As we finish the first week of training camp, here are ten thoughts on the Dolphins and the NFL.

• 1.  I thought that it was interesting that the Dolphins are switching to the Wide-9 front this season. The term Wide-9 comes from the fact that the defensive ends lines up in the “nine” position, i.e. on the outside shoulder of the tight end or on the outside shoulder of where the tight end would be if he’s not there. The front gives the defensive end a great angle to rush the passer from and, indeed, rushing the passer is his primary responsibility. 
  
  The problem with the Wide-9 is that it leaves the defense open against the run, one of the weaknesses of the Dolphins defense last season. I thought this comment from smartfootball.com was particularly relevant:
   
  “This technique (it’s a technique if anything, there is no such thing as the “wide nine defense”), obviously opens up all kinds of issues in the run game: the defensive end aligns so wide the interior offensive linemen can quickly get up to the second level defenders like the linebackers, and the defensive ends are easy marks for traps, draws and counter plays as they sprint upfield.”
  
  What this means is that the defensive tackles have to be particularly good penetrating against the run.  And Ndamukong Suh certainly qualifies, one of the reasons the Lions' defense was so good running the front while he was there. But my eye tells me that the other tackle position is a weakness. The statistics from ProFootballFocus back me up:
   
  “Playing alongside Ndamukong Suh in 2015, [Earl] Mitchell struggled mightily, finishing 97th among interior defensive linemen with a 64.1 overall grade. He was especially weak against the run, finishing 60th among defensive tackles with a 4.2 run-stop percentage (for an overall run-defense grade of 34.2). He didn’t grade positively after Week 8 of 2015, accumulating just three stops and four pressures during that stretch.”
  
  I will say in fairness that Gase obviously likes what he’s seen in non-padded practices.
   
  "I think more times than not, you see Ndamukong Suh really causing havoc on most plays, and Jordan [Phillips] has done a good job, Earl (Mitchell) has done a good job. Then when you look at our ends, especially the guys that have been out there with that first group, they're making it challenging on our edge guys."
   
  That’s all well and good.  But bear in mind that its all coming before the Dolphins have had a single padded practice from someone who has no reason to be negative at this point. Based upon performance last year in live action, the eye tells a different tail. It will be interesting to see if any boost from better coaching can offset the natural disadvantages afforded by the different front.
  
  
• 2.  If you go by what Armando Salguero at the Miami Herald says, running back Damien Williams is flat out blowing it.  Williams started camp on the PUP list.
   
  “Williams is out of shape and coach Adam Gase is not pleased with him because, I'm told, the player was out of shape a month ago and he remains that way. The coach would not disclose that Williams is out of shape but when asked if all players passed the conditioning test, he answered, ‘maybe not.’”
   
  It was my impression that Williams did much better running and catching the football late last season than most experts think.  But its obvious that the game isn’t too important to him if he can’t show up to training camp in shape, especially after being warned earlier in the offseason.
   
  The competition at running back is tight and Williams was likely to be no better than the third running back.  Arian Foster will almost certainly play a role if he’s healthy (at the least), Kenyan Drake is a third round draft pick,  Isaiah Pead is no slouch and is a veteran in this league and, finally, though the fans may not like Daniel Thomas, Gase apparently does. 
   
  If Williams finds himself out of a job come this September, he will have only himself to blame.
  
  
• 3.  Here’s a surprise. Michael Thomas has not only been lining up at nickel in place of Bobby McCain, who has been on the PUP list and just came off, but also at safety ahead of Isa Abdul-Quddus in the base defense as well. Abdul-Quddus is a good, young player who worked his way into the Lions starting lineup last year. I applauded the signing in the offseason as a player who the Dolphins could build around.
   
  It’s hard to judge such things early in the season and its always possible that the Dolphins just didn’t want to hand him anything. Indeed, Abdul-Quddus was back with the starters Saturday. But it's also possible that, like Damien Williams, he’s already in the dog house. This will be a situation worth monitoring.
  
  
• 4.  It’s hard to express anything short of complete disgust when confronted by the fact that no sooner does Dion Jordan get back from violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substance policy for the third time than he’s already on the NFI list because he’s recovering from offseason knee surgery.
   
  I don’t know when the surgery took place but Jordan has been suspended since April 2015. He could have sustained an ACL tear and been back in shape by now had he had the surgery anywhere near to that time. Instead, he chose to wait until he was close enough to being reinstated that, when it happened, he actually wasn’t even ready to play.
   
  It says here that the Dolphins and their fans are wasting their time worrying about a player that only accumulated 3 sacks since the Dolphins made him their first round pick in 2013. It’s obvious that he lacks both the desire and the common sense to be even a decent NFL player despite all of his physical talent that might appear to indicate otherwise.
  
  
• 5.  Comments by owner Stephen Ross setting expectations for a playoff run as camp opened this week struck me as not being particularly wise. "Our expectations are great.” Ross said. “To me, it's all about winning. I haven't been happy with myself as an owner to this point from a winning side."
   
  So much for under-promising and over-delivering.
   
  Delusions about the prospects of a team whose over-under in Las Vegas is seven wins aside, Ross is doing his new coaching staff no favors. By promising to win in what should be a rebuilding year coming off of a 6 win season, Ross is setting the South Florida fans up for yet more disappointment. Instead of touting the teams development of young players and selling hope for the future, Ross seems determined to sink Adam Gase and his associates in the court of public opinion as they barely get started.
   
  If this team produces a playoff run in 2016, I’ll be darned impressed and more power to them. But fans need to be told now that it doesn’t mean that everyone hasn’t done a good job this year if it doesn’t. Otherwise, he’s going to be looking at more public relations problems as fans continue to take him at his word and blame both him and everyone else when his expectations turn out to be an unrealistic pipe dream.
  
  
• 6.  On a note related to the Dolphins rebuilding effort, I’m starting to see criticism of the Dolphins depth at multiple positions. The suggestion is that signing more veterans is the way to alleviate this condition. I disagree.
   
  Young, unheralded players back up positions all over the league. On good teams, those players step up when called upon to take their place in the line up due to injury. This is a test of two factors: how well you have drafted and how well those players have been coached.
   
  Good, talented players can be coached up to a credible level as backups in the NFL if you have the right staff.  If you don’t, the usual number of injuries will devastate an NFL team no matter which team it is. It is not up to the Dolphins front office to sign more veterans to back up positions on a young, growing team. It is up to the coaching staff to develop that depth so that it doesn’t become an issue. If offensive linemen go down and the unit collapses as it did last year, that’s a deep problem that goes far beyond how many veterans you have.
   
  More than any other factor, how the team responds to injuries will tell us what kind of men the Dolphins have hired to guide their team. It will be something worth paying close attention to as the season progresses.
  
  
• 7.  Dolphins fans continue to wring their hands over the fact that Dallas Thomas is running with the starters at left guard as camp commences. I have two thoughts on this matter.
   
  First, don’t worry until Thomas is the starter in Game 1 of the regular season. It’s a long training camp and rookie Laremy Tunsil, who is seen as Thomas’s primary competition, has a lot to learn.
   
  Second, and I’m sorry to say this, I do think there is some possibility that Thomas will survive camp as the starter, though perhaps not long after that.
   
  Thomas has a bad habit of looking good in the preseason, as he did last year. That’s because defenses are typically generic in their looks and there isn’t as much blitzing, particularly exotic blitzing, as there is once the regular season starts and everything is for real. Unfortunately, this is where Thomas breaks down. Like the entire starting interior offensive line late last season, he was virtually helpless once the defense in front of him did anything unexpected. Or perhaps more accurately, when a defense did something that they should have prepared for and evidently weren’t.
   
  It’s most likely that offensive line coach Chris Foerster knows this. If I saw it, he certainly must have, albeit on tape. That means that A) Tunsil will be starting as soon as he’s ready or B) Foerster will have coached Thomas up to the point where he performs better. The latter might be the best thing for everyone as it will mean good things for every offensive lineman, not just Thomas.
   
  In any case, my advice would be to just relax and let the process play itself out.  The odds are we’ll learn a lot from it about this team no matter what happens.
  
  
• 8.  Packers fans were jumping off bridges with they found out that Jordy Nelson, already recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee, had a “hiccup” in his right knee. The term may or may not actually reflect the severity of the problem.  All that is known for sure is that he will start training camp on the PUP list.
   
  While this is a set back, it may not affect the Packers as much as people think. Last year all I heard was that the Packer offense was struggling strictly because Nelson wasn’t there. Though Nelson’s absence certain did (and possibly will) hurt, I can assure you it wasn’t the only reason the Packers offense struggled.
   
  Watching the games it was evident that something more fundamental was wrong. The offense wasn’t as crisp as it should have been with quarterback Aaron Rogers sometimes throwing to one spot with a receiver going to another.  Rogers was frequently caught holding the ball and scrambling in a way that the loss of one receiver, no matter how valuable, can’t explain. The Packers have made a living over the last decade in part by overcoming such set backs.  Last year was fundamentally different.
   
  It could be that the absence of head coach Mike McCarthy from the offensive meetings was what hurt the team. McCarthy shifted the play calling duties over to offensive coordinator Tom Clemons last year so that he could spend time with the other units. Indeed, McCarthy’s comments suggest that this was an issue.
   
  "There were times I was watching the game, especially early in the season, and it's hard not to turn into a fan," McCarthy said. "It's like, 'Geez! Wow!' I felt like on the headsets sometimes I was like a little cheerleader. But then we hit that patch and we got away from playing the way we want to play.
   
  "Everyone wants to talk about defense and offense and statistics but you have to have a realm of balance. And balance isn't 50-50. To me, when you get away from running the football and stopping the run as primary objectives, you're going to open yourself up to some issues. You're going to get into some games and it could get away from you."
   
  He’s back in the offensive meeting room this year and that could go a long way towards solving the problems that were so evident last year.  Packer fans better hope so. Because otherwise its a more fundamental problem that could be very difficult to over come with or without Nelson.
   
  This will be a situation that all NFL fans should be interested in monitoring.
  
  
• 9.  I know everyone is tired of DeflateGate. Believe me, I was tired of it long before you all were. That’s why I haven’t written much of anything on it.  But I do feel compelled to wrap this thing up with a very brief perspective that I haven’t heard expressed much.
   
  Tom Brady and the Patriots literally could not have handled this thing worse. Had both fully cooperated with the investigation, and particularly had Brady said something like, “Hey, the refs were over-inflating the balls. I told them to let some air out. I didn’t want them to be illegal. Just not over-inflated” this would have been over with almost no fuss. I’m not even sure Brady gets suspended at all.
   
