Cashman's Camp Report: Lightning Under the Davie Lights!!!...... | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Cashman's Camp Report: Lightning Under the Davie Lights!!!......

cashman34

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What's up PhinFans?!

I thought the night was over as I drove around the practice field and began to realize that there were no players on it...I'd moved all of my appointments around today in order to make this practice, this can't be happening to me!.....

The team was in the bubble when I arrived, but I guess the man upstairs is a Dolfan too...Because the clouds held off of the practice field and gave us a nice lightning show in the background of the "gleaming" white helmets of my favorite football team.

I'm glad Cam brought the team back out.....because there was some good football displayed under the lights tonight! Now I don't necessarily "have to" see this team make it too the Playoffs in order for me to be proud of them...all I want is for this team to get better one position at a time!....Constant, steady (even if slow) progress....I don't care how "slow" we move forward, just as long as we don't move in "reverse".

And with all the interesting things that I saw tonight I'm just having a blast guys!

They opened up with "one-on-ones" into the endzone....The pressure was a little heightened as it was a "packed house under the lights" and they were throwing into the endzone where the fans sat....It was easy to see that nobody from our defense wanted to be beat for a TD....So this obvious fact led to some spirited football!

I'm gonna toss a flyer out there and say that Jason Allen is a "press" corner...He seems to be the most comfortable when he can put his hands on his offensive opponent...It apparently helps to guide him to some degree...because he's got the physical attributes to stay with any receiver in the NFL...so his athleticism is second to none....and I get the feeling that he's a defense back that excels when he plays in close quarters to the receiver.

It's when they ask him to play off that he struggles....I watched him guess totally wrong and go in the opposite directon that the WR went, if it weren't for the QB's bad pass it was a "sure" TD...and this was not the first time that I've seen this...This "guessing" usually happens when he is playing "off" the WR...I don't think he's quite learned all of his keys yet...but he is learning them in my opinion...

Dom and Cam are giving this guy every chance to succeed and develop into a solid CB in my opinion...if he makes a mistake there's no yelling or embarrassing comments...This coaching staff just schools you up and sends you back out there...and I think he is starting to benefit from it....

His confidence appears to be high....and I saw an example of that tonight when Jason Allen lined up heads up on Mr. Ginn....Now I'd been waiting for this all day...not to say it hasn't already happened, but I wanted it to happen tonight....There was a little bit more of a game feel with the lights on....the field looked beautiful!

Jason walked up to the line and pressed Ted right at the line of scrimmage...Allen got off a decent shot to Ginn's chest but Ginn still got the outside release up the left sideline on the "play-action" fake...Jason never lost position, ran with him stride for stride over 40 yards down field and jumped at the last second and batted the football away...The technique that he used to position himself didn't impede on Ginn's route at all....It was a very nice play.

(Still felt that Lemon could've made a better pass...with the position that Jason had on Ted the QB needed to put more of an arch on the pass)

So I feel that you will continue to see him get beat in camp for sure, but I am also positive that you will see some great plays as well...When I really thought about it, what better place is there to be beat than in camp?...At least they can work on his flaws by giving him postive coaching...Let's not forget this guy, amongst all the havoc last year about his "holding out" and playing "two" positions under a tyrant...he still managed to pick off a Rex Grossman pass in the 31-13 drubbing we gave the Bears last season....I feel that Jason will be allright by the end of training camp...he just needs to stop guessing on plays and read his keys....If he's able to make these corrections, my thoughts are that he will be a "lock" to make the "Nickle" defense or could possibly be starting in place of Daniels, opposite Will Allen.

Jason Allen has alot of athleticism folks, my feeling is that #32 will make plays if he can continue to develop mentally...Little things like learning the "keys" receivers give off that tell their intentions, and also how "down-and-distance" can affect a WR's route selection...Just a complete overall knowledge of the defense in total...It appears to me that he's working to do these things everyday...Just calling out what "I" see.

Ginn, Hagan, and Reed shined tonight...You could see that this practice meant something to them....Reed caught a very nice pass on an excellent slant route to beat his defender for about a 15 yd. gain in the redzone...but all of the afore mentioned WR's made some big catches out there.

Ginn caught alot of underneath crossing routes tonight....he was very good in the redzone on one-on-ones as well.... I felt that it was a solid overall performance from Mr. Ginn...His hands just keep looking better and better to me.

Booker missed on a couple of tough catches but he get's a pass for now, he's been the most consistent all camp. And there were a couple times he got open but the QB missed him, so it goes both ways...But he still had a few very nice catches later on in practice...like I said before "pass".

Reed caught a very nice pass on an excellent slant route to beat his defender for about a 15 yd. gain in the redzone...Kerry Reed is a local boy (Homestead, Fla...which is about 45 minutes from the facility) so the pressure was on to perform in front of his home crowd....he grew up a Dolphin fan...and you could see that he wasn't about to let the team down.

