Only for Guild Members » yards passing. The team record is 4,000

DAVIE Laremy Tunsil Jersey , Fla. (AP) — Now that Ryan Fitzpatrick has pulled ahead in the battle for the quarterback job, the stiffest competition in the Miami Dolphins‘ backfield may be at running back.Second-year pro Kalen Ballage took a lot of snaps with the first team during the first week of training camp, and he could unseat incumbent Kenyan Drake for the starting job.Regardless of who earns the No. 1 designation, the two will likely share playing time and provide a contrast in styles. Ballage is listed 6-2 and 231 pounds, and the leaner, faster Drake is 6-1 and 211.“Whenever you’re talking about a rotation, that means you have some depth at the position,” offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea said. “That’s what excites me.”Competition for carries will heat up when the Dolphins scrimmage Saturday. Then come four exhibition games, giving Ballage and Drake plenty of chances to show first-year coach Brian Flores what they can do.“Both those guys are good backs,” Flores said Friday. “We expect to see improvement and production from both guys.”The starting job is open following the offseason departure of NFL active rushing leader Frank Gore to the Buffalo Bills. Drake and Ballage both say they’re not focused on who becomes No. 1.“I try to go out there and put myself in the best position to help this team win games,” Drake said. “That’s all I can do.”“If we’re a winning team,” Ballage added, “both of us are going to be able to make a whole bunch of plays and get a lot of individual stats. … Kenyan’s my brother. If you don’t have competition, I don’t think you get better. It’s a battle every day in a healthy manner.”Flores has declared Fitzpatrick the leader over Josh Rosen in the quarterback competition between Dolphins newcomers. But the coach hasn’t indicated who has the edge at running back, and stresses similarities between Drake and Ballage, rather than any differences.“Both can run with power, both have speed, both have good vision Cordrea Tankersley Jersey , they’re both explosive, they both do a good job in the passing game,” Flores said. “I like that position.”Drake has mostly been a backup since he was drafted by the Dolphins in 2016. He has rushed for 1,358 yards in three seasons while averaging 4.7 yards per carry, and has caught 94 passes for 762 yards.Ballage, a fourth-round draft pick last year, carried only 36 times as a rookie but showed his potential with a 75-yard touchdown run at Minnesota in Week 15, the longest run by a Miami rookie since 1977.“He had some runs last year in practice that were pretty impressive, too,” said running backs coach Eric Studesville, a holdover from the previous coaching staff. “That’s what we say: When an opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to take advantage.”Drake is best remembered for his TD to cap the “Miami Miracle,” a pass and double lateral that covered 69 yards on the final play to help the Dolphins beat the New England Patriots 34-33.Drake has been mostly a third-down back, and has had more than 16 carries in a game only twice. Ballage averaged just 12 carries a game as a senior at Arizona State.It’s a toss-up which of them will get the most handoffs this season.“What we’re trying to do is figure out how we can utilize their skill sets and give us the best chance to win,” Studesville said. “That’s all we want to do.” DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — With the playoffs now out of reach, Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase says injuries sabotaged the season, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill never had a chance to be fairly evaluated.And does the head coach deserve to return in 2019?"I don't need to lobby for my job Raekwon McMillan Jersey ," Gase said Monday. "I'm not worried about that." Gase said he hasn't had any discussions regarding his future with team owner Stephen Ross, who faces decisions regarding possible offseason organizational changes in the wake of the Dolphins' elimination from playoff contention. A dismal 17-7 loss at home Sunday to lowly Jacksonville ensured the team will again sit out the postseason.Ross has declined to say Gase will be back for a fourth season. Gase is 23-25 at Miami, including 7-8 this year after a 3-0 start.His biggest regret about 2018?"I wish everybody hadn't gotten hurt," Gase said. "That would have been nice."The Dolphins lost 12 key players to season-ending injuries, including two top offensive linemen, their best run stopper and dynamic receivers Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant."We lost good players," Gase said. "There's a reason we started 3-0 — because all those guys were there."Tannehill missed five games with an injury to his throwing shoulder. And when he played, the offense was wildly inconsistent, fueling speculation Sunday's season finale at Buffalo will be his last game with the Dolphins.Tannehill has never taken a snap in the postseason, but Gase continues to argue the seven-year veteran can be an elite quarterback with a better supporting cast."Everybody is always going to blame the quarterback," Gase said. "We just need everybody doing their job, and then you can really evaluate the quarterback. We haven't had the consistency we need on offense to look at what Ryan is, really. Nobody helps him, and then he starts to try to do more than he should, and then that hurts him."Such was the case Sunday, when Tannehill's ill-advised pass under pressure in the fourth quarter was intercepted and returned for a touchdown that sealed the defeat.Tannehill said every position has contributed to the offensive inconsistencies."Start with me and just go right down the line," Tannehill said. "When you have that, it all stacks up and you're not moving the ball. We have to be cleaner Charles Harris Jersey , every position, starting with me."Tannehill and the other starters will assume their usual roles at Buffalo, Gase said. That's a change from last year, when the coach gave younger, inexperienced players tryouts in the meaningless finale."I'm never going to do that again," Gase said. "I'd rather go 8-8. We're going to try to win the game."Even with a victory, the Dolphins are assured of sitting out the playoffs for the 15th time in the past 17 seasons. They'll finish at .500 or worse for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons.Statistics say that by winning seven games, the Dolphins have actually overachieved. They're on the verge of several franchise records, none good.They've been outgained by 1,463 yards. The team record is 1,321 in 1967.They're allowing 392 yards per game. The team record is 383 two years ago.They've allowed 3,717 net yards passing. The team record is 4,000 in 2015.On offense, total yardage will likely be the Dolphins' lowest total since 2007. Net yards passing could be the lowest since 2003.The Dolphins rank 30th in the 32-team NFL on both offense and defense. They've never finished worse than 30th on offense or 29th on defense.But they're 7-1 in one-score games. They're 0-7 in games decided by 10 points or more, and have been outscored in those games 228-104.Those are the statistics of January spectators."We share failures, we share successes," veteran defensive end Cameron Wake said. "It's on everybody."