*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jun 01, 1999: -- Quarterback School II --
This afternoon at 3:00 PM EDT, the Dolphins will begin their
second official Quarterback school of the 1999 season. The school
will continue tomorrow through Friday at 10 AM and will be open to the
public.
Because of NFL rules and the collective bargaining agreement
with the players' union, no serious contact is allowed until regular
training camp opens in late July. So no tackling or hitting is done
in Quarterback school.
Until then, workouts will be without pads and most of the work
will be on offensive and defensive formations, conditioning, learning
the playbook, pass routes, pass catching and coverage.
All the players will be in attendance, with the exception of
draftees Bryan Jones and Brent Bartholomew. In both cases, they are
prohibited from attending by the NFL because their respective colleges
are still holding classes at this time. The rest of the draftees and
rookies should be present, as well as all the veterans.
In other news, today is the first day of the 1999 season that
teams can release veterans and have the remaining portion of their
signing bonus prorated over the next two years.
As a result, a number of veterans will be released over the
next few days as teams try to clear up money under the salary cap this
year to sign some of their younger players.
Last year, the Dolphins managed to sign Robert Jones for a
bargain price after he was cut by the Rams in June. He went on to
have a terrific year.
My Comments:
If you've never been to a training camp or a quarterback
school session at the Dolphins training facility and you're in the
Miami area, I'd advise you to stop by and see what's going on. The
training sessions are a lot of fun and you'll get to see many of your
favorite players close up.
Just like the last quarterback school, this one won't have any
hitting, so there isn't a whole lot you can tell from these practices,
but coaches will be able to get an idea of players' relative speed,
conditioning and attitude in the hot Florida sun.
So don't expect a whole lot of relevant news from these
training sessions. They are open to the public and the press, so we
should be able to hear a little bit of what's going on, but even if
Cecil Collins breaks a long run, it won't mean much until he has to
run through a Zach Thomas tackle.
Still, it's better than nothing at this point in the season.
As to possible veterans that the Dolphins might have their eye
on, OT Zefross Moss is only one I've heard anything about that I can
believe might happen. Moss has played right tackle with the Patriots
for the last 2 years and was with Detroit before that.
While he wouldn't be likely to start on the Dolphins, he would
be a good backup if he could be had for a bargain price. Last year,
Moss gave up 2.75 sacks (which would have ranked him in the middle of
the Dolphins offensive line) and Patriots' running backs averaged 5.0
ypc while running to his side of the field (as opposed to 3.1 ypc
while running the other way).
Also, the Dolphins' new offensive line coach Paul Boudreau
likes Moss from his time with the Patriots.
The other oft-mentioned possibility is QB Jim Druckenmiller
from the 49ers. However, with his current legal troubles and the
amount of money he's likely to ask for, he can't be very attractive to
the Dolphins at this time. They might sign him if he can be signed
for a minimum salary, but otherwise I don't expect to see him in Miami
anytime soon.
And of course, the last rumor around is that JJ will make an
offer for Carl Pickens now that the June 1st deadline has passed. I
haven't heard anything one way or the other about Pickens from anyone
reliable, but unless the Bengals have substantially reduced their
trade demands, it's not going to happen.
Even if Pickens could be had for a paltry $3.5 million per
year and if the Bengals were willing to trade him for next to nothing,
the Dolphins would still have to come up with $3.2 million in salary
cap room - not counting the money they still have to find to sign the
draftees.
The only way for the Dolphins to come up with that kind of
money fast enough is to release (or sign and trade) Richmond Webb and
that just isn't likely to happen.
No, I'm afraid that the odds against getting Pickens are just
too high.
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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