Training Camp Practice 3 Observations: Willis Emerges, Douglas Busy, More

On the final day of their first block of practices, the Miami Dolphins saw their offense come to life after a tough start to training camp.

The team period during this practice focused on red zone work, so there were bounds to be at least a touchdown or two on this day, but there was a marked improvement regardless. And, yes, the defense still came up with some takeaways.

The Dolphins again had perfect attendance among players on the active roster, and we honestly can't remember the last time this happened for the first three practices of any training camp.

The only players missing from practice again were rookie wide receiver Chris Bell, and cornerbacks Darrell Baker Jr. and Storm Duck, but for the first time since the spring Duck appeared to watch practice.

This practice lasted almost two hours.

THE BIG STORY OF THE DAY

The offense with Willis at quarterback clearly was sharper. By our count, he was 6-for-10 passing with one or two touchdowns.

One of those was a completion in the back of the end zone to rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas where he made a one-handed grab, though it may have been out of bound. None of three officials was in position to make a call on the play and, shocker, offensive players were quick to sIgnal touchdowns while the defensive players were motioning as an incomplete pass.

Regardless, this clearly was a better performance for Willis, though this isn't to say we should be putting him in the Hall of Fame just yet. It simply was an improvement over the first two days. Just like the first two days weren't nowhere near enough reason for concern or panic. As we've written before, we need to maintain perspective when it comes to the Dolphins' new starting quarterback.

In addition to having more success passing, Willis also got to show off his running skills on a couple of QB keepers in this practice. That was highlighted by a touchdown run from inside the 10-yard line.

The undisputed touchdown came on a pass to tight end Ben Sims, who had another catch from Willis.

There were no "wow" throws by Willis on this day, though he did have a nice back-shoulder completion to Douglas, but the offense clearly was more efficient with him than either of the previous two days.

Willis was intercepted once, but that one wasn't totally on him because it occurred when linebacker Tyrel Dodson made contact with rookie right end Will Kacmarek as he attempted to catch a pass over the middle.

The one negative perhaps was that Willis' final three passes were incomplete, but one of those came when Douglas dropped a pass near the sideline.

Overall this was a solid performance by the new starting quarterback.

THE OTHER QBs

There really wasn't that much that stood out from Quinn Ewers, Cam Miller or Mark Gronowski, though the first (like Willis) were sharper.

We had Ewers completing 3 of 5 passes if we include a touchdown pass to Douglas on a play where Robert Beal Jr. quickly got to him for what likely would have been a sack or a throw-away in a regular season.

Miller had two completions, though both to running backs, while Gronowski had one pass that ended up low to the ground and either was incomplete or an interception by cornerback Ethan Robinson, though there again was no signal from one of the officials and the other defenders celebrated like it could have been a pick or simply a nice pass breakup.

OTHER PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

-- We've already mentioned Douglas quite a bit in this recap and, yes, he had himself quite the busy day. Besides the two potential TD catches, he had two othe receptions from Willis. The one negative about his play was a drop near the sideline. This was, though, overall a very positive day for him after he was quiet Thursday.

-- After dominating Thursday, Chop Robinson had a very quiet day. His most noteworthy moment came when tackle Austin Jackson knocked his helmet off while pass-protecting against him.

-- For a second consecutive day, Josh Uche got himself into the backfield to meet a running back.

-- While Carlos Washington Jr. again ran well, it was fellow young running back Donovan Edwards who had the nicest run of the day when he made a quick outside cut at the line to get around the defense for an 8-yard touchdown. That run was helped by wide receiver Tahj Washington sealing in Omar Brown with a block.

-- Kadyn Proctor's block helped spring Jaylen Wright on a successful run to the left side of the offensive formation, though Proctor later was beaten by Zach Sieler for a sack on the last play of practice. Proctor was asked after practice what he learned on that play: "Just got to stay engaged. That's the biggest thing. They dialed it up pretty well, the defense did and they won the competition, but that's all it's about – competition, having fun going out there. We can learn from that play. We'll get to it in the film room."

-- Veteran guard Jamaree Salyer had a good block to spring Wright on a run.

-- Jordyn Brooks blew up a run by De'Von Achane. Brooks later had really tight coverage on an incompletion to tight end Greg Dulcich, to the point where the offensive players were asking the official for a defensive pass interference call.

-- Fullback D.J. Herman, the converted rookie linebacker, again showed good hands, as he did all offseason as he caught two passes.

-- In addition to his interception, Austin did a good job of not overpursuing and maintaining the edge on an end-around by Tutu Atwell.

-- Rookie seventh-round pick Max Llewellyn made his first notable play when he chased Ewers out of the pocket and eventually out of bounds on a pass play.

-- Clelin Ferrell again was noticeable days after signing with Miami, though he did jump offside on one play.

-- The Dolphins are off Saturday before they return to practice Sunday for the first open session of the summer at 9:30 a.m. Fans can attend simply by showing up at the Baptist Health Training Complex, with no need to register for tickets.

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