The Miami Dolphins have been back in the building for a while now, as the team works through their offseason program before a long break that will lead to training camp later in the summer.
Fans aren’t in attendance during the early parts of the offseason program, so a lot of what gets done is behind the scenes. However, Dolphins defensive lineman Zach Sieler broke down the phases in a recent video that the team released on Sunday.
“This is Spring Training, essentially, for the NFL,” Sieler said. “It’s typically eight weeks. Phase 1 is just workouts with the strength staff, some on the field running and stuff, but nothing with coaches on the field. Phase 2, you’re going to get an hour-ish on the field with coaches, individual work, position work, stuff like that. Then, Phase 3 is when you actually get on the field across from each other.
“Each phase has its own importance. Phase 1, acclimation. A huge part of Phase 2 is just the meeting time with the coaches. Get your feet set and get your footing right. Start working back into it. For us, with a new coaching staff, you have new plays, new ways to call things, how you view the defense, how you view the offense. Learning all of that and kind of getting on one page, so when you get out there, you can hit the ground running.”
In this video, Sieler is driving to the team’s Baptist Health Training Complex for the first day of organized team activities, so he goes over what to expect from these sessions.
“Phase 3 is like, OK, you’ve had like four weeks in total. That’s when you actually get to go against each other. Obviously, another huge part of OTAs too is building that trust and working with each other and how to work with each other.
“Building those relationships early, especially with a new regime, is huge. You can’t force a friendship. You can’t force trust. That can’t be created with anything but time. There are some great guys that really love football and want to be here and want to win.”
At 30 years old, Sieler knows his role on the team and knows that other players are looking to take it from him. He understands that and embraces the challenge.
“When I’m helping or talking to the rookies and some of the young guys, I’m like, ‘Dude, one day, your job is going to be to take mine, and my job is to not let you.’ To be able to talk to the young guys and share that message and hopefully to pass it along to them and help these guys become better players and change their lives, it’s an amazing life we get to live in the NFL,” Sieler said.
“There will be a day that I can’t get in this building. To be able to get in here, I’m a big guy in mindset in what we do. How you view things is how your day is going to be. Every challenge is how you view it and how you want to go about. Getting here, the gates open up, and the doors open up when I get in. It’s always a good day.”
At 30 years old, Sieler still has four years left on his contract. He’s not taking any days for granted and is excited to work with his new coaching staff and teammates for another year in South Florida.
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This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins oldest defender details importance of OTAs with new staff
Reporting by Mike Masala, Dolphins Wire / Dolphins Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
