*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Aug 11, 1999
: -- Day 15 - Aug 10th --
TODAY'S REPORT:
The Dolphins conducted two practices on Tuesday, concentrating
on short yardage and goal line situations, especially during the morning
practice. JJ decided that, instead of a middle drill in the morning
practice, the Dolphins would conduct a full goal line scrimmage.
Following the practice, JJ commented that he was very pleased with the
practice, including work on a quarterback sneak for Dan Marino.
Probably the biggest news of the day was the performance of
Larry Shannon, who had at least 4 big catches in passing drills. JJ
went so far as to say that Shannon had the best practice he has ever
had with the Dolphins. Shannon capped the day by catching a touchdown
on a fade route to the endzone.
Other players that had good days include RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar,
who picked up 5 yards on one of the inside drills; WR Nate Jacquet, who
caught a deep pass over the middle in traffic; WR Robert Baker, who
continues to do well in one-on-one drills and RB Cecil Collins, who
continues to show the moves that set him apart from the other running
backs on the roster.
Some players didn't have days as good - Willie Green, Rob
Konrad and Bernie Parmalee each dropped easy passes; Stanley Pritchett
missed an inside hole and was tackled while trying to go outside; and
the defensive line jumped offsides a couple of times during short
yardage drill.
But perhaps the most unexpected development of the day was when
JJ asked Olindo Mare' to try punting in the afternoon. Mare' has been
the Dolphins emergency punter for the last 2 years and has punted 11
times in emergency situations. Apparently, JJ and Mike Westhoff are
disappointed with the consistency of both Brent Bartholemew and Nick
Gallery in practice and are toying with the idea that Olindo Mare'
might be able to handle both the kicking and punting duties.
If Mare' can handle the punting duties better than either of
the punters on the roster, that not only solves the problem of who to
start at punter, but also frees up an additional roster spot for other
players.
Of course, if Mare' were to get injured, the team would lose
both it's kicker and it's punter at the same time. And JJ says that
there's a 99% chance that Mare' won't be the punter. Nevertheless, it's
a fascinating possibility.
Right now, the worst thing happening to the Dolphins is the
absence of Yatil Green. He reportedly has tendonitis in his knee and
nothing but rest will cure that. It is doubtful he will play against
the Saints.
On the other hand, it looks like Tony Martin will be available
to play on Friday night against the Saints. Marino and Martin need
plenty of field time to get used to each other again.
OUTSTANDING PLAYS:
The big play of the day was Larry Shannon's touchdown catch in
the endzone. A close second would be Nate Jacquet's catch down the
middle.
JJ'S COMMENTS:
JJ was asked about his plans for the pre-season game against the
Saints and, in typical JJ fashion, he said he wouldn't make any
decisions until Friday about who would play and how long they would
play during the game.
JJ also stated that Larry Shannon had his best day ever as a
Dolphin and that he couldn't be any more pleased with Cecil Collins.
JJ also went on to say that he'd probably be keeping a punter and a
kicker on the roster and that Mare' would only kick in an emergency
or if the punters were having "some problems".
ROSTER MOVES:
None announced.
FUTURE EVENTS:
The Dolphins will practice twice on Wednesday and once on
Thursday before the pre-season game on Friday against the Saints.
INJURY REPORT:
WR Nate Jacquet left the afternoon practice early with a left
ankle sprain. G Mark Dixon (upset stomach), TE Troy Drayton (severe
right quadriceps contusion), WR Yatil Green (sore right knee), RB Juan
Johnson (bruised back), FB Roosevelt Potts (right calf strain), DT
Walter Scott (right knee sprain), LB Zach Thomas (concussion) did not
practice in either session on Tuesday and are listed as day-to-day. RB
JJ Johnson (strained left hamstring) is expected to be out for
approximately one week to 10 days. LB Sammie Burroughs (back) and LB
O.J. Brigance (back) remain on the clubĘs Active/Physically Unable to
Perform List. LB Anthony Harris (groin) is expected to be out 10-12
weeks as he recovers from surgery performed on August 3. OT Joe Wong
(torn ACL, left knee) will be scheduled for surgery in a couple of
weeks.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
Today we have a reprint of three postings on the Sun-Sentinel
message board, published here with permission of the author, who goes
by the name of DOLPHIN VICTORY. These are eyewitness reports from last
week. Thanks, DOLPHIN VICTORY!
