*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Jul 23, 1997: -- Day 12 - July 22nd --
TODAY'S REPORT:
The Dolphins continued their 2-a-day practices yesterday, with
Jeff Buckey lining up with the first team offense for the first time in
his career ahead of a healthy Keith Sims. The change was made to
motivate Sims into playing harder and some of the desired effect is
already evident as Sims had a very good practice on Tuesday.
Sims himself concedes that he had a poor scrimmage on Saturday
and admits that he needs to improve his play in order to work his way
back into the starting lineup.
Everett McIver also had some good moments in practice on
Tuesday, but reportedly needs to gain consistency. And rookie free
agent Randy Wheeler has also been playing well enough to get noticed by
JJ on Tuesday. Right now, Wheeler is third on the depth chart at left
guard, but may move up if he keeps playing well.
On the other side of the ball, DE Jason Taylor has started
getting some play with the first team defense in passing situations.
During drills on Tuesday, Taylor got to line up at the right defensive
end position with the first string, while Danny Stubbs moved to the
left side and Trace Armstrong sat down.
Standouts on Tuesday included Charles Jordan again, when Marino
rifled a pass between two defensive backs into Jordan's hands.
However, WR Scott Miller, who was re-signed with the Dolphins this
week, got a rude "welcome home" when a hit from Tim Jacobs knocked the
ball out of Miller's hands into the waiting arms of Mike Crawford.
According to the Herald, Jordan continues to shine in training
camp and the Herald mentioned that Jordan looked good in both practices
on Tuesday.
Unfortunately, there are a few guys who didn't have a good day
on Tuesday. Rookie DT Mike Mohring and DE Nicholas Lopez were pulled
aside by defensive line coach Gary Godette during the afternoon
practice.
In yesterday's report, I posted the current depth chart from
the Miami Herald. However, that depth chart didn't have a listing for
punt or kickoff return men. The Dolphins Endzone has the complete
depth chart available and the depth chart for returners is as follows:
Starters 2nd Team 3rd Team
PR Charles Jordan Clayton Holmes James Dye
KR Charles Jordan Irving Spikes Clayton Holmes
So, according to this list, Jordan has won the principal kick
return duties for the team. While he was with Green Bay, Jordan did
have a punt return average of better than 11 yards per return, which is
very good. In contrast, McDuffie average 9.6 yards per return last
year.
TODAY'S EVENTS:
The Dolphins will practice just once today at 4:15 PM.
Tomorrow, they will practice twice at 9:00 AM and 4:15 PM, but they
will have Friday off as they travel to Green Bay and prepare to meet
the Packers on Saturday for their first pre-season game of the year.
INJURY REPORTS:
OL Jerome Daniels has a sprained ankle and missed practice
yesterday, while TE Troy Drayton is still sitting out with his sprained
ankle.
Dar Dar, Izzo and Yatil Green have all had successful surgery
on their injuries and will be beginning the long, arduous
rehabilitation process soon.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
Sorry, none today.
My Comments:
The fact that the demotion of Sims' is having an effect already
should hardly be surprising to anyone. The question is really whether
or not he can keep improving his effort or will he slack off again.
Jordan continues to impress in practice, but the real test
will come on Saturday when the Dolphins go to Green Bay to take on the
Packers. If Jordan doesn't look good up there, he may face the
prospect of having to sit in favor of Manning.
And while we're on the subject of Jordan, it's interesting that
he was designated the current punt and kickoff return man. When he was
signed by Miami last year, he was thought to be a candidate for the
punt return job, but he never did play at that position.
This year, however, he'll get the chance to do some returning
for the Dolphins. That should help improve the return game, because
Jordan was a good returner for Green Bay.
The other interesting item on the special teams roster is the
absence of Jerris McPhail at the kickoff return position. Last year,
McPhail was pretty good at that position, but it looks like JJ has
decided that Jordan and Spikes would be a better combination.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
|
