Training camp!

[magicfan4life05]

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

Observations from Dolphins camp

Stock Rising

Quentin Moses: He's got a very quick first step and has shown a good ability to rush the passer. Charlie Anderson has the job right now, but they'll find a way to get this guy on the field.

Donald Thomas: Hard to believe this guy only played three high school games and was a walk-on in college who only started one season. He's big, he's strong and he can move people. The Dolphins coaches really like him, and it's easy to see why.

Jalen Parmele: I love the way this guy hits the hole. He's got a good burst and he's got a little shake to him. However, while I've been very impressed on that end, he needs to become a better blocker and a better receiver.

Paul Soliai: There were days when he struggled. But there were also times when he looked downright dominant. If he can be consistent -- and I think working with Jason Ferguson wil help -- the Dolphins can feel a little better about this position.

Nathan Jones: They brought in the former Cowboy because of his special teams prowess, but I've been impressed with him as a corner ... so far. Not the biggest guy (5-10, 185), but he had a couple of picks and always seemed to be around the ball. With Allen and Goodman the starters, and Michael Lehan (assuming he's healthy) at the nickel, I could see this guy getting time as the dime back in Miami's defense.

Derek Hagan: He had a good camp last year and then fizzled. But I like hearing from Goodman that Hagan's work ethic has increased 10 times and that he's really attacking the ball in the air. You can see it. He's been the best-looking receiver in camp so far. The question is, can he keep it up?

Vonnie Holliday: I know he's a veteran and that he's already got his spot locked up. But I just wanted to say he's having a heck of a camp so far. They're even trying him out at outside linebacker, though that experiment is definitely in the early stages.

STOCK FALLING

Reagan Mauia: Unless the Dolphins keep two fullbacks, I think Mauia could be in trouble. He can be a dominant blocker at times, but Boomer Grigsby is a better receiver and much better on special teams. And the Dolphins don't want one-dimensional players.

Ernest Wilford: I wouldn't say he's had a bad camp. I just haven't seen him do much. They need to try to get him the ball more to see what he can really do.

Chris Crocker: A buddy of mine thinks he'll beat out Jason Allen for the starting free safety job -- if not in the preseason, then soon after the season starts. Right now, I don't see this guy making the team. Going over my notes, I see notes about Yeremiah Bell, Allen, Keith Davis and Renaldo Hill. The only time I even noted Chris Crocker being on the field is when Hagan beat him on a big play in Wednesday's practice.

Lex Hilliard: Not trying to pick on the rookie. I think he's doing the best he can. But the way Parmele and Patrick Cobbs are playing, I see him as more of a practice squad guy. The others are a few steps ahead of him at this point, at least in my eyes. The battle for the No. 3 running back is clearly between Parmele and Cobbs.

A FEW MORE THOUGHTS

* As I mentioned in an earlier blog, if I had to pick a starting quarterback right now, it would be Josh McCown. In a way, I feel sorry for John Beck. No player in camp has more heat on him than that guy does. He's handled it very well and I truly like him as a person. But Beck just hasn't been consistent enough. He hangs on to the ball too long and hasn't learned to throw it away before he gets sacked, or forces the throw into coverage.

* Chad Henne has the best arm of the three, but he still needs some seasoning, in my opinion.

* Can't say I've been overly impressed with any of the six tight ends they have in camp.

* Phillip Merling is a big guy (6-4, 290). And he's got some push to him. But he's going to have to work on developing more pass rush moves if he wants to be more effective.

* Jake Long has had a solid camp so far, but I think the same question that dogged him coming out of the draft is still there -- how will he fair against speed rushers?

* The Dolphins could have an interesting decision to make at wide receiver. They've got three spots sewed up for Ginn, Wilford and Hagan, and there's still a very good chance they could bring in Terry Glenn. Assuming they keep five receivers, it will likely come down to Davone Bess or Jayson Foster. I think Foster could be a nice return guy, but I like Bess a little better as a receiver. Of course, David Kircus or Greg Camarillo might have something to say about that.

[magicfan4life05]

Beat Writer Comments on the Quincy Carter rumors

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

My thoughts are that Quincy Carter would be a DISASTER. Bringing him here would smack of desperation and lead me to think this team is much further away from becoming a contender than I thought.

That being said ... he was in town for a workout today (naturally, right after I left). Here is what Tony Sparano had to say about it today at his press conference:

(On giving Quincy Carter a workout) – “Really we need to have this conversation, what we need to understand here when I say ‘we’ meaning you guys as well, is that this isn’t going to change. It really isn’t. Yesterday was Terry Glenn, today it’s Quincy, it’s not going to change. We’re just going to keep turning over, flipping over stones and bringing in a lot of people. And it probably won’t change for two to three years. Quincy is here and we will have a workout with Quincy.”

