Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Dude's Mini-Camp Report (With Photos!)
It was hot. It was packed in. It was Dolphins mini-camp. As I mentioned yesterday, I went to Dolphins' mini-camp on Saturday. My big brother was in town (you know him in the comments section as CT Dolphin Fan) so I drove us up to Davie to catch camp.
Trent Green was there, wearing his DON'T TOUCH ME! red jersey. One of the reasons Cam Cameron wanted Green down here was because Green is familiar with Cam's playbook. Green threw three interceptions during the 7 on 7 drill. Oh shit. John Beck, also wearing the DON'T TOUCH ME! red jersey looked equally ineffective. Although his passes were crisp and quick, which was good to see. Also taking part in the action was first round draft pick Ted Ginn Jr. Curiously, he was not wearing a DON'T TOUCH ME! red jersey. Ginn looked okay. He caught a pass on a quick dump off from Beck, which seemed to please everybody. Ginn also looked spectacular fielding balls during the punting drill. That's right. Look out New England special teams! Our first round pick knows how to catch punts!!! And he knows how to wave his arm over his head to make that fair catch signal thing. You're in deep shit, my friends.
We also got to see Joey Porter. But he didn't do much. By that I mean, he didn't kick anyone's ass or bark like a dog at anyone. Genuinely disapointing. Jason Taylor was there. What a stud. He's a dude I'd go gay for, no doubt about it. Zach Thomas was also there. He was pretty much half-assing his way through the drills. No pads, no helmet, just lightly walking through the drills while the other guys were sprinting and going all out. Lazy ass verterans.
No Face made a spectacular one-handed catch during one point. Trent Green seems to like No Face as he went to him often.
At one point, Daunte Culpepper stood outside the training room doors wearing one of those skin-tight Underarmor things. He stood with his hands on his hips as he watched practice for about 5 minutes. He looked like a superhero. A disgruntled superhero with a blowed up knee. He also looked like a kid who had been grounded and was not allowed to play with the other children.
At the end of the day, my brother was able to make his way down and get himself a couple of autographs. Cleo Lemon signed his cap. Lemon wore his DON'T TOUCH ME! red jersey. He also got LB Jim Maxwell's autograph. In fact, my brother was the only one who got Jim Maxwell's autograph. My brother also -- eventually -- got Trent Green's autograph. With a huge crowd vying for Green's autograph, my brother stuck his cap out and Green signed just about every cap, football, jersey and photo thrust into his face. Except my brother's. Green moved on. So did my brother. Green and my brother did this dance three times until, finally, Green took his cap. This then was the conversation that went down between Trent Green and my brother:
Green (with an incredulous sound to his voice): Didn't I sign for you already?
Dude's Bro (with an ass-holish sound to his voice): Do you see your name on the cap?
Green (smirks): Nope. (signs hat).
Dude's Bro: Welcome to Miami.
Onlooker: Better get his autograph now while you can. He's only going to last three games anyway.
Good times.
And now ... pics! Enjoy:
Trent Green meticulously surveys and studies the defense before throwing his first of three INTs.
Green doning his DON'T TOUCH ME! red jersey gets one of those cheesey Fast Times At Ridgemont High Judge Reinhold backward high fives from a coach. Green is very happy to be here.
Trent Green takes a snap. His passes looked good when they weren't being thrown to defenders. He also seemed to favor No Face which means more three and outs on the horizon! Yay!
John Beck looked sharp during this drill. He's the future. By the time he takes over for a retired Trent Green, he will be 30 years old. The future is bright.
John Beck takes a break. He's. Looking. Right. At. Me.
Zach Thomas takes a Gatorade break after a long day of walking around.
Coach Cam Cameron addresses the team at the end of the day. He gave his fiery and inspirational speech about family and family values and how family is so very important. Family.
FAMILY ON THREE! 1-2-3-FAMILY!!!!!
The Dude's brother gets Jim Maxwell's autograph. See how he had to fight off the rabid crowd to get to him? The Dude's brother is relentless and persistent.
The Dude's brother finally gets Trent Green's autograph after 3 or 4 tries. The Dude's brother now officially believes that Trent Green is an asshole.
