*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Jul 24, 1997: -- Day 13 - July 23rd --
TODAY'S REPORT:
The Dolphins worked out just once yesterday afternoon, and
there were no big surprises as the team began to prepare for their
first pre-season game of the year against the Green Bay Packers.
The game will be a big test for a number of the Dolphins'
rookies and many of them will see extensive playing time, as the
veterans will only see a limited number of series'.
Dan Marino will play in the game for a series or two,
according to JJ. However, playing in the game will mean that Dan
won't be attending Don Shula's induction into the Hall of Fame on
Saturday. Dan was invited to the induction, but chose to play with
the team in Green Bay.
Players that looked sharp yesterday included Zach Thomas, who
intercepted a Dan Marino pass and returned it 10 yards and Ronnie Ward
and Mike Crawford who hit Irving Spikes and drove him backwards during
a goal line play.
JJ also praised Dwight Hollier and Anthony Harris, saying that
they are having outstanding camps and are outstanding football
players. He further went on to say that the Dolphins have as much
talent at linebacker as they have at any position on the team.
Also, cornerback Tim Jacobs continues to impress with his play
this spring, drawing praise from JJ. Jacobs has moved into the number
2 slot at left cornerback behind T-Buck.
Unfortunately, not everyone had a good day yesterday. Clayton
Holmes was caught holding twice, tripped a receiver on another play
and dropped an interception.
And Trace Armstrong missed part of yesterday's practice, along
with all of today's, so that he could be with his son while his son
had minor surgery. Armstrong is expected back with the team on
Thursday night.
There was no word on what Armstrong's son surgery was about,
but it is not thought to be serious.
In the Sims/Buckey battle, Buckey still retains the starting
left guard position, even though Sims has already improved his play.
The real first test for these two will be on Saturday, when they play
the Packers.
FUTURE EVENTS:
The Dolphins are scheduled to practice twice on Thursday, at
9:00 AM and 4:15 PM. They are going to take Friday off to travel to
Green Bay in preparation for their game on Saturday at 6:30 PM against
the Packers.
As far as I know, this game will be broadcast only on WFOR TV
in Miami. It should be available via satellite, but I don't have the
coordinates. If anyone out there does have the coordinates, please
forward them to me.
Also, you might try getting realaudio and tuning in to WQAM on
Saturday night to see if you can catch the live radio broadcast.
INJURY REPORTS:
OT Jerome Daniels has sprained his ankle and missed
yesterday's practice. This is bad for Daniels, who is already having
problems living up to JJ's expectations in camp.
TE Troy Drayton continues to nurse his sprained ankle that he
hurt last week. He sat out practice yesterday and will be out until
next Monday, at the earliest.
WR Kirby Dar Dar, WR Yatil Green and LB Larry Izzo continued
their rest after successful surgery.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
Sorry, still no eyewitness reports.
My Comments:
No much that was unusual or different happened yesterday, so I
don't have a whole lot to comment on. It makes me feel good that the
linebacker situation seems to have improved so much in just the last
year and the depth should help the team if there is a problem with the
starters.
It's also good to see an unexpected player like Tim Jacobs
turn in an unusually good performance in training camp. Jacobs played
nickel back and on special teams last year and hopefully will continue
to make improvements. The team can never have too many good defensive
backs.
On the other hand, it's always disappointing to see players
like Clayton Holmes, who was expected to make an impact on the team,
not play up to expectations. Holmes may stay on the team for his kick
and punt returning abilities, but he doesn't appear to be a very good
cover man.
So far, I think that it's fair to say that the biggest
disappointment of this training camp (that's not related to
injuries...) has to be offensive lineman Jerome Daniels. The Dolphins
were hoping for big things from this mountain from New England, but so
far, he's played more like a molehill that a mountain.
If Daniels doesn't get healthy and start playing a lot better,
he will soon be only a memory.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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