Top Observations From Dolphins Week 2 OTA Workout
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The NFL season is just three short months away and teams across the league are working hard during their voluntary workouts. The Miami Dolphins are certainly one of those teams, now working into their second week of organized team activities (OTAs).
Despite the workouts being completely voluntary, the entire Dolphins roster has been present and accounted for. The only players who haven't participated are ones who are recovering from injury, but they've still been on the field with their teammates working on the sidelines.
There are always a lot of positives and negatives during these practices as players are getting back into the swing of things and getting re-acclimated to the coaching staff and the playbook. Here are the top observations from the Dolphins week 2 OTA workout.
Defense Still Ahead Of Offense
As is normally the case at this time of year, the Dolphins defense looked much better than the offense. Defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle worked hard during the offseason to simplify the defense, and considering how many new players Miami has on its offense, it's easy to see why one unit appears a little more ahead of the game than its counterpart.
Ndamukong Suh Back For Week 2
There was a lot of speculation a couple weeks ago regarding whether the Dolphins prize free agent signing, Ndamukong Suh, would join the team for the voluntary workouts due to the fact that he skipped them last season while playing for Detroit. Suh was present and accounted for during week 1 and he was still there working with his new teammates for week 2. He's going to play a huge part in the success of Miami's defense this season and he certainly appears eager to get acclimated to his new system.
Wide Receivers Still Moving Around
One of the things we saw during week 1 of OTAs was that the Dolphins receivers were constantly moving around and lining up in different positions. There wasn't a designated slot guy or one person who was always along the sideline. Each of Miami's wideouts lined up in all the different spots, and this is get the collection of new players better acclimated to all aspects of the playbook. Jarvis Landry is the only returning receiver from last season, and he's entering just his second year in the league.
Jordan Cameron Looking Sharp
The Dolphins shiny new tight end was facing a lot of questions heading into this season due to his history of head injuries, but Cameron insists that they are a thing of the past. When healthy Cameron has played at a very high level and while it's still very early in the process, he's looking great so far as a member of the Dolphins. His week 2 showing was very strong, making some nice red zone catches and continuing to grow his chemistry with Ryan Tannehill.
Big Showing By Rookie Tony Lippett
When Miami drafted Tony Lippett in the 5th round of last month's NFL Draft it left some people scratching their heads. Lippett was a successful receiver in college but also played some defensive back, and it was that position that the Dolphins drafted him to play. A period of adjustment is expected as you'd expect there to be a steep learning curve while not only making the transition from college to pro, but also changing positions. Lippett showed that he may be more ahead of the game than expected. He made three interceptions in one practice this week, two on Matt Moore and one on Josh Freeman, and all of them required him to make a nice play on the ball. He certainly has raised the bar of expectation after a performance like that, so let's see if he can keep it up.
Not A Great Day For The Quarterbacks
As we mentioned earlier, the Dolphins defense had a much better day than the offense and the quarterbacks were a big part of that. They combined to throw three interceptions, two by Moore and one by Freeman, and Tannehill had a couple of passes that were dropped by members of the defense. There were also some accuracy issues, especially during red zone drills.
Rookie Tight End Tim Semisch Turned Some Heads
Miami signed rookie tight end Tim Semisch after a strong showing during the team's rookie minicamp. He continued to impress during this week's OTA workout, making several nice catches including a couple in the end zone. His combination of size (6'8", 267lbs) and good hands has some thinking that he could challenge for a spot on the Dolphins roster as the third tight end.
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