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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/07/26/training_camp_day_1_morning_pr.html

Training Camp Day 1 Morning Practice — Live (almost) Practice Blog

By Ben Volin | Saturday, July 26, 2008, 08:49 AM

Goooooood morning Dolfans, and welcome to Training Camp 2008!

The live practice blog you have grown to love is back for another year. Hopefully you get a chance to check out the Fins live at the Davie training center, but if you can’t make it, Edgar Thompson and I will be blogging like crazy throughout camp, giving you live up-to-the minute updates on injuries and other important news.

One big difference, though - The Dolphins have restricted access this year, and won’t allow us to bring our computers out to practice. That means we can no longer give you up-to-the-second updates, and instead I’ll be running back and forth between the field and the media room throughout practice. Good thing I brought my running shoes.

Heading out to the field in a minute. First, a little news.

The team officially announced the signing of second-round pick Phillip Merling. The Fins also signed wide receiver Anthony Armstrong, 25, a West Texas A&M graduate who spent the last two seasons with Dallas in the Arena league.

To make room for Merling and Armstrong, the Fins waived offensive tackle Dan Gore and receiver Justin Wynn.

OK, time to hit the field. Keep hitting refresh to see the constant updates, and have a Fin-tastic day!

9:44 a.m.

Man, it’s hot out today. Weather.com says it’s 83 degrees today, but it’s way worse in the sun. Thirty minutes into practice and Vonnie Holliday is already sucking wind in the shade. There’s maybe 500-700 Dolfans here. Not a bad turnout, considering the heat.

Some quick hits:

Chad Henne is the only one not here. John Beck and Josh McCown are getting a head start in the quarterback sweepstakes.

Joey Porter is wearing a jersey, but instead of practicing, he’s standing next to team trainer Kevin O’Neill. That right knee gave him trouble all last season, and we’ll have to find out if the injury is still lingering, or if Tony Sparano is easing him into the program.

Michael Lehan (ankle) isn’t practicing either, running sprints on the sideline. Those are the only two injuries thus far.

Ronnie Brown, however, looks great. He’s in full pads, wearing a sleeve over his right knee (torn ACL), and participating in all running back drills. He’s even planting and cutting.

Other injured players from last year who are participating fully in practice: Channing Crowder (knee), Yeremiah Bell (Achilles) and Renaldo Hill (ACL).

Parcells and Ireland are standing by themselves, watching over practice.

10:22 a.m.

The one unit that appears to have a clear First Team is the offensive line. You probably knew this already, but from left to right it is: Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Samson Satele, Trey Darilek and Vernon Carey.

A Dolphins PR rep tells me that practice is going until 11:45 today. A three-hour practice in this heat is nothing to joke about. By contrast, the Redskins go for about 90-100 minutes. Davie is going to start looking like Parris Island to some of these guys.

Someone should check Davone Bess’ hands for stick ‘em or super glue. The guy catches everything.

Team breaks out into 6-on-8 drills (it’s really 6-on-6, but they put two pass rushers in the quarterback’s face to simulate pocket pressure.

Ricky Williams looks impressive. He keeps welcoming contact, lowering his shoulder and running into defenders.

Channing Crowder and Akin Ayodele appear to be the First Team inside linebackers, while Yeremiah Bell and Jason Allen are the safeties and Will Allen and Andre Goodman are at cornerback (no surprises there).

Anthony Fasano shows why the Dolphins were so high on him, making a great one-handed catch in traffic along the sideline.

Beck and McCown have each sailed a few throws. But it’s early.

11:11 (last update)

Sorry, got some bum information. Practice ended at 10:45, not 11:45, for a much more reasonable two-hour practice.

NT Jason Ferguson came off the field and into the practice bubble. Looked like a hydration thing. I can’t imagine being 305 pounds in this heat.

The day ended on a sour note for Josh McCown. In team drills, he kept missing short on his throws, about four or five times. He was also intercepted by Nathan Jones, the free agent cornerback from Dallas. Get here quickly, Chad Henne.

Sparano talks at 12:30. I’m wondering most about Joey Porter’s injury. Dolfans should hope it isn’t his knee acting up again.

Ronnie Brown looks jacked. His arms are the size of my thighs. Appears to be in much better shape than he did last year. And Ricky Williams seriously looks like a tank.

