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Dolphins 2009 Training Camp: Day 16 - Thu Aug 20th |  | ||||||||
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Injury Reports | Future Schedule | My Comments | Related Links TODAY'S SUMMARY: The Dolphins had two practices on Thursday, a full pads practice outside in the morning at 10:15, which was the last practice open to the public, and a practice in helmets, shells and shorts in the bubble in the afternoon. For those of you who don't know what "shells" are, they are a very minimum set of shoulder pads, which give just enough weight and constriction to the players' movements so that it's a little like playing with full shoulder pads, but without the weight - and the protection. Practices in shells involve very little real hitting. The morning practice consisted of standard drills with an emphasis on the running game, which the Dolphins did not do well on Monday night. The starting lineup has remained unchanged since the Jaguars game, although both Jason Taylor and Joey Porter did not participate in one or both practices on Thursday. Joey Porter has a sore right toe from practice and Jason Taylor was excused for personal reasons - reportedly, an illness in his family. Charlie Anderson, Cameron Wake and Quentin Moses all got snaps with the first team in place of Taylor and Porter. On the other side of the line, Justin Smiley had a full practice on Thursday morning after sitting out Wednesday. Highlights from the morning practice included Greg Camarillo making a nice leaping catch along the sidelines and Joey Thomas had a leaping interception of a Pat White pass intended for Brian Hartline in the endzone. The afternoon practice was mainly devoted to special teams practice, working on punts, kickoffs and field goals. Both Dan Carpenter and Connor Barth had good days kicking the ball and it was announced that Chris Williams would be handling all the return duties against Carolina on Saturday night. With the release of Eric Green, Joey Thomas was moved up to the second string cornerback position opposite Vontae Davis. Thomas reportedly took advantage of this promotion, getting an interception and two passes defensed in a series of three plays. It sounds like Coach Sparano was picking on Thomas on Thursday to test Thomas and Thomas responded well. Thomas played fairly well in training camp last year and had a pick against the Jaguars in pre-season, but was mostly invisible during the regular season. Coach Sparano made a point of saying that he was pleased with the progress made by inside linebackers Akin Ayodele and Reggie Torbor this summer. Last year, Ayodele was an average linebacker at best and Torbor was very disappointing when he stepped in for Channing Crowder. If both have picked up their game, the Dolphins will be in much better shape on defense this year.
The only battle that is still hot is the kicking duel between Dan Carpenter and Connor Barth. On Thursday, each player got to make a number of kicks and, according to the Miami Herald, neither player missed one. It seems as if Coach Sparano's attempt to light a fire under Dan Carpenter has succeeded. All things considered, a tie will go to the incumbent - in other words, unless Barth clearly beats Carpenter, Carpenter will stay with the team and Barth will be looking for work in September. Right now, it looks like Carpenter will retain his job.
Eric Green was cut yesterday, but it doesn't look like the team will be bringing in any other veterans at cornerback for the open roster spot. Coach Sparano basically said that he wants to see what the young guys can do.
There were several bumps and bruises visible yesterday, but Matt Roth was the only player who did not dress. Roth has now missed every practice this summer. Joey Porter banged his toe up on Wednesday and sat out the Thursday morning practice. Porter was back for Thursday afternoon, but since he doesn't play much on special teams, he didn't have to do much. It is possible he could miss the Carolina game on Saturday night. Ronnie Brown participated in all the practices on Thursday, but had a slight limp. Brown says he also banged up his toe.
The team has finished with open practices, so this will probably be the last practice report we will do this summer. From now on, the information coming from the team will be very limited as they start working seriously on their strategy for the coming year.
It has been an interesting training camp this year, especially in the Dolphins' secondary and the receiving corps. Rookies have made a serious impact at both those positions and hopefully the team will be better for it this year. The question of what is happening with Matt Roth continues to puzzle me. Information published today in the Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel suggest that Roth is dogging it - which seems totally out of character for a player known for his non-stop motor on the defense. Apparently, just after the start of camp, Roth was seen by one of the most respected medical specialists in the country about his injury and the Miami Herald says that this doctor "did not find any significant issues". If that's true then Roth should be practicing again. Coach Sparano implied yesterday that Roth was too far behind to regain his starting spot before the season begins. Also, this is the last year on Roth's contract, which means that his performance this year will certainly effect his prospects for next year. So what is going on with Matt Roth? The Miami Herald says that it is his decision to sit out of practice. Why, in a contract year, would Roth choose to let Jason Taylor take his starting job? One thing I am starting to wonder is what role Drew Rosenhaus is playing in all this. After outing Roth on opening weekend of training camp, you have to wonder if Rosenhaus has some ulterior motive and what advice he is giving Roth. Personally, I find that the whole situation is starting to smell bad. Let's hope that Roth can find his way back on to the field soon. With the end of training camp, I have some plans for Phins.com that will hopefully improve your enjoyment of our site. I don't want to go into them right now, because I have had too many projects crash and burn over the past few years, but if I manage to complete even one of these projects, I think you'll appreciate them. Because, after all, we here at Phins.com will not be doing them half-heartedly or by accident. We will be doing them.... On Porpoise.
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