Wassup Folks,
I only went to the night session and was glad I did. The biggest crowd I've seen in all my years attending camp! Probably close to about 2000 people, maybe 2200! It would not have surprised me one bit if it was 2500 because lots of people were standing!
I sat down at the thirty yard line because I noticed the lighting was only set up for a little over half the field. That's where I went. About ten minutes after I sat down here comes Drew Rosenhaus and he sits directly behind me, along with his brother! Lots of people might think man this guys an idiot, but I'll say this, he is extremely nice to anyone who approaches him. I was just looking at him and gave him a nod, he was very receptive saying hello to everyone who noticed him.
OK lets do some offense:
Ray Lucas had an average day today, IMO anyway. I think a lot of this was due to the fact that the defense stepped it up a bit on them. First pass out of the blocks is a pass to McKnight, who CAUGHT IT, for about 10 yards! But then he throws a long ball to the other side of the field and Surtain stepped right in the way for an INT. He did throw a couple of nice passes to Dedric Ward that were dropped and hit McKight on another that was thrown behind, and Intercepted again this time for a Td. It was either Madison or Surtain on that one, I think the latter. Overall I'd like to think that our defense is the main reason for this because not only were there a few INT's thrown tonight but I counted 6-7 sacks!! DL playing that good? Sure looked like it! Or was it the O-line being that bad? Hmmm
Zac Kustok may be working with the second units, but he is not impressing me with his throws! He may be ahead in the classroom, but not the field IMO. He did launch a high arching bomb to Jeff Ogden! But he was way way off to many times, and actually put a couple of Wr's in harms way! Don't get me wrong here because he did complete a couple of decent passes, just nothing gave me goosebumps!
Tim Levcik had a real good for his second and third set of series. Completing a real nice bomb to Robert Baker, and another one dropped by that same guy! He looked much more fluid tonight! Nothing to get too excited about though!!
These two guys are plain and simple very raw, and nothing reported in Training Camps should be taken without a grain of salt. Lets see how they look against another team, especially in a GAME! That will be the tall tell tail with them.
Wr's did not have a great night:
Orande had one nice Rec. but I'm not sure of his totals
Chris Chambers was wide open in the middle of the field, but the ball was deflected at the line and fell short. On another play, he was the drop-off guy, and Surtain busted the play up perfectly. Other than that I don't believe Chris had any catches.
Dedric Ward dropped a sure Td pass, and dropped another one as well, he did rebound from both bad plays with a couple of decent catches.
McKnight did it again, he dropped two balls, but both were bad passes, thrown behind him, one being a bullet that he barely had time to see, getting his arm on it, and it went right in the Db's hands (I think it was Surtain) for a returned Td. But he did however, hold on to a couple. Had Dedric Ward not dropped those two balls I would again be calling for Ward to be the new number three Wr. Hey I know it's early but what's a TC without some sort of controversy! :)
Ogden had the play of the night, making a totally horizontal, Chris Chambers type catch, on a long ball thrown by Kustok. The ball was thrown high and well over his head, but he stayed with it looking straight over his head. He just dove at the last second and make a spectacular catch! The crowd went bonkers! I know this may be bad, but there seems to be a bad side to most of these good to great plays, but I have to report what I see. Ogdens next catch resulted in a fumble that could have been returned for a Td, had the whistle not been blown.
Robert Baker dropped one tonight too, but was in on quite a lot of plays. I think the coaches are giving this guy a real chance too see how bad he wants it.
I believe that FB Deon Dyer made the only catch of all the Fb's tonight, an over the head, one handed catch I might add, out in the flat. Had he not bobbled it just a little bit, he may have rumbled for quite a long gainer, still he got 10 yards out of it.
Albert Johnson got in some pretty good work tonight, making a couple of catches, on some short routes.
Sam Simmons had one catch that I saw
Nothing from the TE's tonight, sorry!
Well, lets move to running the ball:
Ricky Williams got in a few more reps than yesterday afternoon, and I think we got one heck of a worker here. Every time he touches the ball he fights kicks, scratches for an extra inch, he made three decent runs for gains over 4-5 yards, hard earned yards I might add. He is still not the focus of this TC yet. The coaches seem to want the other three to show there stuff....
Which brings me too Robert Edward's, man this guy is impressing the heck out of me! You would have thought that after more than a two year layoff, this guy would be really hurting from his first or hardest hitting in those long two years. Well, he did not show any signs of it tonight! He made three real real nice runs, cutting sharply on his newly healed leg! He also had one nice catch that he turned into about a 15 yard gain.