Trent Green was there, wearing his DON'T TOUCH ME! red jersey. One of the reasons Cam Cameron wanted Green down here was because Green is familiar with Cam's playbook. Green threw three interceptions during the 7 on 7 drill. Oh shit. John Beck, also wearing the DON'T TOUCH ME! red jersey looked equally ineffective. Although his passes were crisp and quick, which was good to see. Also taking part in the action was first round draft pick Ted Ginn Jr. Curiously, he was not wearing a DON'T TOUCH ME! red jersey. Ginn looked okay. He caught a pass on a quick dump off from Beck, which seemed to please everybody. Ginn also looked spectacular fielding balls during the punting drill. That's right. Look out New England special teams! Our first round pick knows how to catch punts!!! And he knows how to wave his arm over his head to make that fair catch signal thing. You're in deep shit, my friends.
We also got to see Joey Porter. But he didn't do much. By that I mean, he didn't kick anyone's ass or bark like a dog at anyone. Genuinely disapointing. Jason Taylor was there. What a stud. He's a dude I'd go gay for, no doubt about it. Zach Thomas was also there. He was pretty much half-assing his way through the drills. No pads, no helmet, just lightly walking through the drills while the other guys were sprinting and going all out. Lazy ass verterans.
No Face made a spectacular one-handed catch during one point. Trent Green seems to like No Face as he went to him often.
At one point, Daunte Culpepper stood outside the training room doors wearing one of those skin-tight Underarmor things. He stood with his hands on his hips as he watched practice for about 5 minutes. He looked like a superhero. A disgruntled superhero with a blowed up knee. He also looked like a kid who had been grounded and was not allowed to play with the other children.
At the end of the day, my brother was able to make his way down and get himself a couple of autographs. Cleo Lemon signed his cap. Lemon wore his DON'T TOUCH ME! red jersey. He also got LB Jim Maxwell's autograph. In fact, my brother was the only one who got Jim Maxwell's autograph. My brother also -- eventually -- got Trent Green's autograph. With a huge crowd vying for Green's autograph, my brother stuck his cap out and Green signed just about every cap, football, jersey and photo thrust into his face. Except my brother's. Green moved on. So did my brother. Green and my brother did this dance three times until, finally, Green took his cap. This then was the conversation that went down between Trent Green and my brother:
Green (with an incredulous sound to his voice): Didn't I sign for you already?
Dude's Bro (with an ass-holish sound to his voice): Do you see your name on the cap?
Green (smirks): Nope. (signs hat).
Dude's Bro: Welcome to Miami.
Onlooker: Better get his autograph now while you can. He's only going to last three games anyway.
Good times.
And now ... pics! Enjoy:
Trent Green meticulously surveys and studies the defense before throwing his first of three INTs.Green doning his DON'T TOUCH ME! red jersey gets one of those cheesey Fast Times At Ridgemont High Judge Reinhold backward high fives from a coach. Green is very happy to be here.Trent Green takes a snap. His passes looked good when they weren't being thrown to defenders. He also seemed to favor No Face which means more three and outs on the horizon! Yay!John Beck looked sharp during this drill. He's the future. By the time he takes over for a retired Trent Green, he will be 30 years old. The future is bright.John Beck takes a break. He's. Looking. Right. At. Me.Zach Thomas takes a Gatorade break after a long day of walking around.Coach Cam Cameron addresses the team at the end of the day. He gave his fiery and inspirational speech about family and family values and how family is so very important. Family.FAMILY ON THREE! 1-2-3-FAMILY!!!!!The Dude's brother gets Jim Maxwell's autograph. See how he had to fight off the rabid crowd to get to him? The Dude's brother is relentless and persistent.The Dude's brother finally gets Trent Green's autograph after 3 or 4 tries. The Dude's brother now officially believes that Trent Green is an asshole.Labels: Miami Dolphins, Mini-Camp, The Dude's Brother, Trent Green
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Eight Years Later, Marino's Shadow Still Looms
Shit.It's time we faced it, Dolphins fans. Face the truth and move on with our lives. Otherwise we're doomed to keep setting ourselves up for failure. Much like Celtics fans with Larry Bird (and look at how cursed that franchise has been the past two decades), we need to come to grips that Dan Marino is gone. Every QB that comes along down here (and there've been a lot!) is invariably compared to Danny Boy in some way or another. The man was great. The man was a winner. The man was a record breaking machine. The man spoiled us rotten. And now every signal caller that we trade for or draft is forced to stand in his ginormous shadow.
