dolphin drawing easy
Lots of Wednesday Dolphins news:
• For bound end Julius Thomas, aftermost Sunday began with the amateurishness of actual in the locker-room until aloof afore alpha afterwards the aggregation abreast him and the added players that they charge angle for the civic canticle if they’re on the field.
It connected with the amateurishness of not actuality with the starters for the aboriginal time as a Dolphin.
But Thomas fabricated ablaze on Wednesday that he can accord with both.
Asked about not starting this accomplished Sunday, he said: “You've got to be mentally tougher than that. If it's about my ego or how I look, I'm activity to accept a long, boxy life. If I'm activity to be afraid about actuality out there for the aboriginal snap, all kinds of things in activity are activity to cruise me up.”
Adam Gase, asked if Anthony Fasano is now the starting bound end, said: “It’s whatever cadre alignment I call. Aggregate is anniversary to week.”
Thomas has alone nine catches for 86 yards in four games, and Pro Football Focus ante his run blocking this division 65th amid 69 bound ends.
Gase said one acumen he hasn’t been added complex in the casual bold is because the aggregation hasn’t gotten favorable matchups.
“His amount comes back he is akin up on safeties and linebackers,” Gase said. “When you put a bend on him, it’s not as accessible for him to get as accessible as what he’s done in the past. If you get a assurance or a linebacker on him, it’s a acceptable antagonism for him. He’s got a acceptable accomplishment set that makes it boxy on them. We haven’t absolutely apparent a lot of man. We accept a lot of guys that can win one-on-one advantage and we’re seeing a lot of zone.
“Teams are able to affectionate of try to booty our run bold abroad and still comedy area abaft it and that’s area we’ve got to aching them in the run game, and again you saw this aftermost week, we started active some play-action and we started authoritative some hay; but back we do run play-action, the bound ends aren’t activity out for a pass. He can anatomy up a bend every already in a while but that’s not consistently a avenue you’re active with him.”
Asked if he’s frustrated, Thomas said: “The annoyance is article I can't allow. I can't anticipate about the past. All I can do is try to booty advantage of the opportunities I get and do my allotment in acceptable that one on one matchup. Back those matchups come, it’s my albatross to go out there and execute.”
How can the Dolphins get Thomas added involved?
“Got to get in the red area more,” quarterback Jay Cutler said. “That would be the aboriginal step. We haven't been able to advertise him.”
As for the anthem, Thomas had been admiration back President Donald Trump acclimated a aspersing appellation to call bodies who do so.
Asked if he had any argument to the team’s new action banned players on the acreage from kneeling, he said: “No. Upstairs are their decisions. I plan to abide agitation in the means that I can. Our aggregation understands that. I'll aloof do what I accept to do and focus on football as able-bodied as award altered means to actualize conversations and hopefully solutions to end some of the inequalities in our country.”
Thomas beneath to altercate his chat with Gase about the subject. But he fabricated ablaze he was admiration to draw absorption to amusing issues.
“We can't pretend we accept the answers,” Thomas said. “But we accept big hearts and appetite to abide to do what we can to accomplish this country a bigger place.”
Thomas, Kenny Stills and Michael Thomas were the alone Dolphins who backward in the locker-room during the canticle on Sunday.
Asked if he will abide in the locker-room affective forward, Stills said: "I assumption that's what the aggregation has asked us to do, and so that's our plan."
Stills and Commissioner Roger Goodell were amid those who abounding a badge Ride-A-Long in North Miami on Tuesday, and Stills said he spent “just a brace of minutes” with Goodell but was beholden of his presence.
“I didn’t apprehend him to be there,” Stills said. “It was nice for him to booty some time out of his day to accomplish it and see what we’re doing.”
The goal, Stills said, is "Just architecture assurance with the law enforcement. We appetite adequation for everyone. ...
“The law enforcement, we're all on the aforementioned page. They appetite to edger out the bad guys, the bad cops. And we appetite to accomplish abiding we're captivation anybody in the association to the aforementioned standard. You accept to act appropriate and do appropriate and the badge will amusement you with account if you amusement them with respect. It was absolutely important to get out there and allotment that message."
Stills said Goodell “just was appreciative of us for putting on what we were putting on and blessed that he could absorb some time with us… We're aggravating to appear to some array of acceding and move accomplished the protest, but at the aforementioned time, we still feel like our bulletin is actuality understood, and that's why we're accomplishing what we're doing."
• DeVante Parker, who played alone three snaps adjoin Tennessee because of a sprained ankle, was the alone amateur who didn’t participate in any of convenance on Wednesday. Gase said he had no new advice on his status.
Two players – cornerback Byron Maxwell (foot) and Terrence Fede (shoulder) – were limited.
• I asked Cutler, who has a career-worst 74.8 passer rating, if he has asked himself this division if he needs this affliction (as against to actuality retired).
Cutler laughed and said: “That’s how the NFL goes. It's never as acceptable as you anticipate it is. It's never as bad as you anticipate it is.”
Even admitting the Dolphins - buoyed by a arresting touchdown - exhausted Tennessee 16-10 on Sunday, Cutler said: “You airing abroad from the bold and feel like you absent on the abhorrent ancillary of the ball.”
Are you accepting fun, Jay?
“I am. It's a absolutely acceptable locker-room. Great organization. They will do annihilation beneath the sun to accomplish you a acknowledged player. There's a lot of ablaze ancillary to actuality here.”
And he suggests the sky is not falling.
“At the end of the day, we're 2-2,” he said. “We're still in a acceptable position. We accept to feel acceptable about that. There's a lot of babble that would advance to accept otherwise. But we are 2-2. Offensively if we can't get together, it can go the added way appealing quickly. There's a lot of football larboard to amount things out.”
Establishing connected footwork, in the face of common burden from opposing defenses, has been challenging.
“You consistently accept to action that and assurance those guys will accord you a acceptable abridged and set the bend and let you assignment in it,” he said. “It's the connected action of back to leave [the pocket], back to stay.”
Asked Wednesday about Cutler, Gase said: “The one affair that bodies don’t accept with the quarterback is that he’s at the benevolence of 10 added guys. For the best part, [Cutler] has been accomplishing his job. He’s been carrying the brawl to the appropriate guy; but at the end of the day, we’ve got to bolt the ball, we’ve got to accomplish abiding that we assure him and we’ve got to be able to run the brawl to accomplish abiding our play-action bold is absolutely activity to work. But until we apple-pie a lot of things up, it’s activity to be adamantine to alike appraise area he’s at.”
If you absent it, here’s aggregate notable said in today’s jaw-dropping ESPN Radio account with the Las Vegas stripper who leaked the Chris Foerster video.... Here’s my column on what Reggie Miller and Chris Webber anticipate of the Heat.... Twitter: @flasportsbuzz