  Instead, Brady smashes his cell phone and the team sends five lawyers into a room in an effort to intimidate the investigator. That’s extraordinarily bad. Because the NFL doesn’t have subpoena power and is therefore completely dependent upon the full cooperation of the players and the teams. The minute you fail to cooperate, that’s when they bring the hammer down. That’s what they have to do if they want to protect all of their member teams and all of the players that don’t cheat from damage. 
   
  Failing to cooperate it how the Saints lose Sean Payton in the bounty gate scandal. That’s how the Patriots lose a first round pick. And that’s how Tom Brady gets nailed with a four game suspension. Because it's serious business with broad long-term repercussions if you let someone get away with it.
   
  People try to tell me that they can’t believe Brady got such a severe punishment for deflating footballs. What they don’t understand its that this hasn’t been about deflating footballs for more than a year. As usual, its about the cover up. And that’s something the NFL simply can’t tolerate.
  
  
• 10a.  Bill Belichick gave a disgusted response to a reporters question? Say it isn’t so!
   
  In fairness, this was a particularly stupid question. The reporter asked if there was any chance that Jimmy Garoppolo could take the starting quarterback job from Tom Brady if he played very well the first four games of the season. The answer was “no” and Belichick was extremely clear on that the day before.
  
  
• 10b.  The situation in New York with the Jets quarterback situation is finally clearing up and Bryce Petty looks like the odd man out. The Jets got last year’s surprise star, Ryan Fitzpatrick, back into camp, knocking Geno Smith into the backup role. Smith has suggested that he’s auditioning for 31 other teams in the preseason but the Jets have made it plain that they have no intension of letting him go anywhere this season. This year’s second round pick will slot in as the developmental backup leaving Petty on the outside looking in.
   
  The question remains, “Why did the Jets apparently give up so quickly on last year’s fourth round pick? The answer might be found in recent comments that Petty made to nj.com about his progress.
   
  "This year, when I get a play call, I understand what's being asked of me," Petty said. "Last year, my focus was 'What am I doing?' I could barely touch the iceberg of what the defense was doing. Now that I'm comfortable, I get a play call and my focus turns to the defense.“
   
  The fact that after a year in the NFL, Petty is just getting to the point that he can red a defense suggests to me that he may have been just a bit more of a project than the Jets thought when they drafted him. It will be interesting to see if Petty garners any interest from other teams willing to pick up where the Jets left off once he’s cut.
  
  
• 10c.  Afraid to make season predictions because you don’t think you know anything? Want to feel better about your perspicacity? This is what media quarterback guru Ron Jaworski said two years ago when asked which he would rather have, Nick Foles or Russell Wilson:
  
  “I’m taking Foles.  Not even close. Russell Wilson is just . . . because of that system he is in. Russell Wilson plays with that defense, the best in football. He just managed the game very well. I think Russell Wilson has played terrific, a great maturity, but I’m going to take Nick Foles.”
  
  Yes, its very likely that you, as a fan, don’t know what you are talking about.  The secret is realizing that no one else does, either.
  
  But please keep reading anyway…

​​
This column was written by Tom Shannon. Follow him on Twitter: @bearingthenews

Day 3 of training camp brought shoulder pads and some players coming off the PUP list. Projected starting slot corner Bobby McCain and veteran running back Arian Foster both came to practice for the first time, and both caught the eye of the media in their first day.

Also worth noting, Dion Jordan finally came onto the field for the first time since being reinstated, and he was promptly placed on the Non Football Injury list, which means he won't be getting his $1.7 million dollar roster bonus, and the Dolphins will get to keep him moving forward.

With those little news tidbits out of the way, let's go through the list of things that stood out to me the most in day 3 of Dolphins training camp.
​

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, and it probably doesn't, but Laremy Tunsil looks like a natural playing at left tackle. Adam Gase gave starting left tackle Branden Albert the day off, which gave Laremy Tunsil the opportunity to spend the day working at is natural position in the veteran's absence.

And the difference was plainly visible.

Instead of struggling, Tunsil looked smooth and strong, his footwork was on point and blocking players appeared to be easy as breathing. He easily stonewalled Koa Misi on one particular play, letting running back Isaiah Pead slip by untouched.

So here's the thing. If you recall Saturday's report, I mentioned that I began to think about something watching Tunsil play tackle, and now after watching him be the starter for the whole day, I will voice it to you all now. What if Tunsil plays so well at tackle, that Miami will have to reevaluate their decision to make Tunsil play at guard?

Let's be honest, that has a very, very low chance of happening. Tunsil is the future, everyone inside and outside the organization knows this, but the present is starting to look a little murky in my eyes. The Dolphins no doubt think differently, but if it were me, I'd start investigating what Branden Albert looks like on the outside.

After three days of practice, I've started to notice a couple of trends with Texas Tech speedster Jakeem Grant, number one is that every time the ball is in his hands, things happen quick, fast and in a hurry. He zips by defenders without even trying, and in open space he's a nightmare to catch.

But on the downside, I've noticed that Grant has problems keeping his hands on the ball. After the first day, I was willing to overlook his drops. After the second day, I was starting to get a little suspicious. Now on the third day of camp, the drops have continued and I can see now that this trend has followed him from college to the NFL.

Now obviously, the scouting department wouldn't have bothered to recommend Grant if they felt that his drops couldn't be overcome, Grant is still an effective weapon in the making and his ability to make defenders miss and outrun them in a foot race is undeniable, but if he continues to struggle with actually catching the ball, whether it's on returns or in the offense, there will always be a lingering feeling of apprehension whenever the ball is heading his way.

But when he does get it, watch out.

There are a lot of buts so far in this report, I realize that. But (there's another one) it's just what caught my attention. When things are very up and down in evaluations, that particular conjunction is going to make several appearances. Now is its first big one.

Tannehill is doing a lot of things right so far in camp, he attempted a couple of deep passes in practice Sunday and he connected with DeVante Parker and almost hit Jarvis Landry, but the latter receiver dropped the pass right through his hands and in stride. A rare occurrence to say the least.

But the deep ball is no longer a factor in my mind, he's accurate enough with it that big plays, provided that the receiver in question doesn't require the ball to be somehow magnetized to his gloves. What is still an issue however is Tannehill's apparent unwillingness to commit to a progression and throw the ball. He's always struggled with holding onto the ball too long, and that's still a problem this year too so far.

Gase's offense so far consists mainly of short passes, and it's possible that the lack of longer routes is giving Tannehill problems finding a target, but that's just pure speculation on my part. As camp goes on and the routes get more complex, maybe things will change.

Kenny Stills seems to always be open, but because deep balls aren't really part of the offense yet, that doesn't mean a lot to most people. The thing is, Stills is getting open on comebacks, slants and crossing patterns too.

Stills is more balanced than he's given credit for, and considering Adam Gase wanted him in Chicago, that indicates he'll have a bigger role in the offense than we're all assuming.

DeVante Parker on the other hand is continuing his great catch making, but escaping coverage is still a concern. His cuts are getting better in routes, and it's nice to know that Tannehill has someone he can count on to throw it up to, but it would still be nice to see him actually escape the coverage rather than overcome it.

Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is not getting much action with the defense, and I am now understanding why he was so frustrated in the spring. The Dolphins seem unwilling to give him significant playing time in team drills, and so it's difficult for him to show what it was that made him so coveted in 2014. Hopefully, Miami will let him play more as time goes on.

Finally, Arian Foster returned to practice, and while it was very limited, we got to watch the veteran running back play in a Dolphins uniform for the first time. He caught a touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill with one hand and his vision looked on par with what everyone is used to seeing from him. But he's clearly on a pitch count.

Tomorrow, full pads will be on and the hitting will really begin, so hopefully the offensive and defensive lines will be the star of the show, and Laremy Tunsil in particular will show what he's made of.

This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater

Training camp usually means that several players come and go over the course of the summer, the first of what will no doubt be many more roster moves has just been made. In order to make room for CB Bobby McCain - who came off the PUP list - and newly signed CB Rashaan Melvin, the Dolphins waived tight end Jake Stoneburner.

Stoneburner, 26, worked his way up from the Dolphins practice squad last season and caught five passes for 47 yards, two of those going for touchdowns. Unfortunately for the young Ohio State standout, he missed the majority of OTAs with an injury and ended up buried on the depth chart.

More than likely, rookie TE Thomas Duarte out of UCLA will end up being the team's third tight end in Stoneburner's place, being a former wide receiver in college, he'll be an interesting weapon in head coach Adam Gase's offense. Stoneburner may very well be the victim of a severe logjam at the tight end position.

McCain was placed on the PUP list at the start of camp and missed the first two practices, the reason for his being placed there is unknown, but one could speculate that it's because of a failed conditioning test, as Adam Gase implied that not all of the players passed it. McCain is the current frontrunner to win the starting slot corner position.

After Saturday's practice, the Dolphins held tryouts for the cornerback position since their depth there is extremely suspect. The apparent winner of this tryout was 6'2" Rashaan Melvin out of Northern Illinois. He's a former undrafted free agent who has bounced around the league for the first three years of his career, spending time with the Buccaneers, Ravens and Patriots.

He's played a total of 12 games, eight of which were with New England last season, and he's only made 18 tackles and deflected one pass in his career. Melvin is another body on the roster to make up for the fact that Xavien Howard won't be available for quite some time, but whether or not he will be able to legitimately compete is yet to be determined.

This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater

It happened in slow motion. Cameron Wake burst off the line as usual with only one thing in mind: get Tom Brady on the ground. He'd just started to hit his stride, seven sacks in the past three games, he'd somehow single-handedly rejuvenated the Dolphins' pass-rush.

Then it all stopped in an instant.

On the way towards Brady, Wake's achilles tore.

“As soon as it happened, I knew.”

Even then, Wake refused to give up on the play. He hobbled along on one leg and - miraculously - almost made it to Brady and got the sack.

Which is all that he was thinking about until the second whistle blew.

“Get to the quarterback. That was the only thing on my mind." Wake said after practice on Saturday. "All the other things are kind of in the distant, distant realm of your thought process. I’ve actually watched the play once. Even after (the injury), I still tried to get the job done on one foot but I didn’t really have anything left. I went down and the guys came and got me and from then on, it was all about doing everything I can to get back on the field.”

