National Football League

Dolphins getting a break from on-field work Monday

Published Aug. 2, 2015 1:45 p.m. ET

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DAVIE, Fla. (AP) After four days of training camp practices, the Miami Dolphins will get a bit of rest.

The Dolphins aren't scheduled to be on the field Monday, though it's not like training camp is completely shutting down. Player meetings are scheduled and other work surely will be happening, but the Dolphins hope some slight tweaks to the summer schedule will result in a fresher team for the regular season.

''I feel really good about the format that we have going into camp,'' Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said Sunday. ''I feel good right now about the health of our team. I'll obviously know more after practice and guys get in the training room, but I think we're relatively healthy. We haven't lost a lot, we had a couple of guys coming in that we knew were going to take a little time to get going, but the other guys I think have responded well to the practices.''

The players, not surprisingly, aren't complaining about their first break.

''Everybody's excited, especially when you come in the morning, knock out your last practice and then you just know, all right, you're good,'' cornerback Will Davis said. ''You're finally going to get rest. Because those four days, it gets to you.''

Fellow corner Reshad Jones went as far to say that if the Dolphins had to play a game at this point, they'd be ready. He showed he would be, anyway.

One of the highlights Sunday was Jones stepping in front of Damien Williams, intercepting a pass from Ryan Tannehill and then prancing the other way while playfully sticking out the ball in the quarterback's direction.

Davis intercepted backup quarterback Matt Moore on the next snap, and Jones said that's a sign of where this year's defense is heading.

''It's huge,'' Jones said. ''It's important for our defense. A couple of years ago, we were like top-three in red-zone defense. That's one of the things we want to pride ourselves on, getting back to that.''

Practice on Sunday focused heavily on red-zone work, with nearly all of the competitive snaps in 11-on-11 drills taken there. Philbin expressed concern about the pass protection for Tannehill, but also pointed out Sunday was just the Dolphins' second day in pads.

''Obviously, you want the quarterback to feel confident and comfortable back there,'' Philbin said.

Notes: LT Branden Albert (reconstructive knee surgery) participated in limited outdoor drills for the first time in camp. He was limited to a few indoor drills before Sunday. ... WR Kenny Stills (calf) was limited and S Louis Delmas (knee) was held out of practice.

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