Live Blog — August 1 Training Camp, Morning Practice

[DolFan619]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/08/01/live_blog_august_1_training_ca.html

Live Blog — August 1 Training Camp, Morning Practice

By Ben Volin | Friday, August 1, 2008, 08:59 AM

Buenos dias Dolfans, and welcome to Day 7 of training camp!

A steamy 81 degrees right now in Davie with a heat index of 87, and it’s only going to get hotter.

Haven’t talked to Sparano yet since Quincy Carter’s tryout yesterday, so I’ll be looking for Quincy at practice and I’m eager to ask Sparano how his tryout went.

We’ll also continue to be on the Terry Glenn Watch, and who knows who else might show up.

What do you guys want to know today? Outside of the quarterbacks, of course.

Feel free to post questions or comments. And enjoy the show!

9:27

Shorts and shells today. Couple of quick updates during individual drills:

Don’t see Quincy or Terry Glenn. But OT Reuben Riley isn’t present. Not sure if it’s an injury, or if suddenly there’s an open roster spot.

Daren Heerspink (knee) is back at practice. Justin Peelle (knee) and Aaron Halterman (back) continue to ride the bike and do some agility drills. Michael Lehan (ankle) once again not practicing.

The quarterbacks are working with the running backs in passing drills. RBs are splitting out wide and catching quick outs.

Lex Hilliard drops an easy one. Not the best way to impress the coaching staff.

Sparano, meanwhile, is watching the receivers.

That’s all I got for now. I’ll come back with some better ammo.

10:01

I get back from my first update, and I see the entire team congregated in a circle in the middle of the fields. They’re chanting and clapping in unison. Feels like I’m watching Remember the Titans. No Denzel Washington sighting, though.

Not a ton to report. They’re doing kickoff drills. Half the team is practicing its wedge forming, and the other half is practicing its wedge busting.

Feely and Carpenter are practicing their pooch kicks, trick onside kicks, etc. Hopefully the Dolphins are better at pooch kicks this year.

Vonnie and Porter are once again working with Paul Pasqualoni off to the side.

Lehan still is running gingerly.

There’s a Fredi Gonzalez sighting today. He’s chilling with Parcells. Probably explaining why the Marlins didn’t get Manny.

Here is what appears to be your starting kickoff return unit, at least the nine guys up front: Camarillo, Torbor, Edmond Miles, Keith Davis, David Martin, Chris Crocker, and Rod Wright, Randy Starks and Kendall Langford are the wedge.

That’s it for now. Hopefully practice will pick up soon.

10:32

Still not a heck of a lot going on. More kickoff drills and wedge busting, lots of players substituting in and out.

Fredi Gonzalez isn’t the only Marlin here. I also see Luis Gonzalez, PR chief Matt Roebuck and president David Samson (I think … not 100 percent positive on Samson. He’s wearing a hat and sunglasses).

They brought out the juggs machine for the first time this camp for punt drills. Fascinating, I know.

Vernon Carey and Jake Long are getting a little private tutoring from O-Line coach Mike Maser. They are practicing their backpedals, planting and quick pivoting. Jake Long was known as a top-notch run blocker at college, but his pass blocking probably needs a little work. But man, he’s got incredibly nimble feet for someone who stands 6-7, 310 pounds.

Wish I had more observations for you. I think they’re about to do some 11-on-11 team drills to wrap up the day.

10:49

… And practice is done. Shortest and lightest practice of the season, by far. The actual football part lasted about 70 minutes. Maybe they’re taking it easy before tomorrow’s scrimmage.

They finished with 11-on-11 drills, but it was all running plays. And then the QBs practiced running two steps back and falling on the ground. Exhilarating.

Not one pass thrown by the quarterbacks today, at least nothing outside of individual drills.

Hopefully we have some more excitement tonight. Practice starts at 5, and I’ll be live blogging again.

Can I answer any of your questions? Post them here.

I want to know what happened to Reuben Riley, and if someone has taken his place on the roster. Maybe it’s Fredi Gonzalez. He looks like he could hit a few people out here.

So that’s it. Thanks for checking in today.

See you in a few hours,

BV

[DolFan619]

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_football_dolphins/2008/08/dog-days-at-fin.html

Dog days at Fins camp

In case you came out to this morning's practice, sorry, it was a ZZZZZZZ-fest... and broiling.

Tomorrow's scrimmage (starting at about 1:50 p.m.) should be far more entertaining.

