*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Aug 02, 1997: -- Day 19 - August 1st --
TODAY'S REPORT:
In practice on Friday, for the second day in a row, the Dolphins
suffered no serious injuries to any member of the team. Since I know
that that is the principal question on everyone's mind at this point, I
thought that I would get that out of the way first.
The team practiced once yesterday in preparation for Monday's
game against the Broncos and JJ made some announcements about who would
be playing in the game and what they would be doing.
First of all, in the kicking duel being waged during camp this
year, it looks like we'll be seeing our first competition on Monday
night, as the Dolphins have announced that they will allow both Joe
Nedney and Olindo Mare to do some kicking on Monday night.
Mike Westhoff, the Dolphins' special teams coach, has said that
he specifically wants to see Mare kick in some gametime situations.
The Dolphins have also said that they will be letting rookie
linebacker Derrick Rodgers do some more rushing the passer on Monday,
where he has excelled during training camp. In fact, Rodgers primary
position in college was as a pass rushing linebacker/defensive end,
where he stood out.
During practice yesterday, wide receiver Brian Manning continued
to show his stuff, making a fingertip catch over the head of Corey
Harris, who had Manning well covered on the play. Unfortunately, not
everything went well for Manning yesterday. He ran into another
receiver on one play, when one of the two ran an incorrect route.
Norman Hand also continued to impress coaches with his workouts
and play in practice. Hand didn't play up to his potential in 1996, but
he seems to be well on his way to breaking into the defensive line
rotation in 1997.
Also, JJ and defensive coordinator George Hill are continuing to
praise the play of linebacker Ronnie Ward, who is said to be fast,
strong and have good instincts. Right now, Ward is the backup strong
side linebacker behind veteran Dwight Hollier.
And participating in the full practice for the first time in 3
weeks was tight end Troy Drayton, whom the Dolphins are hoping will have
a big year this year. Drayton had been practicing on a limited basis
this week, but yesterday was the first day that he got to be in a full
practice.
Drayton is expected to see action against the Broncos on Monday
night, although probably won't play a lot.
And while we're on the subject, JJ has said that he expects that
Marino will play most of the first quarter and Erickson could play into
the third quarter, depending on the performance of the team. It looks
like the starters will get a lot more time to play together on Monday.
TODAY'S EVENTS:
The Dolphins will practice once this morning, before getting
ready to go to Mexico City tomorrow. The game against the Broncos will
be on Monday night at 8:00 PM, on ABC - Monday night football begins.
INJURY REPORTS:
Tight end Troy Drayton participated in all aspects of practice
yesterday for the first time in nearly 3 weeks. He had been lining up
with the team for some of the practice sessions this week, but he had
been sitting out the heavy contact drills until yesterday.
Jerome Daniels (left leg) is still working out on his own, but
may return to practice with the team next week after the Denver game.
Fred Barnett (right knee) is also on schedule to start practicing with
the team again next week, but will probably not play against the Bears
on August 16th.
Scott Miller (left knee), Daniel Stubbs (left fibula) and Sam
Madison (ankle) continue their rehabilitation. Miller and Madison
should be back in 2 to 3 weeks and as far as I have been able to
determine, Stubbs is still on track to return by the opener against the
Colts.
Kirby Dar Dar (right knee), Yatil Green (right knee) and Larry
Izzo (left Achilles’ tendon) are recovering from their surgeries.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
Sorry, none today.
My Comments:
Let's take a moment and talk about the status of the big
competitions in camp. There is still serious competition at kicker,
right guard and strong safety.
At kicker, the word out of Miami is that, so far, Mare is
looking slightly better than Joe Nedney in terms of accuracy and is just
as good on the deep kickoffs, which is where Nedney really shined last
year.
The first real test will be next Monday night, where it appears
that JJ will alternate kickers like he did last year with Nedney and
Stoyanovich. Each player will get a chance to strut their stuff and
prove that they belong on the team.
Last year, Stoyo and Nedney were about equally accurate, but
Nedney's kickoffs were much stronger, leading the Dolphins to trade
Stoyo to the Chiefs. This year, there's no way to know who will handle
the pressure better, but it will be interesting to watch the two players
on Monday.
The competition at right guard seems to be boiling down to size
versus skill. Everett McIver is bigger, but Chris Gray is a little more
talented in terms of instincts and has more experience. Unlike the
other side, where Sims was clearly the better player, Gray and McIver
are trade-offs. Gray is probably the better pass blocker and may better
better as a pulling guard, but McIver is better in the short yardage,
straight ahead, aggressive run blocking.
Right now, Gray is still the starter, but it wouldn't take much
for McIver to unseat him. Without knowing McIver, it's probably easier
for McIver to develop instincts and skill than it is for Gray to get
bigger.
In the competition at strong safety, apparently Shawn Wooden is
not playing up to the level that they'd hoped he approach this year.
He isn't improving significantly from where he was last year.
On the other hand, George Teague, despite being a big playmaker,
seems to be having some trouble picking up the defense and is making
some mistakes. And JJ has said that it isn't always the guy who makes
the most plays, but sometimes it is the guy who makes the least
mistakes who ends up starting.
The projected competitions at right cornerback and running back
haven't really materialized. Calvin Jackson at right cornerback has
held off Sam Madison effectively and now that Madison is injured, the
jobs kind of falls by default into Jacksons' lap.
Which is not to say that Madison is a slouch. It appears that
Madison has been progressing very well this summer and will be a force
in the future, but the surprising performance of Jackson this training
camp has helped him keep his job.
At running back, there was some indication that Jerris McPhail
would compete with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the starting slot, but that
hasn't materialized. Abdul-Jabbar has worked hard in the off-season to
fix his problems and McPhail, while possessing great speed, just hasn't
been able to develop the instincts necessary to be an every down
player.
Also, I think that the injury to Yatil Green has held up
McPhail's development somewhat. That may sound crazy, but now the
Dolphins are more committed to using McPhail as a receiver to stretch
opposing defenses, whether out of the backfield or split wide. With
McPhail working on those changes, he has less time to work on the
improvements that he will need to make in his game to become a full
time starter.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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