Miami Dolphins: What We've Learned Through Week 2 of Training Camp
Training camp is a time of year when roster battles get heated—especially in a tropical climate such as the one the Miami Dolphins practice in at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida.
Those battles get so heated that they sometimes come to blows, quite literally, as wide receiver Rishard Matthews and cornerback Jamar Taylor proved at practice earlier this week.
The fistfight between corner and receiver may be the storyline that earned the most traction this week, but it's far from the only thing we learned from the reports that came out of training camp. Whether it's a player recovering from an injury or a youngster fighting for a roster spot or simply trying to find a niche, the Dolphins have seen several developments in their roster through two weeks of practice.
Here's a look at some of those developments.
Branden Albert Is Making Progress Toward a Full Recovery
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The offensive line has been the hot story of training camp, and left tackle Branden Albert is the best offensive lineman on the roster. He's also the one lineman whose health is a concern headed into the 2015 season, after suffering a torn ACL in November 2014.
But according to Omar Kelly and Chris Perkins of the Sun-Sentinel, Albert's recovery is finally making strides in the right direction. Kelly and Perkins report that Albert "is lining up as a starter, but he won't play Thursday night in preseason opener," and they add that his participation in Tuesday's practice was the "most he's done all camp." In fact, Albert hopes to practice at full speed soon.
"It's going to be sooner rather than later," Albert said Tuesday after practice, per Perkins. "I don't have an exact date, but it's going to be soon."
As long as it's sometime before September 13—the Dolphins' first game of the regular season—the offensive line won't have to worry about its best and most important member.
Rishard Matthews and Jamar Taylor Both Have Something to Prove
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Different players face differing degrees of pressure headed into the 2015 season. For cornerback Jamar Taylor, the Dolphins are hoping that the former second-round pick can develop into the starter that they expected him to be when they drafted him two years ago. For wide receiver Rishard Matthews, this is the first year in which he's facing life on the roster bubble.
Neither one proved his case in the fisticuffs that took place at practice on Tuesday, but both men proved that they are willing to fight (literally) for their jobs this summer. These kinds of things will happen in camp on a yearly basis, especially when players get sick of lining up across from the same teammates every day.
"Definitely ready to play somebody else, and I know Rishard is, too," Taylor said, per James Walker of ESPN.com. "We've been kind of going at it the past couple weeks. That's still my guy. I look forward to him making plays on Thursday and I look forward to making plays myself."
At least these two are willing to put the incident behind them. They'll both need to give their full attention to making plays in practice and in the preseason to prove they are worthy of their respective spots.
Ryan Tannehill Can Throw a Deep Ball
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Ryan Tannehill's deep ball. It's the topic so frequently discussed one could only describe it by using a GIF.
But for the first three years of Tannehill's career, that's been the biggest hole in his game. Whether he should bear the brunt of that blame, or the blame should fall on the shoulders of his receivers and offensive coordinators, is hard to tell. The important thing is that there is notable improvement, regardless of whose fault the previous missteps have been.
Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald indicate that Tannehill's deep ball has shown signs of life; he connected on four deep passes in a scrimmage on Sunday and threw a 19-yard laser to wide receiver Greg Jennings in Thursday's preseason game against the Chicago Bears.
Over the past two years, Tannehill was accurate (pass was either caught or dropped) on 20 of his 53 deep attempts in 2014 (37.7 percent) and 21-of-64 in 2013 (32.8 percent), according to Pro Football Focus. With that in mind, improvement is relative—and should really only be measured when the regular season rolls around.
But if the Dolphins can hit a higher percentage of their big plays, there will be less stress on the offense to execute flawless 80-yard drives down the field to score touchdowns.
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Dallas Thomas Is Getting Every Opportunity to Prove Himself in 2015
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The Dolphins drafted Dallas Thomas in 2013, hoping to convert him from a tackle to a guard. Three summers later, they are still giving him an opportunity to work at both positions.
According to Alain Poupart of MiamiDolphins.com, Thomas has been earning reps at both guard and tackle this summer. The plan appears to be for him to be the starting left guard, where he continues to get reps at practice, but he is also a top backup at tackle.
Thomas has started at both positions over the years, but he seems to be a better fit at guard. According to Pro Football Focus, he yielded seven sacks while playing tackle in 2014 but none while manning a spot on the interior of the line.
The Dolphins need at least two linemen to prove themselves worthy of a starting spot. Thomas appears to be on his way to doing that, and the coaching staff is giving him every opportunity to do so.
Ndamukong Suh Can Make an Immediate Impact
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You won't see Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh's impact in the box score of Thursday night's preseason opener against the Chicago Bears. He played just seven snaps and did not log a single tackle.
Suh's impact was felt more strongly on the field, where the Bears showed their knowledge and respect of him with double-teams on nearly every play. At some point, Suh is going to have to start making some plays to justify the $60 million guaranteed contract, but part of his job is also to help his teammates find success.
Suh drew a false-start penalty on one play and helped linebacker Jelani Jenkins stay clean to make a tackle on another play. The Bears also gave defensive end Cameron Wake a one-on-one blocking assignment thanks to a Suh double-team that allowed Wake to sack quarterback Jay Cutler—which was later called back on a penalty.
Suh's night was not perfect, as the defensive tackle had a neutral-zone infraction against him, but he also made the most of his limited opportunities to show that there are more ways to impact a game than meet the eye.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.
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