Just came from the Miami Dolphins' first morning practice availability since the setback in Buffalo. No huge revelations, but a few key updates as we steam into the middle of Patriots Week II:
() Injured center Jake Grove was still riding the exercycle as we entered. His left ankle heavily taped, Grove then moved onto the sideline to work with a trainer on what might normally be called "light agility" training. The good news, however, was the way Grove was taking his stance and simulating the explosion it takes to get off the snap properly. He mostly headed forward in a run-blocking mode, but there were also some solid shuffles backward in pass-block mode. Just a guess, but at this point I'd expect Grove to practice at least in a limited fashion by Thursday and, barring a setback, give it a go on Sunday. Huge game, obviously, and you need every weapon you've got to beat an angry Patriots team.
() Injured strong safety Yeremiah Bell appeared to be practicing fully despite having his left thumb heavily bandaged. He was able to go through his drops and hang onto passes thrown his way in early drills. An even better sign might have been the way he held his helmet in his left hand during breaks. If that thumb was really bothering him badly -- or even broken -- the helmet would have been in the right hand.
() Nate Garner is still working as the starting left guard, with Justin Smiley backing him up. Still have a hard time believing it's performance that's holding Smiley down on the second team, but that's the official version at this point. Good to see Donald Thomas working with the first team as well after he sat out a couple of series on Sunday to make room for Smiley, with Garner moving over to right guard. Apparently nothing wrong with Thomas, who has had his share of injury woes in the past.