Wake has been called a workout warrior, even a freak of nature at times. His ability and talent even at the advanced age (by NFL standards) of 34 is mind-boggling. So when the injury took place, especially given the nature of it, most people assumed that Wake now had a hard decision to make on the future of his NFL career, and he did, and it didn't take him long to make it.

“The second the play happened.”

He was coming back.

Cameron Wake has faced adversity all throughout his career, he's overcome countless obstacles to get to where he is today and he had to work hard to get there. So of course, rehabbing from an injury would be considered just another obstacle, and that's what Wake played it off as every time someone asked him about it.

Until now.

“The funny thing is the physical part – I'm not going to say it’s easy – but it's something that you're very used to." Wake said. :I've built muscle throughout my life – built strength, you run, you lift – all of those things are part of your daily routine, part of your job description. Muscle fatigue, feeling that burn, so to speak is not new. Running is not new. Lifting weights is not new.

"Being mentally strong when you can't get out of bed and you have to put your feet up for 30 hours a day, that's the hard part."

Competition is what Cameron Wake is all about, he's always been proactive in trying to overcome challenges and if he needed to be better at something, he would just train harder and push his limits to get to where he wanted. So what could be worse for someone like him than to be forced to sit around and do nothing?

“That was the hardest part, to be honest." Wake said. "It was that time when I was, quote-unquote, immobile. I'm not a guy who watches TV. I don't sit in bed. I'm not built that way. So for a doctor to say, 'Hey, you can't work out. You can't get out of bed. You can't walk around, you can’t, can’t, can’t…' that’s like a four letter word – can’t – to me."

"I just wanted to get up. I wanted to do one-legged hops up and down my stairs in my room. But obviously, you have to think long-term. You have to think about December and next year and so-on and so-forth, and be smart. That next level of intellect had to overcome that raging beast that I feel like I am and calm myself down and do the right thing.”

And of course, like every other challenge set before him, Wake conquered it and managed to get back on the field as he always intended, once again defying all odds and proving naysayers wrong.

So now he just has to make sure he doesn't push himself too hard and hurt himself again, and that's proving to be yet another challenge.

"It’s one of those things where you have to work yourself back into it." Wake said. "I'm trying to be smart about doing just enough and finding that sweet spot. You don’t want to kill yourself but you also got to get ready for the season. As you all know, that’s a big weight on my body, a weight on my mind. It’s a lot of stress."

The Dolphins have kept Wake out of team drills for the most part so far, what few snaps he was getting were against the second team offense, while Andre Branch took the starting snaps opposite Mario Williams. But according to Adam Gase, Wake isn't losing much by not fully participating.

“For us, the biggest thing is, if you watch individual (drills), he’s doing a lot in the individual (drills). You always forget that that time is valuable for those players and it is very taxing on them." Gase said. "So you can’t just look at, ‘Well he’s only getting two plays a period,’ or ‘He’s only getting four plays a period.’ I think today they ended up going almost 30-plus minutes in individual. I mean that’s a lot of time on him."

​Wake has had a very storied career, and even if he did decide to retire, he would no doubt go down in Dolphins history as one of the best players ever to wear aqua and orange. But for the time being, he'll continue to battle through the greatest challenge of his career: playing less.

But, being the ultimate team player he is, Wake is willing to go along with it.

“Enough to do whatever I can to help the team win will be enough." he said. "I’ve never had a number. Some days I’ve had 80 snaps and there have been days when I haven’t had that many; but when I’m out there, just doing whatever you can to make those snaps the best snaps, that’s all I’m really concerned about.”

This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater

Day 2 of training camp is now in the books and the pads still haven't come on yet. Per NFL rules, full pads aren't allowed until the third day of training camp, but according to early reports, Gase won't utilize full pads until Monday morning. 

However, that doesn't mean there isn't anything interesting to talk about. The Dolphins did a lot of scrimagging this morning and there were certain players that stood out to me, as well as some choices made by the players in-play that had me wondering why they did what they did.

Obviously, this being just the second day of training camp, any reactions on my part should be downplayed as there's still plenty of time for things to change. But, that's what a report is for, to recap the day's events and what stood out to me. Let's get started.
​

It's only been two days of camp so far, but if there's one thing I've noticed is that short passes seem to be extremely popular in the offense. Throws into the flat, throws over the middle, screens, slants and crossing patterns, all the completions are short ones.

There were very rare moments during camp Saturday morning that intermediate and even a deep route was utilized, but that came from Matt Moore and it flew over the head of wide receiver Griff Whalen with Tyler Patmon in coverage.

​Needless to say, it's very difficult to make an offense run when ninety percent of your passes don't even travel ten yards. It's not impossible (see New England Patriots), but it is very difficult. However, as my friend Max Himmelrich of TheDeepEndMiami speculated, it's possible that the Dolphins are saving some of the more explosive offensive strategies for later on, in order to get the players loosened up and prevent injury from pushing too hard too soon.

Makes sense.

So far, the offense has been utterly unspectacular, but given that it's only the second practice, it's not even close to panic time. If this continues all throughout camp, then some red flags will be raised. Until then, let's relax a little.

On Friday, I voiced concern regarding the absence of Cameron Wake on the first team defense, with Andre Branch taking the spot opposite Mario Williams. That pattern repeated itself on Saturday.

However, this time I was able to get a much better view of what happened, and I saw that Wake was working against the right tackles on the second team defense, easily running past Billy Turner (who had rotated in) and looking strong pushing against Vinston Painter and Billy Turner.

The fact that Wake isn't working with the first team is a little puzzling, it's possible that they are trying to make sure Branch gets some work in since all indications are that Gase wants Wake to work as a pass-rush specialist. Add to that the fact that Mario Williams is also working against the right tackles.

Wake is 34 years old and coming off an achilles injury, it's a miracle in and of itself that he looks as good as he does even early on. Gase explained after practice that Wake is doing a lot in individual drills, which explains why he isn't doing much in team drills, but the fact remains that Wake appears to be on the right track, and my personal choice for face of the franchise (and South Florida sports) will be back when the season starts and ready to rock.

All along, ever since he signed with the Dolphins near the beginning of the offseason, defensive end Mario Williams has said that all he really wants to do is rush the passer, and that's exactly what he's getting to do in defensive coordinator Vance Joseph's defense.

And he looks darn good doing it.

There were at least two instances during practice Saturday that I felt Mario Williams would have had a sack on Ryan Tannehill, working against starting right tackle Ja'Wuan James. Of course, Ja'Wuan James isn't exactly an unfamiliar opponent for the veteran pass-rusher, he's gone up against him twice a year for the past two seasons.

Okay, so James didn't play against the Bills in last year's rematch, so technically they've faced off only three times, but I digress.

Williams has been under scrutiny since he "gave up" as a member of the Buffalo Bills last season under Rex Ryan's defense. It was no secret he didn't appreciate having to be in coverage and so his performance and numbers suffered dramatically. So far in Miami, all indications are that Williams will be back to being a dangerous pass-rusher again, just like he always wanted.

I'm well aware that Tunsil was on my list during the first day of practice, so why is he on the list again one day later? It's very simple, he played with the starters today, but not just at left guard, no sir.

He got some practice time at left tackle.

Now what makes this interesting isn't the fact that Tunsil got practice at left tackle, they've been moving him inside and outside all throughout the offseason. But this time he got some work with Ryan Tannehill as the quarterback at the time, that fascinates me.

If I may just take a moment to be frank, I still believe that Tunsil will eventually emerge as the starter at left guard when the season begins. Dallas Thomas is currently the starter but I just cannot see that happening when it counts again. With that said, I will very readily state that Tunsil looks much better and smoother at left tackle, and that is - of course - to be expected.

Tunsil is the left tackle of the future. We know that, the Dolphins know that, Tunsil knows that, and even Branden Albert - the current starter at LT - knows that. But Gase has said he wants his best five guys on the field at any given time, and so it seems that they are going to keep trying to see if Tunsil has what it takes to play guard for a while.

But it does get me thinking.

I did find it interesting that Billy Turner rotated in at right tackle, especially since Miami has shown that they envisioned Turner as a guard ever since they drafted him a few years back.

I finally got a decent look at Ifo Ekpre-Olomu. He was working with the third team on the boundary and he was able to keep with Matt Hazel in press and zone, the problem is, the ball was never thrown in his direction so I didn't get to see how he does when the ball goes his way. He looks healthy, but I don't know if he can perform at a high level.

DeVante Parker's route running looks smooth and crisp, and Jakeem Grant's speed is continuing to benefit him in the offense, he slipped right past Tyler Patmon without even trying hard and there's a good chance he'll be able to keep doing that once the pads come on.

I'll be at camp tomorrow too, so make sure you stay tuned for all the latest news from Dolphins training camp.

​This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater

The Miami Dolphins today announced former Dolphins Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Taylor has joined the preseason radio broadcast team on WQAM. Taylor will serve as an analyst alongside Joe Rose with Jimmy Cefalo handling the play-by-play duties.

​The news was announced on “The Audible,” the team’s new 30-minute produced show live streamed on Dolphins.com, the Dolphins app, Facebook Live and Periscope that features unique perspectives on the team with long-form conversations, interviews and social media interaction where fans will have the ability to ask questions and take part in the discussion.

Taylor served as an analyst on ESPN throughout the 2012 season, appearing on NFL Live, SportsCenter, NFL32 and Sunday and Monday NFL Countdown. In 2014, he served as a regular on Pro Football Talk, the NBC Sports Network show hosted by Mike Florio. In 2015, he was an analyst on SiriusXM NFL Radio’s weekly NFL show. Taylor made his broadcast booth debut as a game analyst on Oct. 31, 2015, covering the University of Georgia-University of Florida game for Westwood One Sports.

Taylor played 15 seasons in the NFL, including 13 years with the Dolphins (1997-2007, 2009 and 2011). He ranks sixth all-time in NFL history for most career sacks with 139.5 and is the all-time NFL leader in fumble return touchdowns with six. He won numerous awards throughout his career, including the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award and the 2007 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, the only league honor that recognizes both on-field achievements and off-the-field contributions.

Taylor also was a six-time Pro Bowl selection (2000, 2002, 2004–2007), a four-time first or second team All-Pro (2000–2002, 2006), a two-time NFL Alumni Association Defensive Lineman of the Year (2005, 2006) and the NFL Alumni Association Pass Rusher of the Year (2000).

All Dolphins games can be heard on 560 WQAM and KISS 99.9, the flagship stations of the Miami Dolphins Radio Network, Dolphins.com and throughout South and Central Florida on the more than 12 stations that make up The Miami Dolphins Radio Network.

