Miami Dolphins: Scrimmage recap
By Sean Denison
As practice resumes today following a day off after the Miami Dolphins first intra-squad scrimmage at FIU stadium Friday night, the focus still remains on the offensive line. Once again, the o-line had trouble facing a far more superior defensive line. In the scrimmage, the d-line penetrated the line of scrimmage like the Kool-Aid Man through a brick wall—“oh yeah!”
To roughly 16,000 fans that were in attendance for the scrimmage, it was no surprise that Miami’s defensive line was disruptive, getting to the quarterback four times. The d-line continued its dominance against the run Friday night, as well.
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But on a more positive note, it wasn’t all bad Friday night. In fact, it was nice to see newly acquired tight end Jordan Cameron come down with a, dare I say, beautifully placed ball thrown by Ryan Tannehill for a 26-yard touchdown. Cameron, who was acquired via free agency in the offseason, had two touchdowns during the night and seems to be a nice fit in the Dolphins offense despite getting off to a rough start in the beginning of camp.
“It’s great to be with the fans,” Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said via Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. “I thought they created a great atmosphere for a football practice in training camp. It’s great for the players. A couple of guys already came up to me and were like, ‘Wow coach, I’m glad we did that.’ We’ve got to get on a bus and go play a game in six days and I thought this was really good preparation for them.”
In the scrimmage, the top performer on the ground for the Dolphins was LaMichael James who carried the ball nine times for 41 yards. James also caught two passes for 22 yards and a touchdown. Once again, despite not being a starter, James has made his presence known and is making a strong case for him to be considered for the #2 running back spot. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and the rest of the Dolphins coaching staff have taken notice of James’s solid play and, at times, let him run with the first-team offense during the scrimmage.
“I thought they created a great atmosphere for a football practice in training camp. It’s great for the players. A couple of guys already came up to me and were like, ‘Wow coach, I’m glad we did that”–Joe Philbin
On the other hand, Dolphins starting running back Lamar Miller saw limited action, carrying the ball only two times Friday night. One of his carries was a 12-yard loss in the backfield courtesy of the monster, Ndamukong Suh. Although there’s no question that Lamar Miller is the Dolphins starting running back heading into the regular season, you can’t help but notice that some of his teammates are having a good, maybe even better, camp than the fourth year veteran.
Also seeing limited action on the ground Friday night was rookie Jay Ajayi who carried the football only once, but made it count for a gain of 13 yards. Damien Williams—who played the role of this year’s LaMichael James and was the surprise of the Dolphins training camp and preseason last year—carried the ball 11 times on the night for 28 yards with two touchdowns. Rounding off the Dolphins backfield was the low man on the totem pole, Mike Gillislee. Despite not getting much attention this training camp, Gillislee had a solid night rushing the ball six times for 27 yards and a touchdown.
Despite being pressured and throwing from a crowded pocket, Ryan Tannehill had a so-so night going 11 of 17 for 107 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Picking off one of Tannehill’s passes was no other than pro-bowler Brent Grimes. But Tannehill’s other interception came from rookie standout Bobby McCain. Lacking ideal size like Grimes, McCain only stands 5’9 but hasn’t let that be his handicap. In the scrimmage, McCain also made good plays on the ball, breaking up two passes.
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Also looking good is rookie safety Cedric Thompson. During the scrimmage, Thompson forced a fumble and has continued to look good when given the opportunity to play. Coaches and fans can’t help but like what they’ve seen out of the rookie considering Louis Delmas’s past injury issues. Hopefully, we’ll get to see more of Thompson once preseason starts.
On the special teams side, it will be interesting to see how the battle between the kickers plays out. Rookie Andrew Franks and the un-reliable Caleb Sturgis were both perfect going three for three on their field goal attempts. Sturgis hasn’t gained any headway on the rookie thus far in camp and his days left as a Miami Dolphin may be numbered. If Franks continues to have a solid camp, it will be intriguing to see the decision Miami makes.
So, despite the good, the bad, the surprises, and the disappointments, we can all come together and agree that it’s nice to finally have football back in our lives after the torture that is the offseason. The countdown to the Dolphins first preseason game against the Chicago Bears is only four days away, and I can barely contain myself. It will be intriguing to watch how both the offensive and defensive lines perform against an opposing team come Thursday night.