*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Jul 14, 1997: -- Day 5 - July 13th --
TODAY'S REPORT:
Yesterday, the Dolphins had their first full scrimmage of
training camp and there was an awful lot of good news to report after
the scrimmage. Unfortunately, there was also a few disappointments to
tell you about.
First, the worst news. Yesterday, during the scrimmage, Kirby
Dar Dar was drilled by safety Earl Little on one play and left the
field. An MRI today has revealed that Dar Dar sustained some serious
ligament damage to his right knee and will have to have surgery on it
this week. The word out of Miami is that his season may be over.
However, as I said, most of the news out of the scrimmage was
good news.
The best performance of the day was put in by rookie
linebacker Derrick Rodgers, who is fast becoming the talk of the camp.
Playing at linebacker, Rodgers not only lead the team in tackles with
7, but also had 2 sacks and a forced fumble. Not bad for an old guy.
After only a week of training camp, JJ has already said that
if Rodgers continues to perform the way that he has been, it will be
"tough to keep him out of the staring lineup". JJ has also said that
Rodgers is having a better camp this year than Zach Thomas had last
year.
Following the scrimmage, the speculation is that Rodgers will
end up starting at weak side linebacker and Harris and Hollier will
fight it out for the starting strong side linebacker position.
Not bad for a guy who was too old and too inexperienced to be
drafted higher than the third round.
On the offensive side of the ball, Bernie Parmalee had a fine
scrimmage, leading the running backs with 13 carries for 57 yards - a
4.4 yard/carry average. Between recovering from his injuries and
conditioning this off-season, Parmalee is stronger and faster than
he's been in a long time.
Overall, the starting offense did not play a lot during the
scrimmage. Abdul-Jabbar only got 7 carries and Marino only threw 9
passes and neither was very impressive. JJ allowed the rookies to
spend a lot more time on the field.
In the competition for the third string quarterback, it looks
as if Spence Fischer has the early lead over Damon Huard. Fischer
completed 10 of 11 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, but also had
an interception. Huard completed 5 of 8 for 48 yards and a touchdown.
In the competition for the third wide receiver spot, Charles
Jordan caught 3 passes for 63 yards and had another pass for a
touchdown called back on a penalty. Yatil Green also caught 3 passes,
but for 48 yards and no touchdowns.
While it might appear that Jordan got the better of the
competition, he did run two incorrect routes on plays where he was
supposed to adjust to the defensive formation.
Jerris McPhail also carried the ball a lot, but apparently
didn't do as well as Parmalee, getting 15 carries for 43 yards.
In the competition for the right guard spot, Chris Gray
started with the first team today. So far, Gray has been trading off
with McIver for that spot.
DE Jason Taylor was apparently a little nervous, because he
jumped offsides three times during the scrimmage, but did manage to
get a sack and several quarterback pressures, in addition to
recovering a fumble.
LB Marc Lillibrige, who was the Dolphins' best performer in
the WLAF this spring, tied Derrick Rodgers for the most tackles with
7. And DE Dunstan Anderson, who was signed out of nowhere last week
from the world league, tied Rodgers for the lead in sacks by
collecting two for himself.
All in all, there were 3 touchdowns scored during the
scrimmage, all three on passes. One was from Craig Erickson to
Dewayned Dotson, the second was from Spence Fischer to Lawrence Dawsey
and the third was from Damon Huard to Ed Perry.
Speaking of Perry, he got to play most of the scrimmage at
tight end after Drayton sustained a minor ankle sprain early in the
scrimmage. He had a pretty good day at tight end, catching 2 passes
for 18 yards and a touchdown.
As far as the depth chart is concerned, there were no major
surprises yesterday. On the defense, JJ added Clayton Holmes and
George Teague for the nickel defensive package. Again, on offense,
Gray started at right guard and Jordan started as the 3rd wide
receiver.
The next scrimmage will be at the Orange Bowl next weekend and
there may be some changes in the starting lineup by then.