THURSDAY 3PM HIGHLIGHTS
First of all- the facility if you have never been there is beautiful.
There are two 100 yard fields that run parallel to each other and the
bleachers hold 2200 fans--which are pretty well filled up most times.
3 pm--Punt Receiving Buckley looking confident. Two different Groups 11
on 11 walk throughs working on assignments, passing routes etc.
330 PM--Stretch out Exercises and about 200 yards warmup trotting
4 PM--Avery special work with a coach tossing him quick short 5 yd
passes ( sorry he dropped quite a few--guess that's why he needs the
practice plus tells us that they are thinking Avery more as a pass
receiver this year as many of us posted earlier.
Punting Practice--General Obsevation 3 camps and Tampa Scrimmage-
Gallery can boom 50+ yds strong leg but did see him shank one very
embarrassing. Bartholomew 40 to 45 yds consistently. Mare--believe he
looked as good as the other 2 punters. Mare is valuable to team-and
he is athletic to run down and tackle which he did at Scrimmage.
430 PM--All Yardage estimates. Konrad 15 yds rec--JJJ 10 yds--Diesel
screen pass 30 yds ( this looked impressive ) and Again Diesel 25 yd
run--Gadsden 40 yd rec--JJJ 30 yd screen pass---Baker 35 yd rec ( thpis
kid looks real good to me and he knows how to get open ) Jerry Wilson
interception---Parmalee 25 yds run--Huard looking best of QBs strong arm
and can scramble, only neg.seems to take a little too long at making
decision but hopefully improve like Dan with Quicker Release---McDuffie
15 yd slant in pass rec--Diesel 20 yd rec from Marino --Goodwin 30 yd
rec from Marino--Konrad 15 yds rec plus 10 more running --Avery 25 yds
rec Dan Gonzalez QB--JJJ 12 yds run up middle---Madison missed 30 yd
interception probably should have caught---Gadsden 10 yds rec--Avery 5
yd rec plus ran 5 more yds.
Summary : Contact not full force--maybe 75-80 % and some receptions and
runs a little longer than game conditions because they dont really
pursue 100 % like in a game.But overall the Offense was looking good
with Diesel, JJJ, Konrad, Avery, Gadsden, Baker, Goodwin, and Parmalee
looking best.
FRIDAY 10:45 AM HIGHLIGHTS with TAMPA
Warmups--Stretch Exercises etc.30 minutes both teams
11:15 --Warmup pass patterns--Steagall nice 50 yds rec, this guy looks
very good fast and good cuts---Jacquet 50 yards rec--Robert Baker also
50 yds rec and is my choice for most impressive of new receivers as well
as Yatil ( sore knee not in practice today--sure hope he will be OK )
CENTER DRILL Against Tampa Diesel 25 yds burst left then cut right-crowd
roared. Again Diesel 15 yds spinning breaking 2 tackles were his two
best runs--he is impressive hope he stays out of trouble and
healthy---Konrad 12 yds--JJJ several 5 to 10 yds up middle were best
Highlights.
PASSING Against TAMPA Konrad 15 yds rec --JJJ 10 yds underneath---Lamar
40 yds---Jacquet 20 yds---McDuffie 20 yds-- Shannon 40 yd almost doesnt
count he got blasted as soon as he tried to catch it and dropped it,
would have been miracle if he would have caught it---Pritchett 10 yds--
MIXING IT UP Diesel 35 yds burst up middle, crowd roared. Diesel
continues to outshine all RBs with Brent Smith leading blocking---JJJ 7
yds up middle run ---Diesel 15 yds up middle run---Pritchett 20 yds up
middle run. Pritchett looks good trimmed down lean and fit 235 lbs my
guess---Avery 4 yds loss with dance still continuing---Willie Green 25
yds rec---Konrad 10 yds rec plus 10 more yds run ---Grey Ruegamer
hitting pretty good he is getting lot of work and looks funny with his
all black socks, his ID I guess. Lamar Thomas wears one white knee sock
and one black knee sock, also looks funny ID signature, JJ lets them
have a little fun I guess---Jacquet missed 30 yds rec he probably should
have caught.
JJ continues to work mostly rooks and newer players. He has lots to look
at and there are so many that reps are few. Diesel, JJJ, and Konrad get
most looks and are looking very good especially Diesel and Konrad. I
didnt think Tampa looked very good at stopping our Offense.
