*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Nov 07, 1998: -- Brent Smith Will Start --
The Dolphins announced yesterday that Brent Smith will be
making the first start of his NFL career in place of the injured
Richmond Webb on Sunday against the Colts. Smith has played well
enough in practice this week to earn the starting job after the injury
to Webb last Sunday.
Also starting in place of the injured Mark Dixon at left guard
will be John Bock, who also fills in as the backup center. Dixon has
a strained neck and was only able to practice on a limited basis on
Friday. Most likely, Dixon will not play at all this Sunday, but if
he improves enough, he could get some limited playing time.
Webb's normal backup, Jeff Buckey, is suffering from a bad
back and will not play Sunday. While the original plan was to move
guard Mark Dixon to left tackle and have Bock start for Dixon at left
guard, Dixon suffered a strained neck in the Buffalo game and has not
been able to practice most of the week.
Brent Smith, at 6'5" and 315 pounds, was taken in the 3rd
round of the 1997 draft from Mississippi State and holds the
distinction of being the highest draft pick that JJ has spent on an
offensive lineman since he took over as head coach of the Dolphins.
He was originally slated to compete for the starting left guard spot
this spring, but an injury to his foot and the surprising play of Mark
Dixon moved him out of the running for a starting job.
John Bock started two games last year for the Dolphins in
relief of an injured Tim Ruddy against the Jets and Everett McIver
against the Bills. Bock played well enough in one of those games to
earn a game ball from JJ.
My Comments:
I'm not particularly happy about this, but if it had to
happen, it comes at a good time. The Colts' pass rush is not exactly
terrifying and they are without their best pass rusher in Dan Footman.
Also, with Jim Mora being the conservative coach that he is, I don't
expect that Smith will face a whole lot of unusual blitzes or stunts.
Smith will probably face some extra blitzes, but it's not
like the Steelers or the Patriots who have made the zone blitz into
their bread and butter on defense.
The biggest advantage to having this happen is that we'll
finally get to see if JJ was right in keeping Brent Smith on the
roster all this time. We may also see if Richmond Webb is expendable,
which is important because Webb will be a free agent after this year
and will probably command a huge salary.
I was actually hoping that Mark Dixon could move over to
Webb's spot, but his neck is giving him problems and I don't want to
see JJ risk further injury to a player who could be the best offensive
lineman that the Dolphins have right now.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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