While the rest of the media is focused on the emergence of Ryan Tannehill early in camp and how the defense looks, one has to look beyond the training camp battles and look at the man running the show: Head Coach Philbin.

One thing is for sure that Coach Philbin is a brilliant mind that brings a wealth of knowledge and experience.  He has never been a head coach, but he has been around long enough to acquire knowledge based on a multitude of experiences.

His way of addressing players is first evident when Chad Johnson complained he was open and did not get enough touches. 

What did he do?  Did he reprimand Chad? No. He went to David Garrard and said he did agree with Chad on some of the throws and to be aware that Chad was open.  That's it.  His calm demeanor shows that he can work with players.

He reminds me of many coaches over the years.  He reminds me of Don Shula.

The comparison can be lofty, but Philbin will be great for Miami.  Win or lose this season, he's going to put his stamp on this team.

Win or lose, Philbin's brilliance is defined by a practice regimen that might seem uncommon for the pro game.  Where 7 on 7 drills are typically conducted one team at a time with players watching, Philbin has first and second teamers on both sides of the field so he can evaluate both first and second team units.  Every player touches the practice field and is constantly moving.  It must be mass chaos from afar, but amidst the chaos comes beauty of a team gelling together and finding it's niche.

Win or lose, Philbin brings a positive energy to the meeting rooms by hiring the best staff to get the Dolphins to the next step.  Sure Mike Sherman was hired for the offense, but it's not the offense that will be the focal point of this team.  It's the defense and how Kevin Koyle is going to make the newly established 4-3 a force to be reckoned with.  Philbin earns respect immediately for his ability to delegate the duties to his coaches, place trust in them, but he still has his finger on the pulse and attends meetings for offense and defense.

Is Philbin coaching from the sidelines by calling plays?  No.  Coach Mike Sherman is going to call all plays down to the field.  This is brilliant. 

See, Philbin has changed the way things have been done in Miami in the past.  Coaches that have called plays, coaches that were hesitant to challenge a call, go for it on fourth down. 


Coach Philbin brings smart, tough, football to Miami and a lot of the team's success will be because of his knowledge and experience.


(Photo Credit: South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

-@DolphinMick

The drama of the Ryan Tannehill hold out is now over and the Dolphins coaches have already expressed there happiness of having Ryan in the mix at camp.

Armado tweeted,Coach Joe Philbin says his first impression is that Ryan Tannehill "threw the ball pretty well." I concur.

Tannehill has a bit of catching up to do if he wants a chance at competing for the starting job however I don't think all is lost by the 2 days he has fell behind.

Other Dolphins news today is that the Phins have decided to kick the tires on reciever Braylon Edwards. Edwards who is past his prime and has had issues throughout his career might be just another body brought in or might say something about B Hartline's injury.

It will be interesting to see what will come of the Edwards workouts however I don't think he will be given a contract. His size and skill could be asset but he is the true defenition of a diva WR.

This evening the Miami Dolphins and Ryan Tannehill came to terms on a rookie contract that will pay the Quarterback out of Texas A&M $12,668,502 and receive a signing bonus of $7,653,456. 

The exact terms of the deal are not yet known, but believed to be a 4 year contract with a 5th year option.  It is possible that offset language is in the deal, but the Dolphins are believed to have made some concessions.

Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported the deal through an NFL source and Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post contributed the possible contract details.

We should have more reaction on Tannehill's signing and what this means for Miami.  What it means for Tannehill, is he gets to compete for a spot on the depth chart and avoids a lengthy holdout.

Flourishing in the practice bubble is the veteran David Garrard as he takes over the bid for the starting quarterback position with a furor and passion to lead.  Yesterday, he took the limited reps he had and took the bull by the horns completing passes and scoring touchdowns much to the crowds delight.  I wonder if the Dolphins decided to hold a practice in Sun Life, would they boo Garrard in favor of Tannehill?

The Miami Dolphins on paper look more like a mish mash of potential CFL or USFL teams.  In hindsight, the constant disappointment in the month of March led to David Garrard, who might be the second coming of Chad Pennington of the 2008 season. 

In reality, the Miami Dolphins drafted well and have young talent at multiple positions, but mainly took care of business by signing stalwart defensive tackle Paul Soliai and Edge Rusher Cam Wake.

Is it important from a competition standpoint that the Dolphins have Ryan Tannehill in camp?  Of course it is. 

Is it a reflection that Tannehill is some spoiled brat with a trophy wife and a degree in Biology?  No. 

Everything that we read and here about Ryan Tannehill is that he is inexperienced, but yet has talent to improve considerably.

However, Tannehill was drafted 8th and caught in the middle of a team trying to save some money should he not pan out and an agent who does not have the wherewithal to take the deal as is with offset language for fear that he will be vilified by the rest of his fellow fraternity of agents.

Tannehill, however, needs to be in camp soon if he hopes to play this season. 

Is Tannehill just chilling at home watching the Olympics?  No.  He is working hard at refining his craft at IMG in Bradenton, FL with Chris Weinke who was a Heisman winner and first round draft pick. This is the same Chris Weinke who refined Cam Newton during the lockout last year. 

It is conceivable that this time tomorrow, the Miami Dolphins have signed their franchise quarterback and concessions are made.

The question is, will the Dolphins coaches trust Tannehill enough to challenge David Garrard for the starting role?

This morning the Miami Dolphins kicked off the 2012 season with 7 on 7 drills for the first official day of training camp.

Let's talk about the people who were there and not some far away hotel crunching numbers (Ryan Tannehill). 

Early on, from the looks of what was mentioned by both on the field reporters Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, David Garrard looked awesome, and Matt Moore was a bit inconsistent. 

Here are some tweets from earlier:

 ‏@ArmandoSalguero

"David Garrard threads another beautiful pass to Davone Bess who dives for the catch and gets the crowd's approval.

Garrard with a nice compltion to Clyde Gates. he's having a nice practice.

Garrard completion to B.J. Cunningham. Another nice pass."

Based on Armando's tweets, one can assume he might be a lock for the starting position since he could almost do no wrong at the start of camp.

Omar Kelly updated us fans on the status of John Jerry (has maybe lost 10 pounds...but moves like...) who now might not be a lock to make the roster with the Eric Steinbach signing and Artis Hicks competing for the starting spot at right guard.

Omar Kelly finds a way to intertwine his personal problem, a possum on his roof and then cuts to the chase with:

@OmarKelly

"Safety Kelcie McCray just picked off David Garrard.

Chad Johnson just dropped a Matt Moore pass.

Clyde Gates dropped just a beautiful long pass from Pat Devlin. Tough grab, but catchable TD

 The Dolphins are working with volleyballs during the special teams work.

Matt Moore just threw a decent 20 yard pass to Davone Bess. Garrard follows up with a nice slant to Jeff Fuller."

So based on Omar Kelly's observations, he too feels that Matt Moore is not the starter, at least his observations paint the picture that with 2 fumbled snaps, Moore is not impressing his OC Mike Sherman.  Grant it, Moore practices poorly, but it won't bode well or translate in games at the pace that this offense requires to get in and out of the huddle, make the reads, and snap the ball.

So, the first day is in the books.  Of all the camp tweets I read, I saw Clyde Gates name come up.  I also saw Jeff Fuller, Tannehill's target at Texas A&M.  I saw Roberto Wallace flash on Twitter.  Today is day one.  So, the coaches can now start challenging and sliding these guys into roles soon.

No, Ryan Tannehill has yet to sign, but I have a feeling he will in the next day or so.

After all, today is his birthday and he will be signing the biggest contract of his early career!  I think he can afford HBO and watch Hard Knocks this year!