Dolphins News

"Before last month's NFL draft, Brigham Young University linebacker Kelly Poppinga got calls from 15 different teams and visits with Seattle and the Miami Dolphins. Then he watched 252 players, including 30 linebackers, get drafted while the phone remained silent. "You know what, it doesn't matter now," Poppinga said after admitting he was disappointed on draft day. "I got a great situation here with Miami and I'm just excited to keep things rolling.""

"When he was coaching the New York Jets a decade ago, Bill Parcells saw one of his players throwing up during a workout session and yelled, ``Throw up on your own time.'' As the New England Patriots coach before that, Parcells spotted one of his players passed out from an energy-sapping training camp test. ''When he wakes up,'' Parcells yelled at trainers, ``tell him I just cut him.'' As the Dallas Cowboys coach, Parcells put an offensive lineman on the physically-unable-to-perform list because he flunked the portion of the infamous Parcells conditioning test that required him to run three separate 300-yard shuttles inside a specified time. The player was Pro Bowl guard Larry Allen -- the Cowboys' highest-paid player at the time. Are you getting the idea that conditioning is important to Bill Parcells?"

"Former Patriots videographer Matt Walsh has turned over more ''Spygate'' evidence to the NFL and is to meet on Tuesday with commissioner Roger Goodell. Eight new tapes show illegal spying on opponents' signals in six games between 2000-02, three of the games involving the Dolphins. That is beyond the 2007 incident that cost the Pats a first-round draft pick and coach Bill Belicheat a substantial fine. Despite the new evidence, it is widely believed Goodell will theatrically carry a large pushbroom into the meeting with Walsh in order to more efficiently sweep the scandal under the rug."

"The Patriots recorded signals of the Dolphins' offensive signals during a game in 2001, a league source confirmed Friday, although it is uncertain whether the taping will result in further sanctions against New England or coach Bill Belichick. ESPN.com reported Friday that one of the tapes submitted by former Patriots video employee Matt Walsh included the offensive signals. Previously, it was believed the Patriots had taped only opposing teams' defensive signals."

""I was kind of inconsistent with my throws, missed some assignments, but other than I felt pretty good, just getting my feet wet. It's tough as a quarterback; you have to know what everybody is doing, know your checks, where your progressions are, your footwork. I get frsutrated because, I think, I can make every throw out there. I'm just that kind of quarterback. But it's just basically about learning. I mean getting that playbook and see what you can do with it, know where your hot [reads] are and just know where your progression is. "

"Josh McCown has been a nomad the past six years, searching for a home in three NFL towns but never finding that perfect place to settle down, never finding that starting quarterback job that would end his travels. That is why his union with the Dolphins seems like a good fit... 'I'm excited about the fact it's an open competition, and so, in my mind, no, I don't think there's going to be anything that will stop me from becoming the starter here,'' McCown said Wednesday after spending another day working in Miami's offseason program."

""There is definitely pressure, but I have that over my head every single day. That pushes me to go out and work as hard as I can and prove to people that I earned that No. 1 spot and that I'll earn the money. So I have to go out an earn it and show people why I have it.""

""Honestly, it's really more about teaching than it is anything else over the last couple of days. It was an opportunity for us to get a chance to see how much they can learn right now in this kind of environment where you put a little bit of stress on them and you make them, quite honestly, feel a little bit uncomfortable. This isn't a comfortable situation, I'm sure, for any of these young guys to walk into. You get a chance to throw as much as you can at them to see who can respond to some of that."

"The clichéd phrase fitting some undrafted free agents would be ''under the radar.'' Then there is Dolphins wide receiver hopeful Justin Wynn. Wynn is not just under the radar. He was under the radar's underground electrical lines. Wynn played his post-high school football at Grand Rapids (Mich.) Community College. For one season. Back in 2004. Real life intruded for the past three seasons, but fortune brought Wynn to the attention of the Dolphins. "

"Since drafting Jim Kiick in the fifth round 40 years ago, the Dolphins have had little success with late-round running backs. The new regime of Vice President of Football Operations Bill Parcells and General Manager Jeff Ireland is attempting to buck that trend with sixth-round running backs Jalen Parmele (No. 176) and Lex Hilliard (204). The Dolphins are counting on Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams to share most of the workload, but their potential backups looked sharp at last weekend's rookie minicamp, particularly the 5-foot-11, 225-pound Parmele, who displayed a good burst off the line."