Travis Minor did not fair as well as yesterday, but made some tough runs to the outside. And one play he even dipped into the trenches for some love, squeezing out the backside of it for a five yarder! Could he be hinting at us for some reason! He is the number two guy on the depth chart, but if Edward's keeps it up.......
Leonard Henry got in lots of work on ST's stuff, so did almost every one, but they had him working with some of the same guys that were our ST'ers last year! He also had one real nice run to the outside, taking two good hits, and again, he did not go down! He is tough that's for sure!
Now lets do some OL dissecting:
Yesterday I told you guys that Todd Perry was probably the best of all lineman, today I'd have to say that the whole line took steps backwards! He did OK but that's what we saw from him last year right? OK is not what we need!
Today my favorite lineman would be none other than Troy Andrew, mostly because of his hustle on two plays.
Leon Searcy did not impress me again tonight, and I know it's the groin! I saw him get knocked right on his Butt by Ogun, right off the jump. Wally just hit him hard on his right side and Searcy twisted and fell, he got up and held his groin in some pain. I'm definitely giving him a pass, but man he has got to get better, fast!
Seth McKinney is making friends in a hurry! Getting into two shoving matches with two different players, in a span of about 6-8 plays. The first being with DT Henry Taylor, and the second with newly acquired Jay Williams, with both matches ending with a smack to Mac's face by the defenders. Seth went at Taylor, but was restrained and when Williams hit him he just turned around and huddled up! I think he was holding but I'm sure he'll deny it. :)
Brent Smith was back in action. But Marcus Spriggs stood out to me, against second team players but he made two nice pancakes out of two different DE's Kelly, and Wally I believe...
I'll say that the Offensive Lines play tonight was well below the average they would like. Not too much more to report there!
Tonight's Practice was more of a defensive show, with Patrick Surtain making, I THINK, three INT's, and Fletcher making one, it may have hit the ground though, and also was close to interference! If I would have had time to write up Tuesdays defensive report (my apologies) you would have seen me write that I thought Jamar Fletcher got burned (not badly burned but a game of inches) too many times, well tonight he was covering Chris Chambers quite a lot, and remember I think Chris had a goose egg in his stats book tonight? A much, much better job by Fletcher tonight. I'm all for giving this guy a chance to showcase himself, but I'm watching him, and will surely keep people informed!
Autoro Freeman had a nice night, batting down two balls perfectly, and once getting to the QB (He could have decapitated him) on a double blitz, by him and Rodgers, with Freeman going right up the MIDDLE, untouched! Lots of blitz packages are being used this year! Some Zone blitzing too!! Not only is this good for the D, but great for practice against it for the Offense.
I liked watching Omare Lowe he seems very poised out there for a rookie, he may be able to contribute plenty this year.
Ray Green has slipped just a little bit, but still getting lots of work with Mel Phillips.
Brock Marion jammed his finger in individual drill, but kept right at it, making some nice hits on Rb's while supporting the right side on a Lb blitz. I don't think the finger slowed him down a bit.
Morlon Greenwood make some nice hard hits on two consecutive running plays to his side. First time I noticed him, or should I say he made me notice him!
Zach, well he's number 54, what else is needed to be said?
Lets do some of the interesting stuff now, the DL:
I don't think this teams offensive line is that bad, they may actually end up being good, but this D-line was all over the place tonight, with David Bowens playing like an animal, protecting the run pretty darn good, and being a nuisance pass rushing! The guy made some hard hits tonight and drew lots of praise from his teamates!
Larry Chester for the second straight day had to be told he played defense because he was spending most of his time in the offensive backfield. He is getting plenty of push even being double teamed. Nothing working up the middle tonight while he and Timbo were in there.
Hailey saw some first team action as well, spelling Tim Bowens a few times, he also worked good with Chester, and teamed with Grant too.
Rob Burnett had two sacks in a row, one with him rolling RT Cornell Green up on Ray Lucas' foot, making him limp for a few! I was impressed with Burnett tonight, I know he wants to play more than just third downs but if they used him exclusively for this role, his old butt could stay fresh, and could give the Dolphins that right side pass rush that left when Trace left.
Henry Taylor made some pretty good plays again tonight, he is a good project for this team, with the right work he may get in the rotation some time, maybe after a year in Europe! He's caught my eye though........so far!
Jason Taylor was all over the place early on, giving Lucas FITS, and Brent Smith too! He definitely had one sack that I saw, and I thought he may have been in on one more!
Well, there you have it! Some good, and some bad from the view thru my eyes on tonight's practice!
It's now 2:25 am and I'm beat. If you guys have any questions feel free!