Player availability to the media won’t be coming until AFTER the second practice during two-a-days, sometime around 6:45 p.m. I was told it’s to give players plenty of time to hydrate and relax after practice. That’s fine and all … but the players looked plenty hydrated when they signed autographs for more than 30 minutes after practice.

And that’s all she wrote. One practice blog down, many more to go.

Edgar and I will have some more updates throughout the day, both on this blog and the palmbeachpost.com main Sports site. Maybe Chad Henne will make an appearance tonight.

Cheers,

BV

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_football_dolphins/2008/07/dolphins-templa.html?cid=123902220#comment-123902220

New season, new hope

A new season brings new hope for the Miami Dolphins. At least that's what the 36 leftovers from last year's 1-15 team are banking on.  There's been an infusion of talent via free agency, trades, and the draft that should help the Dolphins regain their respectability.  A new front office, and new coaches also doesn't hurt.

Helping matters is the fact that four starts from last season - Ronnie Brown, Renaldo Hill, Channing Crowder, Yeremiah Bell -are back from their season-derailing injuries, and one marque talent, Ricky Williams, is done smoking weed...for now.
So how much of an improved can this team really see courtesy of the recent renovations the Trifecta has engineered?

This is a snap shot of exactly how the 2008 Dolphins started their season on the first day of training camp.
Before you check out my fresh, updated depth chart from Saturday's opening practice session please take a look at my story on how this team was rebuilt, my views on the lingering issues of camp, which players are enter camp on the hotseat, the best position battles, and signs that the season has promise, or is headed for disaster.

OFFENSE

QB        Josh McCown, John Beck, Chad Henne
RB        Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown, Patrick Cobbs, Lex Hilliard, Jalen Parmele
FB       Reagan Mauia, Boomer Grigsby
TE        Anthony Fasano, David Martin, Justin Peelle, Sean Ryan, Aaron Halterman, Matthew Mulligan
LWR     Ernest Wilford, Derek Hagan, Greg Camarillo, Selwyn Lymon, John Dunlap
RWR    Ted Ginn Jr., David Kircus, , Davone Bess, Jayson Foster, Anthony Armstrong
RT        Vernon Carey, Julius Wilson
RG       Shawn Murphy, Trey Darilek, Donald Thomas
C          Samson Satele, Steve McKinney, Mike Byrne, Matt Spanos
LG        Justin Smiley, Ikechuku Ndukwe
LT        Jake Long, Dan Gore, Daren Heerspink

DEFENSE

LDE       Matt Roth, Kendall Langford, Lionel Dotson
NT        Jason Ferguson, Randy Starks, Paul Soliai, Anthony Toribio
RDE      Vonnie Holliday, Phillip Merling, Rodrique Wright
LOLB     Joey Porter, Rob Ninkovich, Junior Glymph, Titus Brown
LILB      Channing Crowder, Edmond Miles, Kelly Poppinga
RILB      Akin Ayodele, Reggie Torbor, Kelvin Smith
ROLB    Charlie Anderson, Quentin Moses, Keith Saunders
LCB      Will Allen, Travis Daniels, Nathan James, Will Billingsley
RCB      Andre' Goodman, Michael Lehan, Joey Thomas, Scorpio Babers
SS        Yeremiah Bell, Keith Davis, Courtney Bryan
FS        Jason Allen, Renaldo Hill, Cris Crocker

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK        Jay Feely, Dan Carpenter
P          Brandon Fields
LS        John Denney

Come back later today and you'll get our daily summary of what transpired during Saturday's morning session.

For those who can't be out here I'd like to get an idea of what you are wondering about outside of the obvious, like which quarterback started, and who looked the best, how much work did Ronnie Brown do, who replaces Jason Taylor, and how did Jake Long look?

> Posted by Omar Kelly at 5:39:08 AM

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/07/no-boldin-or-gl.html

No Boldin or Glenn but Dolphins sign Armstrong!

We're up and running at training camp and the Dolphins have just announced ... breathless, I am ... the signing of Anthony Armstrong to help their receivers corps.

That's apparently how it's going to be around here.

Never mind that Terry Glenn is available. Never mind that Anquan Boldin wants a quick ticket out of Arizona and would love to play in Miami. The Dolphins got Anthony Armstrong who spent the past two years with the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League.

Nothing against Anthony Armstrong, but this isn't a way to improve the receivers corps.