The most exciting part was when the players practiced their pre-game chants, a sort of a Ha-ka war dance that the Hawaiian players do before their games when they were in college.

Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez attended practice, hanging out with Bill Parcells in the shade. Tuna, a huge baseball fan, attends several Marlins and Cardinals games in Jupiter (near his home) during Spring Training. Wonder if Tuna second-guessed Fredi on not getting Manny Ramirez?

Recently signed tackle Rueben Riley was a no-show, which most likely means he got whacked. Undrafted tackle Daren Heerspink was back on the field after a few days off with a sprained knee. The Dolphins may have cleared a roster spot to sign QB Quincy Carter or WR Terry Glenn ... but we'll know more later.

TEs Aaron Halterman and Justin Peelle are still out with back and knee ailments.

Lots of special teams drills with Davone Bess, Patrick Cobbs and Anthony Armstrong returning punts.

Later

HF

> Posted by hfialkov at 10:14:07 AM

[DolFan619]

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/08/who-will-tell-b.html

PRACTICE UPDATE: The Dolphins worked on special teams for practically the ENTIRE morning practice. That is why it was the most boring professional football practice I have ever witnessed.

How boring? At one point injured cornerback Michael Lehan was rehabbing his high ankle sprain by literally running around in circles.

Anyway, there has been a lot of talk lately about Vonnie Holliday working at linebacker. Let me clear this up for you. The Dolphins are having Holliday get some work with defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni in which he is in the standup position and being taught how to use his hands rushing the passer.

That does not mean the Dolphins are turning 285-pound Holliday who has never played off the line of scrimmage into a linebacker. It does mean they are checking to see if he catches on quickly and might be an option if injuries hit in the regular season.

It is a precaution not the plan for the season. The team did the same thing with Matt Roth during the offseason camps.

One thing this does show, however, is exactly how devastating the trade of Jason Taylor is to the Dolphins this year. I'm not saying it was a bad trade, but I have said it leaves a giant void in Miami's defense NOW.

Were Taylor still here, he would be that OLB rushing from a standup spot and Charlie Anderson would be his backup and Joey Porter would come after that and Holliday wouldn't be in the picture.

[DolFan619]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/08/01/live_blog_august_1_training_ca_1.html

Live Blog — August 1 Training Camp, Evening Practice

By Ben Volin | Friday, August 1, 2008, 04:50 PM

… And we’re back!

The rain has stopped, the clouds have cleared out, and the Dolphins are about to take the field.

I’ll still be on the Quincy Carter/Terry Glenn lookout, and we’ll be watching the quarterbacks intently tonight after they took most of the morning practice off.

Post your questions or things you want to know, and I’ll try to address them.

Enjoy practice!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5:33

Hey guys, not too much going on yet. Just individual drills and such. Shorts and shells again this evening.

Halterman (back), Peelle (knee) and Steve McKinney (knee) are on the bike again. Michael Lehan (ankle) is still out. Reuben Riley (blisters) also isn’t out here.

No Quincy or Glenn sightings. Sparano wouldn’t tell us today what the plan is going forward with either two guys, so we’ll just have to speculate and be on the lookout until those situations are resolved.

The defensive line is doing a fun-looking drill, running around two giant circles in an 8-shaped formation. Paul Soliai is really chugging.

Sparano is watching the quarterbacks do handoffs and quick pass with the running backs. Boomer Grigsby sees one go right through his hands.

The DBs are doing an interception drill where they sprint back 30 yards, leap in the air and try to come up with the interception, while a position coach jumps in front of the ball as a distraction. A lot of balls are dropping to the ground, but Chris Roberson, the guy signed two days ago, makes a heck of a catch.

That’s it for now. Hopefully we’ll get a little excitement out here soon.

6:06

Sorry for the delay. Wanted to watch some of the 11-on-11 drills.

First, they work on the Jumbo package. Two tight ends and a fullback. All hand-offs up the middle.

Patrick Cobbs makes a great little move on a counter play, breaking Travis Daniels and bursting up-field for about 15 yards.

11-on-11 drills

Henne is up first.

Throws a wobbler over Derek Hagan’s head, on nice coverage from Chris Crocker. Then a draw play to Ronnie, a forced throw to Fasano in double coverage, and a nice throw to Wilford on a 25-yard seam route. That one would’ve gone for 6.

McCown’s up.

Dump-off to David Martin, a nice square-in to Camarillo, an awesome one-handed catch by Selwyn Lymon and a little drag route to Ted Ginn. 4-for-4, but he’s coming close to not getting the passes off in time.