Again, I hope everyone enjoys the reading! As much as I enjoyed tonight practice, in person :D
Peace,
Oz
I only went to the night session and was glad I did. The biggest crowd I've seen in all my years attending camp! Probably close to about 2000 people, maybe 2200! It would not have surprised me one bit if it was 2500 because lots of people were standing!
I sat down at the thirty yard line because I noticed the lighting was only set up for a little over half the field. That's where I went. About ten minutes after I sat down here comes Drew Rosenhaus and he sits directly behind me, along with his brother! Lots of people might think man this guys an idiot, but I'll say this, he is extremely nice to anyone who approaches him. I was just looking at him and gave him a nod, he was very receptive saying hello to everyone who noticed him.
OK lets do some offense:
Ray Lucas had an average day today, IMO anyway. I think a lot of this was due to the fact that the defense stepped it up a bit on them. First pass out of the blocks is a pass to McKnight, who CAUGHT IT, for about 10 yards! But then he throws a long ball to the other side of the field and Surtain stepped right in the way for an INT. He did throw a couple of nice passes to Dedric Ward that were dropped and hit McKight on another that was thrown behind, and Intercepted again this time for a Td. It was either Madison or Surtain on that one, I think the latter. Overall I'd like to think that our defense is the main reason for this because not only were there a few INT's thrown tonight but I counted 6-7 sacks!! DL playing that good? Sure looked like it! Or was it the O-line being that bad? Hmmm
Zac Kustok may be working with the second units, but he is not impressing me with his throws! He may be ahead in the classroom, but not the field IMO. He did launch a high arching bomb to Jeff Ogden! But he was way way off to many times, and actually put a couple of Wr's in harms way! Don't get me wrong here because he did complete a couple of decent passes, just nothing gave me goosebumps!
Tim Levcik had a real good for his second and third set of series. Completing a real nice bomb to Robert Baker, and another one dropped by that same guy! He looked much more fluid tonight! Nothing to get too excited about though!!
These two guys are plain and simple very raw, and nothing reported in Training Camps should be taken without a grain of salt. Lets see how they look against another team, especially in a GAME! That will be the tall tell tail with them.
Wr's did not have a great night:
Orande had one nice Rec. but I'm not sure of his totals
Chris Chambers was wide open in the middle of the field, but the ball was deflected at the line and fell short. On another play, he was the drop-off guy, and Surtain busted the play up perfectly. Other than that I don't believe Chris had any catches.
Dedric Ward dropped a sure Td pass, and dropped another one as well, he did rebound from both bad plays with a couple of decent catches.
McKnight did it again, he dropped two balls, but both were bad passes, thrown behind him, one being a bullet that he barely had time to see, getting his arm on it, and it went right in the Db's hands (I think it was Surtain) for a returned Td. But he did however, hold on to a couple. Had Dedric Ward not dropped those two balls I would again be calling for Ward to be the new number three Wr. Hey I know it's early but what's a TC without some sort of controversy! :)
Ogden had the play of the night, making a totally horizontal, Chris Chambers type catch, on a long ball thrown by Kustok. The ball was thrown high and well over his head, but he stayed with it looking straight over his head. He just dove at the last second and make a spectacular catch! The crowd went bonkers! I know this may be bad, but there seems to be a bad side to most of these good to great plays, but I have to report what I see. Ogdens next catch resulted in a fumble that could have been returned for a Td, had the whistle not been blown.
Robert Baker dropped one tonight too, but was in on quite a lot of plays. I think the coaches are giving this guy a real chance too see how bad he wants it.
I believe that FB Deon Dyer made the only catch of all the Fb's tonight, an over the head, one handed catch I might add, out in the flat. Had he not bobbled it just a little bit, he may have rumbled for quite a long gainer, still he got 10 yards out of it.
Albert Johnson got in some pretty good work tonight, making a couple of catches, on some short routes.
Sam Simmons had one catch that I saw
Nothing from the TE's tonight, sorry!
Well, lets move to running the ball:
Ricky Williams got in a few more reps than yesterday afternoon, and I think we got one heck of a worker here. Every time he touches the ball he fights kicks, scratches for an extra inch, he made three decent runs for gains over 4-5 yards, hard earned yards I might add. He is still not the focus of this TC yet. The coaches seem to want the other three to show there stuff....
Which brings me too Robert Edward's, man this guy is impressing the heck out of me! You would have thought that after more than a two year layoff, this guy would be really hurting from his first or hardest hitting in those long two years. Well, he did not show any signs of it tonight! He made three real real nice runs, cutting sharply on his newly healed leg! He also had one nice catch that he turned into about a 15 yard gain.
