*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Aug 26, 1999: -- Day 30 - Aug 25th --
TODAY'S REPORT:
Wednesday brought bad news to Dolphins' training camp as RB JJ
Johnson reinjured his left hamstring in practice and sat out all day
Wednesday. It now appears that Johnson will miss Saturday's game
against Detroit, even though his injury is not as serious as his
original injury against the Bucs.
Johnson apparently re-strained the hamstring on Tuesday and
ended up sitting out on Wednesday.
In other news, LB OJ Brigance is back at practice for the
first time since his back surgery before training camp. Brigance has
his work cut out for him, despite his previous record with the team.
Brigance was co-captain of special teams last year with Bernie
Parmalee, but this year he must compete with Larry Izzo and Bryan
Jones for a linebacker's spot on the roster.
WR Lamar Thomas flew to Alabama to get a second opinion on his
shoulder problems and is trying to decide if he should have surgery
before the season or if it is safe to wait until the season ends. If
it turns out to be safe, Thomas will have therapy and possibly have to
wear a special brace on the shoulder.
WR Oronde Gadsden did practice on a limited basis on
Wednesday, but is still not ready for full contact and it appears
unlikely he will play on Saturday.
Still, WR Yatil Green is getting a lot of extra work in the
absence of Lamar Thomas, OJ McDuffie, Nate Jacquet and Gadsden.
According to several reports, Yatil performed very well on Wednesday
along with Larry Shannon, who is also getting some extra work.
Returning to practice for the first time since the Chargers'
game, S Reyna Stewart had a pretty good practice on Wednesday, also.
And last, but not least, LB Larry Izzo had a cast put on his
thumb, but continued to practice. He sustained a crack in a bone in
his thumb last week, but it wasn't properly diagnosed until Tuesday.
He will continue to work out and play.
JJ'S COMMENTS:
JJ didn't say anything of substance on Wednesday, other than
giving a general report on injuries and commenting that a number of
players "had a nice practice". He did say that Shawn Wooden will get
a lot more work against the Lions than he has in previous pre-season
so that the team can evaluate him against Calvin Jackson for the
starting strong safety spot.
In fact, JJ made a point of saying a number of times that a
lot of positions would be "evaluated" to see who would stay on the
team.
ROSTER MOVES:
There were no roster moves on Wednesday.
FUTURE EVENTS:
The team will have one practice each day this week until
Saturday, when they will host the Detroit Lions in Miami at 7:00 PM
local time.
INJURY REPORT:
RB JJ Johnson re-injured his left hamstring, did not practice
Wednesday and is doubtful for Saturday's game. WR Oronde Gadsden
(back) worked in a limited basis and is day-to-day. WR Nate Jacquet
(sprained right big toe), WR OJ McDuffie (left thumb), DE Walter Scott
(right knee), WR Lamar Thomas (left shoulder) and S Brian Walker (left
knee sprain) did not practice today. LB Sammie Burroughs (back)
remains on the club's 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:
Unfortunately, there will be no more eyewitness reports this
summer because the Dolphins have closed training camp to outside
visitors.
My Comments:
Of course, the big news today is the acquittal of Tony Martin
and that means that he'll be back to work with the team on Friday.
He shouldn't have to miss any more practices and his head should be
back in the game after having to worry about his future since last
fall.
There are some positive aspects to having L.Thomas, Gadsden
and McDuffie on the sidelines. Marino will now get to work more with
Yatil Green and Tony Martin and Larry Shannon will now get a truly
fair chance to make the team.
I'm pleased that OJ Brigance is back, because that puts the LB
depth chart almost back to normal. It's still not clear if Brigance
will make the team, but at least we know he'll be able to play.
Ditto for Roosevelt Potts.
With the Detroit game coming up, it will be interesting to see
what the Dolphins have in store for the Lions and how well they will
play when they get to gameplan.
It looks like the Detroit game will be the last chance that
Larry Shannon has to show off his stuff and make the team. If he
plays well and doesn't drop anything, he's probably on the roster for
the year. If he screws up again...
Jerry Wilson managed to boost his stock considerably in the
last game, but that last cornerback spot is still up for grabs and
both Ray Hill and Emmanuel McDaniel have been practicing well.
All in all, the game against Detroit will be the last big test
to see who makes the team this year. Any rookie or new man who plays
poorly against Detroit is in big trouble.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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