In addition to the game broadcasts, the stations will feature expanded pre, halftime and postgame shows. Dolphins fans who tune into Miami's Sportsradio 560 WQAM will have the opportunity to listen to live broadcasts of Head Coach Adam Gase’s day-after game press conferences and “Dolphins Friday,” a day of Dolphins’ centric-content on the station featuring interviews with players, coaches and team executives.

Training camp is finally underway and the first day of practice brought with it a lot of changes. First of all, though it does block the view a little at certain times, the new canopy is a major blessing. In previous years the sun would beat down on fans and make it seem unbearably hot. Now though, with the sun blocked by the canopy, the heat is more tolerable.

The crowd sure seemed to appreciate it as well, as several fans made their way through the fun zone that was set up just outside the practice field and into the stands to watch the Adam Gase-led Dolphins practice for the first time, and the fans seemed very excited - and even impressed - by the sight.

But while the canopy and the fun zone were nice little bonuses, they came to see the Dolphins play when all is said and done. Other than the fact that the Dolphins didn't spend their intermission in the practice bubble this year, there didn't seem to be an abundance of changes made as opposed to previous years.

It's only the first practice, and changes may be noticeable given time, but for now, let's just focus on the things that stood out to me on the first day of training camp.
​

Bear in mind that until the pads come on - which isn't allowed by the NFL until the third day of camp - all evaluations should not be taken as seriously as they normally would. When the most you can do is two-hand touch, it means that conditions aren't as real as they should be.

With that said, my first impression of DeVante Parker in what is his first training camp (he missed 2015 with a foot injury), Parker looked smooth and had an impressive first day. He made catches and while he was on the outside, his routes appeared crisp and his movements in tight coverage looked impressive. That's a good sign, considering that was one of his weaknesses last season.

But as this is the first day of camp and he hasn't truly faced press coverage with full pads, it will still be a couple of days before we can evaluate whether or not Parker can get off press coverage adequately, instead of having to always make a "spectacular" catch. As a friend of mine told me, making the amazing catch is great, but why did he have to make it in the first place.

Parker appeared to spend the majority of his time on the boundary as an X-receiver, which was the intention when the Dolphins drafted him last season. Hopefully he can continue showing what he can do as camp continues, and prove that he can handle the responsibility of being the Dolphins' "Number One" wide receiver.

Sticking to the wide receiver position, rookie Jakeem Grant showed a lot of promise in special teams drills. His speed and elusiveness were on full display during punt return drills, as he blew past cornerback Tony Lippett without even trying hard.

Grant has the potential to be a dangerous weapon in both the return game and in the regular offense. He had trouble maneuvering around trash cans that were placed to simulate tight coverage at first, but he was able to figure it out as time went on. 

Even the crowd seemed enamored with Grant, as they oohed and aahed every time he zipped past defenders and showed just how fast he was in the return game. Ironically enough, though Grant always practiced while he was there, he never returned a punt in college. But he did have trouble catching the ball, letting a no-pressure situation punt fall out of his hands, a concern fans had about the miniature receiver.

Grant's lack of size will also work against him in the offense, but he could potentially act as a Darren Sproles-type weapon, coming out of the backfield and chewing up yards in space. When the pads come on and hitting becomes allowed, we will see if Grant's speed and elusiveness is enough to make up for his small stature.

Adam Gase really pushed the redzone offense in the first day of camp, most of the team's scrimmages were based on trying to score touchdowns inside the 20-yard line. When trying to score in that area, it becomes increasingly tight the closer you get to the endzone without actually scoring.

So in most circumstances, you have one of two options. Try to run the ball with your running back, or try to toss a fade into the corner of the endzone and let the receiver go up and get it. Every once in a while you'll be able to beam it in, but in such tight quarters, that is a dangerous choice to make.

​Tannehill has struggled to throw the fade ever since he entered the league, and now entering his fifth year of training camp, that doesn't appear to be changing any time soon. Tannehill tried to throw a fade into the left corner of the endzone during an 11 on 11 scrimmage, and the ball - at least from my angle - was just a little out of reach of tight end Jordan Cameron.

Someone else who was there later and had a different angle said that the ball fell through Cameron's hands, so it's possible Tannehill wasn't at fault. Nevertheless, the fact remains that fade routes are one of the most difficult things for Tannehill to throw, and unless he can figure out how to put some careful touch on his passes in the redzone, Adam Gase will have to find another way to score touchdowns.

Last season, I naively believed that the improved play of Dallas Thomas in training camp meant that the former third round pick had finally figured out what he was doing. I was later proven wrong. Now, he currently stands in as the starting left guard once again while 2016 first round pick Laremy Tunsil acts as the primary backup.

But this cannot be the case when the season starts.

Miami was and is banking on Tunsil making a clean transition from tackle to guard after spending his entire college career at left tackle. The players he faces are bigger than he's used to, and defensive end Jason Jones was able to beat him inside and get to the quarterback on at least one play that I saw. Not good.

Then there were plays where I saw him hold his own, but those weren't as abundant. I fully intend to get a better look at Tunsil once the team gets into full pads and the hitting starts, but at the moment it seems that we'll be watching Tunsil go up and down like a yo-yo for a while, at least until he can get used to the change in play style.

​There were many things of note in the first day of camp, but those are what stood out to me most. Honorable mentions include how Michael Thomas was acting as one of the starting safeties in the base defense, then moved to the starting slot corner position whenever the defense went nickel.

Then there was how Kenny Stills played in the slot at certain points during drills, indicating that Gase fully intends to move the receivers around and try to create mismatches on the field.

In the backfield, Jay Ajayi appeared solid catching passes during drills, while Daniel Thomas actually showed some promise. Shocking to be sure for Dolphins fans, but Adam Gase liked what he saw during Thomas' brief time in Chicago, so with Damien Williams and Arian Foster on the PUP list, no doubt he'll be looked at carefully.

Tomorrow is another day, and I'll be keeping a close eye on these players and more, including defensive end Dion Jordan, who will be back in practice after being conditionally reinstated. Make sure you check back frequently for more Dolphins news throughout the coming days and weeks.

This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater

For those who were looking forward to seeing what certain players could do with a brand new coaching staff, you're going to have to wait a little bit longer.

The Miami Dolphins announced today that five players - CBs Xavien Howard and Bobby McCain, RBs Arian Foster and Damien Williams, and LB Zach Vigil - have been placed on the physically unable to perform list.

Foster is the most notable name on here. Just last week the veteran running back spoke to reporters after signing with the Dolphins and informed them that he was totally healthy and would be ready to go. He's been trying to come back from a ruptured achilles that he suffered last season, so despite Foster's reassurances, it makes sense that the Dolphins are trying to play it safe and start him off slow.

It was reported days ago that Xavien Howard would be placed on the PUP list after he had his knee scoped, so it comes as no surprise that the second-round draft pick would be officially announced as physically unable to perform. The Dolphins have stated they expect Howard back at the beginning of the regular season as a worst-case scenario.

Bigger shocks however are the additions of Bobby McCain, Damien Williams and Zach Vigil to this list. With the Dolphins secondary already paper-thin, McCain - who is the frontrunner to win the starting slot cornerback position - being added to the list with a yet to be disclosed injury should be cause for concern. This will most likely open the door for Ifo Ekpre-Olomu to show what he can do in the slot until McCain returns.

Williams was a player already on the roster bubble after the addition of Arian Foster. After being used only on 52 carries and gaining 181 yards (3.5 yards a carry) on the ground, Williams hasn't shown much as a running back since his initial rookie season when he and current New York Giants running back Orleans Darkwa impressed in 2014. His true worth is as a receiver out of the backfield, but that too can be done well by Foster.

Now, the running back corps consists of Jay Ajayi, rookie Kenyan Drake, former St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Ram Isaiah Pead, and Daniel Thomas, who was brought back on March 31st.

Vigil was projected to compete for the primary backup MLB spot. After impressing in camp during his rookie season, Vigil struggled to perform when given the opportunity in real-game situations. He played in all 16 games last year and started two of them, with the rest going to departed veteran Kelvin Sheppard. While only having 11 tackles, he did block a punt that led to a Dolphins touchdown on the following offensive drive, so the potential is still there for him to be a solid player.

Players get placed on this list usually as a precautionary measure. If the stay on the PUP list extends well into the preseason, then there should be cause for concern. But for now, the most logical conclusion is that they are playing it safe with these players, and are making sure that they will be ready to go when the time comes, while simultaneously opening the door for some surprise players to take the stage.

This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater

For a while, it seemed like it wouldn't happen despite all the previous good news that had been reported, but at long last the NFL has approved the conditional reinstatement of Miami Dolphins defensive end Dion Jordan.

Jordan, 26, had been suspended by the league indefinitely for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, and he applied for reinstatement on June 1st. After nearly two months of waiting and several releases from his agent and trainer regarding his physical and mental status, the former third overall pick has finally been given the green light to rejoin the team with a few provisos in place, apparently in hopes that he'll be able to remain clean from here on out.

The NFL reinstated Jordan in the middle of the Dolphins' first day of training camp, and they released a statement regarding the status of the former Oregon standout.

It's a strange sense of calm that is being displayed by the Miami Dolphins organization as training camp gets set to begin. There are still many questions that need to be answered, and there are a lot of holes on the roster that are seemingly unfilled even now.

One position that has been the subject of much scrutiny all offseason is cornerback. Miami traded for Byron Maxwell to take over for the departed Brent Grimes, and they drafted rookie Xavien Howard to compete for the second corner spot. But now Howard is going to start camp on the PUP list, making the depth at corner even more shallow.

And the Dolphins seem totally okay with that.

"It is what it is right now." Gase said on Tuesday. "He (Howard) is not going to be there and it gives a bunch of guys a chance to step up and see who wants to try to make this team. We will see how it turns out. I’m interested to see how it plays out.  I think it’s great for Tony (Lippett). It’s more reps for him and it’s going to be more reps for somebody else that gets a chance to step into that role."

Howard was injured on the last day of minicamp and had to get his knee scoped. The Dolphins expect him to - at worst - be ready for the regular season. But this means that Howard will miss out on valuable practice time, time he could've used to learn consistency in his coverage skills, which he struggled with in college.

This also means that the default starter opposite Maxwell is now second-year player Tony Lippett, who spent his rookie season learning the cornerback position after being primarily a wide receiver at Michigan State. He only played in nine games, and he only got 13 tackles and deflected a pass, one that was almost an interception against Tom Brady in the final game of the season.