From ProFootballTalk:
Since Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino retired after the 1999 season, the team had burned plenty of draft picks in an effort to replace him...The irony here is that, when Marino was playing, the team's defense generally wasn't good enough to propel the team to the highest levels of success. After Marino left, the defense became dominant. And now that the pendulum on offense could be swinging back the other way, we've got a feeling that the defense will gradually begin to slide backward.
And from the Fan House:
I don't sense that Denver's fans and sports writers are clinging to John Elway in the same way. Elway is a beloved figure in Denver and Broncos fans would kill to have a quarterback of his talent again, but Broncos fans also seem to understand, in a way Dolphins fans don't, the need to move on.... whatever the reason, when Trent Green becomes the Dolphins' starting quarterback -- and when John Beck gets the job after Green -- let's hope they're judged on their own merits, not on how they compare to someone who's incomparable.
So ... be it Jay Fiedler, Trent Green, John Beck, or whomever ... Dan Marino is gone and there will never be another. Period. He's happily retired and working his cushy TV gigs and hawking weight loss meals (and bringing Don Shula along with him. And Mike Golic. And Chris Carter. And John Kruk too. Except that with Kruk, the Nutrisystem diet seems to be having a reverse affect... but I digress). He's gone. And the only way he's coming back is to participate in ceremonial coin tosses in Super Bowls. And the occasional Ring of Honor induction.
Rick Pitino was laughed out of Boston when he tried to turn the Celtics' fortunes around in the post-Bird seasons. But his tenure will always be remembered for a famous line he gave the frustrated fans and media there: "Larry Bird is not walking through that door, folks."
So let us take it from the guy who wrote Success Is A Choice.
Dan Marino is not walking through that door, folks.
Shit!
Labels: Dan Marino, John Beck, Miami Dolphins, Trent Green
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Trent Green Press Conference Highlights
Trent Green is now officially a Dolphin after passing his physical. The Fins then introduced him at a press conference. Some hightlights:- Cam Cameron said he knows Carl Peterson for a long time. He said nothing about Peterson's douchebaggyness. But I'll say it. Carl Peterson is a douchebag
- Trent Green first thanked Randy Mueller. He also thanked Peterson but it sounded to me like he was saying it out of obligation. I'm betting Trent Green is down with my theory that Peterson is a douche.
- Green praised the Dolphins defense and said "It's time for the offense to catch up." No shit Green. No shit.
- Green thanked the KC fans. Then said he's excited about turning things around here for the Dolphins fans. Green probably thinks his Chiefs offensive line and Larry Johnson came with him as part of the package.
- Cam was asked about Daunte Culpepper's status. Cam answered that this press conference was about Trent Green and his family. He then said the Dolphins are "working through some things" concerning Culpepper and that we should know more by Friday.
- When asked about the differences between Green and Culpepper, Cameron said he's "not a guy who compares guys." This may explain why he drafted a one-legged punter with the number 9 overall pick.
- He repeated again that this press conference is about Trent and Julie Green and their family. What is it with Cam and the whole family thing? Is little 9 year old Bobby Green going to play tight end for us and we haven't been notified? Ted Ginn's mom Katherine is the long snapper.
Those are some of the highlights. Hear the rest of it over at the Dolphins website. As for me, I have accepted Green as our new QB. Whether or not it's an upgrade or whether or not we gave up too much for him is something we'll just have to wait and see... meanwhile, my man (and fellow 'Tanker) Gabriel Santamarina over at The Phish Tank is none too fired up about Green coming to the Dolphins. Check out the column for his reasons why.
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UPDATE: Forgot to mention this little pimp spot for JD. If you haven't heard, our pal over at SporTech Matter is an interweb radio star! A couple of blogs have come together and formed "The Hits Keep Coming," a weekly radio show that airs every Wednesday at 7:00PM. They chat, analyze and comment about the world of pro baseball. You can also call in and ask a question. One of these days I'm going to call and totally mess with JD. Anyway, check it out tonight at 7:00.
Labels: Daunte Culpepper, Miami Dolphins, Trent Green
