With the new collective bargaining agreement limiting the amount of on-field time coaches get with their players during the offseason, new Dolphins coach Joe Philbin is making the most of every minute with fast-paced practices during this week's OTA sessions.
"You have 'X' amount of time that you are allowed to be on the field and we want to maximize the time that we do have and we want to give every player an opportunity," Philbin said. "I stood in front of the team and said to them in a team meeting, 'Every guy is important to us', 'Every guy is going to get coached', 'Every guy is going to be provided opportunities to show what they are capable of doing and make the ball club'.
The most scrutinized competition is at quarterback. Incumbent Matt Moore is learning a new offense, while first-round pick Ryan Tannehill's learning curve is aided by the Dolphins' offensive coordinator, Mike Sherman, being his former college coach. Veteran David Garrard is also learning a new offense after sitting out last season with a back injury.
"I'm in there and try and ensure that No. 1 spot," Moore said. "I mean I guess that's what I'm doing every time. I'm just trying to learn and you know we're moving quickly in this offense which has been good.
"I feel really good. Obviously we need to learn new terminology, but I mean you need to be prepared for something. ... As a quarterback you really need to quicken up your feet and be sure of your reads and the things like that. So there's a lot of differences but it's the same. I know that sounds really dumb but that's the way it is."
Moore has been impressed with how Tannehill throws the ball and said he'll "help anyway I can," but believes the rookie has a good handle on what needs to be done.
"I mean it kind of is what I thought it would be," Tannehill said of the speed of NFL practices. "It's faster. Guys are faster. The play happens faster. But I was expecting it. You know, I wasn't in a situation where I kind of sat back and said, 'Wow, so fast.' It is what it is. It's faster and just about getting adjusted to it."
Owner Steven Ross has said he expects Moore to win the starting job.
"Anybody have Steve's number around here?" Philbin said, laughing. "I have to check who the treasurer is, I know he is the owner but he might not sign my check, I think the treasurer does (laughing).
"Look, last time I checked, he is on board. I told him and we have been very upfront with him, we want a competitive situation at that position as well as the other positions.
These guys work hard; they deserve the opportunity to compete for a job on this team, a starting position on this team. So the quarterback position in my mind is no different. I like the group of guys that we have, we have a long way to go I mean a million miles to go and so we will see how it shakes out."
For now, it appears all three quarterbacks are being supportive during the early stages of the competition.
"They're both great guys," Tannehill said of Moore and Garrard. "From day one they kind of welcomed me into the quarterback room. I was kind of wondering how it was going to be walking into that room but they're great guys.
"Talking through plays. Talking through reads. Asking questions. Whatever it is, they're great about sharing information and we're all competitors. We all want each other to succeed but we're here to compete so it's nothing where we're trying to hold each other down and compete ourselves. We want the best the best player to play because we want this team to win."
--Cornerback Vontae Davis did not practice Tuesday. "I am not going to get into any of that," is all coach Joe Philbin would say. The younger brother of Davis and 49ers tight end Vernon Davis recently was charged with murder in Washington D.C. from an alleged April 24 incident involving hammer attacks, but the Palm Beach Post reported Tuesday that Vontae Davis has an undisclosed injury
