The new season of HBO’s Hard Knocks premiered on Tuesday night, opening up the training camp of the Miami Dolphins to the rest of the world, including Adeline Davis, the Grandmother of cornerback Vontae Davis. What she saw was her grandson being singled out by the cameras as he struggled to keep up as training camp got underway.
Davis, the Dolphins’ first pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, ran out of gas early and failed at concealing this fact from the watchful eye of head coach Joe Philbin and DBs coach Lou Anarumo. After taking a beating on the field, Davis was pulled aside by Anarumo, who told the talented DB he needed to work harder and be consistent. The tone the coach took was one part reprimand and two parts motivation, but it was clear Anarumo was not pleased with what he had seen. Philbin was later shown having a run in with Davis over a bathroom break, and the way the shows producers portrayed it, both coaches felt the need to get Davis on board with the rest of the team’s mentality.
This explains why Davis was not listed first at his position when the team’s depth chart was released on Monday. Instead, free agent addition Richard Marshall had that distinction.
This was enough to get Adeline on the phone, and on her granson’s behind.
Vontae says she told him, “Get in shape, baby. It’s going to be a long season.” To which he assured her, “I know. I’m working every day.”
Hopefully Davis gets the hint and starts putting forth a bit more effort. There is no doubt that he has the talent. Davis shows flashes of brilliance that could make him one of the premier cover guys in the league, but he needs to focus and dedicate to being that guy. He needs to be consistent, which is what won Marshall the top spot in this week’s depth chart, according to Miami’s defensive coordinator, Kevin Coyle.
Coach Philbin has made it clear, though, that Davis has not fallen out of favor with the coaching staff, and that all of the players are treated equally, also saying that they had all liked the way Davis had been practicing lately.
Coyle added his support to Davis, pointing to the ongoing competition, saying, “There’s a long way to go in terms of how this thing is going to work itself out…I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in the depth charts in August.”
The starting position is there for Davis to claim, and now that he knows it is not just going to be given to him, maybe he will go out there and grab it. Whatever Davis ends up doing, he best remember that the world is watching, including Grandma Adeline, and next time it might be worse than just a call.
Jeff Everette is a featured columnist for www.RantSports.com, covering the NFL and NBA. You can follow him on twitter @jeverettesports, or subscribe to Jeff Everette-www.RantSports.com on both Facebook and Google+ for all of his latest articles, opinions, and rants.
More NFL Content on Rant Sports:
New York Giants Defensive End Justin Tuck Fires Back at Clay Matthews
Phil Simms Says Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin Are Hall Of Fame Worthy
NFL Rumors: New York Jets Safety LaRon Landry Could Be a Major X-Facto…
Buy Miami Dolphins Tickets | Buy Miami Dolphins Apparel
