*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jun 05, 1997: -- QB Camp Continues --
** Quarterback Camp Continues
The Dolphins held day 2 and 3 of their quarterback school on
Tuesday and Wednesday this week, with most of their players attending
and working out. Other than rookies Hudhaifa Ismaeli, John Fiala
and Dimitrious Stanley, who are prohibited from participating in camp
until their school finals are done, all Dolphin players are in Davie
with the team.
There is precious little information about who is looking good
and who isn't, but I'll be happy to pass on what little I have.
Irving Spikes has missed the entire camp with a sprained knee,
but will not require surgery and will continue to participate in
conditioning drills next week with the team.
OJ McDuffie is participating in camp, but only on a limited
basis as he recovers from his hernia surgery.
Backup QB Craig Erickson has taken all the snaps at his
position during camp, even though it's only two weeks after his ankle
surgery.
Linebackers coach George Hill has said that the linebackers
that he now has are the strongest group of linebackers that he's seen
on the team since he's been in Miami. That's a pretty strong
statement for a guy who's been around since the days of John
Offerdahl.
Individual players singled out for praise during this camp
include Charles Jordan, who has been very good while working out with
the team, running routes and catching the ball. Apparently, Jordan is
very explosive off the line of scrimmage. JJ has said that Jordan has
worked much harder this year to get in shape and be ready to play.
Larry Izzo has also caught some observer's attention, although
it's said that he'll have to improve his regular on-field performance
to stay on the team - just being great on special teams won't be
enough with the competition at linebacker. The Dolphins have moved
Izzo to backup outside linebacker in the regular defense.
Unfortunately, that's about all the news I have on the
camp. With observers barred from the practices, it's hard to get the
scoop on what's going on.
One other thing that happened this week at camp was that
players were given their assigned weights for training camp in July.
If they show up overweight at training camp in July, they will be
fined $75 per pound that they are over the limit.
** Dolphins Work Out DE Dan Footman
The Dolphins worked out former Baltimore Ravens defensive end
Dan Footman on Tuesday and, after a physical, pronounced him healthy.
The Dolphins are looking at Footman as a possible free agent signee at
defensive end.
Footman was just released by the Ravens for salary cap reasons
after spending 4 years with them. His career in Baltimore was marred
by inconsistent performance and injuries last year. In fact, he still
has a plate in his arm to hold together his damaged forearm.
JJ has said that he's always liked Footman and hopes to use
him as a defensive end - if he's made an offer. At present, the
Dolphins have not made Footman an offer.
Footman's best year in the league was 1995, when he had 5
sacks and recovered one fumble.
** Dolphins Make Offers to Draftees
According to Jason Cole of the Sun-Sentinel, the Dolphins have
made preliminary contract offers to all of their draft choices,
basically matching last year's signing figures for players in the same
positions. With the rookie cap being the same as last year's, the
Dolphins don't expect to offer much more money.
For first round pick Yatil Green, that means an initial offer
of $6.2 million, which is the same as linebacker John Mobley got last
year for being the #15 pick. The Dolphins have offered about $50,000
more to Green in their signing bonus ($2.85 M) than Mobley got, but
they don't expect to move much beyond that.
The Dolphins are trying to get Green signed this week, but
apparently his agent doesn't want to be the first to have a first
round draft pick signed in the league. Drew Rosenhaus will probably
wait until some other team has signed their first round pick before
giving Green the OK to sign.
For Sam Madison, the Dolphins second round pick, the initial
offer was $2.1 million for either 3 or 4 years with a $700,000 signing
bonus. Madison wants to become a restricted free agent after his
third season, but the Dolphins want him committed to 4 years.
To sign these draftees, the Dolphins must free up about $1
million under the salary cap according to the Miami Herald. To that
end, the Dolphins are having contract talks with Terrell Buckley,
Trace Armstrong, Tim Bowens and Richmond Webb about restructuring and
extending their contracts. Bowens' contract is scheduled to expire
after this season and Webb and Buckley have 2 more years each.
** Dolphins Hire Kicking Coach
The Dolphins announced on Tuesday that they have hired a
kicking coach to work with placekickers Joe Nedney and Olindo Mare in
training camp. Doug Blevins as worked as a consultant for the Jets
and Patriots and the University of Tennessee and has been a college
kicking coach, but this is his first stint as an NFL kicking coach.
Blevins was hired to work for Dolphins' special teams coach
Mike Westhoff and is an unusual person, not just for his talent at
evaluating kickers, but because he has cerebral palsy and is
restricted to a motorized wheelchair on the field.
His boss, Mike Westhoff, said of him "I know Doug is
handicapped from birth. But when I read some of the reports he wrote
on other kickers and the suggestions he made, it didn't matter who
wrote them and what disabilities that person had; it mattered that he
did a remarkable job."
** Dolphins Hold Award Banquet
The Dolphins held their annual awards banquet on Wednesday
night and linebacker Zach Thomas was named as the most valuable player
of the team for 1996.
My Comments:
The lack of information about player performance in the
quarterback camp is becoming very frustrating for me - as I'm sure it
is for all of you. Particularly frustrating is the fact that the
Miami Herald ran a full story this morning about the naming of the new
Dolphins mascot, but had no information on player performance in
camp.
The news on Charles Jordan is good, but we should all remember
that he looked great during the mini-camps last year, but disappeared
when they put on the pads.
I'm not real excited about the possibility of Dan Footman
becoming a Dolphin. He seems to have done very little in his career
and there's no indication that he would be able to make much of a
contribution. Plus, I think that the money would be better used to
get the draftees signed.
Speaking of signing the draftees, I would look for the
Dolphins' draftees to begin signing immediately after quarterback camp
is over and the Dolphins organization can pay more attention to it.
However, I think that Rosenhaus will hold back on allowing Yatil Green
to sign until some other 1st round pick is signed because he's scared
that the other agents will criticize him if he doesn't get enough
money for his client.
Personally, I find Rosenhaus to be on the same moral level as
a pimp, without the stylish clothing. Of course, with a pimp,
negotiations are generally much simpler - and pimps don't lie as much.
Doug Blevins is an interesting story and I think it's great
that the Dolphins have hired a kicking coach for Nedney and Mare
regardless of his physical abilities.
Related Info:
[Return to Dolphins News]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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