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DAVIE (CBSMiami) – The Miami Dolphins took the practice field for the final time on Wednesday in advance of the team's preseason opener against the New York Giants on Friday night.

As is usually the case, the first preseason game provides coaches a measuring stick to see how far the team has come during training camp and which players are ahead of the curve.

Following a poor performance during last weekend's intrasquad scrimmage, the Dolphins offense has been trying to bounce back all week and will be under the microscope on Friday.

"We needed to go through that," Dolphins coach Adam Gase said. "We needed to see what happens when just about everything possible could have gone wrong. Somebody screwed up on every play. It was like second-and-20 and then we were third-and-17. That probably needed to happen. I think guys just kind of took a step back and realized it's about just doing my job and then things will work out. The more guys we have doing that, the better chance we have."

The offense has been trending upward since the scrimmage, but the bar wasn't exactly set very high.

Still, progress is a good thing at this point of training camp and it's hopefully a sign of things to come.

"I think the last two days they've come out with a different mentality," Gase said. "I think Ryan [Tannehill]'s done a good job of jumping in that huddle right away and being that guy – chirping a little bit, getting the linemen going. And then I think the rest of those guys have really just been doing their job."

It remains to be seen how Gase and the rest of the coaching staff will handle the amount of snaps that the starters play, the backups play, and so on.

One indication he has given is that the veterans may not see much playing time in order for the less experienced guys to be on the field a bit longer.

"I'm just going to go by feel," Gase said. "I think the better idea as far as the defense is going to go, I have less concerns on that side of the ball with a lot of those guys because they've played. I think on the offense, it's mainly just kind of that chemistry of our guys getting used to playing what we've been practicing and, at the same time, Ryan [Tannehill] and myself getting on the same page – him being able to go through the communications of the offense."

Something that has been very noticeable during training camp is that Tannehill is embracing a leadership role with the offense.

Whether it's giving instructions in the huddle or letting receivers know when they run the wrong route, the fifth year quarterback is taking ownership of what is happening when he's on the field.

He isn't expected to play much on Friday but even if it's just one drive, Tannehill won't be happy unless things go the way they are intended.

"I want to go out and execute," Tannehill said. "I think that it's our first chance to go against another team. Obviously, that's exciting. You kind of get tired of hitting each other in camp, especially the guys up front. I think we're excited about the potential we have [and] the steps that we've made. To go out and have an opportunity to go against a fresh team – a fresh defense – and really test ourselves is going to be a lot of fun."

That sentiment was repeated by Tannehill's favorite receiving target over the past two years.

"I can't wait to see [what happens on Friday]," said wide receiver Jarvis Landry. "It's kind of hard to judge not having that scrimmage aspect these last two days, but having the chance to go up against another opponent – and having them try to match our intensity, try to match our tempo – is something that we're looking forward to seeing."

OTHER NEWS

As expected, the Dolphins placed newly signed cornerback Chris Culliver on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

He signed a one-year deal with Miami on Wednesday.

Coming off of a torn ACL and MCL suffered last November, Culliver is hoping to get back on the practice field before the regular season arrives.

"Everything is going well right now," he said. "I'm just taking my time [and] learning the defense. I'm glad to be here. I'm just taking my time and progressing so I'll be out there soon."

Culliver said he hopes to be back on the field in "the next couple of weeks."

So far Culliver said that he's doing some running and making light cuts.

Coach Gase calls his status day-to-day.

"I'm excited to see him when we can get him out there and get him rolling to see what he can do in this defense," Gase said. "I like the fact that we were aggressive and went out and got him and adding depth to that position."