The Miami Dolphins are coming off a dramatic week in terms of news headlines and now they hope to silence some of the critics with a winnable game over the Tennessee Titans. Head coach Dan Campbell is trying to induce a new attitude into the team as they prepare for Week 6 and DeVante Parker would like that to translate into more passes thrown his way as the rookie stresses he is healthy.
Parker's rookie season has been quiet. The wide receiver started his NFL tenure with a foot injury that delayed his time on the field. Now the receiver is healthy and getting more acquainted with the offense as Parker told the media that he would certainly like more passes from Ryan Tannehill heading into Week 6.
"I'm not sure what my playing time will be; I'm just still going with the flow," Parker said, via ESPN.com. "When it's time to go, I just go. I'm really ready to go. Whenever I get the chance, I just got to make the plays."
Parker is fighting for time on the field in a crowded group of receivers that includes Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills, Greg Jennings, Rishard Matthews and tight end Jordan Cameron. The issue is that none of those players are doing much of anything right now. Matthews is the surprise leader of the group with 278 yards and three touchdowns. Landry has yet to find the endzone while Cameron is struggling with consistency. The idea of trying to give Parker more responsibility is not crazy since right now nothing is working for the team.
Campbell knows that the Dolphins have talent at the receiver position, but he would prefer to get the run game moving in a better direction in order to take pressure off Tannehill. With the quarterback struggling, Lamar Miller and Jonas Gray must begin to step up and help. The two rushers have not been impressive so far this year after Miami took a gamble on them and did not re-sign Knowshon Moreno. Issues at the offensive line can certainly be to blame for the lack of a run game and Campbell hopes a new aggressive attitude changes that.
"We're trying to change the attitude of those guys up front," Campbell said, via ESPN.com. "It's about finish, we need a little bit nastier attitude -- we need a lot nastier attitude. That's one. Two is, we'll do some things schematically that will help those guys up front, that's what I alluded to earlier about letting them play a little bit more together or to be able to come off together and tee off and understand they can work together a little bit better without feeling like they're on an island, I guess you can say."
The Dolphins will get some help as Branden Albert returns to the mix. That should help Tannehill feel more protected while giving the runners more room. Facing a weaker defense in Tennessee will put this to the test.