FRIDAY PM
Highlights--Tampa and Fins. All yardage estimation. Very hot weather,2 a
days are doing a number on all but having Tampa here has increased the
competitive spirit and helping everbody to work harder--JJ likes
Competition.
4:45 PM--Punters practice. Gallery most powerful leg but not as
consistent, shanked one --Bartholomew more consistent but not quite as
strong as Gallery---Mare good too and a few times looked best.
5PM--Warmup--Exercices
5:15PM--Avery ran a punt backwards about 10 yds loss, major blunder, not
good.He thought he could out run rushing players, welcome to NFL.
PASSING Against TAMPA -- McDuffie 35 yds rec from Huard---Gadsden 20 yds
rec---Steagall 30 yds rec from Huard, this guy is very good new
prospect, later Steagall catches another 45 yds rec--Lamar 20 yds
rec---willie Green 15 yds rec--Avery 50 yds rec, very good crowd roared,
this is Avery's best skill to help Fins. He has been practicing
catching drills---Jacquet 45 yds bomb.
MIX IT UP with TAMPA -- Diesel 15 yds sweep showing speed and broke
tackle---JJJ off tackle 12 yds---Parmalee 10 yds up middle---JJJ again
off tackle 12 yds ---Lamar 15 yds rec---Pritchett 10 yds flat pass
--Lamar 25 yds nice catch crowd roared---Jacquet 30 yds rec---Goodwin 25
yds rec then ran 10 more yds looked strong ---Gadsden 20 yds rec
Side Note: Buckley got burned on other field 50 yd bomb by J. Green I
Think of Tampa---Diesel 5 yds screen pass then he ran head first smash
another 25 yds driving back Tampa defender crowd roared--Mc Duffie 15
yds rec----JJJ 15 yds rec running hard---Steagall 15 yds rec---T.
Martin 20 yds fast break--Avery 15 yds rec running fast after
catch--Diesel 30 yds cut direction twice up the middle run ( he is
making big plays ) --working Grey Ruegamer real hrd to see what he's
got --he was hustling --Avery dropped flat pass ( needs to practice
concentration )--Diesel another 25 yds hitting hard all day breaking
tackles ( I am tempted to say told you guys )---Gadsden 25 yds rec---JJJ
7 yds hard hitting --McDuffie 20 yds over middle tough catch ( OJ is
best hustler on team )--Martin 40 yds bomb crowd roared---Gadsden 15 yds
rec.
Side Note: Light rain producing a brilliant rainbow over the whole
field--Looks like Blessing sign to the Keep the Faith Gang.
SUMMARY Fri PM with Tampa -- Again newer players getting most reps
especially JJJ and Diesel. Tony Nathan former Dolphin and a great player
in his day is now Tampa Coach said he thought Diesel had the TALENT to
be BEST RB in more than 20 years, I agree. Coach Dungy also was
impressed with Diesel mentioned Diesel as " someone who would help the
Dolphins " Dungy mentioned no one else that way. My own assessment
Diesel looks like a cross between Jerome Bettis and Barry Sanders.His
talents are smashmouth like Bettis and he can change directions quickly
like Sanders. I think he will excel at 4.5 yds + if he gets enough
chances to run this year. Konrad also looking very impressive even
though he is not getting as many reps as Diesel. JJJ probably solid
backup like KAJ but with more power and better catching ability. Side
Note: Diesel is catching everything thrown his way--he can motor on
those little screen/flat type passes.
My Comments:
The performance of Larry Shannon on Tuesday was encouraging but
he still needs to show that performance against another team. If he
can't pull it together in a dramatic way in one of the first two or
three pre-season games, all the catches in practice won't help him make
the team.
It would be great if he can get it together, but I don't think
we'll see him on the team in September. Still, I wish him luck.
The fascinating possibility of Olindo Mare' being both the
Dolphins' punter and kicker is really intriguing. The problem, of
course, is putting all your eggs in one basket. Still, if he were to
handle both jobs, he would save the team a roster spot.
The objection that has been raised is that it might "tire him
out" to have him handle both duties. Personally, I think that's a red
herring. In college, Mare' handled placekicking and punting - and
played soccer on the side. He's enough of an athlete to do both jobs
without a problem.
No, I think that the real reason JJ doesn't want Mare' to handle
both jobs is that he's concerned about injuries. And I think that he's
justified.
Still... it's an interesting proposition.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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