The Miami Dolphins on Friday, July 29 will debut “The Audible,” a 30-minute produced show live streamed on Dolphins.com, the Dolphins app, Facebook Live and Periscope. The show continues the organization’s strategy to deliver more compelling content to fans in ways in which they like to consume it as well as giving the fans a voice through interactive access.

Miami Dolphins alum Kim Bokamper will host “The Audible,” featuring unique perspectives on the team with long-form conversations, interviews and social media interaction where fans will have the ability to ask questions and take part in the discussion. The program will air across multiple platforms on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4:30 p.m. each week during training camp presenting Dolphins content in real time, with new guests every show.

“The Audible” joins a portfolio of Dolphins programming unveiled this spring, including “Dolphins Daily,” “Dolphins Live” and “Madison Avenue.”

Image Credit: Miami Dolphins

Back in the day, NFL coaches didn’t give a crap about things like the weather. Players were expected to show up, suit up, and give it their all whether it be in cold, heat, humidity, or shoe-sucking mud. Many old school coaches believed practicing in adverse conditions better prepared players for playing in them. Northern teams that played home games outside in December had a marked advantage over a team flying in from a tropical locale, and the heat often wreaked dehydration havoc when those northern teams visited hot muggy Florida in September.

Nowadays, with nearly every team facility sporting an air-conditioned practice bubble, and many teams sporting climate-controlled domes, you would be excused for thinking the NFL wanted to play every game in 72-degree, dry calm weather.

Adam Gase may be a throwback to those days gone by.  

Although the Miami Dolphins new head coach has coached in several cooler climates during his career, with stops in Detroit, Denver, and Chicago, he also spent three years as a graduate and recruiting assistant for Louisiana State University. So he knows a thing or two about heat and humidity.

“I mean it's going to be different than Denver,” he said. “And obviously it's going to be different than Chicago. I mean it is what it is - it's hot, cold - it shouldn't matter to our players.”

Those players better think twice about complaining about the weather, as they’ll likely see zero sympathy from Gase. When asked if he’d heard about or had any concerns about South Florida’s brutally hot and humid training camp weather, Gase simply said, “I'm a little disappointed to be honest with you.

“Baton Rouge is way hotter than it is down here. So if I hear anybody complain about weather, I'm going to be severely disappointed.”

Gase does plans to hold practices outdoors, as training in the heat and humidity can give players an edge when certain teams from a northeastern locale come to town.

“If you’re training in the heat … it’s an advantage for us.”

Gase also doesn’t see any reason to take it easy on any players, be they rookies or veterans, during camp. For him, this is the time to push players to their limits, and see who the toughest guys are.

"We (have) 35 guys under 25,” said Gase of the second-youngest team in the NFL this year. “So it's not going to be a cupcake. We're here to work. I mean we need to get better. We were 6-10 last year (and) the team up in New England has won the division like 13 out of 16 years. We got a lot of work (to do)."

“What are we going to do when it gets tough?” asked Gase. “Because it’s going to be tough in camp. There’s not going to be any special treatment. We’re going to work, and we’re going to make it hard, and we’re going to see - when it really gets tough - who’s going to rise to the top, and who’s going to fall off.”

Buckle up, folks (and players), there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s old school.

This story was written by Eldon Jenson. Follow him on Twitter @EJFootball

With Miami Dolphins defensive end Dion Jordan’s impending return from suspension looming, one of the sticking points has been the roster bonus due to Jordan should he be on the roster five days after training camp begins. And with training camp set to begin this Friday, that roster bonus would kick in next Tuesday, August 2.

Jordan is set to earn a base salary of $585,000 this season, with the $1,690,209 bonus due once that roster bonus kicks in. However, a report from the Sun Sentinel states that because Jordan violated several of the terms of his original contract, and because language included in that contract appears to address withholding bonuses for those violations, Jordan may not be entitled to the roster bonus after all.

Other media outlets are disputing the report, and as of this writing nothing has been confirmed. A Miami Herald report also shows that the Dolphins are due a refund of Jordan’s 2015 roster bonus of $3,335,418.

Stay tuned, as we’ll update as more concrete information comes to light.

This story was written by Eldon Jenson. Follow him on Twitter @EJFootball

Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase dropped an interesting tidbit Tuesday morning during his press conference when he announced that rookie cornerback Xavien Howard had undergone knee surgery and would begin camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. No other players are listed as injured at this point.

This is an obvious blow to the Dolphins secondary, which was already seen as an area without a lot of depth. Howard was expected to step in as the starting cornerback opposite of Byron Maxwell, but rookies need all the reps they can get in training camp, not only to learn the defensive schemes and calls, but to acclimate to the speed of the NFL as well.

Gase indicated that Howard was hurt on the final day of mini camp last month, and had his knee scoped. He also indicated that ‘at worst’, Howard is expected back by the first game of the regular season.

Howard’s injury opens the door for second-year cornerback-turned-receiver-turned-cornerback Tony Lippett. Lippett has good size (6’3”) and fits well in defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s press coverage scheme.

“This is a great opportunity,” Gase said earlier this summer. “We’re looking for somebody to step up. Opportunities are going to be given. We’ll see what guy rises to the top.”

The Dolphins are also expected to look at veteran cornerbacks available on the open market.

This story was written by Eldon Jenson. Follow him on Twitter @EJFootball

September 13, 2015 was the day. Do you remember that day? That was the day when the Miami Dolphins opened their 2015 regular season versus the Washington Redskins. It was supposed to be the start of a turnaround season for the Dolphins.

A season when the defense was going to dominate with the new Ndamukong Suh addition. A season when Ryan Tannehill was going to take the next steps to be a true franchise quarterback to match his new, increased salary. A season when the Fins were expected to end their postseason drought. After the Dolphins beat the Redskins on that day, there were more questions than answers.

The following loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 2 illustrated that the team was headed for a similar season outcome as they had for the prior six seasons.  And, as expected from the sluggish start, the Miami Dolphins ended the 2015 season with a disappointing 6-10 record.

​After mid-season coaching changes, an offseason roster overhaul, and many offseason coaching staff changes, we are right around the corner from football, when the Dolphins have the opportunity to change their losing ways. Heading into the 2016 season, however, there are still more questions than answers:
​

From Tony Sparano’s passiveness to Joe Philbin’s indecisiveness, the Miami Dolphins are in need of a coaching staff that will create plays and schemes to best utilize their players' talents.

​The last few Dolphins coaching staffs have rarely developed rookies into consistent contributors, instead spending high amounts of money on top free agents who were developed with other teams. This Miami Dolphins team needs a winning culture with a coaching system that develops all players into everyday contributors.

During Ryan Tannehill’s first three seasons leading the Miami Dolphins, he took steps forward each year. However, during the 2015 campaign, Tannehill noticeably took steps backwards. Although he has had many uncontrollable influences over his Miami Dolphins tenure (bad offensive line, tumultuous coaching, lack of wide receiver talent), he has yet to prove he is a top tier quarterback.

​With Adam Gase taking over the head coaching duties, the improved offensive line, the new freedom that Tannehill will have in the upcoming season, and with arguably the best wide receiver corps in the AFC East, 2016 will be the year that the Dolphins organization finds out if Ryan Tannehill is meant to be an NFL starter or if he will follow in the footsteps of prior Miami Dolphins quarterbacks turned backups Chad Henne and John Beck. 

When the final roster is set at the end of the fourth preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, one of the guarantees will be that the 2016 Miami Dolphins will have a very different roster from 2015.

With the draft picks of Laremy Tunsil, Xavien Howard, Kenyan Drake and Leonte Carroo almost certain to make the squad, and the free agent and trade additions of Mario Williams, Kiko Alonso, Byron Maxwell, Arian Foster and Andre Branch also planning to be contributing members to the team, this 2016 roster will be re-tooled with many players that have very high ceilings.

However, as in many sports, new additions are not always able to make immediate impacts. It can sometimes take a few games or an entire season for players to understand the system or to gel with their teammates. 

Fantasy football maniacs had a blow to their 2016 draft strategies once the Miami Dolphins signed Arian Foster. Up to the point of the signing, Jay Ajayi looked to be the primary running back for the Miami Dolphins, with Kenyan Drake, Damien Williams, and Daniel Thomas expected to take snaps.

However, with Foster’s addition, there’s no easy answer to this question. If Foster enters training camp healthy, one would expect that he splits carries with Ajayi, but, if he has any lingering effects from his recent surgery, he may not even make the roster at the end of training camp. 

New Miami Stadium is going to be a beautiful facility. During the 2015 season, fans could see the significant changes that were put into place, with all of the seats inside the stadium being replaced with more comfortable, new blue seats. In 2016, a new canopy will be installed, with new lighting, audio and video boards making the home of the Miami Dolphins one of the feature stadiums in the NFL.

​However, the biggest concern will be if all of the changes will be ready for the first 2016 preseason game on September 1st. The first Dolphins home preseason game scheduled for August 25th was moved to Orlando, supposedly due to preparation for an upcoming Pro Bowl game. Team officials continue to say that the stadium will be ready in time, but nobody really will know until the week leading up to the game.

With Miami Dolphins football right around the corner, there are many unanswered questions leading into the season. Unlike many of the prior years, the expectations for this 2016 team are very low, which means that the pressure is significantly less for the players and coaches. Although we may not know the answers to these questions for a few weeks or months, what is certain is that NFL football starts in a few days and the Miami Dolphins are currently tied with 31 other teams as the best team in football. How they finish is anyone’s guess!

This column was written by Ian Berger. Follow him on Twitter: @ian693

​On this week's episode of PhinManiacs Live, the crew discusses the Dolphins signing veteran running back Arian Foster, and at least two of our panelists have very different opinions on his role.

Then, they discuss the results of a poll on Twitter, meant to discern what the fans feel is the most important player or unit to watch in training camp.

Finally, the discussion will turn to the 2016 offseason. What should the Dolphins have done and what shouldn't they have done?

All this and more on PhinManiacs Live.

If you missed the live show, you can watch it again below on our YouTube, or you can download it on iTunes, Stitcher and SoundCloud.

