*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Nov 19, 1996: -- Gray Out for Year, Sims out next Week --
DOLPHINS NEWS:
In the wake of the Dolphins' victory over Houston on Sunday,
the Dolphins got some bad news on Monday. Starting right guard Chris
Gray broke his right fibula on the astroturf and was placed on injured
reserve yesterday, meaning that he will miss the rest of the
season. Also, starting left guard Keith Sims has sprained his knee and
will miss at least the next game against the Steelers on Monday night,
but should return in time for Oakland on December 1st.
Backup guard Everett McIver will start in place of Gray at the
right guard spot. McIver, at 6'6" and 315 lbs, was on the roster of
the York Jets for the last 2 years, but didn't get much playing time
with them. He spent the off season starting at left tackle for the
London Monarchs of the WLAF. He played his college ball at Elizabeth
City State.
Starting in place of Keith Sims on Monday will be Jeff Buckey,
the Dolphins' next to last draft choice in the 1996 draft. Buckey was
awarded a game ball by JJ for his performance in place of Keith Sims
on Sunday and JJ has hinted that Buckey was close to winning the
starting job at right guard or right tackle even without the injuries
to Sims and McIver.
Center Cal Dixon was re-signed to the roster spot vacated by
Chris Gray. Dixon was waived in October after spending the summer
with the Dolphins in training camp and riding the bench as a backup
for most of the season.
Also in the news, the Dolphins have decided to activate
defensive end Jeff Cross off of the Physically-unable-to-perform list,
where he has been since he had back surgery in July. Cross has been
practicing with the team for the last few weeks, but probably will not
be ready to play on Monday night against the Steelers. To make room
for Cross, the Dolphins will have to waive someone, probably Aaron
Jones, who is also a defensive lineman.
My Comments:
This is a huge blow to the Dolphins' offensive line,
especially going into a big game with the Steelers on Monday night.
What it probably means from a practical standpoint is that the
Dolphins' running game will suffer the most, since Sims and Gray were
better run blockers than either Buckey or McIver. Buckey can probably
hold his own in the pass blocking department, but his lack of
experience may hurt him when Pittsburgh blitzes, which they do on
practically every play and will probably even increase now that Sims
and Gray are out.
Activating Cross is a little bit of a surprise to me, but
Aaron Jones has not been having that great a year and the defensive
line needs as much help as it can get.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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