A 12-pack of Dolphins notes off Day 3 of camp:
### Terrence Fede, Jordan Tripp and Walt Aikens -- the Dolphins’ three defensive draft picks in 2014 -- all have expanded roles so far in training camp and all appear to be making the most of them.
Fede, a backup defensive end, had another sack Saturday, giving him at least 3.5 in three days.
Tripp, who has been playing mostly with the second team, had a sack and got some work with the first team at linebacker.
And Aikens continues to work with the second team at safety, alongside Michael Thomas, and also received some snaps with the starters on Friday.
Last season, Fede played just 82 defensive snaps, Aikens 64 and Tripp 12.
But Fede’s opportunity should increase because of Dion Jordan’s season-long suspension.
“Terrence really looked good, watching him in drill work,” coach Joe Philbin said. “He’s moving well. He’s up to 275 pounds and change. He might even have a little position flexibility as well. You might have seen him line up inside. We’ve used him at different spots. Coming from Marist is a big adjustment but he’s doing well.”
Fede said he likes to “take a few things” from Derrick Shelby, Miami’s other second-team defensive end, because “we’re the same body frame.” He also has studied tape of injured Giants standout Jason Pierre Paul and former Giants star Michael Strahan.
Tripp, meanwhile, said he’s a “completely different” player than a year ago, 10 to 15 pounds heavier “and a lot better.” He said he had an appendectomy late in preseason last year and that took a while to recover from.
“What I like about Jordy so far is he seems a lot more confident getting the defense lined up,” Philbin said. “He’s a good communicator.”
Aikens, meanwhile, has impressed the staff not only with his play, but also with his improved maturity after a few off-field missteps last year.
Thomas said Aikens has come “in this year with a better mindset, better focus, like this year, ‘I’m going to be a pro. I’m not a young kid.’
"That’s the approach he took coming into camp. He went from a rookie that you didn’t know what you were going to get to a guy, ‘OK we can count on him.’ He’s getting other guys lined up. I might even make a mistake and he helps me out."
### After practicing the first two days of camp, cornerback Will Davis sat out the third. But Davis, who had surgery to repair a torn ACL last November, said there wasn’t a setback with his knee.
He said “we knew coming in” that he would take days off. “I’m trying to get to 100 percent, trying to get the explosiveness back,” he said. “I don’t want to push it too much.”
### The Dolphins said they viewed Brice McCain as a slot corner when they signed him in March, but he is also getting a chance to compete with Jamar Taylor on the boundary. On Saturday, both players took first-team snaps both outside and in the slot.
Taylor has “got good awareness,” Philbin said. “He can tackle well at that position [slot], especially on normal down and distance you have to be able to.... We’re just looking for different roles that he can fill and we need to develop as many players inside as we can.”
Taylor ripped a ball from Michael Preston’s hands and McCain had good coverage on a Ryan Tannehill deep throw to Kenny Stills.
### In training camp’s first practice in pads, Ndamukong Suh predictably got the better of guard Billy Turner, including one play that might have resulted in Ryan Tannehill losing a body part in normal game circumstances.
Mike Pouncey also helped block Suh and said training camp is more exhausting for him with Suh on the team. “When you’re going against a player like that, it’s going to make you better,” Pouncey said.
Joe Philbin said Suh “needs to get himself fully comfortable in our system and his timing and his rhythm down. It’s going to be a great experience for our offensive players to go against him. It’s going to benefit everybody. He certainly had some impactful plays out there."
### Jarvis Landry was nearly unstoppable early in practice, beating several cornerbacks for substantial gains. Brice McCain threw his hands in disgust when Landry beat him on one play. Look for Adam Beasley’s story on Landry; it will be on the home page later.
### The Dolphins continued to alternate guards, with Dallas Thomas and Jamil Douglas getting first-team work at left guard and Turner and Jeff Linkenbach at right guard. Douglas had a couple of strong blocks on running plays and has been the best of the group, at least in my eyes.
### For the second time in three days, Chris McCain worked with the first team at linebacker.
### The Dolphins activated tight end Gerell Robinson from the non-football injury list.
### Running back LaMichael James made impressive moves in the open field on a couple of runs. Damien Williams and Jay Ajayi made an impact in the passing game.
### Suh wasn’t the only disruptive defensive lineman Saturday. Olivier Vernon generated pressure on the quarterback and Kendall Montgomery had a deflection.
### Jake Stoneburner dropped an easy pass from Matt Moore. Not sure if the No. 3 tight end is even on the roster.
### Three picks today in team drills: Thomas had an interception off Moore and Cedric Thompson and Sammy Seamster picked off McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
MEDIA NOTES
Longtime South Florida sports journalist Ethan J. Skolnick, a name familiar to most of you, will be on the market soon and has emerged as a potential candidate for a full-time job at 104.3 The Ticket, where he has appeared on talk shows for several years, primarily the 1-3 p.m. slot with Eric Reed.
Skolnick, an excellent writer and reporter, was among a few journalists whose contracts inexplicably were not renewed by Bleacher Report in recent days. Bleacher appears to be shifting its emphasis on NBA coverage to using more “national voices” instead of deploying writers to cover a few marquee teams.
Skolnick, whose deal with Bleacher runs through Sept. 17, also has been hosting a Sunday NBA show for Bleacher Report radio, with LeBron James among the recent guests.
If Dan Le Batard moves to 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to replace Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio --- something that remains under consideration --- then Skolnick would be a strong candidate for a prominent local role on The Ticket during the 3-7 p.m. slot now filled locally and nationally by Le Batard and Jon Weiner.
### Stephen A. Smith, derided by some viewers for his loud, attention-grabbing tirades/soliloquies, deserves credit for being the first to report that Tom Brady’s four-game suspension would be upheld and that Brady destroyed his cell phone.
Smith’s initial report Tuesday morning was met with some skepticism because of how he conveyed it. Smith said, “I hear” that Brady’s suspension would be upheld, but that’s just the way he speaks.
To our knowledge, Smith was also the first to report the likelihood of James joining the Heat during the summer of 2010.
Regarding skepticism of his Brady report, Smith said on his Sirius XM show: “This idiocy. Sometimes folks are just hard to take. And by the way, don’t bother calling me up about these so-called colleagues of mine.
“Colleagues who want to talk about me like a dog, questioning my knowledge of what I reported. And never in a million years would I be the pathetic turncoat that some of these punks in our industry are. And they know who the hell they are. And I’ll just leave it at that….
“I will say this: I have no problem with some idiot blogger speaking against me or whatever. They are trying to create headlines, trying to create hits for a website. But I do have a problem with folks who are supposed to be colleagues and contemporaries in this industry who understand the nuances of what surrounds this industry.”
### Fox, ESPN and Turner all have approached Alex Rodriguez about a postseason TV role if the Yankees miss the playoffs, according to the New York Daily News.
### Twitter: @flasportsbuzz
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