Beck’s turn.

He’s doing a MUCH better job getting the ball out quickly. He throws a check-down to Lex Hilliard, a nice hook-in to Jayson Foster, throws short and wide of David Martin and then panics on his last play and misses a check-down throw to Jalen Parmele.

Back in a bit.

6:46

Hey guys, sorry for the delay. Practice ended early, about 6:30, and I had to stay to talk to a few players.

Couple of really light practices today. Getting ready for tomorrow’s scrimmage, even though it won’t be full contact.

11-on-11 Red Zone drills

Henne goes first.

Coverage sack on the first play. Ginn, Wilford and Martin can’t get open in the end zone.

Ronnie Brown up the middle, Ricky to the right side, and then an overthrow of Wilford in the back of the end zone. Series over.

McCown up next.

Coverage sack, and throws out of bounds.

Parmele sweep left, nothing doing.

A check-down throw to Reagan Mauia. Another stalled drive.

Beck’s turn.

Throws a wobbler complete to Kircus on the right side.

Completes an out pattern to Ginn, but it’s a coverage sack.

Quick hitch to Hagan, who is horse-collared by Edmond Miles.

Overthrows Camarillo in the end zone.

Three quarterbacks, zero touchdowns.

They end the practice with 2-minute Full Team drills:

1:35 on the clock, from their own 40.

Henne goes first.

Throws a bubble screen to Hagan, who takes it up-field about 8 yards. Nate Jones misses a tackle.

A quick out to Ted Ginn on the left sideline, gets out of bounds.

Sack for Vonnie Holliday. He blows right past Smiley and Jake Long. Not sure if this was a blown assignment, but Holliday has been all over the offensive line during camp.

Incomplete to Hagan.

Another quick out to Ginn. Nothing down-field for Henne.

This unit is done. Now it’s McCown’s turn.

Sacked on the first play by Merling. Nice move by Merling to beat Shawn Murphy to the inside.

Another sack on the second play. Randy Starks coasts through the line untouched.

Incomplete pass, with Ninkovich blowing past Heerspink around the left edge. He would have planted McCown in a real game. This second team O-Line is having some issues.

McCown rolls out right, sees nothing, and heads up-field about 6 yards before heading out of bounds.

And that’s how practice ends. Just in time, too, because the thunderstorm is moving in quickly.

Light practice today. A better showing from Beck in terms of getting the ball out, and Henne looked a bit erratic in the pocket. Tomorrow’s scrimmage will tell us a lot more about each of the quarterbacks.

There’s a quick practice at 10 a.m., and Edgar will be throwing up a blog. Then I’ll be back for the scrimmage, which starts at 1:50 p.m.

Thanks for checking in. Have a Fin-tastic Friday!

BV

[DolFan619]

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/08/tony-sparanos-f.html

Tony Sparano's Friday afternoon interview

Coach Tony Sparano just finished his press conference this afternoon. The highlights:

He said the Quincy Carter workout went relatively well but didn't commit to signing the guy like right this minute. Not at all. "He threw the ball well," Sparano said.

The scrimmage on Saturday will offer an equal number of snaps for the three quarterbacks -- Chad Henne, Josh McCown and John Beck -- currently in camp. Sparano said the coaches are starting to turn up the heat on these guys as we get closer to preseason.

The coach definitely wants to see one of them step up and win the job and would prefer that player not be Henne right away. Understand what I am saying. The Dolphins think Henne is good, otherwise they wouldn't have drafted him. But they don't want him to be the starter right away. That's putting a rookie QB in a very tough position.

The Dolphins would like to see a spark from either Beck or McCown so those two can take the offense at least at the start of the season. If they keep their spot the entire season, then fine. If they struggle later on, then it would be Henne time.

The team has only a couple of more days -- Monday and Tuesday -- of installation, meaning the offense should be pretty much in place by the end of next week.

Remember the special teams practice this morning I told you bored me to tears? Sparano loved it! He said he learned reams of information from it!

And in case you're wondering, Reggie Torbor, Keith Davis and Charlie Anderson -- longtime special teams players -- were among those who impressed Sparano.

OK, next practice is at 5 p.m. Check back afterward for more stuff ...

[DolFan619]

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/08/get-your-friday.html

Get your Friday evening practice report here

Here's the scoop:

Dolphins worked team run, situations, team third down, red zone and two minute drills this afternoon.

