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Jul 21, 1997: -- Eyewitness Reports on the Scrimmage --

I have four eyewitness reports from the scrimmage at the Orange Bowl on Saturday. They are included here in the order I received them.

The first report is from "The Greatest Texas Dolfans....Gene B. and Shelly S.":

Unfortunately, we are far from Miami, stuck in the Heart of Texas, the home of the Dallas Cowboys training camp, Austin. To us, the Cowboys are nothing more than a wart on the nose of football and in the same week that the Dolphins suffer such losses and that the Cowboys seem to always favor (with the inevitable return of Michael Irvin), being able to catch the scrimmage on our satellite (bought only for the purpose of watching our Dolphins) has been the bright spot of the week.

To get the bad stuff over with first, let me make it clear that while watching the Dolphins today, I believe that Lamar Thomas should begin packing. Even though he seemed to find an open hole regularly, his inability to complete a catch, from either Marino or Erickson, was overwhelmingly disappointing. At a time when the receivers left on the field should be working hard to show their all, even McDuffie seemed to fall victim to pressure and failed to perform at the level which we all know that he is capable. On one pass play, Marino must have marked the ball for 'special delivery' to O.J., with a beautiful cross the middle bullet directly behind the defender, Calvin Jackson, and McDuffie didn't even seem to notice.

The right side of the offensive line seemed to live up to all the bad press which it seems to receive, allowing both Marino and Erickson to be pressured on several occasions.

Now, for my favorite, the good things... Ed Perry, WOW!!! I am a huge Drayton fan, who didn't play at all today, but this kid is amazing!! His powerful running after the catch and ability to stay on his feet, like a 260lb. ballerina, just blew me away!! He seemed unwilling to fail and fought non-stop to catch any pass that was thrown his way. Another bright spot was Brian Manning. Just as you seemed to have seen something in this kid, I saw a definite positive addition to the Dolphins receiving corp. This kid is speedy, has amazing jumping and catching ability and short of his troubles coming down with the ball in bounds, Manning was entirely impressive.

Derrick Rodgers was everything I have heard and more. Just like a certain #54 that I hold as the greatest newcomer to football in years (and a personal favorite), he was all over the field and never seemed to stop. He had a hand in almost every down he played. In the secondary, Wooden and Teague showed much-lacking speed and ability. Their coverage was consistent and thorough and they played as a force to be reckoned with.

Our first string offense, although a little slow out of the gate (what's new), really picked up the pace and showed some cohesion a few drives into the scrimmage. Right away, Marino's conditioning in the off season was clearly visible, he seemed quicker and more mobile in the pocket. He had three fumbled snaps but the ball was wet and he quickly seemed to regain his Marinoesque stature. McPhail is a clear threat with his astounding catching ability and speed out of the backfield. Abdul-Jabbar was consistent and elusive, likewise gaining momentum towards the end of the scrimmage.

Parmalee continues to perform like the workhorse he has been for the Dolphins for a while now. Never giving up and scoring easily at the goal line.

Sadly, the scrimmage was cut short with the familiar Miami heavy rains and lightning forcing Jimmy to call it a day. I guess he feels that he can't afford to take chances with any possibly preventable injuries. All in all, just getting to watch my team and experience the new season coming on, I have to say that the scrimmage was a success. These players I felt compelled to mention just seemed to really want it a little more than some others.

The second report comes to us from Cliff Kulas - take it away, Cliff!

Although i wasn't at yesterday's scrimmage I was able to watch it on Sportschannel Florida via the sattelite. Here is what I saw:

Quarterbacks-First of all, let me preface this synopsis by saying the scrimmage was stopped short because of the horrible weather. Lightning and thunder. By saying that Marino fumbled the ball three times while throwing an interception. Craig Erickson was throwing the ball very well despite the conditions. His arm looked to be very strong. Huard and Fisher did not see any playing time.

