DAVIE, Fla. -- Whether the Dolphins are winning or the Dolphins are losing, you can count on one thing -- it won't be slow and methodical. There is a definite pace and tempo to how they operate under rookie coach Adam Gase and his high-energy coaching staff. And while it may end up being more of a marathon than a sprint to finally turn this franchise around, one thing that won't be tolerated is lethargy.

Gase is clearly in charge and empowered. While he doesn't want to talk much about himself, the fact is that if the long-warped culture around here finally does alter for the better, he will have had much to do with it. If nothing else this won't be the same ol' staid Miami team, one that defined middle-of-the-road conventional thinking under former coach Joe Philbin while the front office, staff and locker room were falling apart.

Everything around here seems a bit lively, enthused with a rapid pulse, and this won't be a club that is afraid to embrace unusual approaches to common problems. Players are responding to and respecting the ideas and approach of this regime in a far more receptive manner than in the past.

"It's been very impressive to see," said star center Mike Pouncey, one of the vocal leaders of this team. "There's a lot of excitement around here and I really feel like the team has embraced what coach Gase and his staff have brought with them. Everything is very competitive and there is a competitive edge to everything they do. Just to see how he is competing with his coordinators, and the approach the coaches take to each practice, that rubs off on us, too.

"They are very high energy. Very efficient. He really gets what players need to be successful and he has a proven track record with his offense. Everybody around here feels energized."

Gase (left) is changing things up in Dolphins camp, and has high hopes for Tannehill. USATSI

Gase isn't prone to group think and doesn't believe that things should be done a certain way just because we've always done it that way, and the players and coaches seem to feeding off the new vibes and the way this staff has altered its training camp philosophies and routines.

"What we are trying to do, and I think I heard about this first from coach (Pete) Carroll out there (in Seattle) is get them in, work hard, and get them out of here so they have an opportunity to study and get good rest," Gase said. "Get them home early enough to allow them to recover and get energized, make sure the coaching staff has time to get energized. And what we've done, and what our whole philosophy is we're about is efficiency. Let's get here, let's work, whenever we're on the field, or whatever our recovery time is, let's maximize the time we have here together and when we're done with what we need to do and accomplish what we want to, then we get out of here.

"And right now I look at it as the players do get out of here fairly early for camp and they're not in here super early, but I feel like guys have been rested and energized. So right away in the morning there has been consistently juice to our practice. I've never felt like we've gone out to practice and guys are sluggish or out there not going hard. We're over eight practices in and usually around this time you start to feel that, and I haven't felt that yet. I feel like it has helped them, and they can go back to the hotel and sit around for 30 minutes and if they're not ready to go to bed they can do something else and they're studying. We're doing a good job of not having mental errors and having less of them. And even though we tweaked the schedule we're still have maybe more meeting time than we've ever had."

Of course, a few hours after chatting with Gase about his team, the offense went out and had a total clunker in what should have been an early barometer scrimmage for them. Heavy storms forced the session indoors, which is not as accommodating for individual evaluations, but regardless of the setting this was a complete shellacking for the offense. The first and second team offenses were overwhelmed, the starters only got to run about 10 plays and it was as lopsided as can be, with the unit showing little pushback on a menacing defense.

"There's a lot of excitement around here and I really feel like the team has embraced what coach Gase and his staff have brought with them." Mike Pouncey, Dolphins center

"That irritates me," Gase said after it was over, struggling to pull many positives out of it for the offense. Still, it was but one blemish, and the overall tenor of camp has Gase, not one prone to faux positivity, enthusiastic about his chargers.

As to the layout of this camp, what Gase and his staff have done is essentially eliminate some of the lazy hours in the normal midday NFL camp schedule, which, back in the day was comprised of rigorous two-a-day sessions so more rest time in the afternoon was needed.

Players generally have to be in around 8:20 a.m., but the building is usually abuzz by 7:30 a.m. with refreshed players meeting with position coaches. The time between practice and walk-throughs is better structured and generally most players are free to leave by7:30 p.m. (in many camps meetings go in until close to 10 p.m.), though, again, many stay for a nutritional snack and to chat with teammates and coaches.