SCRIMMAGE STATS:
PASSING
Marino 4-9, 54 yards
Erickson 9-17, 102 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (3sacks)
Fischer 10-11, 131 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (3 sacks)
Huard 5-8, 48 yards, 1 TD
RUSHING:
Parmalee 13-57
McPhail 15-43
Abdul-Jabbar 4-7
RECEIVING:
Jordan 3-63
Green 3-48
Manning 3-34
Dawsey 2-70
Perry 2-18
Stanley 2-18
R. Wilson 2-15
Nealy 2-12
Reeves 2-11
Dar Dar 1-18
Barnett 1-8,
McDuffie 1-8
McPhail 1-5
Dotson 1-4
Parmalee 1-2
Abdul-Jabbar 1-1
SCORING PLAYS
Erickson 4-yard pass to Dotson
Fischer 26-yard pass to Dawsey
Huard 13-yard pass to Perry
DEFENSIVE STATISTICS Rodgers 7 (4 solo-3 assists, 2 sacks),
Lillibridge 7 (4-3), Teague 6 (4-2), Brigance 5 (1-4), Madison 4
(4-0), Crawford 4 (2-2), Anderson 4 (3-1, 2 sacks), J. Wilson
4 (3-1), Hill 4 (2-2), Davis 3 (3-0), C. Harris 3 (3-0),
A. Harris 3 (2-1), Jacobs 3 (1-2), Z. Thomas 3 (1-2), Holmes
(2-0), Taylor 2 (2-0, 1 sack), Wooden 2 (2-0), Bowens 2 (1-1),
Fiala 2 (1-1), Little 2 (1-1), Anthony 2 (0-2), Burton 1
(1-0), Gardener 1 (1-0), Hand 1 (1-0), Izzo L(1-0, 1 sack),
C. Jackson 1 (1-0), Hollier 1 (0-1), Ward 1 (0-1)
INTERCEPTIONS Little, Wooden
FORCED FUMBLES Wooden, Rodgers
TODAY'S EVENTS:
The Dolphins have today off, but will return to practice on
Tuesday when they practice from 9 to 10:45 AM and from 4:15 to 6:00
PM.
INJURY REPORTS:
Kirby Dar Dar has ligament damage and will require surgery.
He may be gone for the year.
Troy Drayton twisted his ankle and sat out most of the
scrimmage, but should be back tomorrow and WR Lawrence Dawsey strained
a hamstring.
Hudhaifa Ismaeli (bruised sternum) practiced in the morning,
but missed the scrimmage.
Both Stanley Pritchett and Irving Spikes may start limited
participation in practice tomorrow (Tuesday).
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
Today's eyewitness report comes to you from Jerry Cattell at
the University of Miami.
I was a bit late for the scrimmage today, but I did get to see
some nice plays.
I never saw Marino, Jabbar, Pritchett, Drayton, Bowens, or Anthony
Harris play.
Offense
QB: Didn't see Marino so I didn't really pay much attention. Erickson,
Fischer, and Huard all played. None were great; none were horrible.
RB: Parmalee looked really good. But that may be because the
1st team OL seemed to be on the field the same time he was.
Jerris McPhail had a few nice runs, but he seemed to get
stuffed at the line alot.
FB: Robert Wilson had a few nice plays. He caught one and
dragged a DB with him. I also recall Nealy having a nice
catch and run.
TE: Ed Perry was catching the ball very well. I almost
mistook him for Drayton on one play. Didn't really notice
anyone else.
WR: Charles Jordan continues to be a training camp wonder. He
made some really nice catches. Jermaine Dye dropped a sure
touchdown. Yatil Green caught one over the middle and got hit
pretty hard. But he got up, albeit slowly. I don't remember
many others.
OL: Wasn't paying much attention to this area.
Defense
DL: Gardener made a nice stop on a running play. I didn't
notice much of Jason Taylor. #71(Dunstan Anderson?) did put
some nice pressure on the QB in a few consecutive plays.
LB: Mike Crawfard was impressive in stopping the run. Marc
Lillibridge made one nice stop but missed a few tackles as
well. John Fiala missed quite a few tackles. Derrick Rodgers
had at least one sack, and got some good presuure going up the
middle.
CB: Didn't notice many plays.
S: Wooden had a nice int. Earl Little also had a leaping
interception, but he was beat most of the day. Sean Hill
deflected one in the endzone.
Hopefully I'll be able to make it to a few more in the future.
Thanks, Jerry, for that report.
My Comments:
Well, the first scrimmage was a success and we got a short
glimpse of the future. Derrick Rodgers is a very nice surprise and
it's really encouraging to hear JJ say that Rodgers is playing better
than Zach Thomas did last year at this time.
It's a damn shame about Dar Dar, though. After being on and
off the team for several years, he was just coming into his own as a
full time player and now this happens. If this is a serious injury,
he will be missed on special teams.
Hearing that Bernie Parmalee is back in form is good for the
team. Unfortunately, this generates speculation that Parmalee may now
challenge for a starting job with Abdul-Jabbar and McPhail. That
would certainly liven up camp.
However, it is bad news for Irvings Spikes.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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