Cause when you say Miami, you're talking Super Bowl! Choo choo! First Impressions from the First Week of OTA's Thursday’s practice was the first one open to the media with the veterans and the rookies together and, while it’s still only May, some things are already becoming clear.Quick hits with the whole gang – at least most of it – together again: • The key word, I’m quickly learning, about this Adam Gase offense is flexibility. There are choices everywhere. Find a mismatch and seize it. That’s the mindset. This, I believe, will have the most profound effect on quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Gase was asked about Tannenhill’s level of intelligence on Thursday and called it “off the charts.” That says plenty right there. The days are apparently over of Tannehill being locked into the sideline call. • Speaking of Tannehill, yes that was him doing 20 push-ups at practice Thursday after missing on a throw. “Self induced,” he said. Really like the leader he is becoming. • Every time I focus my binoculars on Gase, I see something different. But what I always see is unbridled enthusiasm and someone who seems to relate well to his players. He is hands on, does more than his share of ribbing and seems to have created the type of atmosphere that matches his personality. • I know that Jakeem Grant is only 5-foot-6, but it really hits home when you see him on the practice field, standing next to his teammates. However, with the ball in his hands, and his gear turned up high, that lack of height means little. “We call him Mighty Mouse,” said Tannehill with obvious affection. • A healthy DeVante Parker in Year 2 could be something special. There are signs of that, I’m told, in almost every practice. • Tannehill talks about the first time he saw No. 1 pick Laremy Tunsil in the weight room and almost did a double take. “Wow, now that looks like an offensive lineman,” he said. Based on what I hear, Tunsil has been everything so far the Dolphins had hoped he would be. • Jay Ajayi has lost weight and gained confidence. You can see it in the way he runs. • Byron Maxwell had a nice interception near the end of Thursday’s practice. “He hasn’t disappointed me one bit,” said Gase on Maxwell. There is little doubt, at this early juncture, who the No. 1 cornerback on this team will be. • Think some of his defenders are already impressed with new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph? “He’s brilliant,” linebacker Jelani Jenkins said. “He’s passionate and he shows us the ‘why’ behind the way we do things.” Now that’s an endorsement! • Nice to see right tackle Ja’Wuan James healthy again after missing so much of last season with a nagging toe injury. Other linemen get more publicity, but this is a very important player to this offense. • Jarvis Landry loves Gase’s offense and, while it’s hard to imagine topping the receiving numbers he compiled in a Pro Bowl season a year ago, you can easily envision Landry becoming a more complete receiver. “Everything is about playing fast,” Landry said. “This offense is designed to create mismatches and that’s something you’ve got to like.” Landry is a mismatch all by himself. • I expect second-year cornerback Tony Lippett to get plenty of opportunities to earn a starting job. You just can’t teach 6-foot-3 at a position as important as that one. • I wouldn’t want to be the one having to pare down this group of receivers. With this much talent, you would expect the Dolphins to keep at least five and perhaps as many as six receivers depending on their versatility. • One more early observation. This team will not have a shortage of leaders as has been the criticism at times in the past. Just look at the defensive line alone: Can you have a better group of veteran leaders than Cam Wake, Ndamukong Suh and Mario Williams?
Maxwell and Alonso both seem to be on track. We look healthy and fresh for a change. Still need Reshad and Dion back in the fold. Ajayi will be interesting to watch.
Has he really been around THAT long??? I wonder how many times in the past decade he booked a vacation to a country that permits physician-assisted suicide, only to back out at the last moment and live to hype another season.
Every year I fall for it, every year December I wonder WTF I was thinking. But we have a new coach who made Tim Tebow look manageble.... a QB 5 years in and has freedom...we drafted the best OT to come out in 5 years....our DL and LB core are going to be one of the best in football....our WR's ad TE are a talented bunch. Oddly enough I think this team may be better than the last few but with that schedule I'm not sure the results will tell the tale.
i just can't get hyped about this team anymore, i can get hyped for a new season, but my expectations are incredibly low.
Is this the part where we set ourselves up for major disappointment, or should we wait for after Training Camp/Pre-season?
He was writing for Curits publishing's Dolphin Digest in 93 (and maybe / probably before then - that was the first year I subscribed), so he may not have been working directly for the Dolphins the entire time, but he's had the same job - hype up the Dolphins.
every new coach deserves that clean slate, need to get hyped for him at least..pretty tough job without hype and support..just makin it toughr to get over hump..a great one can do it, but why not take a chance, all you have to take is some dissapointment if it doesn't work out..you can handle that right.. personally I feel like the team is better than what the so called experts think..
I like that we're flying a bit under the radar so far this year. Last year everyone was hyping us up and look where that got us...
this whole kool-aid sequence is hilarious: [video=youtube;yeOi6Ax-xyY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeOi6Ax-xyY[/video]
I use to get the Dolphin Digest religiously as long as I can remember and anytime there was a big Dolphins win you could count on a Andy Cohen column talking them up in the next issue, I always took his opinions with a huge grain of salt. Big homer writer but like you said, that's his job.
Probably enough to merit a screenplay named The Final Touchdown but not a Broadway musical named Death before Bravado...
So much of this team was ruined by the toxic atmosphere Philbin created. No audibles, threatening benching your qb, no running the ball, poor offensive design. I have no hope left to give when it comes to a win/loss record, but I have no doubt this will be tannehills best season. Spot a mismatch and exploit it? The only time that happened under Lazor is if the other team put a scrub on landry, because the ball went to landry regardless.