Featured panelists:

Luis D. Sung - @FLSportDebater
Chad Ronnebaum - @Gofins4SB
Ron Canniff - @FinsBroadcaster
Tom Shannon - @bearingthenews
Max Himmelrich - @HimmelrichNFL
Chris Early - @TheEarl007

When fellow PhinManiacs writer and optimistic Dolphins fan Ron Canniff told me he thought Arian Foster was the Dolphins Week 1 starter at running back, I reacted with all of the consideration and sensitivity that a delicate situation dealing with a aqua and orange KoolAid sipping friend called for.

I scoffed. Loudly.

I actually do understand where Ron is coming from. But I think he's misinterpreting the signs being thrown our way.

To be clear, I like Foster. Hell, who doesn't? But it has to be recognized that this is not the same running back that set franchise records with the Houston Texans over the last seven years. Foster has logged a hefty workload in his NFL career (almost 1,500 carries) and turns 30 years old before the season starts. He's seen as being injury prone and Houston fans were already calling for running back Alfred Blue to take over as the Texans' premiere running back even before the 2015 season began.

And, as it turned out, for good reason.

Foster was a disaster for the Texans in 2015. He logged just 2.6 yards per carry in the four games he played even before rupturing his Achilles tendon against the Dolphins. He looked both old and slow and did nothing to disabuse Houston fans of their initial thoughts on the matter.

Foster now claims to be fully recovered from the achilles tendon rupture. But what does that mean? As Chris Wesseling at nfl.com smartly points out, achilles ruptures have traditionally been a death knell for NFL running backs. No running back ever has recaptured sustained pre-injury form after rupturing an achilles tendon. Even worse, achilles tears are infamous for leading to further leg injuries down the line. Did I mention that Foster is already injury prone? Did I mention that beating the odds and recapturing "pre-injury form" in this case would mean 2.6 yards per carry? And that he's trying to recapture that form at 30 years old?

I'm not holding my breath, folks.

Yes, the Dolphins have been looking for upgrades at running back. But it's not necessarily because they think they guys they have can't be good enough. It's because it's a position that they could upgrade and should if they can. Jay Ajayi, Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake all have great potential but are all unproven. Certainly an excellent player in his prime like C.J. Anderson would have been a better option. But Foster? He's a different kettle of fish.

Dolphins Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum has an interesting philosophy when it comes to some player personnel. Tannenbaum is a gambler. From oft injured "guard" Jermon Bushrod, to cornerback Byron Maxwell, from linebacker Kiko Alonso to defensive end Mario Williams, Tannenbaum likes to roll the dice. As long as they don't cost too much money (relatively), Tannenbaum's attitude seems to be "What the hell. Why not?"

That's what we have here. Its a "why not." At minimum he's a cheap insurance policy for a coaching staff that hasn't yet seen their three young running backs in live action, yet. Foster isn't an upgrade. He's the basement floor, the fall back in case the young running backs aren't all they're cracked up to be once they hit the field. He's there to keep Ryan Tannehill from getting killed in the worst case scenario.

And, hey, could the Dolphins catch lightning in a bottle and get the 24-year old Arian Foster back? Yeah, sure. That would be great. But it would also be a bonus and I can't believe that the Dolphins could possibly be counting on that or on Foster as a starter. The odds against it are far too great.

If all else is equal, you can bet that the Dolphins would prefer to start the 23-year old Ajayi, the 24-year old Williams or the 22-year old Drake, all home grown with long futures ahead. The 30 year old Foster would be a fall back and if he's starting that means that no one in the organization is likely to be happy. Dolphins head coach Adam Gase says that he has a "clear vision" of how Foster will be used. The bet here is that means "sparsely" and only in certain well defined situations.

At only $400,000 guaranteed, the Dolphins could easily cut Foster at the end of camp. An older running back that doesn't play special teams, all Foster would bring as a backup would be a stabilizing veteran presence. It will be interesting to see if that, along with whatever role Gase has in mid for him, is enough to keep him on.

So will Foster even make the roster at all? If you ask me, that's the question those Twitter polls should all be asking.

This column was written by Tom Shannon. Follow him on Twitter: @bearingthenews

A lot of excitement has swirled around Jay Ajayi since the departure of Lamar Miller. A 5th round draft selection out of Boise State in 2015, the biggest knock on him was health which likely caused him to plummet down the draft board and right into the hands of the Miami Dolphins. However, the health concerns did become a reality for Ajayi in 2015 with injuries causing him to miss seven out of sixteen games.

A new season brought new enthusiasm for the future of Jay Ajayi. New Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase has shown public support for Ajayi, “We’re going out there (and) he’s getting better every day.  He’s showing me a lot of great things.  I like his skill set.”

But behind the scenes a different picture has been painted. The Dolphins failed to resign Lamar Miller by likely under guessing what the running back market would be this off season. Miller signed a 4-year, $26 million dollar contract with the Houston Texans this offseason. Since 2011 only one,free agent running back, DeMarco Murray, has received a deal north of $6 million a year.

Then came the attempt to snag C.J. Anderson from the Denver Broncos. The Miami Dolphins offered a fairly front loaded deal to Anderson likely hoping the Broncos would struggle to be able to match it given the current uncertainty of some other free agents they were looking to keep as well as the questions around Von Miller and his status with the team. But, in a somewhat surprising move the Broncos matched the offer and yet another attempt to upgrade the running back unit with a starting caliber back was gone.

Then came the time to kick the tires on some older vets. The Miami Dolphins brought Chris Johnson in for a visit on March 17th but he decided to stay with the Arizona Cardinals and play second fiddle to David Johnson on a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Then they brought in Arian Foster on March 29th. However, Foster was coming off of an Achilles tear so the Dolphins decided it wasn’t quite time to sign him so he left Miami without a deal.

Once the hustle of free agency had died down it was time to look to the draft. Many pundits had Miami setting their sights on Ezekiel “Zeke” Elliott in the 2016 draft. But moving down from 8 to 13 with the Philadelphia Eagles trade made that less likely beyond the fact Elliot was drafted with the 4th pick in the 1st round by the Dallas Cowboys. Another possible attempt at a starting caliber running back lost again. The Miami Dolphins did draft Kenyan Drake in the 3rd round out of Alabama.  Drake was the backup to Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry. 

Then, in a final move to upgrade the running back position the Miami Dolphins brought Arian Foster back in for another visit on July 18th, and before he could head out for his scheduled visit with the Detroit Lions Miami signed him to a 1-year deal worth $1.5 million with an additional $2 million in incentives. “After my visit with Miami, I kind of already made my mind up that that’s where I wanted to be, so I was stressing to my agent that I wanted to get the deal done, because I see a lot of promise in this team.”

So, the Miami Dolphins finally land another running back to pair with Ajayi and give him needed rest once in a while since he will apparently he is the apparent starting running back. But is it that apparent? No, and here’s why.

If you take the Foster signing on its own and look at it separately, it would appear this is just an upgrade to the unit as a whole. Another guy that can come in and do a lot of the things Gase wants from a back. Be a three down back that can also catch out of the backfield. But taking the signing of Arian Foster as a stand-alone move without looking at everything else doesn’t tell the whole story.

Ask yourself this question, regardless of what the Miami Dolphins say out loud about Jay Ajayi, do their actions tell you they want him as their starting running back for the 2016 season?

• Tried and resign Miller.
• Tried and sign C.J. Anderson away from the Denver Broncos.
• Brought in Chris Johnson for a visit.
• Brought in Arian Foster for a visit.
• Rumors of wanting Ezekiel Elliott leading up to the draft.
• Drafted Kenyan Drake.
• Signed Arian Foster.

Does all this really say we love Jay Ajayi and he’s our guy? You can say they just wanted to upgrade the unit as a whole.  But three of these moves, and maybe more could be argued, were for bona fide starters. Guys who would clearly come in and start over Ajayi and we wouldn’t have understood if they weren’t starting. This indicates the Dolphins see Ajayi as a backup for now.

As for Foster, can the Miami Dolphins really depend on him to carry the work load for them out of the backfield? Given his recent injury history perhaps not. But Foster isn’t as far removed from greatness as you may think. 

Just 19 months ago Foster was averaging nearly 100 yards a game on the ground. “I still feel like I’m a Pro Bowl-caliber player, and I intend to show it.” Foster said.  

In 13 games played in 2014 he ran for 1,246 yards for a 4.8 yards per carry and 8 TDs. He also had 38 receptions for 327 yards and 5 more TDs. This was less than two years ago and he’s not even 30 years old yet. 

Well, I’ve laid out my case for Arian Foster and why I think, if healthy, he will start for the Miami Dolphins Week 1 at Seattle.  What do you think? Tweet us at @PhinManiacs and let us know.

This column was written by Ron Canniff. Follow him on Twitter: @FinsBroadcaster

Not that long ago, there were reports out suggesting that the Miami Dolphins newly renovated stadium - currently unnamed - would not be ready until November, explaining why the team moved their home preseason games to Orlando.

But based on the progress we've recently seen being made, that does not seem to be the case, and near the start of July, the Dolphins released an official statement denying the reports that the stadium wouldn't be finished in time.

"The reports that the stadium won't be ready for football until November are incorrect. Getting a project of this scale done in this timeframe is unprecedented and the contractor is working diligently on a 24/7 basis to complete the canopy structure." said Bill Senn, the Senior Vice President of Stadium Renovation. "While we will still be doing some “non-football critical” elements and final touches into the season similar to Phase 1 last year, at this point in the process we still expect to be ready to play football September 1."

Over the past couple of weeks, PhinManiacs' own Ian Berger (@ian693) has been posting progress photos of the stadium to show that the stadium is indeed very close to being ready, and from what can be seen, it's looking like a state of the art stadium all over again.

Owner Stephen Ross paid over $350 million of his own money to get the renovations done, and they paid off as the Miami Dolphins will have the honor of hosting Super Bowl 54 in 2020, which will culminate the 2019 season, which also happens to be the 100 year anniversary of professional football.

“It’s great for the community,” Ross said when it was announced that they would be hosting a Super Bowl again. “I, as an owner, don’t really benefit from getting the Super Bowl. We don’t get paid money for it or anything. You own a team, you have kind of commitment to the community. That’s why I put the money up, that’s what I said when I bought the team that’s what I would do. We did it."

But Ross also made one other important statement that day. 

"Now, I’ve got to deliver on the other half of the commitment is delivering a Super Bowl (for the Dolphins). That’s more important.”

Indeed it is.

The new stadium will be a true sight to behold, no longer sporting the bright orange seats and boasting a canopy meant to keep the home team shaded and the visiting team under the hot sun, brand new video boards and seats closer to the action than ever before. Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel took to Twitter to show off his own view of the stadium, giving more hope that the stadium will indeed be completed on time.

