(Miami, FL) — To kick off the 2015-16 NFL season, the Miami Dolphins held their annual inter-squad scrimmage on Friday night at FIU Stadium on the campus of Florida International University.
Right from the get-go, newly acquired four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh made his presence felt early. On the first play after the opening kickoff, Suh made two two extremely impressive plays in a row on defense.
First, Suh easily shed starting right guard Billy Turner and chased down running back Lamar Miller for a whopping 12-yard loss. On the following snap, he charged up the field to hit backup running back Damien Williams after a reception.
“Everyone has things to work on,” said Turner, who struggled from his right guard spot. “As the scrimmage went on, I got better and better.”
The 6’4,” 320-pound defensive tackle, who signed a massive six-year, $114 million over the offseason with Miami, also forced a couple of quarterback hurries on Ryan Tannehill which would have likely been sacks in a regular game.
“Once you feel like you don’t have room for growth in your game you probably should retire,” said Suh after Friday night’s scrimmage. “My job is to create havoc for my teammates.”
In his work with the first-team offense, Tannehill completed 11 of his 17 passes for 102 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. However, Tannehill had some mental gaffs as his two interceptions (one to Pro Bowl cornerback Brent Grimes and the other to rookie cornerback Bobby McCain in the end zone) were both horrible throws. Tight end Jordan Cameron, acquired over the offseason from the Cleveland Browns, made a great first impression with Dolphins fans with two touchdown catches on his 27th birthday.
“It was great,” Tannehill said of his two touchdown passes to Cameron. “Honestly, we’ve tried to work in practice. We don’t script up plays against the defenses that we see in practice. We just go out and call the plays and go. We tried in practice to get him a few good looks, but it hasn’t worked out for whatever reason. But tonight to be able to get him a couple balls in the end zone.”
Running back LaMichael James was impressive on the night, as he led the Dolphins in rushing with 41 yards on nine carries. The University of Oregon product also had two catches for 22 yards and a touchdown reception from backup quarterback Matt Moore.
Up next, Miami’s first preseason game will come against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field next Thursday night. The contest, which is scheduled to kick off shortly after 8:00 pm ET, will be broadcast locally on CBS4 Miami.
