*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jul 09, 1998: -- Bromell Agrees To Terms --
** Bromell Agrees To Terms
The Dolphins have reportedly agreed to contract terms with 4th
round draft pick Lorenzo Bromell. The deal is for three years for
undisclosed terms, but as a 4th round pick, Bromell will most likely
be making the league minimum for rookies in base salary and will get a
signing bonus in the $150,000 to $250,000 range.
Bromell is the second draft pick to agree to a contract, after
offensive lineman Nathan Strikwerda. According to reports in the
Herald this morning, linebacker Brad Jackson from Cincinnati is also
near a contract agreement.
** Dolphins Have Second Day of QB Camp III
The Dolphins had 2 practices yesterday on the second day of
their QB camp and continued to work on their new offensive scheme.
They held the first practice of the day at their training camp in
Davie, Florida and the second practice in the evening at Joe Robbie
Stadium in front of a crowd of fans who had assembled to see them
practice.
The most important event of the day, however, was one not
witnessed by crowds of fans. During the morning practice, JJ
assembled his players and told them that there were 8 starting jobs
open at this time out of 22. He further told them that all players
currently listed at those positions would be considered for the
starting jobs.
The 8 starting positions available are at running back, "Z"
wide receiver (which is the one opposite of OJ McDuffie), offensive
left guard, strongside linebacker, left defensive end, punter and both
cornerbacks.
Looking at the 8 positions available for competition also
nails down some of the other spots on the team. While both
cornerback spots are open, it looks like Shawn Wooden and Brock Marion
are going to be the starting safeties. Also, it appears that Jason
Taylor has nailed down the right defensive end position and Derrick
Rodgers is firmly entrenched as the weakside linebacker.
Newly signed linebacker Robert Jones will find himself in the
hunt for the strongside linebacker position, along with Anthony
Harris, Brad Jackson, Dwight Hollier and possibly even Ronnie Ward.
In front of them, Trace Armstrong, Danny Stubbs, Kenny Mixon, Josh
Taves and Lorenzo Bromell will all probably get a look at the
defensive end position.
In the secondary, newcomer Patrick Surtain and Corey Harris
will challenge incumbents Terrell Buckley, Sam Madison and even Calvin
Jackson.
On the other side of the ball, Charles Jordan is currently
lining up at the starting "Z" receiver position, but Yatil Green is
improving dramatically and Kirby Dar Dar, Brian Manning and Larry
Shannon are all going to get their chances.
At left guard, Jeff Buckey and Brent Smith are the two
veterans, but Jim Bundren, Scott Shaw and Randy Wheeler are all fierce
competitors and could challenge for that position.
Of course, the running back spot will be probably the most
important position on the team to be contested and while the running
back formerly known as Karim Abdul-Jabbar (TRBFKAKAJ) has the position
right now, Lawrence Phillips is said to be in the best shape of his
career and is running better than anyone has seen him run since
college. If you add to that mix the speed and quickness of John Avery
and the strength and power of Ray Nealy, you have what promises to be
a very exciting battle for the starting running back spot.
There wasn't much else of note that happened yesterday in
practice, although Terrell Buckley did pick off a pass during the
evening session.
During the practice at JRS, Kim Bokamper of WQAM radio was
broadcasting live from the stadium and he interviewed Tom Braatz, who
is Director of College Scouting for the Dolphins. He asked a number
of questions about players and about who looked good and who might
surprise the fans this summer.
Of course, he said that he liked John Avery and that he
expected him to be a big contributer. He also mentioned Jim Bundren,
the offensive lineman from Clemson who was the Dolphins' last pick in
the draft. He said that they like Bundren a lot and that he should be
able to make the team this year.
Two other names stuck out in my memory from that interview,
both of whom are rookie free agents who were signed by the Dolphins
after the draft. First was tight end Chris Fontenot from McNeese
State. Braatz said that Fontenot was an excellent receiver and that
they'd been very impressed with him in all three mini-camps so far.
Braatz went on to say that since the hitting hadn't started
yet, they didn't know how good a blocker he'd turn out to be, but they
were sure that he was very good at catching the ball and running
routes.
