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Great words from JT

scotgif

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You got to like what you hear early on coming from the players as far as what needs to happen this year to take the next step.
I've heard that the OL is talking about being more physical and nasty.
And now JT says the excuses are over.
We need to make it happen now.
The window of oppourtunity is closing.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/sports/football/nfl/miami_dolphins/3148340.htm
 
Originally posted by scotgif
You got to like what you hear early on coming from the players as far as what needs to happen this year to take the next step.
I've heard that the OL is talking about being more physical and nasty.
And now JT says the excuses are over.
We need to make it happen now.
The window of oppourtunity is closing.

www.miami.com/mld/miami/s...148340.htm



When I click on the article, all I get is "The requested article is not found."?
 
Same here. Is it an old article??
 
Here you go fellas...

Optimism runneth over: Dolphins open minicamp
Team returns with a fresh outlook -- oh, and some guy named Ricky Williams
BY JASON COLE
jcole@herald.com

As the Dolphins opened minicamp Friday with the presence of running back Ricky Williams creating a buzz among players and fans, defensive end Jason Taylor put his perspective on the excitement and optimism.

''I don't want to end up a paper champion,'' Taylor said. ``Our window of opportunity is closing.''

Such talk is the equivalent of buzz-kill. Then again, Taylor knows too well what buzz-kill is like from his five seasons with the Dolphins.

Taylor has never missed the playoffs in his career. Yet he and the Dolphins also have never ended the season with any great sense of satisfaction.

The Dolphins are 3-5 in the postseason during Taylor's career. The losses have come by a combined score of 164-16, including only one touchdown -- coming in a 62-7 loss to Jacksonville on Jan. 9, 2000.

The hope is the presence of Williams will do much to change that, giving the Dolphins the ball-control offense coach Dave Wannstedt has been working to build during his two seasons. The offense faltered last season under a barrage of injuries along the offensive line and the inconsistency of former starting running back Lamar Smith.

With the addition of Williams, talk about the Dolphins has paralleled the excitement of 1995, when former coach Don Shula signed a bevy of free agents, including tight end Eric Green.

For his part, Williams was low-key about the day. Asked if there was anything he could show the fans in a noncontact practice, he said:

``Nothing really. I'm a physical player, so people aren't going to see my best until we put the pads on.''

Dolphins players won't put on pads until training camp in July.

To Taylor, the urgency for success is palpable.

''With the [salary] cap the way it is nowadays and players getting older, not that we're old. . . . But you get to being 30 years old and you feel like it's Social Security around here,'' he said. ``They want to get the young players in here.

``We need to do it now or it's not going to be done. Some guys might be relaxing but we need to have a sense of urgency and stop doing [what] we've been doing the last five years, fizzling out at the end.''

Taylor said last year's run of injuries was not an acceptable excuse. The Dolphins, who went through three starting offensive left tackles last season among their many injuries, ranked second among playoff teams in games lost to injury.

Taylor didn't care.

''Injuries are excuses,'' he said. ``Everybody in the league has injuries. If you think you can't get to the Super Bowl because of injuries, you're making excuses.

``New England had injuries, too. They lost their starting quarterback [Drew Bledsoe] and had a backup [Tom Brady] come in and went the whole way.''

As Taylor spoke, his teammates joked around in the background. The series of five minicamps and quarterback schools are not exactly the stuff of high drama for most players. In fact, many players and coaches see these practices as an elaborate method of taking roll.

Not that practice isn't valuable, particularly for a team installing a new offense under coordinator Norv Turner. But there is only so much to be accomplished when players aren't wearing pads and helmets.

Even so, several hundred fans showed up Friday afternoon. It was a larger-than-normal crowd for this time of year, and many in the stands were paying close attention to Williams.

Taylor and running backs coach Joel Collier understand and appreciate the excitement Williams has created.

''He has created a buzz, and that's great for all of us,'' Taylor said. ``That will give us all some more exposure.''

Said Collier: ``It would be crazy to think that the players and fans are not looking at him. He's too big a story not to get people's attention. I'm sure out in the community there is a buzz and the players are anxious to see what he can do.''

That's fine, but the team better back up the attention, Taylor said.

''We have to put all of that in the background and get to the point where we have to step out there and play and stop making all the excuses about why it doesn't happen,'' he said.
 
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