Running Backs- Abdul-Jabbar, although his stats may not show it, he was running very hard and seemed extremely patient reading the holes and making some nice runs. There were a couple of times where it looked like he would be stopped for no gain when he made some cuts a la' Barry Sanders. Parmalee as reported in the papers looked like the old Parmalee. He was also hitting the holes pretty hard. Parmalee is definitely a lock to make the team especially because of his prowess on special teams (and all Dolfans know we can definitely use some help on Special teams with the unfortunate loss of Izzo and Dar Dar). Spikes had a couple of runs for a few yards. I really didn't concentrate on the fullbacks that much. But Robert Wilson did have a reception or two.

Wide Receivers- Without question, Mr. Brian Manning definitely left an impression on me. This guy has SPEED to burn and runs disciplined routes. I think he will not only make the team but will be a contributor this year. There was one play where he ran what appeared to be a 15 yard turn in, he was blanketed by Tim Jacobs and still made a beautiful catch. The catch was all hands. McDuffie who to his own admission is not a 100% dropped a couple of passes. I have been reading a lot of nice things about Jordan but did not see anything today from him that would warrant the job for the 3rd receiver. It was only a short scrimmage so i might be being a little rough on him. Lamar Thomas dropped a few catchable balls.

Tight Ends- If Ed Perry wasn't wearing number 44 you would think it was number 84. This sixth rounder might just be another JJ steal. He hauled in a pass over the middle and was popped by not one but two defenders, somehow kept his balance and rumbled another 8 yards before being brought down at the goal line. He caught another pass in the flat and dragged a defender with him for about 5 yards. Wainwright caught a couple of passes including a juggling catch ed after being leveled. Walter Reeves dropped the one ball that was thrown his way. If Perry maintains his level of play he will pushing either Wainwright or Reeves out of a job. I feel Reeves will be the one to go considering Wainwright is considered by Dolphins coaches to be an exceptional special teams player.

Offensive Line- Overall, the first team (Webb, Sims, Ruddy, McIver, Brown) did a nice job. Marino was hardly pressured and they opened some gaping holes for Jabbar. The second team from left to right was Elmore, Buckey, Bock, Gray, Sheldon. I have to admit these guys did a nice job pass blocking for Erickson especially in the two minute drill. The guy who surprised me the most was John Elmore. Although he is listed at 6'3" he was doing a nice job neutralizing Jason Taylor at left tackle. Elmore appears to be nimble and quick on his feet for a man who tips the scales at 325 lbs. Brent Smith did see a little time at left tackle but I was disappointed not seeing Jerome Daniels at all. He better improve quickly or he could be out of a job, especially with the surprising play of Elmore.

Defensive Line-Because of the sloppy conditions, the defensive line did not appear to be quick off the snap. Tim Bowens was in the backfield on a couple of occasions attempting to take the handoff. Really looking at Taylor, he shows a quick burst at the snap. He has a motor that didn't quit. He put pressure on the quarterback a couple of times but Erickson was also taking short drops and getting rid of the ball. Taylor also recovered a fumble after chasing the play down the field.

Linebackers- The first teamers Hollier, Thomas, Harris did not do anything that really caught my attention. Zach did get beat down the middle by Jerris McPhail, but with McPhail's speed and the fact that Marino hit him in stride there isn't a middle linebacker in the league that would have successfully defended that play. Derrick Rodgers' performance didn't top that of his last scrimmage but he is another who never quits on a play. He did make a couple of nice tackles. He didn't rush the quarterback too often but he did put good pressure on the one time I saw him coming.

Defensive Backs- Buckley wasn't getting many balls thrown his direction but he did put a nice pop on someone to jar a ball loose. The second teamers Madison and Jacobs did a nice job. Jacobs had the majority of the balls come his way and there were some completions against him but he was always right there with the receiver. Erickson never even threw in Madison's direction which leads me to believe he had him man blanketed. Madison also licked Parmalee and forced the fumble which Taylor picked up. Teague and Harris definitely are much faster than our safeties last year and that is going to be a big difference. Wooden was still with the first team and played very well including intercepting a duck that Marino threw.

Next up is a report from John A. Vassel. Being the free spirit that he is, John likes to exercise his freedom of speech by writing things in one paragraph. However, my eyes are getting older and I find it hard to read things in one paragraph, so I have added some paragraph breaks. None of the words are changed, however.