The Dolphins have waived Dan Gore and receiver Justin Wynn and confirmed the signing of Phillip Merling to what I've been told is a four-year deal. Chad Henne remains unsigned and will miss the team's first training camp practice.

Check back in a little bit for practice updates as it is starting right now.

I don't get this.  If the Dolphins can sign their first rounder, why the fuck did it take so long to sign their second rounders???

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/07/what-is-happeni.html

What is happening at practice this morning

A longtime Green Bay fixture is at Dolphins camp today ....

No, not Brett Favre. Former Packers GM Ron Wolf is on the field, shadowing friend Bill Parcells and no doubt offering his personnel expertise to the Dolphins. By the way, did your heart skip a beat when you read the first sentence?

Anyway, here is the scoop about what is happening.

Chad Henne is the only player not on the field now. Obviously he's not signed so the contract watch begins.

On the injury front: Linebacker Joey Porter is not working for some unknown reason, no doubt connected to an injury. Rob Ninkovich is taking the first-team repetitions in Porter's absence. Colleague Jeff Darlington reports Porter's agent is not immediately available for comment as we try to find out why the guy isn't in drills.

Cornerback Michael Lehan, who injured his ankle in the last June minicamp and was supposed to be out 2-4 weeks, is not practicing some seven weeks later. He is working on the sideline doing shuttle drills. He is the only player injured during the camps that is not working this morning.

Guard Steve McKinney and tight end Anthony Fasano and linebacker Channing Crowder -- all of them missed camps in the offseason -- are working. Fasano is actually taking some snaps with the first team ahead of last year's starter David Martin. Crowder is back at a starting inside LB spot.

Both inside LB spots will be interesting this camp as Akin Ayodele and Reggie Torbor battle for one spot and Crowder and Kelvin Smith battle at the other starting today. Obviously the best two of the four will start.

The first team offensive is LT Jake Long, LG Trey Darilek, C Samson Satele, RG Justin Smiley and RT Vernon Carey. The first-team defensive line is LE Matt Roth, NT Jason Ferguson and RE Vonnie Holliday. So much for Miami playing a 4-3. Not happening.

QB Josh McCown doesn't look any worse for wear after his much-publicized Texas Chainsaw Accident. His passes have not floated and they have been tight spirals.

Because the owners opted out of the CBA. The NFLPA (the players' union) recommended against signing a contract until an arbitration hearing was completed. The ruling on that came almost exactly a week ago. 1 week is not a lot of time to work out tons of contracts.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/07/henne-merling-m.html

From the blog... lots of positive stuff about Fasano, Ricky etc... and then this gem "Beck and McCown have each sailed a few throws. But it’s early."

Yeah, why am I not surprised.

Go hit the Post's practice blog for updates:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/07/26/training_camp_day_1_morning_pr.html

The first camp practice is over (next session this afternoon). Sparano talks to the media in about an hour (12:30). The Post's blogger had this to say on R&R:

Ronnie Brown looks jacked. His arms are the size of my thighs. Appears to be in much better shape than he did last year. And Ricky Williams seriously looks like a tank.

Sounds good ;-)

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_football_dolphins/2008/07/porter-held-out.html

Porter held out of Saturday's session

First Jason Taylor gets traded away and now the Dolphins have opened up training camp without the team’s best remaining pass rusher.

Joey Porter, who projected starting outside linebacker, sat out the team’s morning session with an undisclosed injury that prevented him from running full speed while working with team trainers.

Porter, who contributed 65 tackles, 5 1/2 sacks and two interceptions last season, wouldn’t disclose the injury when asked.

Last year Porter, who has been selected to three Pro Bowls, missed all but a week of training camp after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. He sat out the exhibition season but played in every regular season game.

Reggie Torbor filled in for Porter as one of the two starting outside linebackers, playing opposite Charlie Anderson. Anderson, a four-year veteran signed as a free agent, is penciled in as the possible replacement for Taylor, who was traded to the Redskins on Sunday for future draft picks.

Quentin Moses, Junior Glymph, Rob Ninkovich, Titus Brown, Keith Saunders and Kelvin Smith also received work at outside linebacker.

Also not participating in Saturday’s practice was cornerback Michael Lehan, who suffered a severe ankle sprain during June’s minicamp session. Lehan, a returning starter, ran swiftly during rehab work, and is likely being eased into his return.

