Kelly: Lessons Learned From Week One of Dolphins Training Camp
Teams evolve as the season progresses. Sometimes that evolution is out of innovation and creativity, and sometimes it's out of necessity.
The Miami Dolphins experienced a little bit of both during Week 1 of training camp because of the serious knee injury Jalen Ramsey suffered Thursday, and the fact Vic Fangio has seemingly taking the training wheels off his defense, which he's been teaching all offseason.
With the exception of Skylar Thompson's touchdown pass to Baxton Berrios, Kader Kahou's 7-on-7 interception of a Tua Tagovailoa pass, and the defense's 12-sack effort during Friday's 11-on-11 period, there weren't many highlight-worthy moments for the Dolphins in Week 1.
But there were plenty of plays to build on, and let's hope that's what happens next week, which begins Sunday when Miami holds its first practice in front of the fans.
Here's everything we learned from Week 1:
Tua Tagovailoa has been fine
I’ve seen years, if not decades, of mediocre practices because of lackluster quarterback play. I’ll spare you the names for the sake of your sanity, but Tagovailoa is fine. His play resembles Chad Pennington and Ryan Fitzpatrick more than it does Chad Henne and Ryan Tannehill. If you know my history with those four quarterbacks, you'll understand that's a compliment. On a daily basis, you see accuracy and precision passes from Tagovailoa.
The biggest issue Tagovailoa is having is he’s not benefiting from Tyreek Hill dominating, his weaponry is constantly changing (which is a choice the Dolphins have made) and he’s seemingly struggling to adjust to Fangio’s defense. Ultimately, all these issues should make him and the offense better down the road.
Tyreek Hill is off his game
Excuse it however you’d like, but Hill’s first week made him look like he’d lost his super powers. Hill, a seven-time Pro Bowler, blended in, and that’s not how a player on a Hall of Fame trajectory is supposed to practice. You can tell he's either slowed by a nagging injury, or his focus is off because he's had too many drops. Considering what he’s faced this offseason, who can blame him? But elite players respond to adversity like champions, and I’ll be watching Week 2 closely to see the adjustments Hill makes. There's no more Ramsey to line up against, so Hill should be making more plays regularly.
Jalen Ramsey’s absence creates opportunity
Even though there’s a December timeline for Ramsey’s return from his meniscus injury, the Dolphins would be wise to conduct themselves like he’s gone for the season.
That means using training camp and the exhibition season to find a capable starter to pair with Xavien Howard and Kader Kohou. Whether that player is a nickel who allows Kohou to work on the boundary exclusively, or a boundary guy whose presence allows Kohou to move inside in three-receiver sets will be determined by who steps up in practice. Cam Smith, Noah Igbinoghene and a healthy Trill Williams (he's not cleared for 11-on-11 work yet) should be viewed as the front-runners until Nik Needham, who started camp on the PUP, is cleared to practice.
Xavien Howard might go back to shadowing
Howard just about celebrated the thought of not having to shadow receivers anymore because of Ramsey’s addition this offseason. He was excited about the prospects of sticking to one side, especially playing in a scheme that features a lot of zone coverage. Now it seems as if having Howard shadow the opposition’s best player might be back on the table, especially while his colleagues are still establishing themselves. But this isn't a decision that needs to be made for another month.
Kohou picked up where he left off
Kohou was Miami’s top performing rookie, and so far he’s been the secondary's top performer after pulling down the week’s lone interception, and delivering tight coverage most of the week. The Dolphins need to decide if they want Kohou, who handled 900 snaps last season, to focus on the nickel spot, or they are willing to have him work on the boundary too. Wise coaches don’t put more on a player’s plate than they are ready to handle. Not sure we know how big Kohou’s plate, and appetite is. We’ll soon learn.
Vic Fangio’s defense is complex
My favorite part of this job is having the opportunity to learn something about football and people daily, and Fangio’s defense has a complexity to it that’s creating some challenges for me.
Every snap looks the same, but there’s usually a subtle difference that typically has a domino effect on the offense. As a result, Miami’s offense doesn’t resemble the unit that ranked sixth in productivity last season. They are laboring for every yard, every first down. That’s great to see, and will likely benefit everyone on the team. The first blitz day produced 12-plus sacks. Just imagine what can happen when Fangio marries some of his scheme and concepts with what these players have been doing in Brian Flores’ scheme the past few years. I do believe a marriage of both approaches could produce a top 5 unit.
Skylar Thompson is outperforming Mike White
It’s early, way too early, but based on the practices I’ve watched since the spring there hasn’t been a session where White has outperformed Thompson. It’s usually close, but Thompson has flexed on his colleague for time to time. Anyone who thought that Thompson was going to lay down, and gift-wrap the backup job to White is sadly mistaken. Thompson, the Dolphins’ 2022 seventh -round pick, is practicing as if his future is in jeopardy.
Dolphins like, not love, their backfield
Miami made a conscious decision to re-sign all four of the team’s veteran backs, and each of them holds a specific role and brings unique traits to Miami’s offense. Problem is, none of them possesses game-changing talent like Dalvin Cook, who is virtually begging the Dolphins to make him a better offer before he signs with the Jets. If I’m Miami’s decision-makers, I watch the first week of practice and see if something/someone intrigues me before I sweeten my offer to Cook. I’ve said front the beginning I’m offering Cook the same deal I gave Chase Edmonds, which was a 2-year, $12 million deal where the second year was really a team option. If I’m the Dolphins, I’d look at this decision this way: I’d rather him play for my team than face Cook twice a year while he’s playing for an AFC East rival.
Swing tackle spot is intriguing battle
I generally reserve judgment on O-line play until pads come on, which is Monday. But outside of Friday's dismal 12-sack performance, Miami's offensive line held their own despite the absence of Terron Armstead and Isaiah Wynn, two of the team's top six offensive linemen.
I entered camp curious about the talent level of the backup tackles, and based on what I've seen I'm convinced it’s better than what Miami had this time last year, which is a good starting point.
Kendall Lamm had a phenomenal first day, but then disappeared. Cedric Ogbuehi, a former first-round pick, looks capable, and Geron Christian and Kion Smith are also in the mix to become Miami's swing tackle.
We'll learn plenty about those players next week when pads come on, and the volume on practice's intensity gets turned up.
Practice schedule is unique
McDaniel clearly is a coach whose decisions are swayed by sport science, and it seems as if that’s at the heart of why Miami changed its practice schedule. Every practice week featured three days on the field. After that third day of on-the-field work there’s either a break, or a walkthrough getting the team ready for an exhibition game.
I’ve never seen this type of schedule before, but I’m open to it if it means players enter the regular season healthy. My only concern is that reducing the preparation time might result in lackluster execution. We’ll have a better indication of that answer when the joint practices arrive.