In the team third down out of the shotgun Josh McCown was on fire running with the second team while Chad Henne was so-so working with the first team and John Beck completed one pass, had a pass batted at the line and had an incompletion running third team.

McCown was 5-of-5, including a one-handed grab by Selwyn Lymon on a skinny post. McCown also completed passes to David Martin, Greg Camarillo, Ted Ginn Jr. and a dump pass to Lex Hilliard.

Henne completed 1-of-4 passes and was not very accurate in the drill. He also forced one pass to Anthony Fasano although the tight end was bracketed by coverage.

In the red zone drills: Henne took a sack and failed to connect on his only attempt. McCown was 1-of-2 with a dumpoff to Reagan Mauia. Beck recovered somewhat in this drill, completing 2-of-3 attempts and taking one sack.

In the two minute set: Henne completed 3-of-4 passes and took one sack. Vonnie Holliday brought the pressure for the sack. He's having a great camp.

With the second teamers, McCown couldn't finish strong as he failed to completed either of his two attempts. He scrambled on one play and was sacked by Randy Starks on another. Rookie guard Shawn Murphy, by the way, continues to struggle with his technique and recognition of line stunts.

Overall, Henne and McCown are looking better while Beck is still inconsistent. As I said today on 790 The Ticket, he needs to get some urgency about this QB competition because although no one seems to be taking the job with spectacular play, he definitely is starting to lose ground.

Of course, this can change in the next week or two, but he needs to start turning it around like immediately if not sooner to keep his chances alive.

That's all I have for now. I'll add more later.

[DolFan619]

http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/news/top_story.asp?contentID=5918

Camp Dolphins Report Day 7: D-Line Bringing Heat; Other Notes

August 1, 2008
   
By Andy Kent
Special for MiamiDolphins.com

Through the first seven days of training camp, not only has the defense as a whole been ahead of the offense, which is to be expected, but the defensive line has been disrupting the passing game and the running game with ferocity.

Veterans like defensive end Vonnie Holliday, nose tackle Jason Ferguson and defensive ends Randy Starks and Matt Roth have been very effective rushing the passer and closing down the running lanes, but the younger linemen like rookies Kendall Langford and Philip Merling have been equally effective. Their innate abilities, along with the talents of converted defensive linemen now linebackers Quentin Moses and Rob Ninkovich have impacted the timing of when first-year Head Coach Tony Sparano and his staff will decide for certain what type of defensive front they will run, a 3-4 or a 4-3.

"It will depend largely on what happens maybe over the next week and in this first ballgame," Sparano said. "We need to see some of these outside linebackers play outside linebacker, and we also need to see some of these outside linebackers play with their hand in the ground a little bit and play defensive end. It's a little bit easier thinking about them playing defensive end because that's their nature. Some of these guys, we're picking their hand up and playing them at outside linebacker spots, and we need to see them play up on their feet in game situations."

Langford, 22, was a third-round draft pick in April out of Hampton University and the 6-foot-6, 290-pound defensive end is pushing Merling, Starks and Roth at the left defensive end position. The hard work he put in during the offseason is beginning to pay dividends and he credited his coaches and the strength and conditioning program for helping him improve his strength and his ability to adjust to the faster speed at the pro level.

The first time Langford really faced NFL-caliber competition was at the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl back in January, and not only did his performances in those games and workouts open the eyes of NFL scouts, but they also helped his confidence. It's still early in training camp, though, and Langford is aware of how quickly his fortunes his change, which is why he is not getting complacent.

"Hand placement is something I've improved on since rookie camp, but that's something I still need to work on," said Langford, who registered 236 tackles and 23.5 sacks in four years at Hampton. "I also need to work on playing a little lower. At times I'll play high. I learn a lot of things (from the veterans). I sit in meetings with those guys everyday and they just give you little pointers here and there and tell you what's going on, how to beat certain types of linemen."

Sparano, first-year General Manager Jeff Ireland and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Bill Parcells saw enough out of Langford on film and at the NFL Combine to warrant picking him with the 66th overall pick. In fact, Ireland revealed after the first day of the draft that Langford had been on his radar for over a year back when he and Sparano were with the Dallas Cowboys.

Langford is rooming with fellow rookie defensive end Philip Merling, Miami's second-round pick, and is comfortable in the fact that he played in the same 3-4 defensive system that the Dolphins are expected to run here. That's one of the reasons he believes he has been able to pick up some of the nuances, even though the scheme here is a little different than the one he played in college.