"Nothing outside pads, a playbook and a room at training camp are guaranteed for sixth-round picks. But the idea that Thomas might be a few months from being on an NFL roster a few years after being a walk-on at the University of Connecticut -- with almost no high school football in his background -- comes off as one of those Rudy-esque stories they reject in Hollywood these days. ''It's crazy,'' Thomas said. ``It doesn't even register. It doesn't seem like it's real.'' As a matter of fact, if Thomas had not been drafted, he figures he still would be in the classroom."

"Have you noticed? Those signs are starting to come down. All over South Florida, on roads and highways leading to our stadiums and arenas, those signs that read ''Welcome to Loserville'' are being replaced with new ones that read ``Welcome to Thingsarelookinguptown.'' Everywhere you look now it's all you see: Positive signs. It's as if we've been locked in some sort of civic dungeon but have finally begun to see small shafts of light and hear distant, approaching voices. Hints of hope. An indication of release."

"Most of the 39 rookies who participated in last weekend's Dolphins minicamp were either fresh out of college or one year removed. Not so for receiver Justin Wynn, who hadn't played organized football since 2004 when he had 35 catches for 559 yards for Grand Rapids (Mich.) Community College. Wynn, 22, had to put his football dreams on hold so he could help his mother, Patricia, support his two younger brothers as well as an older sister with two children. "

"The Dolphins signed two more college free agents Monday, including linebacker Keith Saunders and cornerback Scorpio Babers. They waived defensive end Derreck Robinson and linebacker Abraham Wright, a seventh-round pick out of Colorado in 2007. The Dolphins also cut recently signed undrafted free agents, cornerback Aaron Lane and receiver Marcel Reece, who participated in last weekend's rookie minicamp."

"Watching from the sideline as his protégé coach orchestrated a minicamp workout this weekend, Dolphins vice president of football operations Bill Parcells hollered in the direction of Tony Sparano with a quick evaluation. ''You're starting to sound like somebody else I know!'' Parcells said. On Sunday, Sparano also said he has a pretty good idea of who Parcells was referring to. ''I think he was referring to himself,'' Sparano, in his first season as an NFL head coach, said. ``And that's not a bad thing.''"

"The Dolphins have a serious and chronic problem at the wide-receiver spot. The team that once featured Paul Warfield and ''The Marks Brothers,'' Nat Moore and O.J. McDuffie is trying to emerge from a talent blackout at wideout. So far, neither Derrius Thompson, Marty Booker nor any of the other answers the team reached for in the past decade have provided anything other than more questions. That is why the presence of five undrafted rookie receivers at the weekend's minicamp caused such a buzz -- and also should be the root of much concern for the 2008 Dolphins."

"Tackle Jake Long and guard Shawn Murphy, each of whom have similar opportunities to snag starting jobs during their first season, just as Webb and Sims did, already seem like a natural fit. After first meeting at the NFL Scouting Combine, months before they would wind up on the same team, Long and Murphy spent much of the week matched up in the same workout groups because their last names were alphabetically close to one another. This weekend, the cultivation of their friendship took another step as they participated in the Dolphins' rookie minicamp. ''I really like him,'' Long said Sunday about Murphy. ``He works hard; he's a great player and a great person.''"

"Here's one example of why Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor literally doesn't have time for the fascinating tension gurgling atop the Dolphins organization between Miami's star boss and Miami's star employee: The other day, Taylor rushed late to a lunch with Denzel Washington. Taylor's Dancing With the Stars partner kept texting him during that two-hour meal to remind Taylor he was late for rehearsal. So Taylor told Washington that, sorry, he couldn't go over to a nearby hotel to meet a waiting friend of Washington's who also wanted an audience with Taylor. That friend was Al Pacino."

