*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Jul 31, 1999
: -- Day 4 - July 30th --
TODAY'S REPORT:
The Dolphins opened their fourth day of training camp on Friday with
a morning workout in full pads, followed by an afternoon workout in
shoulder pads, helmets and shorts. All veterans that had not been
required to participate in the first 3 days of camp reported on Friday
morning, with the exception of Oronde Gadsden and Richmond Webb.
Both Webb and Gadsden were holding out of camp because neither
player had signed a contract. Gadsden, however, had a long talk with JJ
on Friday about his position and, as of this writing, has signed a one
year deal with the Dolphins and will report to practice on Saturday (Day
5) of training camp.
The Dolphins are working on a long term contract for Webb, but he
has not signed the franchise player tender off that the Dolphins have
made him and is hoping to get a bigger and better deal somewhere down
the road.
The Dolphins ran their first middle drill of this year's camp on
Friday morning and the defense got the best of it. The offense only
managed about 31 yards on 17 carries and none of the running backs stood
out exceptionally from the pack, although it sounds as if James Johnson
and Cecil Collins had the best runs of the group.
So far, however, the biggest surprise of training camp has been the
play of DE Rich Owens. Picked up as a free agent in the off-season,
Owens has already impressed coaches enough that he could challenge
Jason Taylor for the starting right defensive end spot. Certainly, he
will get plenty of chances to play this year.
Players who had good days on Friday included Rich Owens, Rob
Konrad, Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Cecil Collins, James Johnson, Daryl
Gardener, Tim Bowens, John Bock, and Sam Madison. Players who
struggled included Jason Taylor, O’Lester Pope and Bryan Jones.
And last, but not least, Brock Marion missed the morning practice
because his wife had a baby. Marion, being the team player that he is,
returned to participate in the afternoon practice.
Overall, it sounds as if the team is working very hard and the
competition is fierce for running back and wide receiver.
OUTSTANDING PLAYS:
The play of the day was apparently made by defensive back Ray Hill,
who stripped a pass away from FB Jamie Reader right at the catch. A
close second to that play was Rob Konrad's catch of a deep Marino pass
that drew praise from everyone.
The worst play of the day was made by Tyrone Wheatley, who fumbled
during the middle drill. Also, RB John Avery and WR Willie Green both
dropped passes that they should have caught.
JJ'S COMMENTS:
JJ praised Tim Bowens and Daryl Gardener for their play in the
middle drill and singled out Roosevelt Potts for his effort at
fullback. He also said that he was disappointed in Oronde Gadsden for
not showing up yesterday, but said that he had talked to Oronde and
explained the way things work in the NFL.
Other than those specific things, JJ fed reporters his usual
optimistic line of encouragement. The only other thing of substance
that he said was that this year, he was going to work the veteran
players a little less than he has in the past during training camp so
that they will have a better chance to stay healthy during the regular
season.
ROSTER MOVES:
Gadsden signed a one year deal for the league minimum and the
Dolphins waived DT Travis Darden.
FUTURE EVENTS:
On Saturday, July 31st, the Dolphins will hold two practices. This
will be followed on Sunday by the first scrimmage of the season.
INJURY REPORT:
DE Lorenzo Bromell sprained his knee and missed the afternoon
practice, but is expected to be back shortly. OJ Brigance and Sammie
Burroughs continue to miss camp because of bad backs.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
The following report comes to us from Charles from N. Miami.
Thanks, Charles!
Training Camp Report
Fri, July 30th
The weather was hot and 90s at the start of the afternoon practice.
Drills were light contact and many basic plays were repeated. The
stands were about 80% full, and fans are excited about this year's team.
The biggest competition is at RB. The Dolphins have several good
athletes. At this early stage the best RB appears to be Karim
Abdul-Jabbar, and 2nd best is probably Cecil the Diesel Collins. James
Johnson is big and could develop into a power runner. Wheatley has size
and athletic ability, but seems to prefer running outside.
Karim had several nice runs through the middle and is the most
consistent. John Avery had several drops and stayed late after practice
to work on his receiving.
*The top draft pick appears to be FB Rob Konrad. He made several nice
catches, both over the middle and a great deep pass. He is a complete
player, running, blocking and receiving, with good size and agility.
Dan Marino looked great as always. Backup QB is open with Huard and
Erickson competing.
WR - Willie Green had a good catch and dropped one over the middle.
McDuffie is consistently good. Larry Shannon had a couple of good
catches.
TE - Ed Perry and Rickey Brady, #49, showed good hands on short passes.
The OL is huge this year with Gogan and Donnalley at Guards. The
running game should be improved. But lets hope that they pass block
and keep Marino healthy as there were several QB pressures in practice.
The Defensive Line is also very competitive with the signing of Rich
Owens, #96. Tim Bowens should have another good year, but reported to
camp slightly overweight.
Zach Thomas had tight coverage on over the middle passes.
DB - Sam Madison is poised for a Pro Bowl caliber season. Buckley is a
great athlete and made one good play, and interfered on another. Ray
Hill, #28 made a couple of good plays. Safety could be the defensive
weakness, but Calvin Jackson looked sharp.
Special Teams - Punter is a big concern. Neither punter impressed when
rushed, averaging 35 yards and wobbly. Later Nick Gallery was booming
50+ yard punts with no rush.
It's too early to predict, but the Dolphins are deep and athletic at
almost every position. They should be in the playoffs again.
My Comments:
There was nothing earth-shattering to come out of yesterday's
practice. As expected, James Johnson fared well in the middle drill,
due to his size and tenacity. And it looks as though Cecil Collins
also impressed a few people.
Tyrone Wheatley, on the other hand, took a huge step backwards by
fumbling on the first full day of practice. JJ has cut talented
players in the past for fumbling.
Avery appears to be out of the running for the starting tailback
spot at this time. He didn't get many carries on Friday and on the ones
where he got the call, he continued dancing in the backfield.
So, the initial front runners in the running back competition are
Karim Abdul-Jabbar, James Johnson and Cecil Collins. Tyrone Wheatley
has dropped already to the bottom of the list. There was no mention
anywhere of Bernie Parmalee or Juan Johnson.
The details of the wide receiver duel are harder to come by because
everyone is focusing on the running backs, but so far, it looks like
Tony Martin is the leader for the spot opposite OJ McDuffie. However,
because Martin will miss a lot of training camp to attend his trial,
Willie Green, Oronde Gadsden, Lamar Thomas and Nate Jacquet will all
get a chance to compete for that job.
It's hard to believe that Rich Owens could push Jason Taylor out of
the starting lineup, but he is really making a positive impression on
the coaches. And Jason Taylor, as good as he is, had two offsides
penalties during the middle drill yesterday. JJ won't tolerate stupid
mistakes.
Overall, this training camp is progressing quite well, without the
first day disasters of the last 2 years (knock on wood).
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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