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Dolphins 2009 Training Camp: Day 3 - Tue, Aug 4th |  | ||||||||
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Injury Reports | Future Schedule | My Comments | Related Links TODAY'S SUMMARY: The Dolphins continued Training Camp on Tuesday with two practices: a full pads practice outside at 9 AM and a helmet, shirts and shorts practice in the bubble in the afternoon. As has been the practice, the public was excluded from the afternoon session, while the press was kicked out after the first 30 minutes. The exclusion of the public is understandable - there is not enough room in the bubble for hundreds of fans. With Justin Smiley back after his day off to be with his family for the birth of his son, the first team offense was back to normal. Normal, in this case, is Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Jake Grove, Shawn Murphy and Vernon Carey on the line, Ted Ginn, Jr and Greg Camarillo as the starters at wide receiver, Anthony Fasano at tight end, Ronnie Brown and Lousaka Polite in the backfield and Chad Pennington at quarterback. Like last year, Ricky Williams is also getting his reps with the first team and Davone Bess is coming in as the slot receiver. In other words, the only changes to the offensive starting lineup from last year are at center and right guard. On defense, the current starting lineup has also not changed since the start of camp. The line is Phillip Merling, Jason Ferguson and Kendall Langford. Channing Crowder, Akin Ayodele, Joey Porter and Jason Taylor are the linebackers and Eric Green, Will Allen, Yeremiah Bell and Gibril Wilson are the defensive backs. However, it appears that there is a lot rotation going on on the defensive line. Lionel Dotson, Paul Soliai and Tony McDaniel are all getting plenty of reps and opportunities to break into the starting lineup. Reportedly, Randy Starks is not getting as many opportunities to show what he can do, but Coach Sparano has stated that Starks will get his chance soon. On the field, the offense recovered somewhat after their tough day on Monday, although they clearly have a lot of work to do. The receivers made more plays on Tuesday and the offensive line was tougher with the return of Justin Smiley. There were several highlight catches from Ted Ginn,Jr while Brian Hartline, Brandon London and Patrick Turner all had solid days. In the afternoon, practice started to get a little heated with a couple of minor scuffles. There was nothing major, but the players want to start the real hitting. Paul Soliai lined up with the first team defense on Tuesday morning and is looking a lot quicker this season than he has in the past. Even though Coach Sparano has said that Jason Ferguson is the starter, the team knows that whoever is his backup will get plenty of playing time this year and will have the inside track to replace him when he retires in the next year or two. Tony McDaniel lined up with the first team defense at defensive end in place of Phillip Merling on Tuesday afternoon. Despite listing him as a defensive tackle on the official roster, most of his reps are coming at the defensive end position. He played defensive tackle in a 4-3 defensive at Jacksonville and is making the switch to a 3-4 defensive end in Miami. Sean Smith and Vontae Davis are both getting plenty of work with the second team and sometimes are finding themselves matched up with the starters on offense. Davis was blanketing receivers in coverage, but was having a little trouble knocking the ball away or making the pick when the ball actually arrived. However, after a little chat with the defensive backs coach, Davis had his first interception of training camp. Ronnie Brown is said to be in the best shape he's ever been and fully recovered from his 2007 knee injury. The reports on him have all been very positive and he appears ready to take his game to the next level. Coach Sparano has also said that Ricky Williams is in the best shape he's ever seen, but at 32, it remains to be seen what that is going to mean this year. Pat While seems to be improving a little every day, but still has a long way to go. He is avoiding throwing the ball downfield and is still working on his knowledge of the offense. Donald Thomas is still working out in individual drills and hitting the blocking dummies, but has still not started working with the team. Ernest Wilford is working at tight end and wide receiver, but I have seen nothing positive said about him in any report.
The most intense battles right now are happening at wide receiver. Ted Ginn, Greg Camarillo and Davone Bess are all but guaranteed to make the roster and Patrick Turner is probably close behind. That probably leaves one more receiver slot for Brian Hartline, Brandon London or Anthony Armstrong. Armstrong got a lot of praise during the off-season camps, but has not been very visible since training camp began. Brandon London has been lining up with the second team, along with Patrick Turner, while Brian Hartline has been getting a lot of praise for his work. It is going to be a very tough competition for the final roster spot. If Hartline continues to be consistent, he may have the inside track because of his special teams play and draft status. In the defensive backfield, both Davis and Smith are doing very well by all reports and will be on the team in September. Whether or not one of them will unseat Eric Green before September is uncertain. Both Davis and Smith are showing flashes of excellence, but are also making some rookie mistakes. On the other hand, Joey Thomas and Jason Allen are reportedly struggling and may be in their last days with the team.
WR Brannon Marion was waived injured after it was determined that he had re-torn the ACL in his knee. He was recovering from the initial tear when he was signed by the Dolphins.
Matt Roth was on the sidelines again on Tuesday with his illness or groin injury. The team has announced that he will have his groin examined by the medical staff.
The team will continue to work twice a day this week until Saturday when they're going to have a controlled scrimmage.
Things continue normally for this point in training camp. The defense is ahead of the offense, the rookies are getting lots of work and lots of attention and the players are getting restless to start some real hitting. Fortunately, at this point, it looks like the toughest decisions facing Coach Sparano and his staff are not caused by a lack of talent, but by too many good players on the roster, especially at receiver. The rookies are playing very well, but there just isn't enough room on the roster to keep Hartline, London and Armstrong, assuming that Turner is a lock to make the team. So at least one and probably two of those three are going to be cut by September. If you're going to have problems, however, having too many good players at any position is the kind of problem you'd like to have.
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