(On if he brought in Quincy Carter over other quarterbacks because of his familiarity with the system) – “Yeah, I think familiarity with the offense and maybe our familiarity with him just a little bit that way. But again, this is just a workout, that’s all it is, it’s a look-see, see what’s happening out there. I mentioned this yesterday and this is important, that Jeff Ireland and Bill Parcells will do their due diligence on every player that’s out there and every player that’s available one way or the other to try to help our football team, whatever way we can help our football team down the road. This is just a workout to take a look to make sure that we’re dotting the ‘I’ and crossing the ‘t’ ourselves.”

(On if he’s bringing in Quincy because he’s not pleased with the current quarterback situation) – “Not at all, it sure doesn’t. In fact I have been pleased with the three quarterbacks and what they’ve done right now and I think the competition is really good. It just means that we need to make sure we’re doing our due diligence on players that are available.”

(On if he’s bringing in Quincy Carter to take a load off the other three quarterbacks) – “No, not at this point, I really don’t. The three guys are throwing. I haven’t heard any complaints that way. I think what we’re doing with keeping a guy down has been working pretty well because it gets us through individual period certainly, and that’s where you throw the most balls, in individual period. And as we get in into our team periods one of those quarterbacks is down. So I think from that standpoint it’s been a little bit of a help keeping a guy down when we got to the team period but keeping him up in individual period. It’s saving some arms so whoever was down is coming back fresh, maybe not throwing as many balls that way and it certainly is giving us a better picture and I’m sure it’s giving you guys a better picture.”

(On where Quincy Carter is at right now) – “I’m not going to comment on where he is at right now. We just talked about this right now, Bill and Jeff are handling all of those things and that’s Bill and Jeff’s deal. My job is to get ready for 1:50 (practice).”

(On what kind of player was Quincy Carter) – “When we had Quincy and when we worked with him obviously we went to the playoffs that year, I think we were 9-7 maybe 10-6, I don’t really remember what we were at that point. Quincy was athletic and he can move and he can make some plays that way and he kept plays alive a little bit. Early on in our process that was important for us. He was an intelligent guy and a pretty good motivator, from what I remember.”

[Lane1974]

I'm ok if we go 4-12 this year and get another top 5ish pick if by the end of the season we have marked improvement from our young guys, if Beck or Henne has seized the QB job and look like a legit long term answer, our O-line comes together and we see progress and are competitive, not like last year's high school team

[Lane1974]

watching the HOF game, and I know it's just preseason and he's going against guys who will be working at Publix next month, but Colt Brennan has been impressive to me... he's showing some of that magical "x" factor that good QBs have...

[magicfan4life05]

Yeah, he was really impressive yesterday, I know it was only preseason play against guys who probably won't make the team, but he seemed like you said to have "it" and played well in his debut.

[unowen85]

Monday Morning Recap

Reagan Mauia isn’t doing himself any favors during individual drills. He drops two catches in the end zone, and there’s no one covering him. He dropped a screen pass in Saturday’s scrimmage, too.

A Ted Ginn sighting: He toasts Roberson for a 40-yard touchdown from Chad Henne.

Meanwhile, the quarterbacks are doing an interesting drill. An inflatable drum is set up about 5 yards behind a net that stands maybe 10 feet tall. The quarterbacks are dropping back and trying to feather a throw over the net and into the inflatable drum.

It’s not an easy drill, that requires a lot of touch. And John Beck hits the target the most, maybe four times, including one perfect throw that lands inside the drum.

McCown and Henne each hit the target once apiece.

From what I've read in the reports, if there's one guy who is impressing even less than Beck, it's Mauia. And Beck continues to be able to make all the throws when there's no rush, but when he's people in his face, or that threat of the three second buzzer, he just mentally breaks down.

Monday Evening Report

Donald Thomas was listed as a Second Team right guard in the team’s first depth chart, but lined up as a First Teamer to start this evening’s practice.

Matt Roth is lining up as an OLB, by the way, on both sides of the line. Kendall Langford is taking First and Second Team reps at LDE.

From the report, the three quarterbacks practiced a two minutes drill, from their own 48 yard line. Beck took them down the field, but Parmelee pwned him by dropping a touchdown pass in the endzone. Poor guy.