Cornerbacks Will Allen and Andre’ Goodman worked with the first team….

Rookie quarterback Chad Henne, who hasn’t been signed to a contract, was the only player missing from Saturday’s session. Henne, a Michigan standout who was taken with the 57th pick in last April’s draft, isn’t expected to participate until a deal gets done.

His signing is expected any day now, and the Dolphins have waived offensive tackle Dan Gore, a rookie free agent, to make room for their third quarterback.

Veteran quarterback Josh McCown took the first snap from behind center, but the workload with the starters was split between evenly between him and second-year quarterback John Beck.

Offensive Trey Darilek was the starting left guard, with rookie Shawn Murphy serving as his backup.

Nose tackle Jason Ferguson left the practice field 30 minutes into the morning session because of an undisclosed injury, but returned shortly afterwards to participate in team drills….

The Dolphins will practice again on Saturday, at 5 p.m., and the session is open to the public. On Sunday the Dolphins will hold a 2 p.m. practice that’s also open to the public.

> Posted by Omar Kelly at 11:03:06 AM

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/07/porter-lehan-on.html

Porter, Lehan on PUP; Henne missing "a concern"

Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said linebacker Joey Porter and cornerback Michael Lehan, both of whom have ankle injuries, have been placed on the physically unable to perform list.

That means both failed their physicals because of their injuries. Neither injury is considered serious enough to stretch into the regular season.

Sparano also noted that rookie Chad Henne missing this morning's drills as he continues to try and negotiate a contract is not terrible, but nonetheless, "a concern."

Henne wasn't scheduled to take snaps in the team period today as Miami gives those duties to two quarterbacks each day. But he was nonetheless absent Friday when the gameplan for today's practice was installed.

"A young quarterback missing these installations is a concern," Sparano said.

The coach also said that nose tackle Jason Ferguson, who left the field midway through the morning practice, was simply overcome by the heat. He got an IV and returned to the field.

I asked Sparano if the Dolphins have interest in Dallas receiver Terry Glenn, who is supposed to be released. Sparano acted as if he didn't know Glenn was about to be available. "I have to be honest with you, I didn't know Terry was even released," he said.

OK, that's it for now. Check back often as I will continue to update throughout the day.

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_football_dolphins/2008/07/dolphins-prac-1.html

Dolphins practice report: Saturday

New Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was at Saturday's opening of training camp, observing his expensive new toy. The grin on his face the entire time indicates he liked what he saw.

The Dolphins were in pads, and hitting (but no take down) from the first session. The action was fast pace.

Tony Sparano was hopping from drill to drill, sticking his nose into everything as a head coach should.

Bill Parcells showed up about midway through the morning practice and observed from afar wearing a Saban-esque hat.

The players were competing, pushing one another so hard under the baking South Florida sun Jason Ferguson needed an IV midway through the practice. But as an example of what this NEW BEGINNING is all about he returned 30 minutes later and participated in team drills.

"We're going to get it turned around," an optimistic Ross said.

As you might know by now.... Joey Porter sprained an ankle working out the week before camp and has been played on the PUP.

It's going to get real interesting what happens without the the team's top OLB. It's a bit of a mystery who filled in over there. Porter mentioned two names: Rob Ninkovich and Junior Glymph because Charlie Anderson and Quentin Moses are battling it out to replace Taylor.

Sparano said Akin Ayodele, Channing Crowder and Reggie Torbor will ALL remain inside "for now." And he added that Ayodele will be used exclusively as an inside linebacker.

So, if Porter doesn't get healthy soon you could be looking at a starting linebacker corp of Glymph or Ninkovich, Ayodele, Crowder and Anderson or Moses.

Henne isn't here, but according to Sparano he isn't missing too much because this would have been his day to sit out the team drills. The Dolphins are working two quarterbacks a day during team drills, putting one on ice, and then switching the next day.

McCown took the first few snaps with the first team, but to be honest he and Beck worked with the starting unit about equally.

However, if Henne's out too long Sparano warned that he could be set back pretty bad.

"Installation is already going on," Sparano said.

Here's a quick summary of how the two quarterbacks performed: John Beck made a couple of nice throws. One was to Davone Bess, who beat Joey Thomas on a slant route to the sidelines. Bess jumped in the air to catch the ball for what would have been a 20-yard gain. He also caught a good sideline pass from McCown that in my opinion was the play of the morning.

