jason_taylor
Pro Bowler
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2004
- Messages
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JACKSONVILLE - Left cornerback Reggie Howard recovered from a rough exhibition opener. But his chances of regaining a starting job rest on the recovery of rookie Travis Daniels.
Howard played an impressive game Saturday night against Jacksonville with some solid coverage and good tackling. Meanwhile, Daniels did nothing to hurt his chances of keeping the starting job. Except to get hurt.
Daniels suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter after covering veteran Jacksonville wide receiver Jimmy Smith step for step on a deep throw. Daniels didn't appear to be seriously hurt, standing on the sideline for the rest of the first half.
After the game, Daniels said he merely ''tweaked'' the hamstring and would be ready to play Saturday at Pittsburgh. Coach Nick Saban said he was unaware of the extent of the injury but was pleased with both Daniels and Howard.
''I thought he was doing OK,'' Saban said. ``. . . I thought Reggie played well and Travis played well.''
Daniels' coverage on Smith, a five-time Pro Bowler who has gained at least 1,000 yards receiving in eight of the past nine seasons, was exemplary. It even included excellent of use of both his hands and body to keep the physical Smith from getting to the high throw.
That was an improvement from Monday night, when Daniels didn't react well to a post pattern and a slant run to his side.
''I was able to hold my own,'' Daniels said. ``Tonight helped my confidence a lot. I think a big key for me has been that in practice I go up against guys like [Chris] Chambers and [David] Boston and so, when I get out here, I don't ever have to be nervous.
Unfortunately, the night was brief for Daniels.
But that allowed Howard to show drastic improvement. Howard was beaten deep twice against the Bears, both times reacting so poorly that he was at least five yards from the receiver on both plays.
This time, Howard was ready. Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich tested him with a deep pass on Howard's first series, and Howard did a nice job of staying with the receiver.
''I really improved from last game. I went back and worked on some things and made sure I focused on what I messed up on,'' Howard said.
In the second quarter, Jacksonville backup quarterback David Garrard threw a deep pass for wide receiver Reggie Williams. This time, Howard was as technically sound as you could imagine and broke up the pass inside the Dolphins 20-yard line.
Daniels and Howard are the leading contenders to replace traded Pro Bowler Patrick Surtain.
Daniels is a fourth-round draft pick who played for Saban at LSU and has been consistently impressive during the offseason and so far in training camp.
Howard has been fighting the reputation he developed last season with the Dolphins for allowing receivers to get behind him or overpower him for the ball.
Howard's coverage, though, was so much better this week that it helped the Dolphins get five sacks in the first half. At least two of those came off of good coverage in the secondary.:evil: :evil:
Howard played an impressive game Saturday night against Jacksonville with some solid coverage and good tackling. Meanwhile, Daniels did nothing to hurt his chances of keeping the starting job. Except to get hurt.
Daniels suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter after covering veteran Jacksonville wide receiver Jimmy Smith step for step on a deep throw. Daniels didn't appear to be seriously hurt, standing on the sideline for the rest of the first half.
After the game, Daniels said he merely ''tweaked'' the hamstring and would be ready to play Saturday at Pittsburgh. Coach Nick Saban said he was unaware of the extent of the injury but was pleased with both Daniels and Howard.
''I thought he was doing OK,'' Saban said. ``. . . I thought Reggie played well and Travis played well.''
Daniels' coverage on Smith, a five-time Pro Bowler who has gained at least 1,000 yards receiving in eight of the past nine seasons, was exemplary. It even included excellent of use of both his hands and body to keep the physical Smith from getting to the high throw.
That was an improvement from Monday night, when Daniels didn't react well to a post pattern and a slant run to his side.
''I was able to hold my own,'' Daniels said. ``Tonight helped my confidence a lot. I think a big key for me has been that in practice I go up against guys like [Chris] Chambers and [David] Boston and so, when I get out here, I don't ever have to be nervous.
Unfortunately, the night was brief for Daniels.
But that allowed Howard to show drastic improvement. Howard was beaten deep twice against the Bears, both times reacting so poorly that he was at least five yards from the receiver on both plays.
This time, Howard was ready. Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich tested him with a deep pass on Howard's first series, and Howard did a nice job of staying with the receiver.
''I really improved from last game. I went back and worked on some things and made sure I focused on what I messed up on,'' Howard said.
In the second quarter, Jacksonville backup quarterback David Garrard threw a deep pass for wide receiver Reggie Williams. This time, Howard was as technically sound as you could imagine and broke up the pass inside the Dolphins 20-yard line.
Daniels and Howard are the leading contenders to replace traded Pro Bowler Patrick Surtain.
Daniels is a fourth-round draft pick who played for Saban at LSU and has been consistently impressive during the offseason and so far in training camp.
Howard has been fighting the reputation he developed last season with the Dolphins for allowing receivers to get behind him or overpower him for the ball.
Howard's coverage, though, was so much better this week that it helped the Dolphins get five sacks in the first half. At least two of those came off of good coverage in the secondary.:evil: :evil:
