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Dolphins 2007 Training Camp: Day 6 - Thursday, Aug 2nd |  | ||||||||
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Eyewitness Reports | Future Schedule | My Comments | Related Links TODAY'S SUMMARY: The Dolphins had two workouts yesterday, the morning workout in full pads starting at 8:30 and the afternoon workout at 4 PM. The focus of the practices is becoming more team oriented and players are getting more intense as the camp wears on. During each of the last few practices, there have been some minor shoving and post-play extracurricular activity, but that is to be expected during training camp. The morning session featured skill position drills, field goal drills, third down situations and some full team drills. During skill position drills, the most notable event was a drill where all 4 Quarterbacks took snaps simultaneously. During this drill, Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post noted that Trent Green was the first to release the ball every time. Az Hakim is being given the morning off, reportedly to allow him to rest up. He appeared on the sideline without pads and stretched with the team, but didn't appear in any drills. Mormino and Alabi are still working with the starting offensive line, while Trent Green is in charge of the starting offense. Cleo Lemon is second string and John Beck is third. The team spent part of the morning session working on some non-standard plays. They practiced several fake field goals at one point and during another drill, did an end-around play with Trent Green handing off to QB Gibran Hamdan. During the team drills, the defensive backs made some special plays. Unfortunately, not all of them were special in a good way. Travis Daniels ripped a pass out of Ted Ginn's hands for an interception on one play and Michael Lehan blitzed on another. What's special about that is that Lehan ran clear across the backfield to drag Booker down from behind for a loss of 2. Booker was running to the opposite side. Once again, Jason Allen provided the lowlights for the secondary. On one play he got left behind by Hagan - not known for his speed - and wound up 5 yards behind him downfield. On another play, he dropped an interception that hit him right in the hands. During the full team portion of the practice, most of the repetitions were taken by Trent Green with the starters and Cleo Lemon with the second string. John Beck did not get a lot of reps in the morning session. The afternoon session was conducted in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts, so it was not as hard-hitting as the morning practice, but something different happened yesterday afternoon that had not happened before in training camp - the offense finally had a good showing against the defense. The first big play that happened was during 11-on-11 drills when John Beck hit Kerry Reed for a 60 yard bomb. Most onlookers agree that Beck has been the best looking passer over the last two days of practice, although that is against second- and third-stringers. But the real surprise came when the Dolphins ran the two minute drill. Cleo Lemon, Trent Green and John Beck each managed to lead their unit down the field during the two minute drill and score touchdowns. The starters were lead by Cleo Lemon, who drove the length of the field and finished it off with a fade pass to Marty Booker in the corner of the endzone. Trent Green then took the second string down the field and ended the series by finding Ted Ginn, Jr all alone in the endzone while scrambling to avoid a sack. Then John Beck got his turn and took his unit down the field, throwing the ball away when there was nothing available and finally finding Courtney Anderson in the back of the endzone for a score. While the team was not in full pads, it was still a nice indication that perhaps the offense is starting to get in sync. We're still a long way from even the first pre-season game, let alone the beginning of the season, but things are improving.
While the competition for quarterback is probably the most important to the immediate future of the team, it seems unlikely that Cleo Lemon will beat out Trent Green, despite the repetitions Lemon is getting with the starters. John Beck's progress is good to see, but - barring injuries - he won't be the starter in September. The most interesting competition going on right now appears to be for the last wide receivers spot. Assuming that the Dolphins are going to keep 5 wide receivers and assuming that Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, Derek Hagan and Ted Ginn are almost certainly going to stay, that leaves one spot left. So far, that competition seems to be boiling down to Kerry Reed, David Sutton and Az Hakim. Reed seems to be making more big plays and has more experience, but Sutton has had his share of big plays and has unusual physical gifts at 6'6" and 222 pounds. Sutton also has a background in volleyball of all things, meaning he is trained to jump. Az Hakim has the lead in NFL experience, but hasn't been practicing as much. Of course, the Dolphins can put Reed and/or Sutton on the practice squad, but then they run the chance of losing them to another team. On defense, Jason Allen will probably make the team because of his salary, but he has not looked very good so far. He has dropped behind Michael Lehan on the depth chart and when Andre Goodman gets healthy, Allen will be the #5 CB on the roster - unless they move him back to safety.
None reported.
Andre Goodman and Joe Toledo are still on the PUP list and still working on the sidelines. Goodman seems much closer to being activated, as he is actually working on catching some footballs while Toledo still has a boot on his foot. Az Hakim took the morning off from team drills, but worked in the afternoon. The official explanation is that they are trying to save some wear and tear on his body. David Sutton reportedly banged up his butt after a hard fall to the turf on Wednesday, but is still practicing.
Between the weather, the lack of expectations and the real time reporting by the Palm Beach Post, there is a lack of eyewitness reports this year. For the most detailed reports, see the Palm Beach Post.
Friday, August 3
Saturday, August 4
Sunday, August 5
Monday, August 6
Tuesday, August 7
Finally, some good things to read about the offense! While it was bound to happen sooner or later, it was still nice to see that the team's work is paying off. To me, the most encouraging news of all has been the progression of John Beck. One reporter said he has looked the best of all the quarterbacks over the last 2 days. While Beck was taken lower in the draft than Ginn, if Beck does end up starting for the Dolphins some day, his ultimate contribution to the team could end up being much bigger than Ginn's. On the other hand, if the reports about Jason Allen are accurate, he is heading in the direction of becoming a major disappointment and a waste of a lot of money. To be fair, it does seem as though many of the observers are waiting to pounce on his mistakes, but it won't take many mistake by him to get written off. This is the year that Jason Allen must improve if he wants to have a good career. So far, it doesn't sound like that is happening.
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