I'll admit I didn't see anything special about Bess during my early exposure to him, but now I'm starting to get intrigued.

Ernest Wilford caught a quick slant that stood out to me because he took off afterwards. I was shocked at how quick his initial step was, especially for such a big boy.

McCown's better passes were deep ones, but most weren't connected on. Anthony Fasano got stripped by Courtney Bryan on an intermediate route that was perfectly thrown. He followed that up by throwing a bomb to David Kircus, who dropped the pass at the last second. He was being covered closely by Scorpio Babers, who might be stepping up his game a bit.

One thing that troubled me is the fact I didn't see anything thrown to Ted Ginn Jr. I could be wrong, but this is a concern I'll be monitoring.

Here are the guys working as punt returners: Ted Ginn Jr., Davone Bess, David Kircus, and recently signed Arena leaguer Anthony Armstrong, who spent the past two years playing for the Dallas Desperados. I'm puzzled why I didn't see Jayson Foster there, but maybe it was an oversight.

Working as the kickoff guy opposite the main kickoff guy (for blocking purpose) was Patrick Cobbs, Jalen Parmele, Reagan Mauia, Lex Hillard, and Ronnie Brown.

Ronnie Brown was limited, held out of contact, and Sparano again wouldn't commit to giving him some run during the early exhibition games. He said the plan with Brown is to "take it slow."

I'm been struggling to determine which of the rookie running backs I'll take a liking to, and I'd like to officially announce Parmele officially has the lead for my endorsement. He ran hard and fast and showed he has a little shake to him. It'll be interesting to see how Hilliard responds.

Come back later and I'll have a summary of the afternoon session. Again, hit F5 to refresh and hit me with any questions, comments and requests of thing I need to monitor and I'll get to them.

Deuces, or better let, see you later.

> Posted by Omar Kelly at 1:10:30 PM

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/07/26/live_blog_training_camp_day_1.html

Live Blog — Training Camp Day 1, Evening Practice

By Ben Volin | Saturday, July 26, 2008, 04:34 PM

Chad Henne is signed, and the 80-man roster is complete (for now).

Will he be on the field for tonight’s 5 p.m. practice? Debatable. It’s mostly a special teams practice, anyway, so No. 7 might not make his debut until tomorrow’s 2 p.m. practice.

I’ll try to take a good look at the quarterbacks tonight, and hopefully get a good look at Merling, Langford, Charlie Anderson and anyone else trying to replace Jason Taylor. But that’s assuming the Fins do anything more than special teams.

Speaking of JT, I was on ESPN 760 this morning, and host Mike Goldstein asked me about five minutes worth of questions about Mr. Taylor. He asked me if JT would be the first question asked at Sparano’s press conference.

I didn’t think it would be too hot a topic, and I was right. Only one question was asked about JT, and it was about 14 minutes into the presser. JT is definitely yesterday’s news around here.

One last thing — the team just waived offensive tackle Julius Wilson. That leaves us at 79. Terry Glenn, anyone?

OK, that’s it. I’ll start updating around 5:15 p.m. Keep hitting refresh.

5:23 p.m.

Fins are in helmets, shells and shorts tonight. Couple quick updates…

The Chad Henne signing is official. He’s on the field as we speak. His first official snap under center as a Dolphin is …….. an end-around to Ernest Wilford.

The Dolphins cut Julius Wilson, but not to make room for Terry Glenn. Instead, they signed guard Rueben Riley, a 2007 Michigan grad who spent all of last year on the Panthers’ practice squad. With Henne, Long and Riley, maybe we can call this team the Miami Wolverines.

By the way, if you’re counting at home, that’s already three players cut by the Dolphins today (the other two were Dan Gore and Justin Wynn). Parcells sure loves to tinker with a roster.

No Joey Porter at practice this evening, or Michael Lehan.

Guard Steve McKinney isn’t practicing, either. He didn’t dress and didn’t have a helmet. We don’t get to talk to Sparano after practice, so I don’t know if we’ll have an immediate update on his injury.

5:47

Correction on the McKinney note. He isn’t practicing, but he is out on the field, wearing shells. My bad.

Ronnie Brown is catching passes in the flat. He’s running up-field, making one cut and hauling in the pass near the sideline. Sparano warned that Brown has a long way to go, but it’s definitely positive news seeing him running like this.