It's a small thing, but then again it could pay dividends and it's an interesting portal into the approach being taken here. Gase won't be afraid to go big and go bold, and the early returns from players has been overwhelmingly positive. After been mired in unbridled mediocrity for as long as most can remember -- just decent enough, enough of the time, to provide a flicker of hope, but not nearly good enough to compete for a playoff spot with any regularity -- owner Stephen Ross seems willing to truly shake things up in order to finally build a winner.

"It's been great," Pouncey said. "Guys are really responding to the new schedule. It's very efficient and instead to sitting around a lot of the afternoon that down time is divided up throughout the day. We're getting time to rest and recover and everyone shows up ready to work. I think it's been great for all of us."

Gase is forthright, direct and aggressive in pretty much everything he does, and after success with quarterbacks all the way across the spectrum -- from Peyton Manning to Tim Tebow, literally -- he should be plenty equipped to cull the best out of Ryan Tannehill, whatever that may be. He isn't shy about throwing a lot of new concepts and ideas at his players -- and his roster is fairly inexperienced on the offensive side of the ball -- but ultimately his chore will be to shape as much of his stuff to what his players can do best.

It looks like Gase won't be shy about letting Tannehill sling it downfield. USATSI

"We're going to have some mental mistakes, but the good thing is we have guys who are taking a lot of pride in it, " Gase said, "especially at the receiver spot, because that's where you have a lot of options, you have a lot thought processes, and you have to be on the same page as the other guys. And what they've done is taking a lot of pride to where if Kenny (Stills) makes a mistakes, Jarvis (Landry) is trying not to make the same mistakes.

"They're really playing off each other to where they are really focused in meetings, and they're trying to be that group that's consistently right way more than they're wrong. And if mistakes are made, they're trying to make sure it doesn't happen again. To see them working as hard as they've been working, it starts with their position coach, Shawn Jefferson, and they've taken on his personality and his work ethic in the whole group. There's a great mindset in that room, and we have more veterans on defense, so there's a different feel there with those guys and that's all about the attitude and speed. Assignment-wise, you don't see them make a lot of mistakes, because there are a lot of guys on that side who have been in the league for a while."

With a perennial Super Bowl contender in the division (New England) with a Hall of Fame quarterback under center, no coach is going to come to Miami and turn them into an instant champion overnight. But if Gase works his usual quarterback magic and the players convey this degree of buy-in all season, the Dolphins might be well on their way to being relevant again, and doing so with a youthful, innovative, somewhat brash flair to boot.

More Dolphins notes

As for those receivers, both starters look great and are flashing. Still is in line for a big bounce-back year and seems more confident after a lost season in Miami a year ago. The coaches have tremendous faith in him and I doubt his big-play ability gets wasted in this offense.

Also to that end, we're going to find out all we need to know about Tannehill's ability to make plays downfield early. Gase won't be shy about letting him sling it downfield by the sound of it, and if he can duplicate some of the 45-yard darts he slinging around on seam routes in practice, good things could be in store. I've been a Tannehill skeptic, but Gase's track record is strong and he deeply believes in this kid. In the past you got the sense Tannehill was always being told to be this way, or be that way -- at times over-coached and at times under-coached -- and perhaps we'll learn a little more about what makes him tick as a quarterback in this offense.

Defensive leaders Cameron Wake and Reshad Jones are earning rave reviews. They are practicing with the spunk and enthusiasm of rookies and have set a team-wide tone for this camp. If anything, things have gotten a little too fired up at times -- especially during one session inside the practice bubble when some emotions spilled over -- but coming from a group that pretty much rolled over and pulled a mutiny on the former staff, that's a strong statement. Wake is a beast who is back from injury. These two set the physical tone.

One area that remains murky is the running back rotation. Keeping enough healthy bodies has been difficult, which has made the division of labor a challenge. "It's like we just have four guys available most days, but it's a different four all the time," Gase said. "We haven't had the full group out there yet, but Arian (Foster) has been awesome." That veteran running back is being thought of as plenty more than an afterthought here after his recent signing and his leadership and ability are highly regarded. Obviously, injuries are always a concern with him, but when he's healthy he'll be put in positions to make a difference.

The biggest concern with Foster will be his health and avoiding more imjuries. USATSI