Mr. Chambers....well I'm going to continue to give him the benefit of the doubt as well....I'm not quite sure if he even knows why he drops "basic" passes from his QB, but will catch a ball with both toes 1 inch inside of the endzone falling out of bounds 2 feet from the ground!...This man makes "sick" catches guys, that's why it puzzles me so much to see him struggle like he has...But I think he settles in eventually and helps us win a few games this year....Just keep pushin' Chris!

JT sacked Trent Green in the "9-on-9" drill...He rolled right around the corner just he does on most Sundays...When JT times the snap right, ther isn't a LT or RT in the league that can stop him...He continues to impress with his professionalism. He is looking in excellent shape, a little more beefed up....He probably hasn't burned off the training camp weight and leaned out yet, but he's still exceptionally quick!...Personally I'd like to see him play a little heavier to better enhance his run support ability, but you know what they say,"If it ain't broke......."

Trent made some nice reads and throws in the "redzone" period...One could've gone in for a TD, but he threw it a little high and Chambers couldn't adjust quick enough...However, he did get two hands on the football.

I really beleive that Trent Green should and will be our starter this season...He's making some very nice, accurate reads and throws...alot of the incomplete passes that are occurring could be blamed on the "receivers" as well...i'm "old school", if you can get two hands on it then you can catch it!...Trent's timing with these guys isn't there as of yet either, but I can see that slowly changing...He's the best suited to start for this team from Game #1.

For you O-Line buffs, Drew Mormino can pull guys...in the red zone drill he pulled from his RG position to the left in what looked like an "off tackle trap"....the ball was snapped and JT was filling the space the LT Carey created when he blocked down and WHACK!!!...Mormino smashed Jason and pushed him out of the hole as Ronnie cut up inside of the kickout block....it was a nice play as Jason Taylor isn't the easiest defender to hit in space....In his defense though, Jason did what he was supposed to by taking on the blocker and pushing the play to the LB...I just think the LB got taken out somehow.

It's highly possible that Carey got to the second level and took the LB out...Because no one really got a good hand on Ronnie Brown on his way to the endzone...I'd love it if I could see the tape on that play again...Vernon continued to impress with his hands and footwork...he's giving a good pop at the line of scrimmage in "pass pro" and showing tremendous balance...I think that we're in good hands with this guy at LT...mistakes are coming, but he's a very aggressive smart football player from what I've seen of him this camp.

There was another shake up in the O-Line lineup...Anthony Alibi got lots of reps at the LT position as well, this was strange to me because Alibi is currently working with the 1st team at RT already...He seemed to hold his own against the likes of MKristo Bruce and Abe Wright..and that might be saying something because I watched Abe Wright blow around the corner on Vernon Carey on this night as well...

Abraham Wright appears to be immulating the style of Joey Porter....he's a threat because of the way he comes around the edge on an offensive tackle....He doesn't have Porter's power and IQ as of yet, but he's definitely got the speed!..He stays very low when he makes his left turn, maximizing the leverage he's gaining as he turns the corner...Abe was constantly getting thrown to the ground earlier on in camp by both Carey and Alibi, but he appears to be evening the score a little lately....another young gun to watch develop. I know he'll have to contribute on "special teams" to make this team, but if/when he does make this team Dom Capers is going to have to utilize his talents in some passing situations this year....He's kind of like a smaller quicker David Bowens in my opinion.

Not to back track too far, but Julius Wilson OT out of Alabama-Birmingham (6'4", 327lbs) got some good work in tonight at the LT as well...He did a decent job...another promising young gun...gonna keep an eye out for him....He looks like solid depth at this point...held his own as well as could be expected for a "true" rookie in his first camp.

Newly aquired TE Courtney Anderson made a couple nice catches on some crossing routes tonight as did Justin Peele...it seemed as if "everybody" was trying to make plays tonight....There were so many to mention....I'm sure that I missed at least one or two big ones...Does anyone have any idea who #80 is?...This guy is catching everything that they throw at him...pretty decent runner after the catch as well.

John Beck continued to put in work and really is showing a more solid grasp of the offense...he was moving around in the pocket waiting for David Sutton to break on a route but he ended up having to scramble and throw it away....he met Sutton on th 35 yd line to communicate where he wanted to see him go....They slapped hands and ran back to the huddle...He then went on to flash some of that "route anticipation" that he possesses as he threw 2 TD's (1 to WR Kerry Reed for 20 yd and another to TE Anderson for 20 yd) where he placed the ball right in front of the receiver over the "middle" at that...in the redzone!...

(no kool aid....the kid is just doing what he does I guess)

Ronnie Brown ran hard tonight as well, he had a fumble to go along with his TD...Reynaldo Hill caught #23 with a real nice pop on "inside drill" that took him off of his feet....Jesse Chatman looked very serviceable tonight, he ran very hard as he stayed in for what must've been like 10+ plays straight and they were working him like a Georgia Mule...He coughed up the football once, but redeemed himself by punching it into the endzone later on in the drill...

Lorenzo Booker ran hard as well, but wasn't really as effective this practice session...There was a real nice screen set up for him, but Cleo Lemon threw a bad pass for no completion....it was really a shame, because I watched him fake out 1/4 of the defense on a play like that earlier on today.

