Training camp!

[Lane1974]

The Palm Beach Post guys usually do the best live blogs from camp, here is their first one

linky

Joey Porter not practicing, no reason why yet


also, I saw someone post on one of the Fins boards that Big O was reporting on WQAM that Henne won't sign until Brohm signs his contract first, I guess to make sure he isn't screwed somehow. Not smart if you ask me, he had a real chance to if not start the season, to make great progress during camp and force the issue... but QB contracts are always tricks because of incentives and escalator clauses and such... if I were him I'd make sure I was signed, but oh well, time for Beck to grab the bull by the horns

[unowen85]

Henne link
Link for the sun sentinel's blog

Henne signed this afternoon. Four year deal worth 3.5, with 1.5 guaranteed. Porter has an ankle injury. Sun-Sentinel mentioned that Beck looked the sharpest between he and McCown. Julius Wilson got cut.

[Lane1974]

Day 2 blog

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/07/27/live_blog_july_27_training_cam.html

who do you guys think starts at QB for game 1?

[magicfan4life05]

^ Brett Favre!

just playing


I would probably guess McCown because he's a vet and most experienced.

Also Icness had this post on the general board not too long ago

--John Beck probably won't make the Dolphins final roster. Right now McCown is the starter and Henne "blew right past" Beck with his work already. Look for them to bring in an end-of-the-line veteran to be the #3/mentor. Think Brad Johnson or Kelly Holcomb, who I know can be coerced from retirement. Or Vinny, and the guy who said it was only half joking.

viewtopic.php?f=139&t=824381

[magicfan4life05]

Also about the QB situation, a beat writer for Florida Today had this to say

The Dolphins practiced for a little over two hours today. It was a very intense, physical workout -- you know, the kind they didn't have last season.

There is plenty to get to, so let's just dive in:

* John Beck was horrible today. Just horrible. One pass clearly slipped out of his hand and hung up in the air forever before Jason Allen picked it off. Three plays later, he overthrew Greg Camarillo on another pass that seemed to flutter.

A few minutes later, he was picked off on back-to-back passes. Nathan Jones got one (his second pick of camp). Will Allen got the other. Will Billingsly almost got one, too.

* Chad Henne had a better day by comparison, but he had his struggles, too. Renaldo Hill intercepted the rookie quarterback when he tried to hit Jayson Foster over the middle. There were only ... let's see ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 defenders right there.

* The Dolphins are trying to improve their quarterback's timing by having a buzzer sound when they hold onto the ball too long. Now, a smart person would have asked Beck (the only QB who talked today) how long they have before the buzzer goes off. I'll try to find out tomorrow.

What I can tell you is this, of the two quarterbacks who worked in team drills today, Henne did a much better job of beating the buzzer than Beck. Asked about it, Beck said there are times when he is concentrating so much on following his progressions, he didn't even hear the buzzer.

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.d ... rentPage=0

[unowen85]

So we got Beck looking like he doesn't deserve to be in the league, and Ginn not even being mentioned in any of the recaps from the past couple days. Damn you Cam Cameron.

[Lane1974]

curse thee Randy Mueller

I might vomit if Beck is so bad he's not on the final roster; that mean's we'd either cut him outright or get like a 5th round pick or worse for him a year after he went at the top of the 2nd round.

I don't think we'd need a Brad Johnson or Kelly Holcomb one-step-away-from-retirement type, that's what McCown is for - veteran to go to the wolves.

[magicfan4life05]

Dolphins morning practice report 7/28



http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.d ... rentPage=0

The Mighty Mammals have just finished their morning workout, the first of two today.

Here are my observations:

* Phillip Merling took a few pokes at Jake Long following a one-on-one drill. You could see it building. The team's top two draft picks went at it in a passing drill with Long pushing Merling out of the pocket. Later, they went at it in what appeared to be a run blocking drill.

Long pushed Merling back and the rookie defensive end appeared quite frustrated afterward. Instead of getting time to clear his head, though, Merling lined up again against the Dolphins rookie left tackle. Again, Long pushed Merling back.