Many jokes have been made at the expense of Dade County's construction crews over the past few weeks, but it's abundantly clear now that there is rapid progress being made on the Dolphins' new home. Now, it's up to head coach Adam Gase to make sure the Dolphins will be ready to play once the time comes to set foot inside the yet-to-be-named stadium.

As nice as the place will look once it's finished, it's a winning football team playing inside of it that will make it a true thing of beauty.

This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater

All offseason long, Miami had been searching for a veteran running back who could help spell Jay Ajayi after Lamar Miller departed to the Houston Texans. They had extended an offer sheet to C.J. Anderson, only to have the Broncos match it and keep him in Denver, and they explored other options - such as Chris Johnson - even while saying they were confident in Ajayi and drafting a rookie.

Well now Miami has found their man in - ironically enough - a former Houston Texans running back: After a workout that was held on Monday to see what he had left in the tank, the Dolphins have signed Arian Foster to a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar deal, that includes incentives that could possibly raise the max value to $3.5 million, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Given Foster's injury history, the Dolphins appear to have made a smart move with this contract. It reportedly includes a $400,000 signing bonus, but the Dolphins can void the entire base salary if Foster is cut prior to Week 1.

Foster, who will turn 30 in August and will be entering his eighth NFL season, has run for over 1,000 yards four times in his career, the greatest being back in 2010 when he ran for 1,616 yards, averaging 4.9 yards a carry and 16 rushing touchdowns on 327 carries.

He's also a valuable asset in the passing game, catching 249 passes for 2,268 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The main problem with Foster is his longevity and durability. Despite his impressive numbers, Foster has only played through the entire season twice in his career, back in 2010 and 2012. The last time he played a significant portion of the season was in 2014, when he played in only 13 games due to injuries on his hamstring and his groin. Despite that, Foster still ran for 1,246 yards and eight touchdowns.

In 2015, Foster came back from the groin injury only to tear his achilles and miss the rest of the season after only rushing for 163 yards on 63 carries. Of course, his replacement, Alfred Blue, didn't fare much better, so it's possible that it wasn't all on Foster.

He also torn his groin muscle off the bone in the Texans first padded practice back in August of last year, and he stated that he didn't want to rush himself back. Foster was then released by the Texans under a failed physical  designation on the NFL's transaction wire. They saved $6.6 million dollars on the cap by releasing the most productive rusher in team history.

Foster had a workout scheduled with the Detroit Lions right after Miami, but the Dolphins apparently liked what they saw enough to sign him to a deal right away before Detroit could get the chance. 

Foster signing with the Dolphins doesn't mean he'll be handed the keys to the starting job, despite his previous success. He'll have to compete with Jay Ajayi who showed promise in his limited playing time, and rookie Kenyan Drake will be pushing for playing time as well.

What Foster does provide, however, is the veteran presence in the running back room that the Dolphins have been looking for, and while his health has been a concern in the past, Foster is a smart runner who will hopefully be able to pass on his knowledge to the younger backs.

This is another low-risk, high-reward signing for the Miami Dolphins, who ranked 23rd out of 32 teams in rushing yards last season - no doubt self-inflicted - and on the outside chance Foster does come back to full strength even as he officially enters his 30s, Miami will have hit the jackpot by having faith in the wily veteran who scored his first ever career touchdown against them eight years ago.

This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater

The DCC continues its never-ending battle against cancer. On July 15th, the Miami Dolphins officially opened up registration for the seventh annual Dolphins Cancer Challenge, mere weeks after handing out a $5 million dollar check to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. All of its proceeds go to the center for cancer research.

The seventh annual DCC will take place between February 10-17th, 2017, starting with the official kickoff party on Friday, February 10th, and then the main event will take place the following day. It will include five bike routes through South Florida, a run/walk 5K, and a finish line celebration concert.

In addition, the ever-growing DCC will debut a Dolphins Youth Ride and a Youth 5K for kids ages 14-17 this year – extending the opportunity for cancer fighters to be of all ages and all capabilities.

Below are the current options for DCC VII registration:
·         Hurricanes Hundred: 100 miles
·         Boca Ride: 54 miles
·         Miami Ride: 35 miles
·         Ft. Lauderdale Ride: 25 miles
·         Dolphins Ride: 14 miles
·         Dolphins Youth Ride (Ages 14-17): 14 miles
·         Youth 5K (Ages 14-17)
·         5K
·         Virtual Rider

If you wish to register and take place in the largest cancer fighting event in the NFL, go to DolphinsCancerChallenge.com and ensure your place among the participants making a positive difference in the world.

Recently, running back Jay Ajayi made an appearance on NFL Network, and of course he was asked the inevitable question regarding the team's quarterback, Ryan Tannehill.

“Definitely just seeing a lot more growth,” Ajay said of Tannehill and what should be expected from his fifth-year in the league. “Last year, for me, I was a rookie, so I was still trying to just figure everything out. Now, just being in the mix, being out there with him in the huddle and everything, it has been really great.

"Seeing how he has been able to work with Coach Gase, and seeing what he has been doing on the line of scrimmage, just being able to make those different calls and things like that, it’s been really cool to see. I’m excited to see him blossom and dominate this year.”

New head coach Adam Gase has been pushing Tannehill this offseason to see what his limits are, and according to him, there hasn't been anything the now veteran QB hasn't been able to handle. Gase has been credited for helping the careers of several quarterbacks during his tenure as a QB coach or offensive coordinator, including Tim Tebow, Jay Cutler and even future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.

But Ajayi discussed more than just the quarterback, he also talked about the offensive line and how it affected last season and what impact they'll have this upcoming season.

“I’m excited for our o-line personally, as a running back, of course,” he said. “Those guys are healthy. It’s been really good just to see all those guys lined up in front of me, across the board. Last year, you know, we had some of those guys dinged up. B.A. [offensive tackle Branden Albert], [center Mike] Pouncey, Ja’Wuan [James, right tackle], they kind of played banged up here and there. We had to shuffle a little bit.

"Now, it’s been really great seeing all of those guys healthy, out there, athletic, moving around, pushing people. As long as we can stay healthy, I think we have a really good chance of being a great running team, and keeping Tannehill off the ground.”

Finally the discussion turned to the season itself, and the expectations Ajayi has for the Dolphins in 2016 and if they'll finally be able to challenge the Patriots for the top spot in the AFC East.

“To be honest, we are just going to focus on ourselves right now,” Ajayi said. “The Patriots, in the past, they have dominated the league. Right now, all we can really do is focus on ourselves, working each day to just prepare ourselves to have a season to do that. That’s basically going to be coming in every day to work and learning this offense and just preparing ourselves so when we get into conference play, we have to do better than we’ve done in the past.

"Obviously, it hasn’t been good enough, because we haven’t made the playoffs and won our division. Those are definitely goals that we have to achieve, but right now, we are going to be focusing just on the day-to-day until we get to those points in the season.”

With Patriots QB Tom Brady now accepting the four-game suspension for his alleged role in DeflateGate, the Dolphins will have four games to try and get a head start in the race for the AFC East crown. In Week 2, the Dolphins will face off against the Patriots in Foxborough with backup Jimmy Garoppolo leading the charge for New England.

Training camp is just around the corner, and Ajayi will have big shoes to fill now that Lamar Miller is a member of the Houston Texans. Once the pads come on, everyone will get a much clearer idea of what Ajayi will be able to do as the starting running back in 2016.

This story was written by Luis Sung. Follow him on Twitter: @FLSportDebater

It seems that the Miami Dolphins fan base has decided to take a break from the usual arguing over the team's quarterback, and instead - in the wake of the recent high-salary contracts being signed by wide receivers - are debating over what is Jarvis Landry worth when the time comes for his contract extension.

This of course sparked an entirely new debate over how good Landry is in general, and supporters of the former LSU receiver went absolutely crazy at the mere concept of Landry not being considered one of the league's best receivers.

But as we all know, fans of a player seldom are able to look at situations without a certain amount of subjectivity.

Ever since his rookie year, I too have been an advocate of Landry's, I saw the fire in his belly from the beginning of training camp and I knew that he would be a great player, and so far he's turning out to be one of the Dolphins' best weapons, for better or worse.

What we don't know, however, is how much of his production is because of his skill, or how much of it is simply because he's being utilized more than any other weapon on the roster. It got to the point last season where Landry was even being used as a running back at times.

Never mind the fact that Lamar Miller was waiting to get his hands on the ball, but that's neither here nor there, nor does it matter since he's now a Houston Texan.

So here's the question: Just how good is Jarvis Landry? Has he reached his ceiling or does he have more to offer that we are as of yet unaware of? And what - God forbid - flaws does he have in his game? No doubt Landry fans will swear up and down that he has no flaws, but there's no perfect player, Landry included.

It's plainly obvious that Landry is best utilized as a slot wide receiver. He runs over the middle and makes the tough catches in traffic, and can take the even tougher hits as a result of making said catches. That in itself makes him a valuable asset in an offense, as not every slot man in the NFL can take that kind of a beating.

At least, not to the extent that Landry does, seeing as he's targeted more than anyone in the Dolphins offense due to the chemistry he has with quarterback Ryan Tannehill. A couple of seasons ago, Brian Hartline - now a free agent - was pegged as Tannehill's "security blanket," that role has firmly shifted to Landry.

And in some ways, that's actually a bad thing.

Notice how Tannehill's preference for Landry causes him to miss out on bigger potential plays. Near the bottom of the play, Kenny Stills had just broken free of his man and was open at the time, and near the top, tight end Jake Stoneburner ran up the field untouched and could've gone for more yards after the catch if the ball had come his way.

Granted, Landry made the tough catch in double coverage, which is a big part of his game, but it doesn't change the fact that there are times where it would be better if Landry was doing blocking up field for one of his fellow wide receivers instead of catching the ball. Tannehill will have to learn to look elsewhere.

Speaking of blocking, that's another thing Landry does fairly well. Notice how on this run play, even though he doesn't actually affect the play itself, it does show that he's ready and willing to get in the face of a defender when necessary. He stays with the assignment until the whistle is over, keeping his hands in the correct position at all times.

It may not seem like much, but Landry's attitude of not stopping until the play is called dead is an important aspect of his game. Receivers don't often get credit for their blocking, but it's clear Landry is willing to do whatever it takes at all times.

Unlike some other wide receivers we know. Oh hey, look who showed up near the end to give one last shove.

