Miami Dolphin WR Brandon Gibson Seeing Extended Time In Slot
Miami Dolphin Wide Receiver Brandon Gibson makes a catch during Miami’s first week of OTAs
In his first week of OTAs with the Miami Dolphins, wide receiver Brandon Gibson saw the majority of his snaps from the slot position.
Yesterday, Miami opened their second week of OTAs and it was more of the same for Gibson.
When asked about seeing snaps in the slot position Gibson told reporters, “ I think I can run any route out there.”
When head coach Joe Philbin was asked about Gibson seeing the majority of his snaps out of the slot position, he explained, “ There is some savvy that goes along with the slot position, understanding the coverages [the linebacker levels and safeties dropping down] and you are going to have to read things on the run relatively quickly. We think he’s a guy that has that awareness to adjust to different coverages which I think you have to do inside [at the slot position].”
The 6’0”, 205 pound receiver spent his first four seasons with the St. Louis Rams after a very brief run with the Philadelphia Eagles during 2009. During his time with St. Louis, the 25 year-old accumulated 2,090 yards on 174 receptions and 9 touchdowns.
When asked what the front office liked about Gibson, Philbin explained, “We like the way he runs routes. The bottom line is as a receiver the two primary job responsibilities are find to a way to get yourself open [man, zone etc.] and catching the football, which we thought he did both of those things very, very well.” Philbin continued, “He was a good ball catcher. I know it sounds simplistic but he caught the ball well. And he went up and went after the ball. We thought that he played big for a 6’0” guy. We thought he played big and he competed for the ball well. He wasn’t a double catcher. He caught the ball with his hands and we liked that about him.”
Obviously the team had a great look at Gibson last season when Gibson absolutely owned former Miami corner, Sean Smith, for the majority of the 17-14 Miami victory. Gibson snagged 7 balls for 91 yards and no touchdowns. He did, however, make an unbelievable reception beating Miami corner Nolan Carroll down the sideline to set up St. Louis’ field goal unit in perfect position to tie the game and send it into over-time. Rookie Kicker Greg Zuerlein, whom was a perfect 13-13 from the field, missed three of his five field goals including the game tying attempt.
Here is a link:
So far throughout OTAs the group of Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson and Rishard Matthews has been quite impressive to say the least. Hopefully the group can continue to grow and build a strong relationship with second-year quarterback, Ryan Tannehill.
The future is looking bright Miami fans, quite bright indeed.