*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Jul 10, 1997: -- Day 1 - July 9th --
The Dolphins had their first practices yesterday as the
rookies got their first taste of what it's like in JJ's training camp.
All of the rookies were present yesterday, after the Dolphins signed
their last unsigned draft pick, DE Jason Taylor, yesterday morning
before practice.
It was a long day for the rookies and some of the veterans as
the team had two practices and the real hitting began. There were a
number of standouts, both good and bad, in yesterday's practices.
On the good side, free agent rookie WR James Dye caught a
Spence Fischer pass over the middle and turned it into a touchdown,
even though CB Hudhaifa Ismaeli nearly pulled off his pants in an
attempt to stop him. Dye is probably the smallest player on the team
at 5'9" and 160 pounds, but was 3rd in the nation last year in punt
returns while he was at BYU.
Also in the "great play" department, Calvin Jackson welcomed
Yatil Green to the NFL by flattening him as he went up to catch a
pass. Green landed flat on his back in the grass.
JJ went out of his way to single out the play of DE Jason
Taylor, CBs Sam Madison and Hudaifa Ismaeli and LB Derrick Rodgers for
praise. More specifically, he said that Taylor was very strong and
that Rodgers has "great instincts".
On the flip side, the biggest disappointment of the day was WR
Yatil Green who dropped as many passes as he caught in the morning
practice. Green himself characterized it as the worst practice he's
ever had. He did improve some in the afternoon practice, however.
Also, JJ once again went out of his way to criticize CB Calvin
Jackson for his lack of conditioning and the fact that he's
overweight. He reported at 198 pounds - about 13 pounds over his
assigned weight of 185.
And last of all, two players failed to complete the
end-of-practice running drills - OL John Elmore and OL Donnie Young.
TODAY'S EVENTS:
The team will practice this afternoon from 3 to 4:45 PM. There
will be no morning practice, but today is the day that the veterans
report.
INJURY REPORTS:
Only Irving Spikes missed practice yesterday, while recovering
from his knee injury. Spikes reportedly wants to start running this
Friday, but JJ has told him to wait a while.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
None yet - but they'll be coming!
My Comments:
Yesterday was the first day that some of the defensive players
got to hit the offensive players and knock some of their attitude out
of them. Apparently Calvin Jackson took advantage of that to welcome
Yatil Green to the NFL.
And speaking of Green, I wouldn't be too concerned about his
lack of production yesterday morning. First of all, he's undoubtedly
nervous as he starts training camp and secondly, he's not catching
passes from Marino yet. I suspect that he'll have nervous hands on a
couple of other days during camp, but he's young and he's in camp and
practicing, which is the most important thing.
You have to like little James Dye from BYU. He may not make
the team, but you always need a little guy around to watch and shake
up the big guys. Plus, even though his 40 times are not the fastest,
he apparently is very elusive on the field and hard to catch. The
Dolphins do still need a punt returner and Dye was 3rd in the nation
in punt return average last year. He's a long shot to make the team,
but he will definitely be fun to watch this summer.
Of course, it's good to hear that Rodgers and Taylor are
practicing well, but you have to wonder what Donnie Young and John
Elmore have been doing for the past 6 weeks. There's no excuse for
anybody to come in out of shape at this point. Both Young and Elmore
have probably just reduced their chances of making the team by 50%.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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