*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Jul 13, 1997: -- Day 4 - July 12th --
TODAY'S REPORT:
The Dolphins entered their second day of full team practices
yesterday with a small bit of bad news. FB Stanley Pritchett twisted
his left knee in practice on Friday and strained his medial collateral
ligament.
The injury is not thought to be serious, but he will be held
out of practice for the next 5 to 6 days as a precaution.
In his absence, the Dolphins will give extra work to their
three other fullbacks - Robert Wilson, Dewayne Dotson and Ray Nealy.
Wilson is the incumbent backup at fullback and had one carry
last season for no yards and 2 catches for 4 yards and a touchdown.
However, they don't keep stats for blocks and in the Dolphins' current
offensive scheme, the fullbacks do more blocking than anything else.
Dewayne Dotson has been with the Dolphins off and on for 3
years, first as a linebacker and then as a fullback. And rookie free
agent Ray Nealy actually played tailback last year at Arkansas-Pine
Bluff, but at 235 pounds is big enough to play fullback.
Nealy said that he's already done more blocking in the first
days of training camp than during his entire college career.
The Dolphins practiced only once yesterday morning, calling
off the afternoon practice due to rain and lightning in the area.
However, after the morning practice, the team set a record of twelve
players who needed IVs due to dehydration. Welcome to South Florida,
boys.
Players who stood out yesterday include Bernie Parmalee, who
broke through the line twice during the middle drills and outran the
defensive backs on a sweep and Charles Jordan, who had a great day
in the one-on-one drills against the defensive backs.
Tim Bowens, back in the lineup after getting kicked in the
groin on Friday, got wrapped up with Jerris McPhail during the middle
drills and refused to let him go. JJ had to intervene to remind
Bowens about when to stop playing.
On the other end of the performance scale, Clayton Holmes
apparently got beaten a number of times in the one-on-one drills and
DE Jason Taylor had trouble getting penetration in the middle drills.
TODAY'S EVENTS:
Because yesterday afternoon's practice was cancelled, the
Dolphins will practice this morning from 8:30 to 9:30 AM. Then, this
afternoon, there will be a full intersquad scrimmage at 1:00 PM.
INJURY REPORTS:
In addition to the injury to Stanley Pritchett, CB Hudhaifa
Ismaeli sat out Saturday's practice with a bruised sternum, which he
suffered on Friday when he hit TE Walter Reeves. Also, Irving Spikes
continues to sit on the sidelines following his knee surgery.
In less serious injuries, OL Donnie Young cut his finger
severely enough to require treatment for it and RB Brandon Bennett
pulled a hamstring.
And Tim Bowens returned to practice after getting kicked in
the groin on Friday.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
Sorry, folks, but I don't have any eyewitness reports today.
My Comments:
One of the things that I always worry about during training
camp is injuries. Fortunately, the Dolphins' tough conditioning
program during the off-season helps to keep injuries to a minimum.
And Pritchett should be healthy in a week or so, so there is
no big loss to the team at this point. In fact, it will actually help
JJ decide which backup to keep at fullback, because all the backup
fullbacks will now get more repetitions in practice.
For those who don't know, I've always rooted fro Bernie
Parmalee and whenever I hear that he's doing well, that always makes
me feel good.
Also, if Charles Jordan continues to perform at the same level
that he's been performing at over the last few days, he will make the
team and hopefully contribute significantly this year. Of course,
given his past history, it's way too early to be making bold
predictions about Jordan, but since this is definitely his last
chance, perhaps he's finally turned the corner.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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