"Before last weekend's draft, linebacker Kelly Poppinga got calls from 15 different teams and visits with Seattle and the Dolphins. Then 252 players, including 30 linebackers, were picked and he wasn't one of them. "You know what, it doesn't matter now," Poppinga said after admitting he was disappointed on draft day. "I got a great situation here with Miami and I'm just excited to keep things rolling." The 6-1, 240-pounder out of Brigham Young talked to six teams after the draft before signing with the Dolphins, where he's working as an inside linebacker."

"Dolphins rookie quarterback Chad Henne seemed to be working on mental overload as he wrapped up the final practice of the three-day rookie minicamp Sunday. At one point, he was told to run a lap after blowing an assignment. "I forgot the snap count," said Henne, the 57th overall draft pick. "I went on one instead of our second count. I deserved it." Henne said the last time he had received a similar punishment was back in high school for cursing. After three solid practices, the former Michigan quarterback was overthrowing most of his receivers. It was partly due to having to learn 150 pages of the playbook in four days and then trying to assimilate it on the field with rookie receivers he has never thrown to before."

"Will Billingsley's recent rise from forklift driver to Dolphins signee is the kind of cheesy story line sports movies like Invincible are based on. Much like Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender whose journey to make the 1976 Eagles inspired the movie, this former North Carolina A&T safety also must overcome long odds to make an NFL roster. But if Billingsley continues to make steady progress, impressing Dolphins coaches and executives like he did in the eye-opening predraft workout that got him signed in early April, one day his fellow factory workers at ABB Incorporated might be able to brag they once worked beside him."

"Today on "As the Dolphins Turn," the dashing Jason Taylor cries in his leg warmers after getting snubbed by callous boss man Bill Parcells on a recent visit to Miami. Will Taylor ever go into Dolphins headquarters again? Or will Parcells make the hot-footed Taylor cha cha cha somewhere else? Stay tuned. The soap opera relationship between Taylor and Parcells has hit a ridiculous point. There are enough he-said, he-said, trade requests, lies and hard feelings to fill a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. The childish behavior must stop, and Parcells must be the one to start acting like a man and send his franchise player an olive branch."

"Nose tackle Anthony Toribio began this weekend's rookie minicamp listed under ''minicamp workout players,'' a group so far down in the caste system that only their names, positions and numbers are listed on the minicamp rosters -- no heights, weights, birth dates, colleges or hometowns. Toribio -- 6-1, 305 pounds, born March 1, 1985, out of Carson Newman and Miami Central High -- has moved up a step, being signed by the Dolphins as a rookie free agent. ''Anthony was here on a tryout basis and really showed to everyone what can happen to a kid when he comes to camp in shape and works hard,'' Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland said in a statement."

"His freedom was gone. And so was his scholarship. It had all vanished, melting away into 15-month sentence at the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility, where Dolphins rookie wide receiver Davone Bess spent his days regretting the decisions that put him there. ''Everyone knew I was getting ready to go to college,'' said Bess, who had graduated from high school weeks earlier with plans to attend Oregon State on a football scholarship. ``And here I was, away from my family, not knowing what was next.''"

"Tony Sparano might never quote Socrates or recite proverbs from the Bible, but already the Dolphins' new coach is showing a talent his last couple of predecessors apparently lacked or simply declined to display in public. He speaks English. After spending most of his Dallas years buried in the Bill Parcells coach protection program -- an arrangement by which assistant coaches are seen but never heard speaking in public -- Sparano has emerged as a straight-talking, easy-to-understand type of guy."

"If Radamez Rubio Gaytan can't make the team as a kicker the Dolphins might want to think about keeping him around to help in the kitchen. Rubio Gaytan, an unsigned rookie free agent from Mexico City, recently finished training to become a chef. His specialty is "Mediterranean fusion," which centers on fish based dishes. But before he turns to cooking fulltime he's giving his NFL dreams one more shot. Along with free agent signee Dan Carpenter, who played at Montana, Rubio Gaytan is one of the two kickers participating in this weekend's rookie minicamp."

"While the real evaluation won't take place until the players have pads on, this weekend's minicamp provided the Dolphins coaching staff with hints about what they have in their rookies and free agents. And not all of it has been favorable. The Dolphins haven't liked what they've seen from a conditioning standpoint. Head coach Tony Sparano said he didn't like the way players tapered off at the end of Saturday morning's session, and addressed it with them."

