*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jun 06, 1997: -- Quarterback Camp Ends --
** QB Camp Ends
The Dolphins finished up their second quarterback camp of the
1997 season yesterday, and with the end came a note of hope for the
coming season. Coach Jimmy Johnson said, as camp was coming to a
close, that he might have to cut half a dozen outstanding players whom
he thinks could be fine football players for another team.
Basically, JJ says that the Dolphins have just too many good
players at a number of skill positions right now.
Starting at defensive back, where the Dolphins have suffered
in recent years from a lack of pass coverage skills, JJ praised
cornerbacks Terrell Buckley, Corey Harris, Clayton Holmes, Sam
Madison, and even Jerry Wilson and Calvin Jackson for their
performances during this camp.
Just that group alone would be enough to field an aggressive,
talented set of cornerbacks, but the coaches are also still high on
draftee Hudhaifa Ismaeli, even though he missed this camp because of
finals.
Moving on the linebackers, which defensive coordinator George
Hill refers to as the best group he's seen since he's been in Miami,
the Dolphins currently have 10 on the roster, but will only keep 6 or
7. Zach Thomas, of course, is safe and despite some rumors to the
contrary, it appears that Larry Izzo is also pretty much assured a
roster spot.
Dwight Hollier, whom the Dolphins went to a lot of trouble to
re-sign in the off season, may not be as secure as some have thought.
While he will probably make the roster, he may be moved out of his
starting position.
Anthony Harris, at the starting weakside slot, looks like he's
actually solidified his starting position during the off-season. Last
season, JJ said that if they'd known that Harris was as good as he
turned out to be, they would have started him a lot earlier in the
year. This spring, JJ says that Harris is bigger, stronger and just
as fast as last year. Further, JJ says "For anybody to think some guy
is going to come in and dislodge him (Harris) from a starting
position, they're pretty much wrong...".
Another position that the Dolphins have an overabundance of good
players is at wide receiver. During the course of training camp, JJ
has praised rookie Brian Manning and veterans Lamar Thomas, Charles
Jordan and Kirby Dar Dar.
In addition, it appears the Fred Barnett is fully recovered
from his knee surgery last season and is faster and more familiar with
Marino and the offense this year. Remember that Fred Barnett was
second on the team in both catches and number of yards last year, even
though he missed half the season with his injury.
At this point, it might be worth pointing out that although JJ
hasn't said much about the linemen during the camps, that that doesn't
really mean anything. During the two mini-camps so far this year,
hitting has been very limited and it's hard to tell which linemen are
going to stand out until the pads get on and the hitting begins in
earnest.
At running back, Karim Abdul-Jabbar is pretty much set as the
starter, but the competition for backup positions is apparently wide
open. According to the Herald, Jerris McPhail is now the favorite to
take the backup position behind Abdul-Jabbar and Bernie Parmalee is
working very well. JJ says that all three players are improved from a
year ago.
Absent this week from workouts was running back Irving Spikes,
who sat out the week with a knee sprain. If McPhail really has
improved and Parmalee is back to his old form, Spikes could find
himself as the odd man out.
Now that quarterback camp is over, the next thing to watch out
for is training camp, which begins July 8th. Because the Dolphins
have an extra pre-season game this year, they will be starting camp
early. Rookies will report on July 8th and veterans will be in on
July 10th.
The only other news of note from the quarterback camp is that
Zach Thomas strained a hamstring on the final day, but the injury is
not serious.
** Dolphins Still Interested in Footman
According to the Herald, the Dolphins are interested in
signing former Ravens defensive end Dan Footman, but are waiting to
make him an offer until he has finished visiting all the other teams
who have expressed an interest in him. Footman is supposedly drawing
interest from Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Arizona and Tampa Bay, as well
as the Dolphins.
If Footman is offered a big contract from another team, the
Dolphins, who are not likely to offer a lot of money, probably won't
bother to make him an offer.
On the other hand, if Footman can be had at a bargain price,
the Dolphins will probably make him an offer. All other things being
equal, the Dolphins will have a good shot at signing Footman because
the word is that Footman wants to play for JJ in South Florida as a
defensive end, where the Dolphins want him to line up.
Footman is also a friend of one of the Dolphins' best
recruiters during this off-season - cornerback Terrell Buckley.
My Comments:
The notes in today's Herald about the Dolphins having too many
good players are certainly optimistic in tone, but we still have to be
careful to not make too much of this. Just remember last year, where
Charles Jordan was thought to be terrific after the mini-camps, but
fell apart as soon as the pads were on.
Now, according to the reports I've received, Jordan's attitude
is much different this year. He's much more business-like and
dedicated. Hopefully, the off-season conditioning program will help
with his injury problems and he really is more dedicated, because he
certainly does have talent, he just has to learn to use it.
Of the players that I've mentioned above, the two that I find
most encouraging are rookie Sam Madison and veteran linebacker Anthony
Harris. Last year's top draft picks at defensive backs were busts,
but Madison appears to be coming along nicely.
As far as Anthony Harris is concerned, I would love to see him
really progress this season. As an undrafted rookie who works his way
into the starting lineup, he is a great story. I always like the
underdogs who succeed.
Noticeable by his absence in JJ's comments is Yatil Green. I
don't think that that's necessarily a bad thing, because Green is
pretty much a lock to make the team and doesn't need JJ to say nice
things about him, but it would have been comforting to hear JJ talk
about how great Green will be someday.
On a more personal note, I plan to make daily training camp
reports again this year, as I do every year. When I do these reports,
I try to include eyewitness reports by fans from the camps and if
*you* are going to be in South Florida and would like to attend a camp
and write something up for me, please let me know.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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