But despite all this, Landry is by no means a perfect wide receiver, he does have some things going against him. His speed is one of them.

At the NFL Combine, Landry ran a poor time of 4.77 seconds, but that was explained away when it was reported he'd suffered a right hamstring injury, hindering his running speed and making it seem like he was much slower than he is. That is true, to an extent.

Though it is true that Landry isn't slow, he also isn't going to win many sprint races either. The above play is an example of Landry's limitations in that regard. Here, he's paired up against Darrelle Revis, who at the time was nursing a hamstring injury and was essentially given the task of shadowing Landry in this Week 4 matchup.

Tannehill goes deep and overthrows Landry, but the play was ruled dead when Revis was called for pass interference. Though it was enough to get the call, the contact doesn't seem all that extensive once Landry goes down the field. A faster receiver - say Kenny Stills - probably would have been able to break away from Revis and accelerate to the point where he could make the catch.

Revis has a tendency to struggle against faster wide receivers who can beat him deep in a foot race. The fact that - on a gimpy hamstring - he was able to at least keep up with Landry, it shows that Landry's desire to become more of an outside receiver means he'll have to find some way of overcoming his lack of deep speed without getting too handsy, especially with the NFL's new rules on contact beyond five yards.

Landry is also somewhat of a double-edged sword. Most of the time, he manages to help his team with his ability to make defenders miss and extend plays. Who can forget that amazing moment in Week 7 against the Houston Texans when Landry gave defensive back Andre Hal and linebacker Brian Cushing the slip and ran all the way from one sideline to the other and got to the endzone for a touchdown?

It will definitely go down as one of Landry's greatest career plays, and it showed his ability to make defenders miss in a way that helped the team tremendously. He stops on a dime and turns the other direction, and his team does the rest from there as he follows their blocks all the way to the endzone, making one more guy miss and then stretching for the touchdown.

And then there are times when Landry's natural instinct to try and make guys miss comes back to bite him. Here he is in Week 14 against the New York Giants (wearing that spiffy throwback uniform I might add) catching a short pass over the middle on second down.

Landry was lined up in the backfield like a running back on this play, and he runs the slant route to catch the pass...and then things go wrong.

Instead of using the momentum he would've had from catching the ball and utilizing his usual brand of brute force to get the first down, he stops on a dime immediately upon making the catch, turns completely around in an attempt to get some running room and is instead clobbered by defensive tackle Markus Kuhn (#78).

Now one might say that Landry was merely attempting to protect himself on this play, seeing as DT Jay Bromley (#96) was getting ready to hit him too, and perhaps they'd be right. But it would be strange seeing as Landry has rarely ever shown hesitance to take hits before.

Here he is on a designed screen pass, Landry catches the ball and immediately motors down the field for nine yards, lowering his shoulder and taking out cornerback Stephon Gilmore (#24) in the process.

Granted, it's not the same thing as trying to take on a defensive lineman nearly three times his size, but it does show that Landry needs to learn to discern when it's best to try and make people miss, and when it's best to just get physical and use the momentum he already has.

After all, getting physical is one of the things he does best.

Need I say more?

That unique blend of power and agility lends itself well to Landry becoming a weapon in more than one facet of the offense. Here, you see Landry being used on a trick running play where he finds the hole in the unsuspecting defense and plows ahead for 14 yards.

Here again, on an end-around run, Landry finds the hole and uses his power to break free of not one, but two tackles and push his way into the endzone for a touchdown. How many slot receivers out there can break tackles as if he were Marshawn Lynch?

And last but certainly not least, Landry is able to use his unique blend of power, quickness and agility to make amazing special teams plays like this one. Thing of beauty, isn't it?

So in conclusion, Landry has a lot of things he can do well, he has some speed in the short to intermediate game, he can run the ball, block for his fellow ball-carriers, he can make defenders miss by breaking their ankles or breaking their tackles.

He's already broken the NFL record for most receptions in the first two years of an NFL career with 194, and he's broken the Dolphins franchise record for most receptions in a single season - previously held by O.J. McDuffie and his 90 receptions - by catching 110 passes from Ryan Tannehill in 2015, only his second NFL season.

With 1,157 yards in receiving to go with that, Landry's YAC ability averaged him out to 10.5 yards a catch, and he scored four receiving touchdowns. Added to that, Landry's ability as a rusher had him average 6.3 yards a carry, running the ball 18 times for 113 yards and a touchdown.

And of course, the amazing punt return touchdown in Week 1 against the Washington Redskins that made the difference between winning and losing.

Landry has proven himself to be an indispensable weapon in the Dolphins offense, but he does have his flaws. His deep speed is not impressive, limiting him to the inside (until proven otherwise as he's trying to work outside in Adam Gase's offense), he sometimes makes poor choices when he runs, and (through no fault of his own) his effectiveness has been lowered by Tannehill making him a predictable target.

Is he worth the amount of money that players like Doug Baldwin recently received? Who's to say? With the way money has been thrown around the NFL as of late, Landry may end up breaking the NFL record for money received by a wide receiver...until a new free agent comes around and breaks that record too.

Eventually, Miami will have to make a decision on their young playmaker out of LSU, and the next couple of years will be essential in deciding whether or not he should be paid what it seems like the market will demand of him. If Miami isn't careful, they may lose him to a team with more cap space.

But I wish to be frank for just a moment, and I'll close with this. It isn't Landry's speed, strength or versatility that makes him special. It's his extreme competitive spirit and desire to win that makes him able to do all these things.

No matter how cliche it sounds.

Since the first moment I saw Landry play in training camp during his rookie year, I knew Landry was going to be special. He had a fire in his belly that I fell in love with, and so far that particular prediction of mine has come true. His work ethic, his drive and dedication, his never-say-die attitude, all of that has turned a small, average speed receiver into a weapon that has become the staple of the Dolphins offense for two years now. 

How good is Landry? He's not elite status, that's a title generally reserved for outside receivers, which Landry is now working on. But if he can learn when to dodge and when to power through, then he'll be as close to elite as one can get without having ability on the outside...should he manage to prove he can play outside...then Miami will have to pay a boatload to keep him.

But considering the energy he brings to the team, his playmaking ability, the young leadership he brings to a team that has been accused of not having any leadership, he just might be worth it.

He's not elite, but he definitely lives up to the nickname of Juice.

​On this episode of PhinManiacs Live, the team discusses which player they'll be most intrigued by when training camp gets started at the end of July.

Then, Miko Grimes has found herself in the news all over again, this time going after the Dolphins front office with apparent anti-Semitic remarks. They react.

And finally, who is the new face of sports in South Florida now that Dwyane Wade has moved on from the Miami Heat? Is it a Miami Dolphins player? They debate.

If you missed our live show, you can catch it again by listening/downloading it from iTunes, Stitcher or our Soundcloud. Or you can watch it via YouTube down below.

Football is considered to be a violent sport, and so there's - understandably - a certain amount of apprehension in moms when their kids show an interest in playing football. To counter this, the Miami Dolphins held their third annual ​Heads Up Football Mom’s Clinic to educate mothers on proper eating, equipment fitting and how to handle concussions.

“Events like these help build the game of football,” said Miami Dolphins Senior Director of Youth Programs Twan Russell. “Our moms are the second line of defense after the coaches on practice and game day. This Mom’s Clinic gives them the tools that they need to help their children be safe.”

Over 160 moms and women piled into the practice bubble at the Dolphins practice facility at Nova Southeastern University, and received expert advice on various topics from members of the Dolphins training staff. Team Nutritionist Mary Ellen Bingham taught the moms about the kind of diet required for a young athlete and what's best for recovery, while equipment manager Joe Cimino showed the way football helmets and pads should fit.

And of course, discussing one of the most controversial parts of football in today's day and age, Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute Athletic Trainer Letty Torres came on to discussion football injuries - particularly concussions - and how to approach those situations.

At the end of the clinic, they were able to learn from several Dolphins alumni - including Troy Drayton, Lousaka Polite, Ed Perry, Larry Chester and Chris Conley.

But what probably had the greatest impact for the mothers sitting in on the clinic was the panel held near the end of the event. Lysandra Russell (wife of Twan Russell), Tisha Blades (wife of former Seattle Seahawks WR Brian Blades), and Lin Warmsley (mother of Dolphins DE Julius Warmsley) discussed various youth topics and shared their experiences raising athletes.

"As a mother of three sons, watching my children grow was really a great joy." said Lin Warmsley. "But most importantly, growing into your role as a parent, to optimize the unlimited potential of your child is the greatest joy."

Dolphins cornerback Bobby McCain was there to act as a model for Joe Cimino's equipment demonstration, and he shared his experiences with his own mother as he grew up in football.

"She was scared, she was a little nervous to begin with," McCain said when asked how his mother reacted to his initial desire to play football. "But as time went along and she knew I was tougher than she thought, my dad came along and he told her, 'hey, let him go play, let him have fun, let him be a kid,' and I started to fall in love with it and she saw that.

"She's very proud, it's every child's dream to make it to the NFL, and I'm grateful and I'm blessed to be here. For my mom and my dad to put me in football so early, that was a big deal for me and I appreciate them."

McCain did admit that there was a time his mother thought twice about letting him play football, he had broken his arm at some point and he couldn't remember exactly how old he was. But that's a very real possibility for any young athlete, and it was something that Letty Torres and the panelists shared with the moms attending the clinic.

Though football does have danger involved, so does every sport, and Lin Warmsley made it a point to share exactly what sports was able to do for her children as they grew up, and the positive impact they've had in their lives.

​"I'm divorced." she said. "My children did not experience a traditional father/son relationship, so I had to develop those relationships for him. That's where the sports came in, the sports found us. The coaches helped me raise my children."

After the experiences she's had, Lin Warmsley has even written a book titled, "How to Raise Good Parents," and in it she discusses that even though all parents are born, good parents are developed. Her experiences offer valuable insight into the life of a mother raising football children, and not only that, but raising children in such a way that they grow up to be model citizens both on and off the field.

"When Julius (Warmsley) was six years old, I developed an acronym called B.E.D., and I would drop him off at school and I would say 'Julius, remember to make your bed!' And he'd say 'okay Momma.' So what B.E.D. stood for was: Be respectful, enjoy being a kid, and define your role."

​All three of the moms had different stories, but one theme was common between them. They raised children who have grown up to become amazing people, some of whom are still in the process of developing even now. The goal of this clinic was to teach moms how to raise football children, but thanks to the Miami Dolphins putting this all together, it's possible that they got more than they ever could've imagined.