*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Aug 17, 1999: -- Day 21 - Aug 16th --
TODAY'S REPORT:
The Dolphins had two practices on Monday in preparation for the
trip to San Diego. The morning was a full practice, followed by an
afternoon practice in shoulder pads and shorts. Yatil Green sat out the
afternoon practice and Shawn Wooden missed the morning, but both were
just resting their knees. Also missing practice was Jerry Wilson, who
was absent for personal reasons.
The man of the day was Karim Abdul-Jabbar, who, despite having a
sore knee, broke several tackles in the middle drill and impressed
onlookers. Unfortunately for KAJ, Cecil Collins continues to look great
and scored a touchdown in the middle drill.
JJ Johnson was back running on Monday and had to be stopped from
running more than the coaches wanted him to run. He said his leg was
feeling much better and that he should be ready for the Detroit game in
a week and a half.
Also having a good day were Troy Drayton, Bernie Parmalee,
Jamie Reader and OJ McDuffie. Guys that didn't have such a good day
included Stanley Pritchett and Yatil Green.
The biggest news of the day, however, was the claiming of DE
Dimitrius Underwood off of waivers from the Vikings. Underwood is the
first round draft choice of the Vikings who vanished from their training
camp several weeks ago after just one day of practice. After he
reappeared a week later, he first said that he didn't want to play
football anymore because he wanted to take up the ministry, but changed
his mind a day later.
The Vikings then decided that they had had enough of Underwood
and waived him last week. He originally had a 5 year deal with the
Vikings and by claiming him off waivers, the Dolphins assume
responsibility for that contract - minus the signing bonus - if he
agrees to play for Miami.
However, the Dolphins don't owe Underwood a penny until the
regular season starts, so they essentially get a 3 week free trial to
see if Underwood really wants to play football. JJ had Underwood rated
as the best defensive end in the draft this year and now he gets to try
him out free.
But even if Underwood decides not to play this year, the
Dolphins, by claiming him off of waivers, get the rights to him. So if
he changes his mind, he will have to play with the Dolphins - or the
Dolphins can trade his rights to someone else and get a draft pick or
another player.
Right now, it's not clear what the Dolphins will do with
Underwood. It's not even clear if he'll be on the roster at all this
year. The team must meet with him and his agent and get him to agree
to whatever deal they have in mind. The results of that meeting will
be known in the next day or two. Until that happens, Underwood will
not participate in any training camp activities.
The other development out of training camp that has not been
confirmed is the promotion of Kevin Gogan to starting right guard over
Kevin Donnalley. The depth chart on the Sun-Sentinel website lists
Gogan as the starter in front of Donnalley, but there has been no
official confirmation of this.
Gogan did play at right guard on Friday night against the
Saints, but only as the second string.
OUTSTANDING PLAYS:
The play of the day was OJ McDuffie's catch when sandwiched
between Greg Jeffries and Brock Marion. Karim Abdul-Jabbar also had a
great run in the middle drill, breaking tackles.
JJ'S COMMENTS:
JJ said that LB Bryan Jones has played well enough on special
teams to earn himself a roster spot. JJ also commented that Karim had
one of his best days at practice so far this year.
On the subject of Brent Bartholemew, JJ said that Bartholemew
has dramatically improved his punting consistency since the weekend and
that he thought that Bartholemew was pushing too hard when he was in
competition with Gallery.
JJ said that he would play Marino a lot more in the pre-season
game against San Diego, but that otherwise he would use much the same
philosophy against the Chargers as he did against the Saints.
ROSTER MOVES:
The Dolphins claimed DE Dimitrius Underwood off of waivers from
the Vikings and signed WR Kio Sanford, who spent 1998 on the Colts'
practice squad.
FUTURE EVENTS:
The Dolphins practiced once on Tuesday morning and will travel
to San Diego on Wednesday. They will practice in San Diego on
Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday and will play San Diego on
Saturday night in a pre-season game.
The practices in San Diego are going to be open to the public
at the Charger's practice facility.
INJURY REPORT:
WR Nate Jacquet (sprained right big toe), WR Oronde Gadsden
(back), FB Roosevelt Potts (right calf), DT Walter Scott (right knee)
and RB JJ Johnson (left hamstring) were out. S Shawn Wooden (left knee)
missed the morning, and WR Yatil Green (right knee) missed the
afternoon.
LB OJ Brigance and LB Sammie Burroughs remain on the
physicially unable to perform list, while LB Anthony Harris will be out
10 more weeks with his groin injury.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
None today. Also, once the Dolphins get back from San Diego,
there will be no more eyewitness reports. The Dolphins are closing all
training camp practices to the public after August 21st because of
construction at the training camp facility.
My Comments:
When I first heard about the claiming of Dimitrius Underwood, I
admit that I was not thrilled. I thought that picking up Underwood was a
waste of the team's time and effort.
I did some reading on Underwood and while he is an amazing
physical specimen, his dedication to football is questionable. He sat
out his entire junior year with a sprained ankle and while it was a
serious sprain, that would not be enough to keep most players sidelined
for an entire year.
And of course, there was his most recent little trip around the
country.
However, the more I read about what the Dolphins are doing, the
less objection I have to the Dolphins claiming him. The worst that
happens is that he doesn't play ever again and the Dolphins loose
nothing. If he doesn't play this year, his salary doesn't count
against the Dolphins' cap and the team loses nothing.
Of course, he has a potential to be a terrific player, but I
think that the odds are against him. Only time will tell.
On the subject of Kevin Gogan, if he has moved ahead of
Donnalley at right guard, perhaps that is the best thing for the team.
That could very well put the best two guards on the line - Dixon and
Gogan - and right guard is Gogan's best position.
We'll know more on Saturday when the Dolphins line up for the
pre-season game against the Chargers. If Gogan starts at right guard,
that will be the confirmation of what the Sun-Sentinel has published.
Of course, if the Sun-Sentinel was wrong, it wouldn't be the
first time.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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