Dolphins defensive line rules day 4
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are almost done with their first full contact practice and things did not go well for the offense.
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The Dolphins held their first full contact practice and early on interest was more on who was there than the players. Dan Marino showed up as he typically does and was joined by Peyton Manning and Wes Welker as they observed what Adam Gase was doing in his first stint as a head coach.
According to multiple Twitter media accounts the Dolphins defensive line ruled the 11 on 11 portions of practice racking up would be sacks throughout the drills. In fact some said that the pass rush was so forceful that the quarterbacks had no time to throw at all.
When the first team units were on the field it was Dallas Thomas and Billy Turner lining up at the guard positions. Apparently nothing has changed in their performance.
The defensive line is expected to be much better this season under Vance Joseph who is going to attack offensive lines. It’s started.
While the defense was very good today the rest of the units weren’t very good.
Secondary:
Dolphins need a miracle at cornerback. Xavien Howard better be really good.
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) August 1, 2016
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald brought up the secondary’s struggles as well.
No interceptions today. Four days in a row. Draw your own conclusions.
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) August 1, 2016
Howard will be out at least another four to six weeks. The Dolphins have brought in some help but both new additions, Rashaan Melvin and Brandon Harris are long shots to make the roster.
The news about the corners is not only disturbing but despite the wishes of many to the contrary not entirely unexpected either. The Dolphins simply didn’t address the issues in free agency.
Wide Receiver:
The news wasn’t all bad today on offense. When the quarterbacks were able to get rid of the ball they did well, the receivers that is. Of course they were moving against a porous secondary.
One standout wasn’t supposed to be a receiver. Jakeem Grant reportedly took safety Michael Thomas to school on three plays. Grant was reported as being extremely quick and elusive. One of the reasons the Dolphins took him in the mid-rounds of the draft.
Quarterback:
Multiple media members reported Ryan Tannehill as having a bad day. Brandon Doughty fared no better and Matt Moore was given the practice off for unknown reasons. Tannehill’s camp thus far has been up and down but mostly down. Not unexpected given the fact he is learning an entirely new system under Gase.
The good news is that today is only day four and the first in pads.
Offensive line:
The first team with Dallas Thomas at right guard and Billy Turner at left guard struggled. Both Thomas and Turner specifically struggled according to multiple witnesses of practice. Laremy Tunsil played much better today but most of his reps came with the 2nd team. That will likely change sooner rather than later if Turner continues to struggle.