*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jul 17, 1999: -- QB Camp III Ends --
** Dolphins Wrap Up QB Camp
The Dolphins ended their quarterback camp on Thursday morning
without any significant news and, as they say, no news is good news.
They practiced for the 4th time in this camp on Thursday after two
practices on Wednesday, working on the playbook and giving the new
players a chance to show their abilities in passing and coverage
drills and returning kicks.
JJ has been quoted as being very pleased with the work of
Yatil Green, James "JJ" Johnson and Cecil Collins, but that doesn't
mean much at this point. JJ also said that the team is ahead of
schedule in their preparation for the 1999 season.
And while we're on the subject, even though Yatil Green is much
further along in his recovery than he was at this time last year and
his speed seems to have come back, the coaches are planning on
limiting both his practice time and playing time. Receivers coach
Robert Ford has said that Yatil will be limited to approximately 10
snaps per game at the beginning of the year.
Several players missed all or part of the QB camp. OJ
Brigance and Todd Doxzon sat out all of the camp while recovering from
surgery. Richmond Webb missed the first day, but reportedly showed up
on Wednesday while the Dolphins work on a new contract for him. LB
Sammie Burroughs missed the Thursday practice due to a back problem,
but an MRI has revealed no serious injury. LB Anthony Harris sat out
Thursday with a pulled hamstring and Calvin Jackson left practice
early with a hyperextended elbow, but an MRI on his arm revealed no
damage.
Free Agent WR Rob Baker, who was just signed by the Dolphins,
spent a lot of time working on returning punts and kicks with John
Avery and it looks as if Baker may have a chance to make the team as a
punt returner.
The next date on the Dolphins' training calendar is July 26th,
when the rookies and new players will report for training camp. That
will be followed on July 30th when the veterans report.
** One Cut, One Signed
After just two practices, QB Jon Denton was released by the
team after being signed on Tuesday. To take his place on the roster,
the Dolphins signed OL Derrick Levake, who played in NFL Europe this
year with the Amsterdam Admirals. Levake was originally signed as an
undrafted rookie free agent last year by the Bengals but was cut
before the season. He played his college ball at the University of
Wisconsin-Whitewater and before that was an Army Ranger.
Rumors:
The Dolphins apparently got a call on Tuesday or Wednesday
from an unnamed team about a trade for an unnamed running back. JJ
confirmed that the call took place, but declined to discuss which team
called and which player was discussed. However, JJ did say that no
player would be traded until JJ has decided who he was going to keep
on the roster.
Obviously, the most likely candidate for trade talks at this
point would be Karim Abdul-Jabbar, who is a reliable, if unspectacular
running back. I think that it's likely he was the player discussed,
but I also think you have to assume that JJ is not likely to trade
anyone until he's at least had a chance to look at how the players
perform when the pads go on.
Also, New England was one of the teams mentioned as possibly
being interested in Karim, but I don't think that it's likely that JJ
would even consider trading last year's starter to a division rival.
EYEWITNESS REPORTS:
We're lucky today in that we have two eyewitness reports from
Doug, who attended both the Wednesday night camp at JRS and the
Thursday session at Nova University. In deference to Doug, I have
omitted his email address, but if you want to convey your thanks or
have questions, send them to me and I'll pass them on:
WEDNESDAY:
My daughter, son, and I attended the camp at JRS. The cheerleaders
had a special area set up for the kids(and maybe a few others) at the
gate. My daughter loved it! Several of the cheerleaders invited her
to attend a 3 day camp of theirs starting tomorrow, so I guess we are
staying a few extra days. LOL We took her picture with several of the
cheerleaders and she got autographs etc.(lot of fun).
On the field JJ came out gave a pep talk to the fans(hes a good
motivator). I have just a few comments on the players, it was tough
to keep them straight, several had switched jerseys around(T-buck had
Calvin Jacksons on, Calvin had Sam Madisons on, and Madison had
T-Bucks on.
The new guy (Baker) caught a nice pass(Bomb) over no. 26 and had two
good punt returns. On the punt coverage drills, 3 players cover one
on a return and baker blew by them twice. Wheatley(gained a lot of
weight, but is still fast, JJ commented on his speed today) went by
them once and Avery got by them once.