"I've been really impressed with Kendall the first week of practice. I think he's done some good things," Sparano said. "He probably has made the greatest gains in the offseason program when the rookies were here by themselves. Whatever that was, five weeks, he made tremendous gains in the weight room, strength-wise and really his conditioning, all those things.

"And I see it out here from the spring until now. When we watched him early on, maybe it wasn't as strong; it wasn't as stout at the point of attack. Now I'm watching the guy play with his hands, play stronger at the point of attack. Now he's got a lot of things to work on and seeing some of these reads for the first time, but I've been impressed with him."

As of now, Langford has been lining up on the right side where Holliday usually plays and looks to be competing with second-year players Rodrique Wright and Paul Soliai. Wright was a seventh-round pick out of Texas in 2006 and sat out all of 2007 after having surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder, but he played in 13 games last season as a backup to Holliday and made nine starts, recording 37 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Soliai was a fourth-round pick last year out of Utah and appeared in eight games, all in a reserve role. He was inactive for the last three games, but came back focused during the offseason and intent on making an impression to the new regime. Sparano has certainly taken notice, as have some of the players.

"Honestly, the biggest surprise is Soliai. He's beating the heck out of people," inside linebacker Channing Crowder said. "He started out slow last year but he came out for this camp. I think he lost 30 pounds since last season so he's moving pretty well and he's doing a great job. So Soliai, Langford, Merling. Merling has a lot of explosion. A lot of those young guys are going to contribute to the team this year."

FRIDAY'S BREAKFAST SPECIAL: The Dolphins made a slight departure from their normal routine this morning and spent the majority of practice working on special teams over on the far field, so there wasn't a whole lot happening in terms of notable personnel shifts or individual standout performances. The team was in shorts and shells (helmets and shoulder pads).

"We had this planned for quite some time," said first-year Head Coach Tony Sparano. "We really just wanted to focus on spending maybe 15 minutes in each phase of the game, breaking it down fundamentally, trying to see maybe who our best punt blockers may be and cover guys might be. That was really a good practice for us. As practices go when you're out here you get a lot out of a bunch of practices, but we got an awful lot out of what went on out there today."

Sparano was impressed mostly with the players that had previous special teams experience like Keith Davis, Reggie Torbor, Charlie Anderson and Edmund Miles because they take it seriously.

The JUGS machine made its training camp debut, giving punter Brandon Fields and kickers Jay Feely and Dan Carpenter a little break on return drills by lofting perfectly placed kicks.

Practice ended with one non-special teams drill and it involved another game situation. This time the offense worked on variations of the kneel-down play at the end of the first half or the end of the game, with all three quarterbacks alternating at taking a knee immediately and taking a few steps back before going down.

When practice ended, Tony Sparano once again headed over to the fence to sign autographs, along with Feely, tight end Anthony Fasano, fullback Reagan Mauia, rookie left tackle Jake Long and a few other offensive linemen.

The players will return the field this afternoon at 5 p.m., and then tomorrow they will participate in their first scrimmage.

INJURY UPDATE: Offensive guard Reuben Riley was the only player unaccounted for, while offensive tackle Daren Heerspink returned to action after riding the exercise bicycle and doing side work with the trainers the previous two days due to a slight knee sprain. First-year Head Coach Tony Sparano confirmed that Riley was held out of practice because he had bad blisters on his feet ... Cornerback Michael Lehan (ankle) and tight ends Aaron Halterman (back) and Justin Peelle (knee) remained out of action and Lehan is still on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He was catching passes thrown directly over his head with his back facing the passer in one drill ... Offensive guard Steve McKinney (knee) sat out the afternoon practice, which has been the routine so far with him as he continues his comeback from an torn ACL in his left knee.

DOLPHINS TIDBITS: Things picked up a little in the afternoon as the team did more Red Zone and two-minute drills, 11-on-11s and some pass rushing drills with the tackles and the guards under the gun ... Tight end Matthew Mulligan made a nice one-handed catch in the end zone during individual drills ... Quarterbacks Josh McCown and Chad Henne were up during team drills and then Henne and John Beck took turns in the two-minute drills ... Florida Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, three of his coaches and one of his players, Luis Gonzalez, took in the morning practice from the shady area near the team cafeteria and Gonzalez had a nice conversation with Executive Vice President of Football Operations Bill Parcells. In addition to those two, bullpen coach Steve Foster, bench coach Carlos Tosca and first base/infield coach Andy Fox were the other Marlins on hand.