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Dolphins News: Lawrence Phillips Cut
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Dolphins News: Lawrence Phillips Cut
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*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jul 25, 1998: -- Lawrence Phillips Cut --

ESPN is reporting this afternoon that the Dolphins have cut troubled running back Lawrence Phillips. According to ESPN, Phillips was cut yesterday after a poor performance in training camp. The release had nothing to do with his problems off the field, according to comments from JJ.

Yesterday, Phillips fumbled for the second day in a row, which JJ criticized in his public comments after practice. Following his poor day, Phillips cleaned out his locker and dorm room.

Phillips has been in trouble since long before he came to the Dolphins. His problems have compounded each year since he attended Nebraska and was involved in an altercation where he battered a woman while a student.

Since then, Phillips has been charged with drunk driving and has been sued over other allegations of battery at another party. The latest allegations have involved a supposed incident of battery at a nightclub in Plantation, Florida.

Phillips was entering his third year in the league.

My Comments:

One of JJ's most notable traits is his quickness at pulling the trigger when he makes a decision. He never hesitates to cut or add a player once his mind is made up and he has obviously made his mind up about Phillips.

While the entire story of this final chapter in Phillips' NFL career isn't known, one rumor has it that Phillips cleared out his locker and left the dorm yesterday before he was officially cut.

I do believe that JJ really did cut him for football reasons and not because of his troubles off the field. With Ray Nealy now the backup behind Karim Abdul-Jabbar and Phillips lack of special teams talent, he was too far down on the depth chart to justify keeping him, especially with John Avery impressing everyone as a serious threat.

There have been indications for some time that Phillips was not performing as well as JJ had hoped and that JJ was already considering releasing him even before the latest reported incident in the nightclub.

And speaking of that incident, it will be interesting to see if the woman who is charging Phillips with attacking her continues to pursue her lawsuit now that Phillips is out of work. That will give us a clue as to what really happened that night.

As for Phillips - I guess we'll never know the full story, but he doesn't appear to be headed for anything good. Soon, he'll be out of money and out of work and that's a recipe for serious problems. Some people are winners and some are not. Right now, I'd have to put Lawrence Phillips in the "not" category.

And yes, I know he's a bum and a woman-beater and possibly an alcoholic, and I've never really wanted him on the team, but I do hope that he finds his way in the world. The world already has too many guys sleeping in gutters with alcohol on their breath or behind bars.

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Curt Fennell, curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
     
   

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Curt Fennell
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DOLFAN in New England