*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Aug 21, 1999: -- Day 25 - Aug 20th --
TODAY'S REPORT:
After practicing for 2 days with the San Diego Chargers, the
Dolphins practiced by themselves on Friday, while the Chargers took the
day off. The Dolphins didn't work very hard, however, just conducting
what amounted to a walkthrough in preparation for the pre-season game
against the Chargers.
Since the practice was a light workout, there is very little
news about what went on. Unfortunately, the biggest news of the day was
that Lamar Thomas' shoulder is worse than originally thought. It looks
like he will eventually have to have surgery on the shoulder. The
question is whether or not the surgery can wait until the end of the
season. Lamar will skip the game against the Chargers tonight and will
have an MRI when he gets back to Miami to determine how serious the
damage is.
During the game tonight, Cecil Collins, Larry Shannon, Robert
Baker and Yatil Green will get a lot of playing time, along with Dan
Marino, who will play more than he did last week against the Saints.
Last year, the Chargers had the top ranked defense in the
league in terms of yards allowed and they'll be a good test for the
Dolphins' offense tonight. Kevin Gogan will get his first start at
right guard in place of Kevin Donnalley, but Donnalley will get plenty
of playing time.
Other players who will face major tests this evening include
CBs Ray Hill, Emmanuel McDaniel and Jerry Wilson, who are all competing
for a spot on the time as the "dime" back.
FUTURE EVENTS:
The game tonight will take place at Qualcomm Stadium in San
Diego, at 8:00 PM, PDT. That means that it will be late on the east
coast, namely 11:00 PM before the game starts.
I've heard several different stories about whether or not WQAM
will broadcast the game live via RealAudio. To find their RealAudio
broadcast, you can go to www.wqam.com or to www.broadcast.com.
If it's not on WQAM, go to the
NFL Broadcast Page. This page has links to
many RealAudio broadcast sites that carry NFL games live.
On local TV in Miami, the game will be live on WFOR TV (Channel
4). On DirecTV, there are three broadcasts of the game listed:
Sat - 11:00 PM EDT/8:00 PM PDT on Channel 653 (Fox Sports West 2)
Sun - 3:00 AM EDT/12:00 AM PDT on Channel 653 (Fox Sports West 2)
Sun - 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT on Channel 634 (SportsChannel Florida)
INJURY REPORT:
WR Oronde Gadsden (back), FB Roosevelt Potts (calf), DE Walter
Scott (knee) did not make the trip to San Diego due to injuries. RB JJ
Johnson (strained left hamstring), WR Nate Jacquet (sprained right big
toe) and WR Lamar Thomas (dislocated shoulder) will not play against the
Chargers.
LB Sammie Burroughs (back) and LB O.J. Brigance (back) remain on
the clubĖs 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.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
Sorry, but we have no eyewitness reports today. However, I
want to take this moment to thank the folks at OnLine.CyberCTC.net for
supplying the video of the Dolphins practices on Thursday.
Oh, by the way - the folks at OnLine.CyberCTC.net tell me that
the Dolphins videos are generating more traffic than their Victoria's
Secret videos.
Way to go, Dolphins fans!
My Comments:
I don't have much use for pre-season games. Oh sure, it's fun
to see the players and the team, but you never know how much stock to
place in the team's performance. If you get too excited about a
player (like Brian Manning two years ago), he could disappoint you.
On the other hand, you get guys like Oronde Gadsden, who comes
out of nowhere and does some good things and then does even better in
the regular season.
So, you never know.
In any case, the game tonight against the Chargers will be
another game like the one last week against the Saints. It will not be
about winning and losing, although that would certainly be nice.
The game tonight is more about finding out who can play than
about how the team performs. Guys like Cecil Collins, Yatil Green,
Larry Shannon, Robert Baker, Ray Hill and Emmanuel McDaniel are on the
spot. If they perform well tonight, it doesn't mean that they will
perform well in the regular season.
On the other hand, if they don't perform well tonight, they may
never get to play in a regular season game.
For the team, the most important goal is to come out of the
game without any serious injuries. If they accomplish that, the game
can't be considered a failure.
So tonight, keep you eye on the rookies and the guys looking
for a roster spot. This is their chance to shine.
For some of them, it will be their last chance.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
|