Travis Minor did not fair as well as yesterday, but made some tough runs to the outside. And one play he even dipped into the trenches for some love, squeezing out the backside of it for a five yarder! Could he be hinting at us for some reason! He is the number two guy on the depth chart, but if Edward's keeps it up.......
Leonard Henry got in lots of work on ST's stuff, so did almost every one, but they had him working with some of the same guys that were our ST'ers last year! He also had one real nice run to the outside, taking two good hits, and again, he did not go down! He is tough that's for sure!
Now lets do some OL dissecting:
Yesterday I told you guys that Todd Perry was probably the best of all lineman, today I'd have to say that the whole line took steps backwards! He did OK but that's what we saw from him last year right? OK is not what we need!
Today my favorite lineman would be none other than Troy Andrew, mostly because of his hustle on two plays.
Leon Searcy did not impress me again tonight, and I know it's the groin! I saw him get knocked right on his Butt by Ogun, right off the jump. Wally just hit him hard on his right side and Searcy twisted and fell, he got up and held his groin in some pain. I'm definitely giving him a pass, but man he has got to get better, fast!
Seth McKinney is making friends in a hurry! Getting into two shoving matches with two different players, in a span of about 6-8 plays. The first being with DT Henry Taylor, and the second with newly acquired Jay Williams, with both matches ending with a smack to Mac's face by the defenders. Seth went at Taylor, but was restrained and when Williams hit him he just turned around and huddled up! I think he was holding but I'm sure he'll deny it. :)
Brent Smith was back in action. But Marcus Spriggs stood out to me, against second team players but he made two nice pancakes out of two different DE's Kelly, and Wally I believe...
I'll say that the Offensive Lines play tonight was well below the average they would like. Not too much more to report there!
Tonight's Practice was more of a defensive show, with Patrick Surtain making, I THINK, three INT's, and Fletcher making one, it may have hit the ground though, and also was close to interference! If I would have had time to write up Tuesdays defensive report (my apologies) you would have seen me write that I thought Jamar Fletcher got burned (not badly burned but a game of inches) too many times, well tonight he was covering Chris Chambers quite a lot, and remember I think Chris had a goose egg in his stats book tonight? A much, much better job by Fletcher tonight. I'm all for giving this guy a chance to showcase himself, but I'm watching him, and will surely keep people informed!
Autoro Freeman had a nice night, batting down two balls perfectly, and once getting to the QB (He could have decapitated him) on a double blitz, by him and Rodgers, with Freeman going right up the MIDDLE, untouched! Lots of blitz packages are being used this year! Some Zone blitzing too!! Not only is this good for the D, but great for practice against it for the Offense.
I liked watching Omare Lowe he seems very poised out there for a rookie, he may be able to contribute plenty this year.
Ray Green has slipped just a little bit, but still getting lots of work with Mel Phillips.
Brock Marion jammed his finger in individual drill, but kept right at it, making some nice hits on Rb's while supporting the right side on a Lb blitz. I don't think the finger slowed him down a bit.
Morlon Greenwood make some nice hard hits on two consecutive running plays to his side. First time I noticed him, or should I say he made me notice him!
Zach, well he's number 54, what else is needed to be said?
Lets do some of the interesting stuff now, the DL:
I don't think this teams offensive line is that bad, they may actually end up being good, but this D-line was all over the place tonight, with David Bowens playing like an animal, protecting the run pretty darn good, and being a nuisance pass rushing! The guy made some hard hits tonight and drew lots of praise from his teamates!
Larry Chester for the second straight day had to be told he played defense because he was spending most of his time in the offensive backfield. He is getting plenty of push even being double teamed. Nothing working up the middle tonight while he and Timbo were in there.
Hailey saw some first team action as well, spelling Tim Bowens a few times, he also worked good with Chester, and teamed with Grant too.
Rob Burnett had two sacks in a row, one with him rolling RT Cornell Green up on Ray Lucas' foot, making him limp for a few! I was impressed with Burnett tonight, I know he wants to play more than just third downs but if they used him exclusively for this role, his old butt could stay fresh, and could give the Dolphins that right side pass rush that left when Trace left.
Henry Taylor made some pretty good plays again tonight, he is a good project for this team, with the right work he may get in the rotation some time, maybe after a year in Europe! He's caught my eye though........so far!
Jason Taylor was all over the place early on, giving Lucas FITS, and Brent Smith too! He definitely had one sack that I saw, and I thought he may have been in on one more!
Well, there you have it! Some good, and some bad from the view thru my eyes on tonight's practice!
It's now 2:25 am and I'm beat. If you guys have any questions feel free!
Again, I hope everyone enjoys the reading! As much as I enjoyed tonight practice, in person :D
Peace,
Oz