« Dolphins hope Howard comes to rescue; Heat (Bosh/training camp/Williams); Marlins; UM (more Richt changes); Canes just miss top 25 | Main | UM in mix for standout transfer; Tuesday Dolphins and UM personnel notes and nuggets; Another UM suspension »

Dolphins notes: Dolphins opting for unusual approach with offensive line; Pead thriving after he "blew" Dolphins workout

3:30 p.m. post-practice news from Dolphins coach Adam Gase: He said Xavien Howard, back from knee surgery, was able to do "a little" team drills today for the first time... Chris McCain was held out of practice, but it's nothing serious. He took hard hits both during Friday's game and in Sunday's practice and "we're just trying to be cautious."...

Matt Moore is out indefinitely with a concussion. "I'm not going to say he's doing OK," Gase said. "It was a pretty vicious hit. Still sore neck. It's going to be a minute [before he gets back]. We'll figure out who's going to go second and third [against Atlanta Thursday in Orlando]."  Expect to see Ryan Tannehill in the first half, with Brandon Doughty and Zac Dysert getting the rest of the work.

Does this make it more likely that the Dolphins keep a third quarterback (presumably Doughty)? "We'll evaluate and see where his health is," Gase said of Moore...

Jakeem Grant got only one offensive snap Friday, and Gase was vague when asked whether they didn't want to show other teams how they plan to use him on offense. "Any time I had a returner that was a specialist - you want to find ways to get him on the field but don't want to overdo it," Gase said.

Regarding Jordan Cameron, Gase said: "We have to figure out the right way to use him."...

Gase on Isaiah Pead: "Every time he touches the ball, something good happens for us."...

Defensive end/tackle Julius Warmsley continues his push for a roster spot. "You always see him penetrating," Gase said. "Seems like he's always causing some kind of problems. Always around the quarterback, always around the ball-carrier. You can tell something in him that I'm going to do everything I can to make this team."...

Gase said Jermon Bushrod "did pretty good" at right guard Friday but the competition at right guard might not be settled until just before the Sept. 11 Seattle game. (See below for a lot more on this.)

Reshad Jones was shaken up late in practice, and his lower left leg was examined on the side, but he seemed to be OK....

Besides McCain and Moore, Kenyan Drake (hamstring), Chimdi Chekwa (thigh), Mike Pouncey (hip), Earl Mitchell (calf), Dion Jordan (knee), Zach Vigil (back) and Chris Culliver (knee) also did not practice.

 

MORE DOLPHINS

The Dolphins have taken a novel, outside the box approach to address their perennial, perpetual offensive line problems.

Instead of signing players with experience at the positions they’re being asked to play, the Dolphins are doing things a bit differently.

If, as expected, Anthony Steen starts at center in place of injured Mike Pouncey on Thursday against Atlanta, and if offensive-tackles-by-trade Laremy Tunsil and Jermon Bushrod again start at guard, that means that three of the five positions will be manned by players who NEVER played a single snap at those positions in a game before this month.

It’s not unusual for offensive linemen to change positions, but having three starters who have never played those positions before is unusual.

The Dolphins could have signed a traditional guard in free agency in March, but bowed out when the prices rose to uncomfortably high levels for veterans who were of interest to them, such as JR Sweezy, who got five years and $32.5 million to sign with Tampa.

Instead, they opted for a low-money one-year deal with Bushrod, believing the longtime left tackle could make a smooth transition to right guard. But as Adam Gase has acknowledged, the change in sides – from left to right – is just as difficult, if not more so, than changing positions.

Bushrod is doing all he can to master it, but the move has been far from smooth, partly because he missed offseason team drills recovering from shoulder surgery.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be the easiest physically or mentally,” he said. “I have to get over the mental battles. Hopefully I’ll put it together.”

Bushrod –- who is competing with Billy Turner and Dallas Thomas at right guard -- played 20 snaps on Friday, which included allowing a sack that foiled Miami’s first possession. How did he play otherwise?

“There are some things I would like to clean up in the run game and be consistent,” he said. “At times, I feel good. At times, I feel awkward. I need to focus on things I need to give me success.”

Does he regret signing with a team that changed his side and position? No, he said. “Once you are here, you are all in,” he said.

Though Bushrod would have value as a backup tackle, he said the Dolphins have limited his snaps exclusively to guard the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, Steen --– who played only guard for Nick Saban at Alabama –-- said today he was surprised when the Dolphins asked him earlier this year to play center.

Besides Pouncey, the Dolphins have two other players on the roster who have played center in a game --- Jamil Douglas (a guard/tackle at Arizona State who struggled at times when asked to play center last year) and Kraig Urbik (who took a lot of center snaps in Buffalo).

But Steen remains ahead of both of them.

As for Tunsil, the Dolphins were pleased with his pass blocking but not as pleased with his run blocking against Dallas.

• Isaiah Pead, one of the pleasant surprises of training camp, said today that when he worked out for the Dolphins March 31, “I thought it was one of my lesser workouts. Dropped a couple balls. It was bad. I told my agent, ‘I blew this one.’”

Yet the Dolphins signed him two hours later and he has thoroughly impressed, averaging seven yards per carry.

Pead was out of the league last season, after knee surgery, and said he considered starting a trucking business in Columbus, Ohio. He said he is playing on all special teams, which should help his chances of sticking.

Check back in a couple hours, after practice, for a lot more and please follow me on Twitter for fast updates (@flasportsbuzz)

Comments