Home
THIS SITE
  Sitemap
  About this Page
  Search Here
TEAM NEWS
  Team Info
  News Wire
  Features
  Training Camp
  On Porpoise
GAMES
  Recent Game
  Schedule
  Statistics
PERSONNEL
  Coaches
  Roster
  Transactions
  Depth Chart
  Draft
  Free Agents
  Salaries
FOR THE FANS
  Places To Watch
  Chat Board
  Mailing Lists
  Other Links
HISTORY
  Team History
  News Archive
  Past Games
  Past Transactions
  Past Rosters
 
Dolphins News: Rodgers Arrested for DUI; Other News
    News Wire | Roster | Last/Next Game | Schedule | Links  
         
Last Update:
Dolphins News: Rodgers Arrested for DUI; Other News
Back Home
Team News

*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jan 30, 1998: -- Rodgers Arrested for DUI; Other News --

** Derrick Rodgers Arrested for DUI in LA

Dolphins rookie linebacker Derrick Rodgers was arrested on Wednesday in Los Angeles on charges of drunken driving. The incident took place while Rodgers and fellow Dolphin Jason Taylor were driving late at night after attending a comedy club in the LA area.

Reports indicate that the police had followed Rodgers and Taylor for several blocks in their rental car. When Rodgers and Taylor stopped at a supermarket, the officers approached the pair because they said that Jason Taylor wasn't wearing a seatbelt, a charge that Taylor denies.

When they approached the two players, they noticed alcohol on Rodgers' breath and asked him to take a field sobriety test, which he refused. According to police reports, Rodgers was belligerent, sarcastic and uncooperative, but Jason Taylor calmed him down and there are no reports of a scuffle of any kind.

After Rodgers was taken to jail in handcuffs, he finally submitted to a breathalyzer test, which indicated that his blood alcohol level was about .16 or about twice the .08 legal limit in California.

Rodgers claims that the stop was racially motivated and he intends to fight the charge in court on the basis that the police had no cause to stop them.

** Ernie Zampese Hired By Patriots

Former Dallas offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese was hired by the New England Patriots yesterday to be the Patriots' offensive coordinator. This follows reports that Jimmy Johnson was interested in hiring Zampese to succeed Gary Stevens as the Dolphins offensive coordinator.

It is unknown whether or not the Dolphins actually tried to hire Zampese away from the Cowboys. Zampese, when asked if the Dolphins had contacted him about the Miami job, stated that he felt that that was unimportant because he was now in New England. He neither confirmed nor denied that he had talked to Miami.

However, a report out of Dallas this morning stated that the Dolphins had never even asked permission to talk to Zampese about the job.

** Marino's Arm Won't Need Surgery

In a confirmation of an earlier report that Dan wouldn't need arm surgery, Dolphins' trainer Ryan Vermillion confirmed on Monday that Dan's arm is recovering nicely with rest and rehabilitative therapy and would not require surgery in the off-season.

Marino had an injured tendon in his throwing elbow during the regular season, similar to the malady commonly known as tennis elbow. However, rest and therapy are all that is required for a complete recovery.

This is good news for Marino and for the team. Marino has had 9 operations during his NFL career, all to his lower legs.

** Dwight Stephenson Makes Hall of Fame

Former Dolphins' center Dwight Stephenson was finally voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame after years of missing out, it was announced on Saturday. It took 5 years of voting for Stephenson to get approved, but he was finally accept on Saturday.

Stephenson, a Dolphin for 7 years before an injury ended his career prematurely, has been widely praised as the finest center of his time. Dan Marino has said that Stephenson was the best he ever played with.

My Comments:

It's getting a little tiresome to pick up the paper and read about another Dolphin getting into trouble. Rodgers is supposed to be more mature than his teammates and I think he would know better than to get himself into trouble like this.

Still, the circumstances of the stop are somewhat questionable. The police followed the car for several blocks and didn't approach them until they stopped of their own volition to buy some food in a SuperMarket.

I don't know about the law in California, but in many states, the seatbelt laws are only supposed to be enforced if the car is stopped for some other reason. Cars are not supposed to be stopped for seatbelt violations alone. If that's true in California, then the motivation for the officers approaching the two players is questionable, especially in light of Taylor's assertion that he was wearing his seatbelt.

Regardless of the motivation of the officers, however, Rodgers' behavior was inexcusable. He should know that refusing to take a sobriety test and resisting arrest would only cause him more problems in the future.

Not to mention the fact that he was legally intoxicated and shouldn't have been driving in the first place. I think that JJ needs to fine him for violating the rules.

Now, the case may be thrown out if Rodgers can get a good lawyer to raise questions about the cops' motivations for stopping them in the first place, but that doesn't excuse what Rodgers did.

Moving on, it remains to be seen what the Patriots' hiring of Zampese means to the Dolphins. First of all, JJ's desire to hire Zampese is a rumor that has never been seriously confirmed. Secondly, Zampese did not exactly light the world on fire this year with the Dallas offense, which is more talented than Miami's.

While it isn't clear exactly what happened, I would bet that Jerry Jones made it clear to Zampese in private that he wouldn't approve a move to Miami. League rules basically allowed Jones to approve any moves that Zampese would have made because of the fact that Zampese was still under contract to Dallas. If that's the case, then I figure that Zampese would have passed that along to the Dolphins.

As to what happens now, it's anyone's guess. Lindy Infante is still available, as is Don Strock and Dolphins' running backs coach Kippy Brown. So we'll have to wait and see what happens. However, the hiring of Zampese by the Patriots may cause JJ to finally get on with his decision.

For Dwight Stephenson, I have only this to say - it's about time.

RELATED INFO:


[Return to Dolphins News]
Curt Fennell, curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
     
   

Home TOP
Curt Fennell
curt@phins.com
DOLFAN in New England