*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Jul 26, 1997: -- Green Bay Game Preview --
This is an abbreviated version of my normal game preview that I
write during the season. It's abbreviated for obvious reasons, but
let me add a caveat before we continue - this game means nothing to
standings. What is important is how individual players perform, not
so much how the team performs.
GAME TIME: 6:30 PM EST. This game will be delay-broadcast on Channel
4, WFOR TV in Miami, starting at 7:30 PM. WQAM (560) & WQBA (1140)
will broadcast the game live. I have also been informed that
Sportschannel Florida will carry the game on a one-hour tape delay and
that Satellite channel 319 will re-broadcast the game on Sunday at
7:30 PM. Since WQAM is broadcasting the game, you may be able to
listen to it via realaudio on the Internet from their site at
WWW.Audionet.com
PLACE: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin.
WEATHER FORECAST: Today ... partly to mostly sunny...hot and very
humid. a chance of thunderstorms northwest and south. Highs from 85
northwest to the mid 90s south. Heat index values 105 to 110 in the
south. Tonight...a chance for thunderstorms statewide.
FIELD CONDITIONS: I believe that Lambeau is a grass field and it
should be in pretty good shape.
INJURY REPORTS:
Miami: OUT: WR Kirby Dar Dar (knee), WR Yatil Green (knee), LB Larry
Izzo (ankle), DE Daniel Stubbs (leg), WR Fred Barnett
(knee), TE Troy Drayton (ankle) and WR James Dye (thumb)
DOUBTFUL: T Jerome Daniels (ankle)
Green Bay: OUT: WR Robert Brooks (knee), LB George Koonce (knee), G
Lindsay Knapp (calf) and T Bruce Wilkerson (back)
DOUBTFUL: CB Doug Evans (shoulder)
QUESTIONABLE: LB Brian Williams (ankle), T Earl Dotson
(knee), G Gary Brown (knee) and LB Wayne Simmons
(hamstring)
DOLPHINS STARTERS:
Offense: Defense:
QB - 13 Dan Marino DE - 99 Jason Taylor
RB - 33 Karim Abdul-Jabbar DT - 95 Tim Bowens
FB - 36 Stanley Pritchett DT - 92 Daryl Gardener
WR - 88 Charles Jordan DE - 93 Trace Armstrong
WR - 81 OJ McDuffie LB - 50 Dwight Hollier
TE - 44 Ed Perry ML - 54 Zach Thomas
LT - 78 Richmond Webb LB - 51 Anthony Harris
LG - 77 Jeff Buckey CB - 38 Calvin Jackson
C - 61 Tim Ruddy CB - 27 Terrell Buckley
RG - 62 Chris Gray SS - 22 Shawn Wooden
RT - 76 James Brown FS - 25 Corey Harris
K - 6 Joe Nedney P - 17 John Kidd
PR - 88 Charles Jordan KR - 32 Jerris McPhail,
88 Charles Jordan
NOTE: I'm presuming a couple of things here. First of all, I'm
presuming that Jordan will start opposite McDuffie, even though Brian
Manning is technically the backup to Fred Barnett. However, if they
go to a three wide receiver set, Manning should be in. He is number
18.
Also, despite the Dolphins' Endzone depth chart that lists the kickoff
returners as Jordan and Spikes, I'm going with the Herald that said
that McPhail and Jordan will be the primary kickoff returners. Of
course, it could also be Spikes and McPhail or Jordan and Spikes. We
won't know for sure until they line up.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Don't pay too much attention to the starting lineup. The
Dolphins' starters are only expected to play a series or two, unless
they really stink up the field.
The main reason to watch this game is to see the performance
of individual players, principally the rookies. On offense for the
Dolphins, you should keep your eyes on #44 Ed Perry, who is starting
in place of Troy Drayton. You want to see, not only how he runs
routes and catches passes, but also how he blocks.
The other place that you want to keep an eye on is the
offensive line, because that's where the most competition is,
especially at the guard position. Buckey (#77), will probably start
at left guard ahead of Sims and Chris Gray (#62) will be starting at
right guard.
But Everett McIver (#66) should be rotating with Gray at right
guard, so keep an eye out for him, also.
It will be worth watching for Jordan (#88) and for Brian
Manning (#18) at the wide receiver positions, to see if either of them
can stretch the defense in place of Yatil Green.
On defense, the most important player to watch, IMO, will be
#99, DE Jason Taylor. He will be starting in place of Danny Stubbs at
right defensive end and with the Packers having a banged up offensive
line, he may get a chance to shine. If the Dolphins are to have an
improved pass rush this year, Taylor will have to be part of that pass
rush.
Also, the linebackers Anthony Harris (#51) and Dwight Hollier
(#50) are supposedly having outstanding camps. They will start, but
they are being pressed by rookie Derrick Rodgers (#59), so keep an eye
out for all of these numbers on the field.
In the defensive backfield, Calvin Jackson (#38) is battling
rookie Sam Madison (#29) for the starting right cornerback position.
Jackson is currently the starter, but an outstanding performance by
Madison could catipult him into the starting position.
The same goes for Shawn Wooden (#22) and George Teague (#23)
at safety. Wooden is starting but a great day by Teague could move
him past Wooden into the starting spot.
And, at placekicker, Nedney will compete with Mare. In
training camp, Mare has been beating Nedney in accuracy, so look for
both of them to get a chance to kick. Nedney is #6 and Mare is #10.
MY ANALYSIS:
This is a pre-season game and is probably the most meaningless
game of the season. While winning would be nice, there are two things
that are much more important for the Dolphins to accomplish today.
Obviously, the most important thing to accomplish is for the
team to stay healthy. If the entire first string didn't play at all,
I would be quite content.
After that is accomplished, the coaches will be watching the
individual players to see who will shine during a real game and who
will fail to live up to expectations. In particular, the battles at
the contested starting positions will get the most attention, along
with all of the rookies.
It's probable that every rookie on the team will get to play
today and a single great play today could be the difference between
making the team and going to work for Publix in September. For a lot
of these kids, this will be their one and only chance to impress the
coaches with their individual performances.
As a result, play is likely to be very sloppy today.
Typically, early pre-season games have lots of fumbles, mistakes,
missed tackles and dropped passes. Also, there tends to be a lot of
penalties in these games because the rookies are nervous and trying to
make an impression.
In contrast, the veterans tend to not play as hard during
these games because they don't want to get hurt. So, if Dan Marino
doesn't pass well or if OJ McDuffie doesn't catch a lot of passes, it
doesn't mean anything. In the '94 season, when Marino was coming back
from his achilles injury, he had one of the worst performances ever in
a pre-season game against the Vikings. This game had everyone saying
that Marino was finished.
Until the next week, that is, when he came out and bombed the
Patriots in the opening game for 473 yards and 5 touchdowns.
The point is that you can't draw any serious conclusions about
the veterans from the pre-season games. Now, if JJ puts the first
string back in later in the game or keeps them in longer than he said
he would, you can bet that he's probably unhappy with their
performance, but don't read too much into it.
I guess the bottom line is this - the final score is the least
important statistic to take away from this game. The most important
thing to take away from this game is the individual performances of
the youngsters and how the coaches feel about them.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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