I didn't keep track of the individual stats(not sure how the people
that give you reports do it, have to give them credit), we just sat in
the front row and enjoyed the atmosphere.
Marino looked good, he had several nice passes long and short to
Oronde Gadsden(caught two long balls for TDs) OJ and Tony Martin.
We couldn't see much in the way of running backs, or linemen. The
cheerleaders were right in front of us the whole time.
The promotions staff gave my kids each a free shirt and later a couple of
players came over and autographed them, TD the fish came and sat with
us(mainly my wife) what a great experience for the whole family. I would
recommend it to anyone who gets the chance to attend.
THURSDAY:
The camp today was back at the training facility in davie. Started at
10:45am and ended for everyone but the punters and avery and baker at
12:15pm. Avery and baker stayed out for punt fielding after practice
was over for the rest of the team. I like that Robert Baker, he's an
exciting player to watch, not sure of how technically fast he is
suppose to be, but he sure makes other people look slow.
Calvin Jackson hurt his elbow and sat out most of the practice, didn't
look to serious, but he did have a ice pack on it. [Ed Note: an MRI
after practice revealed that Jackson had hyperextended his elbow, but
he will be fine for training camp]
Derrick Steagall looked good, he caught a couple of nice passes(in
stride) which was nice to see. It seems to me that most of the
Dolphins pass patterns have in the past had the receiver stopping in a
hook or something and not resulting in many after the catch yards. It
may be wishful thinking but it seemed the last couple of days that the
receivers were catching the ball in stride.
Tony Martin looked awful today, he dropped about everything that went
hiss way.
OJ looked good.
The were almost no running plays, but in a couple Collins looked
quick. JJ Johnson looked pretty quick too. But several of the locals
there said they've seen some quick players in the past and once they had
the pads on things changed.
Marino had some good passes and a few not so good, I did notice he was
picting with his left hand, must have been resting the right one.
The only time Erickson looked good was when he scrambled and he just
held the ball a couple of times. Huards arm looks much stronger then
Ericksons to me. I would like to see Huard backup Marino this year.
Marshall Young was kicking about 10 yards shorter then Mare so he
probably won't be around long.
About the only thing we noticed on defense was Zach looked like he was
in the fourth quarter of a big game(he's intense) even in practice.
Once the practice was over about 10 of the players came and signed
autographs and a couple of them said to make sure that us fans come
out when the real practice starts to support them. We'll try, it was
a fun few days.
My Comments:
First of all, special thanks go to Doug for his eyewitness
reports. The eyewitness reports are the things that make my reports
special and fans like Doug are the people who make this possible.
The end of the third quarterback camp has nothing but good
news for the season and so far, all indications are positive for a
great season for the Dolphins.
Of course, we don't know how the running back derby will work
out at this point, but it's beginning to look as if my enthusiasm for
Cecil Collins, while not misplaced, may have been premature. All
indications are that JJ is currently most enthusiastic about James
Johnson as the possible starting running back.
Apparently, Johnson is making good cuts in running drills,
running hard and catching the ball very well. And he hasn't even had
the chance to demonstrate his best ability - breaking tackles and
running over defensive players.
If things continues as they have started, James Johnson will
make a very good case for himself as the starter. I still think that
Collins is a better natural runner, but his lack of experience is
showing.
The news about Yatil Green is also encouraging and the
coaches' decision to limit his playing time is, I believe, a good
decision.
In contrast, the lack of news about Larry Shannon is a little
disturbing. He seems to be almost the forgotten man in all the hype
about the running backs, Yatil Green and Tony Martin.
The next major milestones to be reached by the team are the
signings of all the draftees (except for Brian Jones, who signed
earlier). It's important to get those guys signed before training
camp starts and I'm sure the team will be making a major effort to get
that done in the next few weeks.
As has been the case every year for the last few years, I will
be providing daily training camp reports every day from July 26th to
late August. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend any training
camp sessions this year, so your eyewitness reports will be even more
important this year.
If you are attending any of the training camp sessions this
year, I ask that you send me your comments. I will give you full
credit for the report or you can remain anonymous (or any combination
of the above), whichever you prefer.
Only two weeks to go! I can't wait...
Related Info:
[Return to Dolphins News]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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