"Before he became the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People and Sir-Dance-A-Lot, Jason Taylor was just a skinny third-round pick from Akron. "I knew that," rookie defensive lineman Kendall Langford said Saturday, moments after his second minicamp practice. South Florida didn't know what it was getting in Taylor back in 1997. Yatil Green, taken No. 15 overall, was the local obsession, the big, strong receiver the Dolphins desperately needed. Sam Madison, taken No. 44 overall, not only talked a good game but quickly showed signs of playing one. The training camp revelation was not Taylor but, rather, fellow third-round choice Derrick Rodgers. Yet look what Taylor became. "

"Dolphins coach Tony Sparano has advised Jake Long it would be in his best interest to become instant buddies with Jason Taylor and Vonnie Holliday. Sparano's hope is that the Dolphins' two veteran pass rushers will take a liking to their new teammate and eventually mentor the draft's No. 1 overall pick, speeding up his development as the starting left tackle. "They need to be your best friends," Sparano said he told Long."

"When you witness an uncle's murder at age 10, and get sentenced to a 15-month term in a juvenile delinquent facility at 17, making the 53-man roster of the Dolphins as an undrafted college free agent doesn't seem so daunting. Just 22, former Hawaii receiver Davone Bess has been through a lot growing up in East Oakland, Calif., but the 5-foot-9, 190-pounder with shoulder-length dreadlocks has come a long way on and off the field. "I could've easily got caught up in the streets instead of staying focused and doing sports to get out of it," said Bess, seemingly the most sure-handed of five signed college free-agent receivers participating in this weekend's rookie minicamp."

"Aside from some famous/infamous owners such as Oakland's Al Davis and Dallas' Jerry Jones, few NFL rookies could be expected to identify their team's owner on sight. And there's no newer entrant to the NFL owners' club than Dolphins half-owner Stephen Ross, who attended Friday's practice. But when University of Michigan man Jake Long, the top overall draft pick with a fat contract, couldn't identify the guy who's helping pay his guaranteed $30 million and who donated $100 million to Michigan's business school, he couldn't escape some ridicule."

"Did his ability to play through two significant injuries prove Henne has the toughness to succeed in a league that doesn't have sympathy for soft quarterbacks? Or will an injury-prone senior season simply foreshadow an injury-prone NFL career? For now, it'd be far too premature to tag him as an injury risk. But his teammates are already willing to endorse Henne's toughness -- something they believe will make him an eventual success in the NFL."

"Long is Miami's prized first-round pick and the first player selected in last weekend's NFL draft. On Friday one could see why the pedigree so far is deserved. During a 90-minute practice in which there was only minimal contact and no tackling, Long nonetheless seemed capable of a great amount of violence."

"The moving on and getting past began Friday in a way both tangible and symbolic. Dolphins were on a football field again for the first time since the mess that was last season ended. However far the road back to respectability proves to be for this beaten franchise, mark this day as the first step. 'We're all startin' over here right now,'' said Tony Sparano after a practice that marked his first on-field workday as Miami's head coach. ``I was excited all day. Didn't sleep much last night. All the administrative stuff is behind me. Now we go to work.''"

""I think that, first of all, I bring leadership qualities - being a four-year starter at Michigan definitely developed me into that - intelligence, being able to pick up things fast and performing on the field. Also, just my physical abilities, going out there and making plays.""

"After months of ferreting out free agents and studying for the draft, Dolphins rookie coach Tony Sparano finally got to do what he loves best - coach. "It was great, just excited all day,'' Sparano said Friday after a 90-minute non-contact practice session kicked off this weekend's rookie minicamp. "I didn't sleep much last night. All the administrative stuff ... I put behind me last evening and I was excited to get out here and get on the field.''"

"Two other linemen could become starters this season. Murphy, a fourth-round pick, and Donald Thomas, a sixth-rounder, are expected to compete with a few veterans for the starting guard spot opposite Justin Smiley. The Dolphins went into the offseason planning to build around youth on the offensive line, and drafted to achieve that goal. Murphy or Thomas will have to outperform Drew Mormino, last year's sixth-round pick, and veterans Ikechuku Ndukwe and Trey Darilek to win the vacant spot."

