‘I can feel the energy.’ Dolphins hold first training camp practice under Mike McDaniel
Mike McDaniel quickly opened the door that led him to the media conference room and scurried up to the podium settled for him Wednesday morning. The abrupt entrance stunned the several dozen media members gathered for the first day of training camp.
Moments later, the 39-year-old posed for a photo with the gathered media. As abnormal as the entrance and christening of his first training camp as head coach was, it was fitting for a person who through five months on the job has eschewed the stereotypical traits attributed to a football coach.
The Dolphins held their first of 18 training camp practices under McDaniel on Wednesday, as the first-time head coach continued to set the tone and leave his imprint on the team.
“This group, in particular, I was very excited about the way they came back,” McDaniel said before practice. “In terms of mission-oriented, day-to-day operation, getting better, but a thirst for competitiveness, they’re fully understanding how much they owe their teammates, the organization, the fans. They’re owning it and I can feel the energy.”
The team’s first summer session ahead of the 2022 NFL season — one rife with expectations after an active offseason — built off the work the team conducted during organized team activities and minicamp. It consisted of staples of a McDaniel-led practice — such as the orange practice player of the day jersey, donned by fullback Alec Ingold — and some wrinkles. A shorter-than-usual session ended after about 80 minutes, with a focus on high-intensity individual and team drills.
“Our job is to maximize the athlete at his craft,” McDaniel explained. “So my personal philosophy, the one that we’re imploring here, is that we have full speed, effort and intensity on all the plays in practice ... it’s built towards there’s no such thing as just going through the motions. When we practice, we want to practice with an intent and a purpose and a speed and veracity that separates ourselves from the rest of the league.”
The first day of camp consisted of the highs and lows you tend to see from each side of the ball during several sessions throughout late July and August. On the first play of 11-on-11 drills, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa found wide receiver Tyreek Hill on a 15-yard slant route, as the oft-dissected pairing continued to develop their rapport. Tagovailoa later dropped a pinpoint pass downfield into the hands of Hill with two defenders in coverage.
Later in team drills, reserve defensive backs Noah Igbinoghene and Trill Williams stepped up with standout plays; Igbinoghene deflected a pass from Tagovailoa to Hill alongside the defensive sideline that got a raucous reaction from his teammates. In the next session, Williams came away with a pick-six of backup Teddy Bridgewater after wrestling the ball from a receiver.
“I think overall, it was a good first day of practice,” Tagovailoa said. “Obviously, there are things that we can work on. But, it’s the best when you get to come back, you get back out on the field, throw to the guys, see coverage again, get back in the groove of things. I think once you get into your rhythm, that’s when things start to click on both sides of the ball.”
The first day of camp won’t make or break a team’s championship aspirations and McDaniel acknowledged the goal over the next month-plus is to maintain a level of energy and consistency that will allow his team to combat whatever adversity may arrive in the fall. “When somebody is down, the standard and the demand to bring them up is very present,” he said. “It’s a long process, but the good teams embrace that.”
“[McDaniel has] always been positive,” cornerback Xavien Howard said. “Bringing the energy, that what it’s all about, especially from the head coach. Once you see it from the head coach, it trickles down.”
This story was originally published July 27, 2022 at 2:46 PM.
