The offseason rules allow teams to have 10 OTA sessions. The Dolphins have opted to conduct only six of them this year.
On Wednesday, coach Mike McDaniel explained the reasoning for giving up four permissible May-June practices.
“A lot of things factor into it,” McDaniel told reporters. “I think that by and large, players, coaches, people in general, do best when ‘why’ is explained to them. In this particular situation, I think that it is crucial that we have, as convicted, present, deliberate, football players when they’re approaching practice and really recognizing how each opportunity is very crucial to the development of the team.
“I think when you’re able to acknowledge players’ hard work, and they get positively reinforced with actual action, I think it goes a long way. They are afforded the less practices because they’ve earned it because of the way they’ve approached the whole offseason. My standards for preparation are pretty high and they have recognized that and really heeded to the expectation across the board. I think in those types of circumstances, everyone benefits with a little bone here or there.”
It’s a smart approach. Focus on getting the work done in six, and cancel the other four. Create the kind of positive feelings in the locker room that will encourage them to fully and completely commit to the grind that begins when training camp commences.