I had the opportunity to catch the scrimmage on satellite via Sportschannel. Let me preface this report by saying that the scrimmage was played under less than ideal conditions to evaluate players. From my perspective, I could only evaluate players at the skill positions since the majority of the scrimmage was played in a downpour.

Dan Marino went 3 of 8 in the first series for 18 yards and had three fumbles in the exchange from Tim Ruddy. Dan also threw an interception to Shawn Wooden.

As you can see this was not vintage Marino, but the weather conditions did not help. Marino later redeemed his poor performance when the rain stopped. Highlights included strikes to Ed Perry (he made the team based on his performance today), Brian Manning, and Jerris Mcphail.

On the downside, Lamar Thomas dropped two catchable ball s. Needless to say, Dan nor Craig Erickson looked in his direction again after the drops.

O.J. McDuffie played a lot, but he still does not look like he is ready for opening day. He looked very frustrated after failing to catch several passes.

The running game looked impressive as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar carried the ball about a dozen times for over fifty yards. Even in the rain, Jabbar was cutting and juking his way through the line. He seems to have a better sense of which hole to hit rather than running up the offensive linemens' backs like last season.

Bernie Parmalee displayed that he still has the talent to start by breaking some nice runs and breaking tackles. Jabbar and Parmalee each scored rushing touchdowns. Irving Spikes saw his first action, but he still looks tentative. Robert Wilson showcased his good hands by catching a couple of passes out of the backfield for nice yardage.

One note of interest is that when Craig Erickson was in, the offense ran two screen plays that were executed perfectly. Jabbar and Parmalee were on the receiving ends of each. Erickson seems to have more mobility in the pocket which gives the team more play-calling ability. Craig rolled out on several occasions which gave him more time to throw.

On the defensive side of the ball, Corey Harris made several hits on receivers early. George Teague was beaten on a couple of plays.

Zach Thomas looks in mid-season form as he made a couple nice plays in pass coverage. Most notably, he read a Dan Marino bullet that he could not hold on to, but it was still a great play.

Derrick Rodgers continues to impress. He made several tackles on running plays. Jason Taylor put some heat on the two quarterbacks, but he struggled against the run. Mike Crawford was very active while in the game. He shed a number of blocks and kept his feet.

Dwight Hollier was all over the field and made a touchdown saving tackle on Ed Perry at the one yard line.

To sum up, the scrimmage was called after another lightning storm rolled through the Orange Bowl. From my perspective, it looks like the offense is ahead of the defense. Although the team struggled on both sides of the ball, the running game looked impressive. The passing game seems hindered a bit because the timing between receivers and quarterbacks is off. Neither Spence Fischer nor Damon Huard played due to the shortened scrimmage. Jim Mandich hinted that neither of these players may be on the roster when the season starts because Coach Johnson may just stick with Dan and Craig. Fortunately, I did not observe any Dolphin players writhing in pain on the surface of the Orange Bowl. Perhaps the injury jinx is over.

And last, but certainly not least, Robert E Turner contributes his thoughts on Clayton Holmes.

I thought I would mention the performance of Clayton Holmes during the scrimmage. Although reports from camp so far have failed to elevate Holmes, his play Saturday was terrific. He generally lined up as left cornerback and played man to man on deep-posting receivers. He had at least two passes defensed but more importantly, he was BLANKETING his assignment. JJ said this guy was fast, but he was really surprising in coverage.

I believe you are correct in that Jordan had one reception; however, he had a terrific over-the-shoulder catch on the right sidelines in tight coverage that was ruled out of bounds.

My Comments:

I have little to say about these reports except a big "Thank You" to everyone who contributed.

I do have two corrections to add to the stats yesterday. Craig Erickson's stats should be 12-24-0-114. I thought that 252 yards sounded a little bit too good to be true.

And it appears that Darryl Gardener did have some tackles after all. The Sun-Sentinel's stats have Gardener contributing 4 solo tackles with no assist and no sacks.

As of right now, which is Monday morning, the Dolphins Endzone continues their outstanding coverage by not posting a scrimmage report.