The "surprise player" of the night for me was Reagan Mauia....this young "brahma bull" was blasting the LB's or anyone that got in his way when he was lead blocking for Jesse Chatman during the "Moving the Chains" drill...This football player is "Grade A" nasty boys and girls...you really can "hear" this guy play football...Before all is said and done we will be able to close our eyes and listen to this guy play football....The "Juggernaut" does it all my friends....Cam must've liked something he saw as well, because he was feeding him the ball a little bit....Reagan ran a couple nice dives...ala Larry Csonka...for about 3-4 yards each, real nice quick hitters too!...

And he is a real load people, it took more than one man to tackle him all night long...He even caught the ball pretty good as well, pulling it in on a "flats" route out of the backfield off of "play action"...Once he caught the ball, he spun forward and "crushed" the CB that came up to bring him down...Lucky for the defense there was another defender assisting the CB on the play that finally put him to the ground....I hope we keep two FB's this year, because I'm sure gonna miss Schlesinger if we don't!

(Schlesinger banged hard tonight as well...caught the ball pretty decent...he's a "true" veteran)

There were two "surprise sights" tonight...First was none other than DT Paul Soliai yet once again, earlier I reported that he was the "middle" guy forming the wedge on punt returns for Ted Ginn, Jr....Tonight he lined up at the RE position, now that's a 6'4" 344 lb. Defensive End PhinFans!....He even busted out with a pretty nice "swim" move to get around the LT whom I believe was Julius Wilson...Soliai didn't get to the QB, but just think of the run defenses we could run with Big Traylor at NT and Soliai at RE....Traylor by the way was clogging the middle of the field at all times when he was on the field...he's looking as if he will return to form again this year....just need a little luck to keep him healthy though...Rodrique Wright looked powerful and quick as well, blowing around the Center (not sure which one was in) into the backfield on a "mid-line" stunt.

The other surprise is really unbelievable.....Joey Porter walked into the "punt return" drill in front of the entire crowd...He actually moving Ginn out of the way for the last rep on punt return...I remember thinking how there was no way that #55 was going to embarrass himself like this in front of all of these people.....Catching a punt at night, looking into the lights, from an NFL Punter.....naaahhhh...no way...no way at all!

But as soon as the punter booted that ball off of his foot Porter took off towards the left sideline and caught the ball (Yes he cradled it....but caught it smoothly none-the-less) and advanced it for a few yards until he ran out of bounds....incredible! The pressure that he must've felt trying to catch that ball is unimaginable...It appeared as if he poked a little fun at #19 on his way back to his group for "team"....That was one of the coolest things I've seen this camp, a LB catch a real "live" punt...on the run I might add!

Well that's it guy's...it's well after 3:00am and I'm exhausted!!! I hope that you all enjoy this newfound hobby of mine, because I enjoy sharing my observations with you all!....It has really been an honor and I would like to offer a quick "Thank You" to all the FinHeaveners that have offered me support through your replies.....I do all of this for my fellow Phin's!!!


Go Phins!
 
Cash - You're the man. And what makes it even better is it's all positive info too - I'm starting the day with a smile on my face for once! These reports give such a great insight to all of us who cannot see for ourselves - your time and hard work are very much appreciated.
 
Great Work, Man! I really like what Im reading about Carey and Mormino. I wouldn't mind to see Alabi beat out Shelton. One reason is Alabi is quicker and the second reason he has one hell of a one-two punch.
 
Thanks for takeing time to write so much. Really appreciate things like this.
Can't wait to see Reagan Mauia play... looking forward to aug, 11th :)
 
#80 is Aarron Halterman 6-5 255 Indiana (hmmmm) TE

I reccommend people go to Miamidolphins.com and hit roster and highlight to copy and put to an expanded word document. It works great for me!!
 
Cash, reading your stuff is like night and day compared to these negative blogs. Thanks a million. Im glad that the lightnin faded so you could see this stuff.
 
For you O-Line buffs, Drew Mormino can pull guys...in the red zone drill he pulled from his RG position to the left in what looked like an "off tackle trap"....the ball was snapped and JT was filling the space the LT Carey created when he blocked down and WHACK!!!...Mormino smashed Jason and pushed him out of the hole as Ronnie cut up inside of the kickout block....it was a nice play as Jason Taylor isn't the easiest defender to hit in space....In his defense though, Jason did what he was supposed to by taking on the blocker and pushing the play to the LB...I just think the LB got taken out somehow.

I like Hadnot but that's the big knock on him is that he can't move well. If he's going to lose his starting job it will be for that reason.

I gotta say though I know they were ballsy in San Diego with who they started but if they go an Alabi/Mormino/Satele/Liwenski/Carey line that will be pretty interesting. Not to mention it'll save money across the O-line as Shelton can be let go later and not having to pay Hadnot good money for limited play (lets face it all of a sudden guards are getting way overpaid).
 
Great report!

Thanks for putting in the time and effort to keep the rest of us up to speed!
 
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