*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Dec 05, 1996: -- Anthony Harris to Start --
DOLPHINS NEWS:
The Miami Herald is reporting this morning that rookie free
agent linebacker Anthony Harris has won the starting weakside
linebacker spot from veteran Chris Singleton after his play in the
Raiders game last Sunday.
The coaches announced last week that Harris and Singleton
would split playing time for the game. As it turned out, Singleton
played most of the first half, when the Raiders ran for 115 yards and
Singleton had 2 tackles. In the second half of that game, Harris
played every down and had 4 tackles - and the Raiders rushed for just
41 yards.
Also being asked to sit down is cornerback JB Brown, who was
the designated nickel back for the defense. Taking his place will be
cornerback Robert Bailey, who used to play for JJ in Dallas and was
acquired as a free agent in the off-season.
On the injury front, Zach Thomas is nursing a strained
hamstring and was limited in practice Wednesday. If, for some reason,
he can't start on Sunday, either Dwight Hollier will move inside and
Singleton will fill in for Hollier OR Barney Rubble (aka Larry Izzo)
will start at middle linebacker. Also, Jerris McPhail is definitely
out for this Sunday.
And last, but not least, practice squad linebacker Marc
Lillibridge was injured during practice last week and will be placed
on the injured reserve list. The Dolphins signed defensive end Larry
Jackson to take his place on the practice squad.
RUMORS:
One of my sources in Miami has come up with a number of big
rumors out of Miami, the most notable of which is that JJ will fire
offensive coordinator Gary Stevens as soon as the season is over. One
of the likely replacements for Stevens is supposed to be Marc
Trestman, currently the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco
49ers.
Also in trouble will be defensive coordinator George Hill, but
he will merely be demoted back to linebackers coach.
As far as players are concerned, Louis Oliver, Chris Singleton
and JB Brown are reportedly going to be waived and Richmond Webb will
be traded for a high draft choice. Troy Drayton will be re-signed and
the focus in free-agency will be on defense, specifically at outside
linebacker, defensive end and cornerback.
In the draft, the rumors are that JJ is very interested in
taking RB Warrick Dunn from FSU if he can get him. It may take a
couple of trades, but JJ may be able to trade up enough to come away
with Dunn. After Dunn, JJ is reportedly after outside linebackers and
defensive linemen.
Please remember that the above rumors are just that and are
not guarantees of anything, except perhaps more rumors.
My Comments:
The benching of Singleton doesn't really surprise me,
especially after the stats for the Raiders game came out. The
benching of Brown is a little bit bigger surprise, but is probably a
prelude to his release in the off-season, assuming that the rumors are
true.
As far as the rumors are concerned, the rumors about the
coaching changes are not especially surprising in the wake of the
Dolphins' recent troubles. The possible waiver of Singleton, Oliver
and Brown shouldn't surprise anyone, either, given their demotion in
the defensive scheme these last few weeks.
In fact, the only real surprise in the rumors I've listed
above is that JJ may be looking at another running back in the draft.
Karim Abdul-Jabbar seems to be having an excellent year for a rookie
and except for his tendency to drop easy passes, looks like an
excellent player. Still, you have to respect JJ's ability to evaluate
talent and if he wants Dunn, then I want him also.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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