Miami Dolphins training camp starts in three days ending off-season

The long wait is over Miami Dolphins fans. Well, almost. In three days the Dolphins will report to training camp and end the off-season officially.

Yes the wait is almost over and while many still point to a return to football not happening until September, this period of practice is actually far more exciting until December. It is on the practice fields of the team’s training center that the Miami Dolphins take the steps towards who they will be in 2018 and beyond.

A little too poetic? Maybe but consider that each TC lives change for at least one person. A fringe player is taking his last shot at his NFL hopes and dreams. He will tell stories to his children about how he didn’t make it but that he practiced and played in a pre-season game or four. And while you may laugh a bit at that notion, it’s far more than 98% of us have done in the NFL.

For Adam Gase it’s time to get “his” team on the field. He has spent this off-season moving out the distractions and getting players that fit his idea of playing the sport. This is more his team than it has been in the two years since he arrived and he will face a lot of odds as the team tries to build for a future beyond this season.

Outside of Miami there is no hype, no love, no “this team could surprise”. The Dolphins are underdogs. Ryan Tannehill is ranked in many QB rankings as a 4th out of 5 tier quarterback. Five of course being the lowest. What is more surprising is that his knee isn’t the topic of conversation.

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The Dolphins have questions at QB, RB, WR, DL, LB, and in the secondary. If you believe the critics and the so-called experts. Ndamukong Suh is gone, yet with him the Dolphins were in the lower third of the league against the run. Jarvis Landry is gone but with Landry the Dolphins lost more games when he had a high per-game reception count than they did when the ball was spread around more.

Let’s not forget Jay Ajayi is gone too. That hurts the Dolphins offense, so they want you to believe. Kenyan Drake‘s second half of 2017 apparently meant nothing, even behind a make-shift line.

So training camp is here and with it the Dolphins can quell some of this talk or they can prove them right. It doesn’t matter however. Miami’s return to football will still bring the excitement to the fans. It will end the long dull off-season. Football is back already for the rookies but there is nothing exciting about film study. Not for the general fan.

On the 25th, this week, fans will be able to see it for real. It’s football season again! Enjoy.