Yep. Was so, soooo easy to see, not sure why this stuff has to be pointed out. I don't care about anyone else, I LOVE the hype train part of the year. I'm on it.
This Tunsil news is getting me amped up! If this offensive line can stay healthy for once, it will be fun to watch these guys mash defenses for a change!!! Forget the new 'weapons' or the potential emergence of Parker, this O line alone will be a huge gamechanger for the offense
Im not in close enough to know, but tunsil playing guard is not ideal imo..if someone offered me a 2nd round pick for albert I would think hard.
I did too for year and years. I got to where I only liked it for the cheerleaders cause the team was so bad
I'd think about a 2nd only after training camp and sure that Tunsil was the real deal. No way do I sacrifice a potential top 5 OL in the league for a 2nd round pick in 2017 who could eventually turn into a Jamar Taylor.
Albert will be 32 this season and hasn't played in 16 games since 2011 (didn't finish all 16). The 14 games he appeared in last year, was the most he's played in the past 5 years (again didn't finish all 14). It's unlikely Albert starts or finished even 12 games, which is about what he averages to appear in per season. A 3rd or even 4th rounder would be a more likely offer, but I'd jump on a 2nd round pick considering we have Tunsil to take over LT, James back at RT, and brought in Bushrod, Urbik, McClendon, Young, Steen, Painter, and some other bodies to compete for 2 OG spots with Turner and Douglass. That's 8+ guys... We're also moving from the ZBS that we ran under Philbin. YMMV.
our 2nd round picks have been horrible for years so you are basically trading a starting LT for a nothing. do you think any team in the league would trade us their starting LT for a second round pick?
So because we've whiffed on second round picks, that means second round picks are worthless? I have a feeling many GMs would not even think twice about dumping Albert for a second round pick, if they were ever offered that. And let's not get this twisted: we're talking specifically about Albert, not other starting LTs in the league. An old, often injured LT who can't be counted on? Yeah, gimme the second round pick all day every day.
Landry was a 2nd round pick. Jordan Phillips is still developing, and Howard is an unknown. You're cherry picking a couple 2nd round picks like Jamar Taylor or Daniel Thomas and writing them all off. Regardless, Tunsil means that Albert is a short term rental who's value will continue to decrease. Get what you can for him while he's healthy. But again, if we didn't nab Tunsil in the draft, no one would even be having the discussion.
He's not cherry picking. You are cherry picking. The history of 2nd round picks the past 14 years is horrible, and wasted. We can start a list. That said nobody is giving a 2nd for Albert. This has to be the offseason, crazy talk!
The value in the pick is still there. It being wasted on a Daniel Thomas or Jon Martin, to a future pick is meaningless as Past Performance is Not Necessarily Indicative of Future Results... If you're taking that stance, you could say the same thing about 1st round picks, or 3rd round picks, etc... You have to consider that the FO, staff, and overall decision makers have changed. Agree on no one giving up a 2nd round pick for Albert, but if a solid offer is made - take it.
Look, we don't know exactly how well Tunsil will play at LT, he's still an unknown commodity, hence why I said to wait until after training camp to make a decision. With Albert in there at LT (for however many games he plays) and all the depth we finally have, it's possible we may be a force on OL THIS season. I get trading him for future draft picks, but we have to look at what the possibilities are this year as well. We have been clamoring for a good OL for a while and it looks like we may finally have it this year... why can't we see exactly how much of an impact this can have on our team before betting on a 2017 draft pick trumping the success we may have this season with Albert?
I agree, NO ONE is giving a second for Albert. I thought this was just a fantasy exercise. But, if some team was offering a second, I would take it without a second thought.
We don't "know" that Albert will even make it thru pre-season, or even start the season without injury, but his personal history shows he won't finish the season, so the OL will be shuffled at some point regardless. Tunsil was the best LT in this draft and was among the highest ranked for the past few seasons. I agree on wanting to field the best OL possible, but again, IF someone offers a solid trade that can benefit us either this season, or in future seasons, take it. JMO - YMMV.
a solid trade is NOT an unknown player that might not even make the team. IF all second round picks went on to start for 10 years, make the pro bowl, that would be a solid trade.
I agree there. Just nitpicking with the cherry picking. Our 2nd round picks have been wasted. Consider these players traded for or drafted: Landry (finally a good one), Jamar Taylor, Jonathan Martin, Daniel Thomas (we actually traded up for this guy pfft), Pat White, Merling, Henne, Beck, Hagan, Roth, Culpepper, AJ Feeley, Brandon Marshall
I did consider that. I also considered all our other picks per round, but that doesn't change the value of the pick itself. That's just an indictment on the evaluation and the people who were making the picks or trading them away. Blame Hickey, Ireland, Mueller, Saban, or Wanny for the stupid picks/moves, but across the league, it's a high value commodity. I'd still take a 2nd round pick in a heartbeat over an expensive guy who we know we will not play an entire season, and who's clock is running out. Tunsil is going to be the LT at some point anyway. Getting a hypothetical 2nd or 3rd round pick for Albert gives us more options for improving the roster next season. I'd pull that trigger without a "2nd" thought. Again, JMO.
Naw, if someone offers us a 2nd for Albert I'm taking the trade before they even finish the sentence. "For Brandon Albert, we would like to offer you ..." "We'll take it!" I like Albert but man, he's gonna be hurt again this year. He always is. Plus he's old.
brandon is reportedly down to 312 lbs..He's on a mission and his healthy...It would really be a tough decision if there was an offer for branden..