Preseason: Game Two

Tonight the Dolphins take on the Panthers here in rainy Miami for their second of four preseason games. Last game, I said I wouldn't update much via Twitter. Well, I ended up posting ten times (not including @ replies) and it was mostly failed humor attempts. But as @Tomas_Verde pointed out, the great thing about failed humor is that it's humorous in its failure. And he should know, as he is the author of 4th and Fail (surprisingly not a Dave Wannstedt blog). So tonight you can expect more awkward exclamations and bad humor attempts courtesy of @tedhill. If you don't want to leave this page, I placed a widget on the side of this page that should pick up all of my messages tonight.

But, I will at least try to expand upon it. Last game, partly because I was busy, but mainly because I was lazy, I didn't have any sort of game recap or thoughts. After this game, for the recap, I will revisit some of my posts and expand upon them. For now, here is a short little preview.

Three Main Things I Am Watching Tonight

First, the focus always seems to be on the quarterbacks in preseason games and though none of Miami's signal callers had bad performances on Monday, they didn't offer definitive answers to questions surrounding them. Fans want to know if Chad Pennington can duplicate his 2008 success and perhaps improve. Will Chad Henne stamp his name as the surefire 2010 starter? Can Pat White offer an immediate impact as spread/wildcat quarterback? Hopefully we will see more tonight from each of those three and make an already great QB situation even better.

Also, the cornerbacks should be an interesting watch tonight. Supposed starter Sean Smith and Jason Allen will absent due to illness. After the cutting of Eric Green, that only leaves five corners. Three of them figure to be battling for the last spot on our roster, so they should get a long look and will have a great opportunity to showcase themselves, good or bad.

Finally, I will pay a lot of attention to special teams, for several reasons. First, it was a sore spot for the team last year, and much improvement is needed on the coverage teams. Also, there has been a lot of hype about Chris Williams this week, and I think it is mainly unwarranted. Yes, he did have a couple nice returns, but he still committed three cardinal sins last week (muff, field one inside the 10-yard line, get tackled by a kicker). I have nothing against him, I would like to see him do well, but let's see how he does in game two. Lastly, there seems to still be a kicking battle between Dan Carpenter and Connor Barth. Apparently in practice neither has flinched and it has been neck and neck. Any miss in a game could prove very costly.

Training Camp: News & Notes Vol. 1

Three days and five practices in, there have been a number of newsworthy bits from the Dolphins training camp.

Matt Roth

Roth did not pass conditioning tests and told the team he was ill. His agent Drew Rosenhaus says he has a groin strain (again). All this has made for quite the frantic search for info between the media and the team. For now he has been sent for tests on the groin and has not participated in practice. Roth was a key last year at the OLB spot. Sure, he isn't the best at rushing the passer or dropping into coverage, but he did a great job against the run and was sound in the other areas, and contributed to a good linebacking corps. His absence might be okay for now though. It should create more opportunities to see Jason Taylor, Cameron Wake, and others though try to provide more clarity to how the OLB rotation should work. Hopefully Matt will be back soon though, we need him.

Twitter

There was a buzz day one when the team told the credentialed media and fans they were not allowed to post live updates via Twitter during the practices. There was a mini-outrage that played out on Twitter from fans and media about how bogus that is. I actually understand where the team is coming from though, and would tend to agree with their line of thinking. Hey, they don't really have to let anyone (including media) witness these practices. They can enact and enforce any rules they so choose. The real problem is there is not much they can do. It is impossible to enforce, especially amongst fans. They probably would have been better served just accepting the fact that tweets will be sent and asking the media and fans to be very discretionary about what they post.

Also, Ethan says the Dolphins have banned Twitter use by players. Since then though, @SeanSmith4 has still been active. My guess is that perhaps Ethan misunderstood, and the team has only banned Twitter use during any team activities. Either that or the rook will be getting a fine soon.

Big Crowd

The first day of camp saw a huge crowd in Davie. The bleachers that hold around 2,000 fans were completely filled and there was another 1,000 or so that showed up and lined the fences or the parking structure as you can see in the photo, courtesy of Sun Sentinel. The team likes the support and they've asked for another huge crowd for Saturday's 2:00pm scrimmage. I may go.

Training Camp: Welcome to 2009

Hey, Training Camp is here! It's been a long few months since the draft ended but now it is finally time to begin preparation for the new season. Now when it comes to training camp, I'd give you wall to wall coverage, but I can't. I don't go to practices or anything. I read the same reports from the real media that you do. Because of that, I'll just try to jump on every few days and give my take on any major developments.

As for recommended coverage, the Sun-Sentinel is the best, in my opinion. Follow their Dolphins blog. Follow reporters Omar Kelly, Mike Berardino, and Ethan Skolnick on Twitter¹ as well. Also, for up to the date roster moves and analysis, Chris Nelson's Phins Spotlight is great. Lastly, every Miami Dolphins fan MUST be reading Fins Nation, no explanation needed.

I also have a couple of non-training camp pieces I have been working on, such as deconstructing the arguments as to why the Dolphins will not match their success of 2008, and a large Season Preview series. Those shall be posted periodically throughout camp and preseason. As for in-season coverage, expect a lot more. I'll have better game previews and recaps along with more analysis on major Dolphins developments throughout the season, and of course in depth thoughts on the polarizing figure that is Ted Ginn.

¹In case you didn't know, you can follow me on Twitter as well. You'll see a lot of Florida Marlins thoughts in there because I also co-author a Marlins blog. But, once football season rolls around, expect that to be mainly mindless Dolphins ramblings.