Early thoughts from Dolphins mini camp
The Dolphins got under a three day minicamp yesterday, which usually comes with very warm weather and a tone of speculation. It’s always exciting see the boys heading down to Davie and hitting the practice field. The 3 day camp invites all media members so gives us a little insight on how this team is developing on the practice field. While some members of the media get more excited about certain players than other it is important not to read too much into every piece of information received as it is still very good to figure who is winning which off season positional battle. The roster will only most likely be settled after the 3rd preseason game is over with so there is no need to make any rash decision rather you’re better off sitting back and just paying attention to what is going on.
There are three buzz items out there on the twitter universe that I would caution fans to overreact about as there is a lot of practice to go around still this off season.
1) The Dolphins QB battle
- While David Garrard does appear to be in the lead right now, we can’t look too much into the fact he has got the majority of first team reps early on. As Philbin noted every QB will get a shot with each unit and all the QB will be given a shot to battle it out.
- That being said for those in support of Garrard should be encouraged. Garrard does have the most NFL success behind him of the 3 options in Miami and RIGHT NOW appears to be the man in the lead. Sun Sentinel reporter Omar Kelly is willing to go to war to prove to fans he believes Garrard will be the man week 1.
- Note today Moore took the snaps with the 1st unit and looked good in the process. It is way too early to declare a winner in this race but it is certainly far from over. That being said it does look like the rookie Tannehill is a bit behind the two vets however I wouldn't put too much stock in that. Tannehill obviously has a lot of work ahead of him being a rookie.
2) Chad Ochocino’s strong start
- While Chad so far has impressed in his first few practices as a Dolphin it is still not a 100 % lock that Chad will make the team. Chad’s work ethic, leadership and likeability has probably made him the player that has impressed the most early on but that being said Chad will HAVE to impress should he want to crack this starting roster.
- Early on it appears Chad is in good shape and wanting to contribute this year but you never know with Chad and it’s too early to assume he will automatically be going back to his Chad Johnson days of old as a pro bowl WR.
Chad tweeted today,
" I look good... I feel good... I can breathe again... I'm walking with my head high... not questioning myself... damn he's back.. #DadeCounty "
-Side note on the WR position is that word is Davone Bess had a very solid today out there and that Hartline is still dealing with personal issues that has kept him from seeing the field.
3) Excitement over individual plays
- You will be hearing from the Dolphins beat, one player made a spectacular catch, or one player had a dominating sack. It is important to take a step back when reading these tweets. While you should be encouraged as the news is good but the thing the Dolphins coaching staff will be looking for this offseason will be the ability to consistently impress. Dolphin’s fans will be able to witness this first hand when the Hard Knocks HBO show debuts.
