What They're Saying: Injuries A Major Talking Point As Dolphins Camp Continues
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DAVIE (CBSMiami) – When it comes to NFL training camp, it's an absolute given that injures are going to happen.
Anyone paying attention to training camp in Davie, Florida is well aware of that fact.
So far during camp the Miami Dolphins have seen several players get hurt but none more glaring than a pair of offensive starters; quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Jay Ajayi.
Tannehill's knee injury, which will cost him the entire 2017 season, has been well documented.
Ajayi suffered a concussion during the first day that Miami went full-contact during practice but he's been back on the field for several days and could be cleared to resume hitting drills any day now.
Getting Ajayi back will be a nice boost for the Dolphins offense, especially considering another running back went down with an injury on Monday.
Second-year back Kenyan Drake took a helmet-to-helmet hit from rookie cornerback Torry McTyer and did not finish practice.
He appeared to be leaning heavily on a trainer as the two walked into the Dolphins facility.
McTyer, who signed with Miami as an undrafted free agent, showed concern for his teammate following practice.
"It just kind of happened bang-bang," said a remorseful McTyer. "I never want to hurt anybody out here, especially in practice when guys are competing and making plays."
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
The biggest positive from Monday's workout came from down in the trenches.
Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey saw his first significant amount of practice time, getting rep after rep with the first team during 11-on-11 drills.
Eventually he was replaced by backup Jake Brendel but the fact that Pouncey saw so much playing time was a major step in the right direction.
Pouncey is coming off of a hip injury that many thought could be career-ending.
The former first round pick has been working extremely hard to get himself ready for the season and Monday was another milestone in that process.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
As is usually the case, the Dolphins made several players and head coach Adam Gase available to answer questions following practice.
Here are some of the best quotes from Monday's media availability.
ADAM GASE
"I think [Xavien Howard's] confidence is really the number one thing I've noticed, where he's recognizing certain formations, route stems, things that when you're a rookie, you're just trying to figure out what you actually have to do and now he's been able to take that next step. It helps him really tighten up the coverage and jump a few routes every once in a while. That's kind of the progression that you want young DBs to go through to where, let's say you have a really good feel of what their job responsibility is, being able to play the route concept very tight."
"[Jay Cutler has] pretty much got the offense down, it's just more about timing. It's more mental, just kind of that feel of when to turn the ball loose, getting used to the receivers, the d-line rushing. I guess (our d-line) is a good d-line to get used to getting in your face a little bit. It's happening fast, so it's probably going to be good for him at the end of the day when we start playing some other teams. Our d-line is tough to go against. They get back there quick."
"Every time I see [Mike Pouncey] out there, I can see how excited he's getting. I just want him to follow what our plan is and I want him to try to sneak in two extra reps, because you guys have been around him long enough to know, he's not one for just standing on the sidelines and watching. He likes being out there and he wants to keep getting better. I just think [he has to] stay on track with what we're doing. I think he's followed that to the exact detail that [medical staff] got planned for him and if he keeps doing that, I think we'll have good results."
"I believe we're going to be a defense that's going to be tough, relentless. The one thing that I would say that I want to see us do more is get our hands on balls and get balls out, get turnovers, turn into an opportunistic defense. I feel like we've done a lot of good things. We're playing tight coverage in practice. We're making it really hard on the wide receivers. I do feel like that front can cause a lot of problems, and the linebackers, the way that they run right now and what I'm seeing between Kiko (Alonso) and (Lawrence) Timmons, if we give them some opportunities, they've got great ball skills. They've got great ball skills for linebackers and if we can get some more picks and fumbles, that's really what I'd love to see us take off on."
LAWRENCE TIMMONS
"That's the tough part of this game. Things like that [injury to Rawkwon McMillan] happen. All we can do is pray for him, help his friends and family taking care of him and just pray."
"I feel like [Mike Hull is] a high-energy guy. He knows the defense, makes good calls, hard-nosed football player. He tackles really well, so I'm looking forward to it."
CHARLES HARRIS
"After watching the [preseason game] film and everything, I think we all did good as a d-line. [There are] a lot of things we've got to work on. A lot of things, especially as a young group. The younger guys who just got here, most of us rookies have got a lot of stuff that we've got to work on; but it was great seeing the vets in action, seeing the vets going against other guys. They learned off their mistakes and off of the things they did well, so it was great."
"The No. 1 thing is just to go. I think I was really hesitant [in the preseason game]. I was kind of hesitant and didn't want to mess up, whatever. But Coach 'T' [Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams] and Coach 'Dre' [Assistant Defensive Line Coach Andre Carter] just told me I just need to go. My best attribute is my speed, so get off the ball and then reacting, playing instinctively and not thinking about things too much."
"It wasn't [that I wasn't] remembering the plays or anything like that. It was just really being in formations. We did a lot of game planning and stuff like that. We treated like it was a real game so a lot of us younger guys, we looked at a lot of formations and just trying to dissect them while we were playing and stuff like that. So it's going to take time. It's going to take time for us to be able to go into a game like we did in college, studying beforehand, getting to apply it. I think the first game is under our belt and we're looking to get better each and every game."
MIKE POUNCEY
"It felt really good. I'm just happy to be back out there with the guys, just getting back, better at football, doing the things I love to do and I'm just glad I'm back out there."
"The best part [of practicing again] is being able to say I'm a Miami Dolphin, to be honest. I keep telling everybody, that process I went through is a long one. It was humbling. The best thing I can say is that I'm out here being able to do the things that I love to do."
"Physically I feel great. I feel like we have a great plan, a great schedule that I'm going to stick through throughout this whole camp. We'll see how it goes whenever the start of the season gets here."
"It feels real good [to get out there and hit someone]. [Ndamukong] Suh gave me a stinger on my left side. It shut my whole left arm off for a little bit. I miss those hits. It felt good. It hurt, but it felt good to have it again."
"[Jay Cutler and I] talk a lot. It's good that we get to work out here in full 11-on-11 reps together, going against our defense. We do a lot of work in the meeting rooms and on our walkthroughs. If he's our starting quarterback when the season starts, we'll be on [the same] page."