I hope you don’t mind me gushing about Ricky Williams this camp, because the guy looks awesome. He is running like a rocket out there, barreling into people and chugging hard upfield.

Beck and Henne are working on intermediate routes on one end of the field, while McCown is throwing sideline bombs on the other side.

McCown looks good on the long ball. David Kirkus and John Dunlap had impressive catches in the end zone, with McCown putting it right on the money.

Beck looks fine, but he’s still sailing throws. He does come up with a nice one to Anthony Fasano on a 15-yard out.

Henne looks a bit rusty. He had one of those blooper-reel throws where the ball popped out of his hand (a la John Beck against Buffalo).

A familiar sight: David Martin dropping a pass.

Brandon Fields is booming punts. He just nailed two in a row that went 65 yards in the air. Jay Feely is fielding the punts, and putting up a good case that he has the best hands on the team.

6:14

Offensive guard Donald Thomas goes down. He’s laying in the end zone, surrounded by trainers. They wrap tape around his right calf. Doesn’t look too serious, but we’ll monitor.

Back to those 6-on-8 drills … Henne is showing off his strong arm. McCown looks shaky. He misses on three consecutive throws.

Special teams drills on the other side of the field. Looks like about 20 skill players are trying out at the “gunner” position. This is where guys like Patrick Cobbs and Greg Camarillo shine.

11-on-11 drills, and McCown hits Anthony Fasano on a nice roll-out. Up and down day for McCown, but it’s early.

Nice job by NT Jason Ferguson to jump the snap count. McCown would’ve been dead meat in a real game.

Charlie Anderson is playing ROLB with the first team, while Rob Ninkovich is manning the LOLB. Sparano mentioned this morning that Porter’s injury, while unfortunate, allows the coaching staff to monitor other players. And he specifically mentioned Ninkovich (Junior Glymph was the other).

They’re playing a 3-4 defense, but Anderson and Ninkovich are both playing on the line of scrimmage. Crowder and Ayodele continue to man the middle.

That’s all I got for now. One more update, but probably not until after we talk to the players when they come off the field.

6:57

Not much more to report. The Fins finished up 11-on-11 drills and hit the locker room. The QBs look rusty, Ricky looks great, Ronnie looks great considering he had ACL surgery 10 months ago, and Davone Bess has vacuums for hands. The next time he drops a pass will be the first.
For the record, the Dolphins made nine roster moves today — four guys officially signed (Henne, Reuben Riley, Phillip Merling and Anthony Armstrong), three guys cut (Justin Wynn, Dan Gore and Julius Wilson) and two guys placed on the PUP list (Joey Porter, Michael Lehan).

There’s about 55 guys in that locker room worried that they might be next. You can smell the fear.

And that’s all, folks. Thanks for tuning in today.

Only one practice tomorrow, at 2 p.m. It’s open to the public. Sparano talks at 11:30 a.m., so we’ll have some news for you before practice starts.

Have a Fin-tastic Saturday night,

That’s all, folks. Thanks for tuning in.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/07/notes-from-satu.html

Notes from Saturday's afternoon practice

First full day of camp is over and here is what is going on:

Chad Henne joined the work after signing a four-year deal and was OK during the practice. He had one embarrassing moment when he reared back to throw a pass and it slipped from his hand and popped in the air. Oh well.

Henne will get the first team snaps Sunday and he believes he will have a fair shot to win the starting job. "Coach [Tony] Sparano expressed it will be an equal competition and I believe him," Henne said.

The Dolphins are using two quarterbacks taking team periods during a particular practice with the third quarterback taking no repetitions in those drills. All the QBs will work in the 7-on-7 and individual drills. The idea is to give QBs more repetitions in the team period and see if they have some continuity with the other players.

John Beck was "down" in today's afternoon practice, meaning he got no repetitions in the team period. Sunday, Josh McCown will be "down," while Beck and Henne work.

McCown, by the way, admitted his little run-in with a chainsaw was, "probably a poor decision looking back at it," but saw a positive in the experience in that the finger is "still on."

In other matters:

Guard Steve McKinney did not practice after working in the morning drills. Porter, on the non-football injury list rather than the PUP list that Sparano announced earlier, said his injury is no big deal.

"If I really had to play today, I could," he said. "We're just being smart with it."

Porter said he was working out on his own covering passes when he "rolled" the left ankle. "When it's time to go, I'll be ready to go," he said.

