It was just a lull in practice and I felt the energy drop," said Tannehill. "We can't have that. We can't have the ups and downs throughout practice or throughout games. We have to establish habits of pushing ourselves and keeping the energy and intensity high," adding: "We don't have time to relax."
Tannehill's speech took place around the midway point of practice, and he noted the energy picked up later on for a strong finish. It appeared his pep talk worked.
On the surface, Tannehill seems like a laid back, even keel guy. So, how does he find the bravado to yell at thirty teammates? He warned the media not to judge the book by its cover.
"I'm even keel with you guys (the media) most of the time, but I'm not always even keel. I have a fire and a competitive spirit. I have a drive to win. There are certain situations (when) I have to get on my guys."
Tannehill also notes that his newfound habit of firing up teammates comes with a vote of confidence from his head coach.
"It's always been part of me, and I think coach Gase has given me the freedom and the confidence to be myself, to lead the way I want to lead. It's been really fun for me. I think I've seen our team grow because of that."
Other notes from Day 6 of training camp:
Reshad Jones is back - the former pro bowl strong safety made his camp debut on Wednesday. He was activated off the non football injury (NFI) list from an injured calf. Jones worked with no restrictions whatsoever on Wednesday morning. "It was straight go," said Jones, who made an especially nice tackle early in 11 on 11's, stuffing running back Damien Williams for a loss.
Jay Ajayi is in the concussion protocol - head coach Adam Gase confirmed this on Wednesday. Ajayi suffered the concussion during Monday's full contact practice, on a big hit from safety TJ McDonald. Gase doesn't have a timetable for Ajayi's return just yet. "The trainers are dealing with that and all of the steps he needs to go through," Gase said. Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake picked up reps in Ajayi's absence.
Only one interception thrown Wednesday - Brandon Doughty threw an interception to linebacker Neville Hewitt during team drills. The other QB's avoided the INT bug, but David Fales missed a wide open Kenny Stills in the end zone.
The Dolphins resume training camp on Thursday morning at 8:20 AM from the team facility in Davie, FL.