*** DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ***
Sep 01, 1999: -- Day 36 - Aug 31st --
TODAY'S REPORT:
The Dolphins had their first practice with Dimitrius Underwood
yesterday and in a predictable fashion, JJ announced that Underwood
had an impressive practice despite being out of shape and not having
practiced since July.
The raw talent that Underwood brings to the game was
apparently evident, even though this was his first day with the team.
He is big, strong and showed some good lateral moves. Since the
practice was in shorts and shoulder pads, he didn't get much chance to
really hit at full speed, but the coaching staff liked what they saw.
The plays of the day were turned in by Dan Marino, Tony
Martin and Larry Shannon. Marino hit Martin with a perfect pass at
one point in practice and Larry Shannon had two outstanding catches.
The Miami Herald also reports that Lamar Thomas and CB Ray Hill made
some good plays.
RB Cecil Collins told reporters that his ankle already felt
100% better than it had just after the Detroit game, but he still has
it in a cast to prevent any damage to it. Currently, Collins is
trying to be ready for the opener against the Broncos.
JJ'S COMMENTS:
Without prompting, JJ noted that the team had worked very well
on Tuesday even though it was raining. JJ also singled out Larry
Shannon and Brent Smith for praise, particularly noting Smith's
performance against the Lions. Of course, that is likely to be a
rather un-subtle negotiating ploy to use on Richmond Webb, but it's
significant, nonetheless.
JJ said that Underwood had an excellent practice and that he's
an excellent prospect for the future. But he also said that it's too
soon to tell if Underwood will have any impact this year.
On the subject of the Green Bay game, JJ said that Konrad and
Avery would start in the backfield but that as many of 15 players
wouldn't even make the trip. His biggest goal in Green Bay is to keep
any other starters from getting hurt and the starters he does take
will only play a few series.
ROSTER MOVES:
The Dolphins cut 8 players and put 2 on a reserve list in
order to get down to the NFL imposed limit yesterday. Cut were RB
Juan Johnson, TE Frank Leatherwood, CB Emmanuel McDaniel, G O'Lester
Pope, G Mike Sheldon, LB Derik Stevenson, and DT Dwayne Robinson.
Both WR Robert Baker and OT Joe Wong were placed on injured
reserve, and WR Kevin McKenzie was claimed off of waivers from the
Philadelphia.
FUTURE EVENTS:
The Dolphins will travel to Green Bay today and have a short
practice this afternoon before the game on Thursday night against the
Packers at 8 PM EDT.
The game will be broadcast live in South Florida on WFOR-TV
(CBS 4) and in West Palm Beach on WTVX-TV (Channel 34). It will be
rebroadcast on Friday afternoon at 3:00 PM by SportsChannel Florida,
but will almost certainly be blacked out to viewers who live outside
of Florida. SportsChannel Florida is channel 634 on DirecTV.
As for Internet RealAudio broadcasts, it is scheduled to be
available on WQAM, which you can connect to through the
Broadcast.com website
If you can't find the WQAM website, the best way to find the
RealAudio broadcast of the game is to go to the NFL Broadcast Page and find the Dolphins
section or the Packers section. This page has a list of RealAudio
broadcast sites for each NFL team. Then, all you have to do is to
click on the site you want and it connects you to the RealAudio
broadcast.
INJURY REPORT:
RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar (right knee), CB Terrell Buckley (right
foot), RB Cecil Collins (right ankle), WR Nate Jacquet (sprained right
toe), RB J.J.Johnson (left hamstring), LB Robert Jones (left ankle),
WR O.J. McDuffie (left thumb), FB Stanley Pritchett (left knee), DE
Walter Scott(right knee), 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.
My Comments:
Well, I suppose it's good that Underwood finally practiced,
but I'm far from sold and I still wish he's stayed home. The team
doesn't need any distractions as they get ready for the regular
season.
As to the rest of the team, I agree with JJ's main goal for
the final pre-season game - stay healthy.
Fortunately, none of the starters has any kind of injury that
won't be healed fairly quickly. The team should be just about 100%
healthy on opening night in Denver. That will be quite a game, I'm
sure.
The things I will look for on Thursday night will be how much
Larry Shannon will play; how well Kevin Donnalley does now that he's
back as the starting right guard; how well Rob Konrad plays and how
good Ray Hill, Shawn Wooden, Rayna Stewart and Greg Jeffries look.
Or, I would "look" for them if the game were going to be on
television. I guess I will "listen" for them instead.
Related Info:
[Return to Training Camp]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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