The Dolphins, by the way, waived tackle Julius Wilson and signed guard Rueben Riley before the afternoon practice.

Check back Sunday around noon for the next update.

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_football_dolphins/2008/07/revelations-fro.html

Revelations from Ronnie

There's absolutely nothing a running back relies on more than his knees.

That's what they use to cut. That's what they use to plant, and maintain their balance. So when one of those knees is out of whack the tailback doesn't feel right because what was once natural (for the good backs) now becomes labored.

After Saturday's afternoon practice, in a brief moment of honesty Ronnie Brown revealed that he's having trust issues with his surgically repaired right knee.

This isn't surprising to me considering I've been here, and seen it before from my days covering the Hurricanes. I consider myself an ACL expert based on the many tears I've seen, and the many conversations I've had about them with Edgerrin James, Willis McGahee, and Frank Gore.

They all say coming back too early, pushing a recovery ahead of it's natural timetable, is too risky. According to Gore, who tore the ACL in his other knee when he tried to come back too soon in 2003, he didn't feel like himself until 12 to 14 months in.

And Gore said he didn't trust his knee until 18 months AFTER his surgery.

I suspect Brown's recent revelation indicates he suspects something is off, and has been convinced to slow it down.

That certainly sounds like it's the Dolphins doing, and a smart strategy. The worse thing that could happen to him is he push himself to get back, and relies too heavily on the other knee - putting additional strain on it to get the job done - then tears that one just like Gore did.

Based on last season's performance, Brown has a long and promising career ahead of him. There's no need to rush back, especially with Ricky Williams in the fold.

With that out of the way, here's a rundown of what happened in the afternoon, and some of my thoughts.

Julius Wilson was cut because he didn't pass his conditioning test when he reported to training camp on Friday. That's also what got Dan Gore shown the door according to the players.

Sparano threatened the team that anyone who didn't pass their re-check (combine type drills that need to be completed under a certain time based on position) would get the ax. Sparano showed he's a man of his word when they worked out former Michigan guard Rueben Riley in the morning, and signed him.

Wilson, who I initially projected would make the 53-man roster, hurt himself and was made an example of I'm told.

"That lets you know that he is not playing around. He told them. He said it, and it is so," said defensive end Vonnie Holliday. "That proves you can believe what he said. He told everyone don't come back here out of shape and when you don't listen....He don't play around.

Holliday said he's heard many similar threat in his 11-year career, but never seen it backed up with action.

"This may be the first time it's enforced to that extent," Holliday said. "Most coaches will make guys run after practice, and stuff like that, but to actually get sliced! That's huge, and send a message that comes through loud and clear."

Ikechuku Ndukwe is now working as a backup tackle. It's a bit of a struggle to figure out the rest of the line considering it's constantly being reshuffled. Sparano said he expects things to settle in by the third exhibition games. His goal is to get the starting line together long enough to play nine quarters together.

Here's a brief rundown of my afternoon practice observations....

Derek Hagan is still catching with his body from time to time. I'd think a guy who led the Pac-10 in receptions would be past that.

Jayson Foster is really fast, but I'm starting to suspect he can't run every type of route because of his size.

Nathan Jones again caught my attention for breaking up a few passes during 7-on-7.

Both Jalen Parmele and Lex Hilliard showed the ability to catch out of the backfield. Reagan Mauia struggled catching passes while Boomer Grigbsy's hands appeared soft.

Brandon Fields was ABSOLUTELY booting the ball when the special teams guys came out of the bubble. I found myself saying "WOW" a few times.

Brown was sprinkled into some team drills, but was never taken to the ground. Brown cut to the right one time and made Channing Crowder whiff really bad.

Charlie Anderson and Quentin Moses worked as the starting outside linebackers. I finally got a chance to look at Junior Glymph closely and two words came to mind: BIG and SLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW.

Courtney Bryan is surprisingly ahead of newly signed safety Cris Crocker, a veteran starter, on the depth chart...YOU GO BOY....I keep thinking this guys is going to be roadkill and he keeps hanging around. He must be doing something right.

I'm exhausted, so this will have to do. It's been a long, long day, but I'll be back at it on Sunday morning, so come back and see me.

Any questions, hit me with them here and I promise I'll get to it.

Deuces.

A message like this is EXACTLY what this team needs.