The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/06/the-dolphins-fi.html

Dolphins finish offseason work with Thurs. OTA

The Dolphins finished their final OTA work of the offseason. They were scheduled to work Friday but Tony Sparano gave the guys the day off as a reward for their hard work.

In the next few weeks, rookies will be encouraged to show up and learn and get bigger and stronger but the vets are done until late July's start of training camp.

Today Jason Ferguson, Jason Taylor and Joey Thomas were absent from the voluntary work. Ferguson was excused in that he told coach Tony Sparano were he'd be. Thomas was held out for medical issues. Taylor was just ... never mind.

Interestingly, Bill Parcells, a sideline fixture at all the other workouts, was not at this one.

Running back Ronnie Brown, still recovering from knee surgery, took most of the first-team snaps in practice. That is the first time this offseason Brown does that as the team was bringing him along slowly.

Brown looked good in team drills but I did notice when he caught a pass and was tackled/fell down, he got back up by putting all the pressure on his left knee (the good one) while putting no weight on his right one (the surgically repaired one). It was an instinct thing that tells me Brown still isn't 100 percent certain about that surgically repaired knee. But that will eventually resolve itself with contact.

ILB Channing Crowder, also held out of some team drills, got more work this week as he was eased back into the mix.

A couple of practice play notes:

Ricky Williams continues to impress and that includes with his pass-catching. Shuttling into first-team work in the two-minute drill, Williams caught a pass from first-team QB John Beck in the flat and turned it into a 5-yard TD.

The second-team offense, behind Josh McCown, also got in the end zone when MCown threw a 60-yard pass to tight end David Martin. The pass came against the first team secondary and LB corps. Martin's longest reception last year was 28 yards.

The third team offense did not score in the two-minute drill.

OT Julius Wilson spent a couple of moments on the turf when he bumped knees with another Olineman but seemed none the worse for wear afterward.

After practice Sparano threw some lesser-known players a bone when he said he was impressed with the work of WR Davone Bess, CB Scorpio Babers and NT Anthony Toribio during the weeks long OTA workouts.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/06/12/otas_end_on_a_high_note_for_sp.html

OTAs end on a high note for Sparano

By Edgar Thompson | Thursday, June 12, 2008, 12:05 PM

Tony Sparano has been anything but soft on his team during a demanding off-season.

But Sparano also knows how to reward a job well done.

Pleased with his players’ performance during mini-camps and OTAs, Sparano decided to begin the break between now and training camp a day early.

“My message to the team awhile ago is they don’t have one more OTA (on Friday) and that I was really pleased with the combination of work that we had,” Sparano said a little while ago. “So I gave them tomorrow off.

“I thought we got a lot of things accomplished.”

During the team’s final organized team activitiy, Sparano and his staff looked to “create a lot of situations out there and get them into a game, competitive environment as close as we can.”

The team spent the large majority of practice in team drills, with John Beck, Josh McCown and Chad Henne going through two cycles each at quarterback.

Beck opened with the first-team offense, with Ronnie Brown lined up behind him at RB for the first time this off-season during team drills.

The Dolphins were in a three-receiver set (Ted Ginn Jr., Ernest Wilford and Derek Hagan), with David Martin lined up at TE.

The line remained the same as last weekend at mini-camp: LT Jake Long, LG Justin Smiley, C Samson Satele, RG Trey Darilek, RT Vernon Carey.

DE Matt Roth lined up on the strong side with first-team defense, instead of Randy Starks, and Paul Soliai replaced Jason Ferguson (excused absence) at noseguard.

Otherwise the unit hasn’t changed: RDE Vonnie Holliday, LOLB Joey Porter, LILB Akin Ayodele, RILB Reggie Torbor, LOLB Charlie Anderson, LCB Will Allen, RCB Andre Goodman, SS Yeremiah Bell and FS Jason Allen.

During his first go, Beck was on target on several throws, but WR David Kircus dropped a receiver screen and TE Justin Peele a long touchdown down the sideline. Peele beat Allen, who bit on nice pump fake from Beck.

