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Dolphins 2007 Training Camp: Day 3 - Monday, July 30th |  | ||||||||
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Eyewitness Reports | Future Schedule | My Comments | Related Links TODAY'S SUMMARY: The Dolphins continued practice with two sessions on Monday, but the heat, hitting and humidity are starting to take a toll on the players and they did not look as sharp on Monday morning as they had. Players like Ted Ginn, Joey Porter and Ronnie Brown were visibly slowed down by the third day of training camp, taking much-needed breaks during practice to recover their stamina under the South Florida sun. The morning practice was done in full pads, but Coach Cameron made it a point to slow things down a little to avoid the full scale hitting that had occurred on Sunday afternoon. The team still did full team drills, but the "don't go to the ground" rule was more strictly enforced. Overall, the offense continues to struggle against the defense and was not sharp for the morning session. Ronnie Brown carried the ball more than any other player during practice, resulting in extra hits from the defense and cramping in his calf. The starting offensive line continues to be LT Vernon Carey, LG Chris Liwienski, C Samson Satele, RG Drew Mormino and RT Anthony Alabi. However, the rookies and Alabi are reportedly getting schooled by defensive veterans, who put consistent pressure on the quarterbacks and running backs. One bright spot on the offensive line has been LT Vernon Carey, who has held his own against all the defensive linemen - even against Jason Taylor. Behind Ronnie Brown, RB Jesse Chatman (a former San Diego player) has done a good job and will probably be the principal backup to Brown. Lorenzo Booker is very good as a receiver out of the backfield and has good moves, but doesn't appear to have the strength or bulk to be an effective inside runner. During the morning practice, QBs Cleo Lemon and Trent Green traded off working with the starting offense. However, based on observations from the field, it seems unlikely that Lemon is making a strong enough case to unseat Green as the starter. Which is not to say that Green is doing a great job, but none of the quarterbacks were especially sharp, although they didn't get much help from the receivers. There were a few highlight reel catches - once again from Marty Booker and Kerry Reed - but many of the receivers were sloppy, resulting in tipped passes and dropped balls. One of the eyewitness reports said that the offense "had a case of the Mondays!". One interesting twist during the morning session was a "gadget" play where Marty Booker threw a pass to Chris Chambers in the endzone. Apparently, Booker also took warmup snaps with the four quarterbacks during the afternoon session. Cameron's offense in San Diego did have its share of unconventional plays and it looks like the Dolphins' offense will have them as well. The afternoon session was done in shells (just shirts, shorts and helmets) instead of full pads and the offense performed much better, although without the hitting, it's tough to find much to get optimistic about. John Beck apparently put on his best show so far on Monday afternoon, looking more poised in the pocket and not getting as flustered when no one was open. His case of "happy feet" has reportedly diminished since the opening day of training camp. Once again, Beck hit Kerry Reed on a deep pass for a big gain. So far, Beck-to-Reed has been the best passing combination of this camp. Cleo Lemon and Trent Green also looked better in the afternoon, doing a good job completing passes in a 3rd down passing drill. And Lorenzo Booker was quite effective in that same drill, catching swing passes and using his speed to elude defenders. Ted Ginn was flagged for offensive pass interference during one of the afternoon drills as he broke up a pass that would have been intercepted otherwise. He was open on a long pass on another play but was overthrown. And Cory Schlesinger lined up wide of the formation on a few plays. That could be an interesting twist to the normal offense.
Right now, it's not clear what is going on with the offensive line. While it's difficult to imagine that Hadnot and Shelton could get bounced off the starting line, Mormino and Alabi have been playing every practice as the starting right guard and right tackle. But we still have a lot of training camp to go. As I mentioned earlier, Jess Chatman appears to have nailed down the number 2 running back spot - at least for now. His power and speed make him a better overall runner than Lorenzo Booker, although we will see a lot of Booker in passing situations. At defensive back, Will Allen, Travis Daniels and Michael Lehan have all gotten good reviews from onlookers. As of right now, Lehan is the nickel back, while former Bears safety Cameron Worrell is playing as the dime back. Unfortunately, Jason Allen is most often mentioned as getting burnt and right now, he's 4th on the CB depth chart - without Andre Goodman in the lineup. There hasn't been much attention paid to the defensive line by observers, so I don't have much to report there. The little I have seen mentioned Rodrique Wright and Paul Soliai as having good moves, but otherwise there hasn't been much published about that unit.
There were no reported roster moves on Monday.
CB Andre Goodman (shoulder) and OT Joe Toledo (right foot) are still on the PUP list. As hard as it is to practice in the sun at training camp, it must be worse to have to sit on the sidelines and ride the stationary bike while others practice.
The Palm Beach Post is doing the most consistent job with eyewitness reports. Look below in the links section under the Palm Beach Post for titles "Morning Session" and "Afternoon Session". FinHeaven also has a Monday morning session report here: Offense has a case of the Mondays!!
Tue, Jul 31 evening: 6:45 PM Practice with pre-practice autograph session. Wed, Aug 1st Morning: None Wed, Aug 1st Afternoon: 3:30 PM Thu, Aug 2nd Morning: 8:30 AM Thu, Aug 2nd Afternoon: 4:00 PM Fri, Aug 3rd Morning: 9:30 AM Fri, Aug 3rd Evening: 7:00 PM
As I have said (and will, no doubt, continue to say), the offense's lack of effectiveness is not surprising and not necessarily a cause for undue alarm at this point. This next week and a half will be the toughest part of training camp for everyone and we should expect everyone to have their ups and downs. We won't get a real look at the offense until the first pre-season game on August 11th - and even that is only a pre-season game. The offensive line situation is starting to get interesting. Are Hudson Houck and Cam Cameron really thinking of starting Alabi and Mormino on the right side? Or are they still just trying to figure out how good Mormino and Alabi can be? While it still seems unlikely that they would field an offensive line with three guys who have never started before in the NFL as the right side, I suppose anything is possible. On the other side of the ball, it sounds as if the defense will be even better than last year's unit - especially in the defensive backfield. Will Allen and Travis Daniels appear to be improving, while Michael Lehan has been a pleasant surprise. Also, Joey Porter will help improve the pass defense, both in pressuring the quarterback and in coverage.
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