*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Aug 03, 1997: -- Day 20 - Aug 2nd --
TODAY'S REPORT:
The Dolphins held one practice yesterday morning in preparation
for their trip to Mexico today. Some of the players were looking
forward to going to Mexico city, for a couple of days of R&R, but
it looks like the players are only going to get a couple of hours off
after meetings and practices and JJ has "suggested" that the players
stay in their hotel rooms during that time.
In practice yesterday, Derrick Rodgers wowed onlookers by making
a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch during a pass interception drill.
The Herald also reported that Troy Drayton is making up for lost time by
practicing well following his return from injury last week.
In roster moves, there have been none since the waiver of Lopez
and Fiala last week.
Other players receiving attention in today's papers including
Darryl Gardener, Ronnie Ward, Lamar Thomas and Charles Jordan. The
Herald, in particular, quotes JJ as saying that Gardener is having an
"outstanding" training camp. There have been rumors that Gardener was
not practicing particularly well, but if that was true, Gardener has
improved on that.
Gardener should get more playing time on Monday night than he
got last week, when he got only one tackle against the Packers.
Ronnie Ward was also mentioned today, but more in a
continuation of the sort of compliments that he has been getting lately
than in any kind of new light. Ward will see a fair amount of action
on Monday night.
Lamar Thomas has been getting a lot more practice time with the
first team recently, with the loss of Fred Barnett, Scott Miller and
Yatil Green. There has been some improvement in his play, but he still
has a long way to go.
Also, the news on Charles Jordan is that, while he is practicing
harder than he ever has, he still has a lot to learn. While he has a
great deal of natural talent, he hasn't learned how to best catch
passes from Dan Marino. He still assumes too much and needs to work
smarter instead of just harder.
All of this is old news, of course. In fact, there's very
little that's new with the team today. Everyone is waiting to see if
the team's performance against the Packers was just a fluke, a product
of the pre-season or a genuine indication of how the team is going to
perform this year.
TODAY'S EVENTS:
Today, the team is traveling to Mexico City, where they will
face the Broncos on Monday night football.
INJURY REPORTS:
Fred Barnett plans to be ready to play against the Bears next
weekend, although it's doubtful that JJ will endanger his best receiver
against the Bears.
Jerome Daniels (left leg), Scott Miller (left knee), Daniel
Stubbs (left fibula) and Sam Madison (ankle) continue their
rehabilitation.
Kirby Dar Dar (right knee), Yatil Green (right knee) and Larry
Izzo (left Achilles tendon) are still recovering from their surgeries.
Right now, they're all on the regular roster, but all three will
probably be put on the Injured Reserve just before the season starts.
If any of the three are recovering unusually fast from their surgeries,
they could be kept on the roster like Barnett was kept last year, but
it's doubtful.
My Comments:
The Broncos game tomorrow night could be a good one, or it
could be another mess like the Green Bay game. I'm not terribly
concerned about the final score, but unless the team is interested in
earning JJ's eternal wrath for the rest of the summer, they'd better
play better than they did against the Packers.
Despite the complimentary article in the Sun-Sentinel today
about Lamar Thomas, I find it hard to believe that he will be on the
team at the end of August when the Dolphins face the Colts. Still, the
competition is much less intense than it was at the start of training
camp, so he may make the team solely on the fact that he knows the
offense better than any of the newcomers.
Right now, there are 10 relatively healthy wide receivers on the
team, but only Barnett and McDuffie can be considered genuine starters
or in competition for starting jobs. Brian Manning has stunned
everyone, but even if he is a lock for the team, that leaves such
illustrious names as Dimitrius Stanley, Terence Davis, and Jasper Strong
to compete with Scott Miller, Charles Jordan, Lawrence Dawsey and Lamar
Thomas for the remaining 3 spots.
The news on Gardener is a little perplexing after the rumors
I've been hearing, but perhaps it's not so strange. As the Herald
points out, in a JJ defense, the defensive tackles don't get a chance to
make a lot of plays. Their main job is to be so intimidating that they
occupy the offensive line to all other defensive players to make the
plays.
Given that fact, it's not so surprising that Gardener could be
doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing and still not make a big
impression on the onlookers.
Moving on to a totally different subject, it appears that the
Green Bay Packers signed Dolphins Draft pick Nicholas Lopez yesterday,
immediately after he was cut by the Dolphins.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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