First Depth Chart

OFFENSE

* WR 1: Ted Ginn, Derek Hagan, David Kircus, Jayson Foster, Anthony Armstrong
* LT: Jake Long, Ikechuku Ndukwe
* LG: Justin Smiley, Shawn Murphy
* C: Samson Satele, Steve McKinney, Matt Spanos
* RG: Trey Darilek, Donald Thomas, Mike Byrne
* RT: Vernon Carey, Daren Heerspink
* TE: Anthony Fasano, David Martin, Sean Ryan, Justin Peelle, Matthew Mulligan
* WR 2: Ernest Wilford, Greg Camarillo, Davone Bess, John Dunlap, Selwyn Lymon.
* QB: Josh McCown, John Beck, Chad Henne
* FB: Regan Mauia, Boomer Grigsby
* RB: Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Patrick Cobbs, Jalen Parmele, Lex Hilliard

DEFENSE

* LE: Matt Roth, Randy Starks, Kendall Langford, Rodrique Wright
* NT: Jason Ferguson, Paul Soliai, Anthony Toribio
* RE: Vonnie Holliday, Phillip Merling, Lionel Dotson
* SLB: Joey Porter, Rob Ninkovich, Junior Glymph, Titus Brown
* ILB 1: Channing Crowder, Kelvin Smith, Kelly Poppinga
* ILB 2: Akin Ayodele, Reggie Torbor, Edmond Miles
* WLB: Charlie Anderson, Quentin Moses, Keith Saunders
* LCB: Will Allen, Joey Thomas, Chris Roberson
* RCB: Andre Goodman, Travis Daniels, Nathan Jones, Will Billingsley
* FS: Jason Allen, Chris Crocker, Renaldo Hill
* SS: Yeremiah Bell, Keith Davis, Courtney Bryan

[Lane1974]

I am excited for the preseason game on Sat

I wonder who gets the start at QB with the 1st team

[Lane1974]

http://www.miamiherald.com/1262/story/630521.html

The quarterback battle will not gain true clarity until the preseason games, but several veteran defensive players have expressed surprise with how much Chad Henne has injected himself into the race, outshining John Beck and challenging front-runner Josh McCown, who threw three interceptions Tuesday.

Defensive end Vonnie Holliday said Tuesday that before camp started, he would have been surprised if Henne ended up starting on opening day. And now? ''I wouldn't be that surprised,'' he said. ``I like the way the guy carries himself. He's not intimidated.''

Henne has worked extensively with the first team for three consecutive practices and has exceeded expectations, safety Yeremiah Bell said. ''He has a chance to win this job,'' Bell added. ``You can't overlook that he's very impressive.''

• Although Miami could sign former Cowboys receiver Terry Glenn at any point this preseason, a decision has been put on hold in recent days while both sides consider their options. The delay is giving Glenn more time to get into better condition, and it's giving the Dolphins more time to evaluate their current group of receivers.

The Dolphins have not brought Glenn in for a workout and do not have one scheduled. If Miami decides to offer a contract, his knee -- which limited him to one game with the Cowboys last season -- would have to be strong enough so he could pass a physical.

In the meantime, Derek Hagan and Ted Ginn Jr. continue to impress coaches, and Greg Camarillo also has had some good moments in camp. Ernest Wilford, whose dropped pass Tuesday continued a lackluster camp, is being pushed hard by Hagan for a starting job.

Ginn has matured in two areas, which coach Tony Sparano noted Tuesday: 1) His route-running ''has improved tremendously,'' Sparano said. ''He's got more of a plan at the line of scrimmage.'' 2) Ginn got ''a lot stronger'' in the offseason conditioning program, allowing him to win more ''battles at the line of scrimmage,'' Sparano noted. And Sparano said he has ''developed a little bit of a wiggle at the top of his route that has proven to be a good separator'' from defensive backs.

• With Matt Roth getting work at outside linebacker a second day in a row, Kendall Langford remained with the first team at defensive end Tuesday, had another sack and ''keeps impressing me,'' Holliday said. Behind Langford is free agent pickup Randy Starks, whom Sparano said Tuesday has picked up his game the past four days ''and might be the strongest guy'' on the team.

• Most improved Dolphin? Bell pointed to Jason Allen and Hagan . . . Donald Thomas has now gone a week with the starting unit at right guard, and teammates think he might stick. ''He punches people and they go flying,'' Justin Smiley said of Thomas' blocking . . . In a sign of respect, Bill Parcells called Don Shula last week for the first time since Parcells' hiring.

[heat4life]

David Kircus got cut today. We are down to 71 players. I love how this new regime does not dwell on cutting players and avoid wasting time on unnecessary evaluations.

LINKY

[Lane1974]

it also lets the players have an advantage when trying to find new teams

looks like Bess is a lock to make it as a WR and they like that kid from the Arena League, Armstrong

5 WRs making it -
Ginn, Hagan, Wilford, Bess, Armstrong/Camarillo?

Camarillo plays special teams well, it would be a shame to lose him

I don't think Bess can be snuck through to the practice squad, someone would claim him, Armstrong maybe