Kalen Ballage

Preseason football is a learning process for rookies, and sometimes the learning curve is pretty steep. They get a ton of information thrown at them all at once, and it can take some time to retain everything. Rookies take their lumps, and that’s to be expected. This certainly rings true for Dolphins rookie running back Kalen Ballage this week. Ballage has been under the gun for a couple key errors this week, and I’m interested to see how he bounces back.

Fumbles are part of football, and eventually they happen to everyone. There’s no sense in dwelling on them and letting it get into your head. However, especially as a rookie, fumbles are a great way to ensure you see less playing time. Ballage put the ball on the ground once in limited playing time last week. What has he learned from the experience, and can he avoid putting the ball on the ground this week? We shall see.

The bigger issue; however, popped up after last week’s game. Ballage was thrown out of the huddle by starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill for missing a block that would have resulted in a sack in live action. Mistakes like that can not only kill a drive, they can get people hurt. An unblocked rusher is every quarterback’s worst nightmare. Especially one coming off a knee injury that forced him to miss an entire year.

Was this missed block just a momentary lapse in concentration, or is it symptomatic of a larger issue with Ballage? We’ll find out this week. I want to see Ballage contribute both in the running game and passing game against Carolina. But more importantly, I’m going to be looking for any missed assignments like the one in practice. Ballage can be a key contributor this season, but not if he doesn’t understand what to do without the ball in his hands.

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