*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Aug 04, 1999
: -- Day 8 - Aug 3 --
TODAY'S REPORT:
The Dolphins conducted a shortened practice on Tuesday afternoon,
due to the presence of an uninvited South Florida thunderstorm. This
gave the team the chance to work on handling a wet football, but it
also caused practice to be cut short, probably due to the danger posed
by lightning.
The biggest news of the day was the release of Tyrone Wheatley. As
is his custom, JJ praised Wheatley even as he cut him, saying that
Wheatley had shown a great attitude while in camp and if not for the
presence of rookies JJ Johnson and Cecil Collins, Wheatley probably
would have made the team.
WR Robert Baker, whom the Dolphins signed after he was paroled from
prison this spring, made a terrific catch in the rain over Patrick
Surtain. Baker continues to impress coaches and onlookers with his
pass-catching ability, although JJ says that he still has a long way to
go.
Also, it appears that CB Emmanuel McDaniel has made quite a case
for himself by providing outstanding one-on-one coverage in passing
drills. McDaniel was originally signed at the end of last season to
the practice squad and subsequently to the regular roster. Since the
mini-camps, McDaniel has been quietly working his way on to the roster.
And now it looks like Mark Dixon has established himself as the
leading candidate to replace Richmond Webb at left tackle if Webb
doesn't manage to come to a deal with the team by September. JJ stated
that they've moved Dixon to tackle for the time being and he had a good
day against Darryl Gardener, which is probably as difficult a blocking
test as the Dolphins can devise.
On the downside, JJ Johnson fumbled during the middle drill, which
is the ultimate sin in JJ's eyes and the quarterbacks all struggled in
the rain to complete passes. But Cecil Collins apparently broke
another good run at the end of practice, so all was not disappointment.
OUTSTANDING PLAYS:
The play of the day was generally regarded to be Baker's catch over
Patrick Surtain, even though Surtain slipped at the very end. On the
downside, there was James Johnson's fumble.
JJ'S COMMENTS:
JJ praised all three of the top running backs left on the
team right now - James Johnson, Cecil Collins and Karim Abdul-Jabbar.
He also commented that the team doesn't have a starting roster at this
point and that it's too soon to comment on who is going to make the
team.
JJ also praise Tyrone Wheatley for his attitude and work ethic
while with the team, but said that the presence of the rookie running
backs basically caused the team to let him go. He further said that
he thought that it would be unfair to Wheatley to keep him in Miami
when he wasn't going to make the team.
JJ also had some praise for Robert Baker, but said that despite his
performance thus far, he remained more of a project than a possible
roster addition.
ROSTER MOVES:
The team released Tyrone Wheatley and Safety Marcus Wimberly and
then signed free agents DE Barry Mitchell and DT Cedric White. LB
Dixon Edwards has left training camp because of concerns about his
heart.
FUTURE EVENTS:
The Dolphins will practice twice on Wednesday and then will begin
practices against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday.
INJURY REPORT:
LB Anthony Harris suffered a torn groin muscled during the practice
on Sunday and will be out 10-12 weeks. LB Dixon Edwards was out of
practice awaiting test results about his heart and has since quit the
team. LB OJ Brigance (back), LB Sammie Burroughs (back), RB Juan
Johnson (back), TE Troy Drayton (bruised quad) and DT Antoine Simpson
(back) missed practice. Juan Johnson, Drayton and Simpson are
considered day-to-day.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
Sorry, no eyewitness reports of Tuesday's practice.
My Comments:
I expected that the Dolphins would eventually trade or release
Wheatley, but I didn't expect it to happen this quickly. Still, if
there was no chance for him to make the team, it's just as well to get
rid of him in a hurry so that the other running backs can compete.
It still appears that Robert Baker's best chance to make the team
is on special teams, but I haven't heard anything about punt returners
or how Baker has compared to the other players while returning punts.
The rash of injuries to the linebackers and loss of Dixon Edwards,
while disturbing, is not really serious - yet. The three starters from
last year are fine, as is Dwight Hollier, who would be the main backup
for all three positions if one of the starters went down. Also, Sammie
Burroughs should be back soon and OJ Brigance will be back by the time
the season starts.
By the way, JJ is going to keep Edwards on the roster in case
Edwards changes his mind between now and September. An irregular
heartbeat is a frightening thing, but 4 doctors have cleared him to
play and Edwards could change his mind after sitting at home for a
couple of weeks.
Overall, things are still progressing well at Camp JJ.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
|
