Dolphins Henne, Porter and Lehan missing from morning practice

[DolFan619]

http://www.miamiherald.com/614/story/619006.html

Dolphins Henne, Porter and Lehan missing from morning practice

BY JEFF DARLINGTON
Miami Herald

Two Dolphins defensive starters began training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list Saturday, as both linebacker Joey Porter and cornerback Michael Lehan did not practice as a result of ankle issues.

The prognosis for both is not serious, coach Tony Sparano said. Sparano didn't give a specific timetable, but he doesn't expect either to miss an extended amount of time.

''Joey and Michael Lehan, we put on PUP right now,'' Sparano said. ``Joey was training last week, and he just tweaked his ankle. I think anybody who watched him out there knows it wasn't anything serious. But we need to be careful with him.

``We expect him back shortly.''

Porter and Lehan both spent the practice running sprints, and neither appeared to have any substantial limps because of the ankle problems. Sparano said Porter's absence will give the team some important time to evaluate younger players.

Linebackers Junior Glymph and Rob Ninkovich will see repetitions in Porter's spot at strongside linebacker.

Quarterback Chad Henne, who is the last remaining rookie that has yet to sign his contract, was the only other player missing from Saturday's morning practice. Sparano said his absence from practice wasn't that detrimental, since John Beck and Josh McCown were scheduled to get most of the repetitions in the rotation.

The bigger issue, Sparano says, is Henne's absence from team meetings.

''The concern for me is purely from a football standpoint,'' Sparano said. ``I just worry that the installation is going on. I mean, as we sit here, the install is going on. And it went on (Friday). A young quarterback missing that time and missing those installs is the concern.''

Nose tackle Jason Ferguson also dealt with cramps during the morning practice, forcing him to head to the locker room for an IV before finishing the workout with the rest of the team.

[DolFan619]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-072608dolphinstrainingcampday1,0,2083532.story

Dolphins open training camp without Porter

By Omar Kelly
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

DAVIE - 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 is projected to start at outside linebacker, sat out the team's morning session with an ankle injury that prevented him from running full speed while working with team trainers.

After practice head coach Tony Sparano confirmed the three-time Pro Bowl selection was played on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, but was optimistic the injury, which happened while Porter was training on his own the week before training camp, isn't extremely serious.

"He needs rehab. He's not quite ready yet," Sparano said of Porter, who contributed 65 tackles, 5 1/2 sacks and two interceptions last season.

Last year Porter, 31, 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.

Sparano said Porter's absence will give the coaches a better opportunity to examine Rob Ninkovich and Junior Glymph, two veterans previously considered long shots to make the 53-man roster.

Charlie 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 is pushing him for that starting spot on the right side of the Dolphins 3-4 scheme, but Moses is also getting some work on the left side now.

Channing Crowder, Akin Ayodele and Reggie Torbor are competing for the two inside linebacker spots, and Sparano said all three will exclusively play on the inside "for now."

That leaves Ninkovich, Glymph and Kelvin Smith, three veterans, and rookies Titus Brown and Keith Saunders pushing to serve as Porter's fill-in.

Also placed on the PUP list 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 mornings 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.

While Sparano would prefer Henne be in camp, he pointed out that the coaching staff's plan is to work only two quarterbacks per day in the team (11-on-11) portion of practice, and this morning's session would have been the practice where Henne was out of the rotation.

Veteran quarterback Josh McCown took the first snap from behind center, but the workload was split 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. But Sparano said expect frequent changes with that lone vacancy on the starting offensive line. His goal is to have a starting line in place before the final two exhibition games so they can "gel."

Nose tackle Jason Ferguson left the practice field 30 minutes into the morning session because of cramping. He received an IV and returned shortly afterward 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.

[DolFan619]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/07/26/0726porter.html

Dolphins' Joey Porter doesn't practice on first day of camp

By EDGAR THOMPSON
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, July 26, 2008

DAVIE — Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter's plan to put last year's disappointing season behind him got off to a bad start.

The 31-year-old former Pro Bowler didn't take the field during the opening practice of training camp this morning at the team's training facility.

Porter, who signed a five-year, $32 million contract in March 2007, has been placed on the physically unable to perform list with an ankle injury suffered during training last week, coach Tony Sparano said.

Porter can be activated at any time and counts as one of the team's 80 roster spots.

"Anybody who watched him out there knows it wasn't anything really serious," coach Tony Sparano said Saturday between two-a-day sessions. "But we need to be careful with him. We expect him back shortly. He needs to continue to rehab right now."

However, seeing Porter anywhere but on the field on the first day of practice has to concern Dolphins fans.

Running wind sprints off to the side while his teammates scrimmaged, Porter didn't look like the menacing pass-rusher the Dolphins hope he'll be this season.

Porter looked more like the same player who missed most of training camp last summer.

After missing most of the '07 training camp, Porter, who had minor knee surgery Aug. 7, had the slowest start of his career. He failed to record a sack for the first six games and had only 11/2 sacks heading into December.

Porter, a three-time Pro Bowler in eight seasons with Pittsburgh, finished with 51/2 sacks, his lowest total since 2003, when he had five.

Porter has said he's much more comfortable this season, back playing in a 3-4 defense similar to one the Steelers used.

The Dolphins will need Porter at his best after trading Jason Taylor to the Redskins on Sunday. Taylor had 11 of the team's 30 sacks in 2007.

Porter wasn't the only key Dolphins players who didn't practice.

Cornerback Michael Lehan, who suffered a severe ankle injury in June, joined Porter to run wind sprints.

Defensive tackle Jason Ferguson left the field suffering from cramps in the brutal heat.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

Two starters already on the PUP.   FUCK!!!!!!!!!!

[fyo]

Two starters already on the PUP.   FUCK!!!!!!!!!!

Oh relax. Porter is expected to be ready in a few days (he just tweaked his ankle), although the team doesn't want to take any chances.

Lehan's ankle can't be too bad, considering he was running sprints apart from the rest of the team.

This is all minor stuff. The kind of things that ALWAYS happen. This isn't "Washington Redskins 5-minutes into camp and two players are out for the season".

[StL FinFan]

Henne can't show up to practice because he hasn't signed a contact yet?  Nice way to endear yourself to the team and the fans.