"For at least this weekend, second-round draft pick Chad Henne is the starting quarterback of the Dolphins. His competition is undrafted, unsigned Valdosta State quarterback Willie Copeland. Second-year quarterback John Beck and veteran Josh McCown aren't eligible to participate in this weekend's rookie minicamp... Coach Tony Sparano made it clear that "we have a quarterback competition." "

"For the third year in a row and the fourth time in five years the Dolphins have a new coach, new general manager and new quarterback, whoever it becomes. Any one of those jobs changing would mark a significant shift in the direction of the franchise. But all of them in one offseason? Again? And a new owner in Stephen Ross, too? It's hard to say if this is the residue of a 1-15 record or an example of why the Dolphins got this awful in the first place."

""Not at all. I knew it early, but I'm still the number one pick. I wanted to get it done so I could just worry about football. I'm glad it happened like that. Still having my name called going out on that stage was still breathtaking. It didn't take away from it at all that I already knew.""

""I know that they are pretty much revamping. They have Jake Long now and he is the cornerstone of the offensive line. I just want to make sure that I'm able to be able to compete, learn as much as possible and hopefully work my way into the lineup at some time in the future.""

""My strengths are my ability to run with power. I have good power when I run, an explosion. As far as what I need to work on, my consistency, my technique in blocking. It gradually got better through the years, it's just one thing that I need to improve on.""

""I really do look up to Jason Taylor and I like the way he plays, how fast and aggressive he is. I know it will be a good opportunity to learn behind him and learn with him and experience winning.""

"The Dolphins officially announced the signing of 14 college free agents, including two more receivers University of Washington's Marcell Reece and Grand Rapids (Mich.) Community College's Justin Wynn. The 6-foot-1, 231-pound Reece had 48 catches for 980 yards with nine touchdowns in two seasons with the Huskies. Wynn, a 6-2, 190-pounder, had 35 receptions for 559 yards with five touchdowns in his only season at Grand Rapids in 2004."

"Jason Taylor, who has excelled on Dancing with the Stars, was recently named one of People magazine's "100 Most Beautiful People of 2008." "Being picked as one of People's most beautiful is cool. It's something I didn't expect obviously as a football player. It's a little different," Taylor said during a video segment he taped for the magazine."

"Even in his executive role, Bill Parcells is making his presence felt during the offseason conditioning program. Parcells often walks around the weight room while the players work out, ''and you know when he comes because everybody stands up erect,'' former 49ers guard Justin Smiley said. ``If they're slouching, they get up and everybody is doing something. 'He gives everybody a hard time, makes little comments. "

"Dolphins vice president of football operations Bill Parcells has emphasized that he wants players with good character, but that doesn't mean he won't give a few second chances. The Dolphins agreed to terms with or invited eight more college free agents Wednesday to participate in this weekend's rookie minicamp, including former Purdue receiver Selwyn Lymon, who is on probation for his role in a fight outside a West Lafayette, Ind., bar in March 2007. "

""I know you know (Bill) Parcells and his history. I'm kind of the same way. We feel like one of the first things you have to do is build the offensive line and defensive line. We weren't targeting those players, but they did fall to us. They also met a need. We like big guys who can play that are good character guys. They have great motors. All these kids we picked today fit that type.""

"The Dolphins have invited seven more college free agents to participate in this weekend's rookie minicamp, including former Purdue receiver Selwyn Lymon, according to the Lafayette Journal-Courier. Lymon is still on probation for his role in a fight outside a West Lafayette, Ind., bar last year. The 6-foot-3, 213-pound Lymon had 73 catches for 1,030 yards with five touchdowns over the last two seasons, but was kicked off the team by Purdue coach Joe Tiller last November, two days after police arrested the junior on a drunk-driving charge."

"The New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins didn’t put up much of a fight last season in terms of battling the Patriots for the AFC East crown. With the 2008 NFL draft concluded, a few experts weighed in on the challengers and assessed how well they did, on paper at least, in terms of closing the gap in the division. But before getting to the opponents, the experts provided a quick word on how well the Pats did in the selection process."