Dolphins Offense Takes Strides During Training Camp Practice #6
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DAVIE (CBSMiami) – The Miami Dolphins 2015 Training Camp is now in full force as the team completed its 6th practice of the new season on Wednesday.
The workout was quite different than the previous day, with the Dolphins dressed in full pads and working on a lot of game situations.
There seemed to be an emphasis on the running game during the first hour of practice, both offensively and defensively, but as the morning continued Coach Joe Philbin opened things up and put his players in the kind of situations they'll see on Friday during the team's annual intra-squad scrimmage.
Wednesday's practice brought on some good things and some not-so-good things. Here are my observations from Dolphins camp practice number six. For extended quotes from players and coaches following the day's practice, click here.
OFFENSE
Offensive guard Dallas Thomas missed practice with a shoulder injury while receiver LaRon Byrd was out with a knee injury.
Receiver Kenny Stills returned to practice after sitting out on Tuesday with a calf injury.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill had perhaps his best practice of training camp, which is saying something because he's been solid throughout. He started the day by making some strong throws during one-on-one red zone drills, but during the first set of team drills Tannehill connected with Jarvis Landry on a deep ball that had fans oohing and aahing.
It wasn't the only time that happened either. Later in practice during 11-on-11 drills Tannehill made a perfect throw that traveled over 50 yards in the air, hitting Landry perfectly in stride for a long touchdown. Landry beat Louis Delmas on the play. Tannehill finished the practice strong as well, leading the Dolphins offense up and down the field during a two-minute drill, though it was against the second-team defense.
He made a beautiful throw in a tight window to hit Greg Jennings on a crossing route for a 12-yard touchdown, squeezing the ball between two defenders, and then hit Rishard Matthews for another touchdown on a nice fade in the back corner of the end zone.
Matt Moore also made some nice throws, with one in particular standing out as he hit ascending receiver Michael Preston on a deep ball down the right sideline.
Preston continued to stand out and while it's still just the second week of training camp, he's making an early case to be kept on the final 53-man roster.
Jarvis Landry looks like the best player on the field, and that's really saying something with this team. The NFL sophomore is making difficult plays look easy, hauling in every pass thrown his way and showing great strength and speed after the catch.
Josh Freeman, the quarterback that the Dolphins cut and re-signed just days apart last week, had one of his worst days of practice. He was picked off by rookie Tony Lippett during 11-on-11 drills, a pass that came out late and was well behind his intended receiver.
Lamar Miller continues to look good from both a speed and strength standpoint. Based on what he's shown so far during camp, he could be in store for an even better year than 2014 was.
The other running backs are showing flashes but the consistency is lacking. Damien Williams and LaMichael James both had nice runs at different times during practice but rookie Jay Ajayi did nothing to stand out on Wednesday. As for Mike Gillislee, he looks least likely to make the final roster. He just looks slower than the other backs and has yet to stand out in a good way.
Second-year receiver Matt Hazel has shown a lot of improvement from last season and he made a couple nice plays on Wednesday. He scored a touchdown on a nice catch-and-run that was thrown by Matt Moore during red zone drills.
DEFENSE
Defensive lineman Derrick Shelby was held out of practice with a knee injury.
Linebacker Koa Misi was not listed among the injured players before practice but he clearly was held back on Wednesday. He hung around the LBs during individual drills but after headed into the main building with a trainer after about an hour of practice. Kelvin Sheppard took his place on the first-team defense.
Cornerback Will Davis had an up-and-down day, looking good during individual and one-on-one drills but he was beat a couple times during 11-on-11s.
Second-year defensive tackle Anthony Johnson looked very good during practice. He was quick off the ball and found himself in the offensive backfield on more than one occasion.
Another second-year lineman, Terrence Fede, also had a great day on Wednesday. Fede had at least one sack and made several tackles to stop running plays for no gain or a loss.
As I previously mentioned, rookie cornerback Tony Lippett had his first interception of training camp after grabbing several during OTAs and minicamp. The converted wide receiver is looking good during his first NFL camp.
As it stands the training camp interception count is as follows: Will Davis and Sammy Seamster each have two picks while Bobby McCain, Tony Lippett, Reshad Jones and Koa Misi each have one.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Today was Caleb Strugis' day to kick the field goals and he didn't do anything to solidify his job as the Dolphins regular kicker, instead seeming to take a couple steps backwards. He hit a couple field goals from 46 yards away but missed one from 44 and another from 50 that didn't even reach the uprights, falling to the ground about seven yards deep in the end zone.
Sturgis has a lot of work to do if he's going to re-claim his job as Miami's everyday kicker. Rookie Andrew Franks has looked very good during camp and has a ridiculously strong leg, and as of today I would choose Franks as the Dolphins kicker for 2015, hands down.
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