This time, Merling swung twice, hitting Long in the chest. The funny part was, not only did Long not even flinch, he looked at Merling as if to say, "Dude ... what the hell was that?"

As one of the writers pointed out, it was probably just the reaction the team was looking for -- from both guys. Merling got fiesty. Long didn't lose his cool.

* Unlike yesterday -- when there were four interceptions in one practice (three thrown by John Beck) -- there were no picks to be had this morning. Beck and McCown worked in the team drills, which means it will be Henne and McCown this afternoon.

Though Beck did throw the ball much better today, he still isn't getting the ball out quick enough. Not that Josh McCown makes you say "Wow" -- none of these guys do right now. But I think it's fair to say he's got a leg up on Beck right now.

* Derek Hagan had the catch of the day, going up over Will Allen to make an acrobatic grab along the sideline.

* In addition to blocking drills involving the linemen, they also had blocking drills pitting running backs against linebackers.

I didn't get to see the whole thing because I was paying attention to the battle among the linemen and a passing drill that was also going on.

What I did see, however, was fullback Reagan Mauia putting rookie linebacker Keith Saunders on his back.

* Rookie Donald Thomas was working with the first team offense at right guard. Justin Smiley was still working the left side.

Trey Darilek, who had been working with the first team offensive line at right guard, worked with the second team ... at right tackle.

* Steve McKinney, still working his way back from knee surgery, got time at right guard and at center

* Defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni spent 5-10 minutes working one-on-one with veteran defensive end Vonnie Holliday.

* Guard Reuben Riley walked slowly off the field and into the locker room at one point, but did eventually re-join the team. If I had to guess, I'd say he was getting an IV or two.

That's all for now. We get Tony Sparano in about an hour. I'll update after his press conference.

As always, any questions, or anything you want me to focus on, just let me know.

[magicfan4life05]

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/07/ ... ne-liners/

MIAMI DOLPHINS TRAINING CAMP ONE-LINERS
Posted by Michael David Smith on July 28, 2008, 9:48 a.m. EDT

QB John Beck threw three interceptions in one practice.

Afterward Beck said, “It wasn’t the best practice. Now it’s time to go back on film and learn from it.”

The offensive line is looking shaky.

Jay Feely should win the kicking job, but Dan Carpenter has the stronger leg.

Said LB Channing Crowder of the way the Dolphins are marketing their 2008 season, “We must not have much talent to have the GM and the coach on the billboard.”

LB Joey Porter is nursing an ankle injury and still has not practiced.

Said coach Tony Sparano of rookie DE Phillip Merling, ”I love his movement. I think the guy moves really well out there.”

Said Don Shula of watching the Dolphins go 1-15 last year, “It was painful. You really want to forget [last season] happened.”

It would be nice to get some production from the players Nick Saban drafted.

One local writer thinks the Dolphins are dull.

[unowen85]

Omar Kelly Monday Morning Report

And I'd like to point out not one ball was thrown to Ernest Wilford and Ted Ginn Jr. during the team portion of practice, which is a trend I'm beginning to find disturbing.

As requested, I paid special attention to Phillip Merling, who was hot and cold during Monday morning's session. He got into a mild scuffle with Jake Long during a special position drill after he got handled by Long TWICE. After Long finished off a pancake block Merling got up swinging. You could clearly tell he was getting frustrated with his fellow rookie.

But don't get too excited about Long, he's still struggling against the speed guys (Quentin Moses and Charlie Anderson). If Long gets his hands on you it's over. You're in cement. But if he doesn't he struggles to recover against those speedsters. Me and 560's Big O were joking around that Jason Taylor would have had a field day schooling the Trifecta's golden boy if he were still in camp.

Long's excellent on everything but handling the speed rush. Hopefully it will come in time.

The top performer of the day was Derek Hagan, who caught everything thrown his way, and made some REALLY nice catches in traffic, and against tight coverage.

