*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Apr 27, 1998: -- First Mini-Camp - Last Day --
** Last Day of First Mini-Camp of 1998 **
The Dolphins had their third and last day of mini-camp
yesterday and while the players still worked hard on the field, their
were no acquisitions, trades, cuts or rumors to spice up the practice.
There were several comments by JJ following the practice,
where he singled out a number of players for good performances during
minicamp.
JJ stated that he thought that Jerris McPhail was doing very
well. He said "He [McPhail] looks like he's going to be able to make
the transition [to wide receiver]". JJ went on to say that Jerris had
a couple of big plays in every workout during the mini-camp.
JJ also singled out safety Brian Walker and wide receiver
Brian Manning for their performances during mini-camp. Walker was a
rookie free agent with the Redskins in 1996 and was signed by Miami
last fall after being cut by Washington.
And, of course, JJ continues to heap praise upon Kirby Dar
Dar, who has been the one player consistently praised from day one of
mini-camp. Dar Dar, himself, says that he's still not as fast as he
will be in the summer.
It looks like Patrick Surtain will have to change his style of
play somewhat in adjusting to the NFL. The Dolphins' defensive backs
use a backpedaling technique in coverage, but Surtain used a different
technique that is referred to as "shuffling" in the news bulletins.
Right now, Surtain is playing with the second string as their nickel
back.
Lawrence Phillips did not practice yesterday after
aggravating his hamstring pull on Saturday. The Sun-Sentinel reported
that he was going to try and fight through it and when he left the
field he threw his helmet against a fence in disgust.
Also missing practice were Richmond Webb and Troy Drayton, who
are both recovering from surgery and Tim Bowens, who is sitting out
because he doesn't have a contract.
With Webb on the sideline, the coaches moved Jeff Buckey to
left tackle with the starting unit. While the newspapers didn't
report who filled in at left guard, it was probably Brent Smith, since
he's the next left guard on the depth chart.
Also, Scott Shaw was working out as a long-snapper for the
team. While fellow draftee Nathan Strikwerda is an accomplished
long-snapper, the testing of Shaw for the position seems to indicate
that they're looking to have several long-snappers on the team next
year.
Yesterday was the last day that rookies will be in camp until
June, but the veterans will continue working tomorrow at the
Dolphins' quarterback camp that will last through Thursday.
** Group Tickets Go On Sale **
The Dolphins' Ticket Sales Department has announced that Group
Tickets (for 25 or more) will go on sale today - Monday, April 27th.
To place your order, call Steve Brauner, Group Sales Manager at (305)
623-6287 or fax ticket request to (305) 626-7326.
My Comments:
It drives me crazy to read about mini-camps in the paper and
only get reports on JJ's comments. I would be a *lot* happier if the
reporters would put down their pina-coladas, get in their convertables
and drive over to Davie for a look.
Ah, well. So much for the soap-box.
Of course, the news about McPhail is good. But I think that
the biggest problem that Jerris has had with receiving in the past is
not about getting open - it's about catching the ball. He's big
enough and fast enough to get off the line of scrimmage and get deep,
but once he get's there, he'd better hold on to the ball.
There was absolutely no mention of Yatil Green in any of
today's reports. I don't quite know how to interpret that, except to
say that if he had been out nursing his knee, one of the papers
probably would have said something.
The news on Phillips is both good and bad. While it would
have been nice to have him participate in the camp more, he seems to
have a good attitude and is working hard to win that starting job.
Trying Scott Shaw at long-snapper is something of a mystery,
but if he can do it - why not?
So, the first look at this year's rookies is over and so far,
nothing unexpected has happened. None of the rookies have looked
unexpectedly good or unexpectedly bad.
And that's about all you can hope for from mini-camp.
Certainly, the linemen on both sides of the ball can't really
demonstrate much of anything until the real hitting starts, so the
focus of this mini-camp and the next one in June will be on the backs
and receivers. And so far, they look pretty good.
Also, be sure and look at the article below entitled "On the
money, he's not". It's about Zach Thomas and how he's not exactly
Drew Rosenhaus' favorite client because he doesn't want the money
badly enough for Drew. Ya just gotta' love it!
Related Info:
[Return to Dolphins News]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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