Beck hit Brown on a curl pattern in the middle of the field ahead of Porter. Beck also found RB Ricky Williams in the flat for a touchdown inside the 10.

Beck wasn’t nearly as effective during his second go-around.

He missed on four of five throws, but was under extreme pressure on two of them, with the pass rush right in his face. But Beck made the most of his one completion, a perfect toss on an intermediate sideline rout to Kircus, who beat Goodman in the back of the end zone.

The most action during McCown’s opening series was a knee-to-knee collision between back-up linemen Donald Thomas and Julius Wilson. Both were in obvious pain, and Wilson laid on the field for a minute or so before limping off the field.

McCown bounced back during his second go and went 4-of-4, including a long pass to Martin, who was wide open behind the defense, and a TD to WR Greg Camarillo in the back of the end zone.

A couple of Henne’s early throws sailed on him, but he also was involved in the two biggest plays of the day. The rookie from Michigan hooked up with TE Aaron Halterman, who made an acrobatic catch behind LB Junior Glymph, for a TD on the first series of downs.

During his second go, Henne found WR John Dunlap in the seam behind CB Will Billingsley for a long TD. Dunlap, who the team signed following a try out last week, showed excellent breakaway speed and drew cheers from his teammates.

Sparano wrapped up the day a few plays later, ending the Dolphins’ off-season team activities until training camp opens late next month.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-0612brown,0,7508879.story

Dolphins' Ronnie Brown is on his way back

By Harvey Fialkov and Kyle Whitehead
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

1:00 PM EDT, June 12, 2008

DAVIE - Less than eight months after sustaining a season-ending knee injury, Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown took part in 11-on-11 team drills for the first time this week, a sign that points to a full return by next month's training camp.

"It's a big step,'' said Brown after Thursday's practice, the final organized team activity session until the start of training camp in late July. "A step closer to getting ready for the season and getting ready for training camp.

"It felt pretty good. The previous week I felt pretty good but I've been limited a little bit, just doing some individual drills and some other things. For the last few days I've been able to participate and it feels pretty good to be back out on the field."

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said he wanted to get Brown and linebacker Channing Crowder - who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on his right knee in late December - into team drills before the vacation break to give them confidence for the months ahead.

"We had a plan here with Ronnie and one of the things we felt like if we could get him and guys like Channing [Crowder] involved a little bit more as we got on in practice just so they feel they accomplished a full practice, it would be good for us and good for them as we got in training camp.''

Most torn ACL's take 12 to 18 months to fully heal, but Brown is thrilled about the progress he has made on his injured right knee.

"The knee's doing real well and I look forward to going through training camp and being able to participate in that. By the time September rolls around I'll be 100 percent,'' he said.

Brown looked sharp early in practice as he caught a 15-yard pass over the middle and streaked away from the defensive backs. Brown was on his way to a probable Pro Bowl season last year as he was leading the NFL in all-purpose yards from scrimmage when he injured the knee while attempting a tackle in Game 7. He is expected to share carries with Ricky Williams, particularly early in the season.

OTHER NEWS

Defensive tackle Jason Ferguson was excused from practice Thursday, and cornerback Joey Thomas (hand) was held out. ... Receiver David Kircus (hamstring) returned to practice.

Sparano gave the players Friday off as a reward for their hard work. The veterans will now disperse for a six-week vacation, while rookies and young players are expected to stick around and continue working out at the facility. ...

Sparano said he'd like to name his starting quarterback by the third preseason game but that is not etched in stone. He praised rookie quarterback Chad Henne for his progress since the rookie minicamp back in early May. He also complimented receiver Derek Hagan and cornerback Andre' Goodman. ...

Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Taylor officially has missed every offseason workout and minicamp, but can only be fined for the three days he missed at last week's mandatory minicamp. ...

Cornerback Michael Lehan continues to be sidelined with a dislocated ankle, but is expected back by training camp.