A Few Notes Of Good News From OTA’s

Dolphins working in OTA's in preparation for next weeks veteran mandatory camp.

Dolphins working in OTA’s, tuning up for mandatory camp.

Vets and Rookie Dolphins working hard in OTA’s to get back into the swing of things.

OTA’s are about to wrap up, and in the final days a few tidbits of news have cropped up. Nothing earth-shattering. But, each piece is one more grain helping tilt the scale Miami’s way towards a successful 2016 season.

The first piece, as reported by Andrew Abramson and Omar Kelly via Bleacher report, is from Adam Gase who went on record to say the rehabbing DeVante Parker is taking precautionary measures on something other than his surgically repaired foot.

This is very good news as it eases concerns over Parker’s foot being a reoccurring issue that will limit his 2016 season and maybe his career. Even though he is being held out due to injury, this is a better scenario than having his foot be the focus.

Parker is essential to putting pressure on opposing D’s and missing OTA’s is better than games.

The second piece of news is on Jordan Phillips and his elevation in the depth chart to co-starter next to Suh. As a second round pick, this news is to be expected. His ascension is more about him keeping pace with expectations rather than exceeding them. But, at this stage, this is about the best he can do without contact, and it’s a good sign that at this point, he is prepared. Conversely, if he hadn’t seized the role of starter from Mitchell, there would rightly be concern. So, Fin Fans should take this as a positive sign.

The third bit of news is that Laremy Tunsil, who had problems with Jason Jones, among others, last week, handled him yesterday and today, as well as Mitchell, at both Guard and Tackle. Tunsil’s feet seem to be as good as advertised. He has shown to be very nimble and thrives in space. While this is good news for his eventual play at Tackle, it does show his greatest strength will be limited at Guard and he might not hit stride at an interior line position. But, he is having better practices at both positions to wrap up OTA’s and that is comforting.

So, while these aren’t going pole-vault Miami into football gods, they do offer hope in several crucial areas. These weren’t all the positives over the last couple of days, but were three of the more important. We are inching our way to the season, and so far, the positives are outweighing the bad…and that’s always “peachy-keen”. Go Fins!!!