The other player that Braatz talked about was wide receiver
Derrick Steagall from Georgia Tech. Steagall was an enormously
talented athlete who suffered a number of serious injuries in college
that arrested his development. But Braatz said that Steagall has
recovered and is showing good speed and ability in practice.
Also of interest to Miami fans were Bokamper's comments on Dan
Marino. During the broadcast, a caller asked how Marino was doing and
Bokamper said he had talked to Marino recently and that Dan was doing
just fine. Marino had no medical problems in the off-season and at
this point feels as strong and comfortable as he's every felt.
EYEWITNESS REPORT:
I just received the following eyewitness report on the first
two days of QB camp this week from Don Dillard. It is reprinted here
verbatim from the man himself - Thanks, Don!
I've been to the first two practices at the Nova Facility and have
this to report:
Day 1
I made the mistake of not taking roster information, so I didn't
know who was who out on the playing field.They have two regular
fields at the facility running parallel to the viewing stands.
All the interesting action with receivers and running backs was
taking place on the far field.
I watched the linebackers for a while running through their
drills. Zach Thomas looked like he was in great shape. His calf
muscles were well defined and seemed about twice the size of the
other linebackers.
One receiver who really stood out was Geoff Turner the free agent
from Colorado State. He stood out because he's about a foot
smaller than the rest of the receivers and he's built like a
bowling ball. I said to myself "That's a receiver?" Anyway, he
is quick and bulls his way open. Defensive backs have no affect
on his cuts as he runs right through them. Any ball thrown low is
his. I doubt he'll make the team because of his size though.
It started raining hard so I went down to the south end of the
field where they have cover and watched the defensive linemen run
some drills. The coaches had these big hula hoops (5 yards
diameter) lined up in figure 8 fashion.
They put two linemen a few steps apart in the figure 8 in a three
point stance. The coach, who has a broom handle with a football
on the end, simulates the snap and the trailing lineman chases the
first lineman around the figure 8. It was a fun drill to watch.
The coach is yelling a snap count and gets the linemen to jump
offsides on occasion. The players seemed to be having fun too.
Day 2
I got tied up at work and arrived late. This time I printed out
your Roster information html page and took it with me. The roster
information made it much more enjoyable, but it needs to be sorted
by number. I was having to scan three pages of numbers to figure
out who someone was.
Again the interesting stuff was on the far field. The place
kickers were in front of the stands doing their boring things.
The linebackers and defensive linemen were also on the near field.
I can report that Josh Taves is big. Really big![ Ed Note: 6'7"]
He's about a head taller than anyone else and takes up space. If
he's fast too, watch out. It's hard to believe that he and Jason
Taylor play the same position.
Yatil Green was a real crowd pleaser. Every time he lined up, the
crowd in the stands would take note and focus in on the second
field. He's really an exciting player to watch. It seemed to me
that the receivers were having their way with the defensive backs.
My Comments:
As the last QB camp draws to a close, it's good to see the
draftees starting to agree to contracts. That will accelerate between
now and July 21st, when the rookies report and hopefully everyone will
be signed by the time training camp starts.
There has been no further word on negotiations with John
Avery, with the talks being stalled by disagreement over the length of
this contract. However, I'm confident that they'll get it down by
training camp.
The news about the 8 starting slots being open is only
surprising from one standpoint - I had thought that Sam Madison had
nailed down the right cornerback spot. That doesn't appear to be the
case, so it should be an interesting training camp for the secondary.
I'm a little surprised about Tom Braatz singling out Jim
Bundren as a good prospect because I didn't see anything special about
Bundren in the draft video that I reviewed. However, there wasn't
much tape on the video of Bundren, and certainly Braatz has seen a lot
more of him than I have (at least, I hope so!) so I'll be happy to
defer to his judgement.
It's interesting that our eyewitness reporter for the day
should mention Geoff Turner from Colorado State. Tom Braatz said that
they signed Turner as a kick returner and Kim Bokamper added that he
really hustled and worked hard on the field, although because he was
so short, he looked like he didn't have any legs. Turner is listed as
5'8" and 190 pounds.
Today, there is only one workout scheduled and then the team
is off until the 21st, when the real hitting starts and we can see how
the linemen, defensive ends, running backs and linebackers will really
play.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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