Day 4: Contact Cometh
Day 4 brought light contact to camp.
Day 4 begins the players slow acclimation to contact.
Day 4 of the Miami Dolphins training camp brought a lot of contact…a lot of “light” contact.
It also ended with Jay Ajayi suffering a knee injury. It’s not serious, a knee bruise is what’s being reported – although, there was swelling in his knee. But the reality is, anytime knee and Ajayi is breathed in the same sentence Fin Fans and the Miami organization hold their collective breathes.
It’s not a terrible sign, but it’s not totally insignificant either. The question of durability isn’t going away anytime soon with news like this.
On a positive note, the good news did outweigh the bad.
Dolphins QB’s have still not thrown an interception – not sure if it’s due to CB play or the QB’s.
Armando Salguero says from ‘what he sees from the corners, Howard needs to returns asap’ – so it might be more the secondary, or it might not. Should become clearer very quick.
Oh, Maxwell not included, he slapped many passes down. He is seeming, more and more, to be quite a good pickup.
Defensively the Miami team far surpassed the offense – which is usual at this stage, especially for a team with a new regime, and installing a new offense, and O-line.
Day 4 showed that Tunsil’s play at guard gets a big boost with contact.
Tunsil worked at Guard, rotating with Thomas, he seems to do much better when contact comes into play.
But, the defensive line ate the line and QB’s for breakfast anyway.
It’s quite apparent that this could be a special unit – and even more so if McCain keeps coming like he has.
Tunsil and McCain got into a skirmish – nothing more than rough hugs. They “kissed and made up” by the end of the practice.
Damien Williams was activated off PUP and will likely practice tomorrow…he is still the best pass blocker of all the RB’s, which could very well make him a keeper despite his usual fair.
Adam Gase and Co. are showing they are no Philbin as they get in the faces of players and prod them verbally – anyone missing the zombie yet?! No? Bueller…Bueller…Bueller…
Extras:
Matt Moore and Jerome Bushrod had the day off; Parker, Grant and Landry impressed; Pead has a bunch of first downs and is pushing for a move up the charts; Bobby McCain dropped an easy pick; Marshall Koehn missed another kick; and Hull laid out Pead.
The intensity is growing fast as Adam Gase says to the best pay per head website on the planet that other than a torrential storm, they will be practicing outside. Heat, pain and competition should make for the best camp in years. Go Fins!!!
…its very early in this camp, the defense always shows better early …give the coaches time to figure out who fits where …and once the starters are set, it takes a bit more time to gel as a group …but barring injuries, the pieces are there to make this a decent OL
…that in turn, will dramatically affect the run game …we all know Tunsil is a primo athlete at OT …what we don’t know yet is if he can be a stud at LG …if he can, then even average backs will be able to run behind this OL
…if the OL gels and Gase gets even an average run game going, then Tannehill will get shots downfield and has a WR set that can go up and get them against the best defenses …which in turn, will draw un-stacked defenses against the run
…but that takes time and I think we’ll be well into the season before it comes together …if it does
…so I’m not going to get myself into knots worrying about RBs as blockers …if the
OL gels, that will be a minor problem to deal with …if it doesn’t, then RB blocks will be a symptom of that, not a cure
…I still think we could be 0-2 out of the gate …we’ll see
Sorry for the late reply, my 3 yr old broke her collar bone – Lord, it was a horror show.
Anyway, I would like to meld into a Lemmus / Steve hybrid:
I think of it as an equation of time and space: A (size of the hole) + B (duration of hole opening) + C (back talent) = yardage.
So, it’s the line that has two parts of the equation…and it’s the third part that magnifies. So, the line is combustible components and the back is the accelerant.
I agree with you Lemmus that a good line sets the table, I agree with Steve that the back makes it 3 course meal or subway, depending on the talent level.
I still believe Miami can win week 2…or at least I hope – not sure if it’s fan saucy or pragmatic observation?
Ohhh, did Williams change your mind about the value of blocking by knocking someone out? Maybe he heard you?
Steve, it depends – I see the Zone-Stretch plus a very good line as having the ability to produce solid play from less than solid backs. There are going to be holes this season – unless Gase is a genius who can camouflage and coach up like a top 5 coach.I’m assuming RB is a place Miami will look to next season as the draft is “supposed” to be loaded with RB talent. I still think Williams can be more than a simple blocking back, but his character hasn’t proved to be equal to his talent. I am like you on the run game,I still see that no matter what the run game and o-line will make a move of at least 10 spots higher than last year…this is good progression, not enough for a ring, but this is a work in progress. But, in the end, yeah the run game and line are key indicators and right now the indications leave alot to be desired.
Admin
Are we sugar coating Ajai injury?
1. The question of durability with Ajai, Foster and Drake just so happen all three are riding the bench this season due to injury?
a. Bishop Sankey RB Titan (Available) We are playing with Fire with the IF’s
2. (Plus) The defensive line ate the line and QB’s for breakfast.
a. Are we mostly passing in practice or running he ball?
Damien Williams was activated off PUP and will likely practice tomorrow…he is still the best pass blocker of all the RB’s.
a. Would this contribute to our defense eating our offensive line and QB for breakfast?
b. How do we incorporate Williams since he blocks the best without his blocking the QB is in trouble?
Quite early to make predictions but we have one of the Best offensive lines this season. Running the wrong plays and no R/B capable of blocking a line Backer etc. will destroy the best of offensive line?
The Key to our offense is having a blocking/rushing running back that can block a line backer etc. The front line cant account for every body? So we are in trouble running backs cant block we are in trouble. Are just go get a full back.