PBP's recap of both sessions

[Lane1974]

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_fo ... actic.html

Don’t be shocked if the Dolphins sign a well-known receiver this week. Stay tuned.

Terry Glenn, I presume?

[unowen85]

It appears that Derek Hagan is blossoming at the right time.

[Lane1974]

and Davone Bess has been raved about by the reporters for having glue hands

I'd still like Terry Glenn here, he can mentor the other Buckeye

[magicfan4life05]

From Icness on the general board

Spy report from Miami: John Beck will be cut by the 2nd preseason game, and Chad Henne is "at least a year" from being ready to start for a team that wants to win more than 4 games. Henne has not impressed at anything but his deep ball, and he and Sam Satele have had major problems with snaps. They are seriously looking at Quincy Carter, which should give you an idea of just how dire things really are. Unconfirmed rumor from this spy: they have approached the Jets about Pennington and there might be some fire to that smoke.

[Lane1974]

I just barfed a little in my mouth

[unowen85]

Donald Thomas practicing with the first team offensive line at right guard for four consecutive practices. I read in one of the recaps, that we should all expect him to be the starter on opening day. Barring any injuries then, the offensive line is set. You're welcome.

[Lane1974]

interesting

also, McKinney probably hasn't been 100% from his surgery, he might heat up at guard as it gets closer to opening day

when is the first cut day? First preseason game is a week from Saturday, I set my TiVo already

[Lane1974]

a very smart poster on a Fins msg board I read (think that board's Tyler Sherkin or Mopper in his ivy league hey day) posted this from an interview he saw of Jason Ferguson talking about Donald Thomas

Go ahead and listen to Jason Ferguson's latest interview on Aquavision. He talks about Donald extensively.

Here are the terms Ferguson used to describe Thomas, in order of use:
"strong"
"hands"
"big strong guy"
"VERY strong"
"big powerful guy, upper body"
"earth mover strong, for real, that kind of guy"
"big, strong"
"big chest, what I call heavy chest"
"his punches are really brutal"
"everyone was sayin man, #66? that's a strong guy right there"
"big punch"
"a guy that can move and help Sam in the middle"

Seriously, if I had a nickel for every time he used the word "strong" to describe Donald Thomas in this short <4 minute interview, I could buy a gallon of gas.

The thing that intrigues me as much as anything about the interview and the entire situation is that when asked to describe both Donald Thomas and Shawn Murphy, Ferguson kept focusing on how incredibly strong Thomas was, and labeled Murphy as a quick, agile kind of guy.

That's pretty odd. Because as I know these guys as draft prospects, and as many draftniks knew them, Donald Thomas' story is one of a slightly undersized (6'4" and 303 lbs) tight end convert with great SPEED for an offensive lineman. A guy that can run below a 5.00 in the 40 yard dash, but needs to add some bulk especially in his lower body. On the other hand, Shawn Murphy was a bigger 320 pounder that ran a 5.4 at the Combine, was supposed to be a stronger guy that needs to work a bit on his play in space.

If you can add strength and punch to Donald Thomas' resume, enough to get Jason Ferguson all wide-eyed, and enough to get the rest of the defense's attention, then you can pencil this guy in as our starting RG. Forget about it. Tony Sparano is going to want to settle on a RG as quickly as he wants to settle on a QB. He wants all of those guys working together as long as possible, getting use to each others' abilities so that they have chemistry.

I think not only is he our starting RG, but he could very well be the final piece of the puzzle for an offensive line that has a chance to stay together for the next four or five years.

The draft is an inexact science. Sometimes you draft a Shawn Murphy in the 4th round, even moving up for him, and then you draft a Donald Thomas in the 6th round, and you find that the later guy ends up being the guy. But, it shows wisdom, I think, to double up on a position like that...increasing your chances and not placing all of your hopes on one guy.

[unowen85]

August 26 - Roster cutdown to maximum of 75 players.
August 30 - Roster cutdown to maximum of 53 players.

And according to Icness, Beck is cut by August 16.

[Lane1974]

Icness' source really hates Beck