November 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins inside linebacker Channing Crowder practiced with limitations for the second straight day in nearly two weeks, and is optimistic he'll play in Sunday's 1 p.m. game against the New England Patriots. Crowder, one of the Dolphins' every down starting inside linebackers, missed last Sunday's win over the Jets because of a shoulder injury he suffered on Oct. 25th against the Saints. While Crowder, whose 22 tackles is fifth on the team, is practicing, and said he feels good physically, the team's being cautious with the former University of Florida standout. Reggie Torbor filled in for Crowder against the Jets, starting his second game as a Dolphin in two seasons, and contributed ..."
October 25
Miami Herald
columnist Armando Salguero
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If their carefully crafted game plan had worked in 2006, Tony Sparano and Sean Payton both would be working for the Saints on Sunday instead of against each other on opposing sidelines. Sparano and Payton, in that group of young, hard-driving coaches NFL teams now covet, are friends to this day. But their bond was never closer than three years ago when Payton was hired to coach the Saints and, in turn, wanted to hire Sparano to run the New Orleans offense. Payton left the Cowboys and his assistant head coach job to make the trek to New Orleans and wanted Sparano, the Dallas offensive line coach, to go with him. The two friends knew they were like-minded after spending countless hours ..."
October 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Dolphins began preparation for Monday night's game against the New York Jets without three of the team's key defenders. Defensive end Phillip Merling and starting linebackers Joey Porter and Akin Ayodele watched Wednesday's practice as they nursed significant injuries. Merling, who started his first game of the season against Buffalo, sprained his left ankle in the final quarter of Sunday's victory over the Bills. He was in a walking boot Monday but had it removed for Wednesday's practice, where he gingerly participated in agility drills with team trainers closely watching. Porter, who sat out his first game since the 2006 season because of a strained right hamstring, did not ..."
October 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The girlfriend of Dolphins practice squad player Wilfred "Will" Billingsley this morning said she won't press charges after a Broward County judge ordered him held on $4,000 bail for allegedly trying to throw her outside their Wilton Manors home. "He didn't do anything," Leah Michelle Boyd said as she stuck her head out of the door at Billingsley's townhouse in the 2700 block of Northeast Eighth Avenue. She slammed the door shut. Without commenting on Billingsley's case, a spokesman for the Broward State Attorney's Office said it has a "pro-prosecution policy" toward domestic violence. That means all domestic violence cases are reviewed for prosecution regardless of a victim's wishes, said ..."
September 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Though the injury to starting quarterback Chad Pennington is the one making waves, Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter had to leave Sunday's game with a sore hamstring, and coach Tony Sparano said he is still gathering information on the four-time Pro Bowl selection. "Joey gave us about 24, 25 plays in there yesterday, some really solid plays. Just there at the end, it tightened back up again," Sparano said. "We will take a little bit longer look at him [Monday]. I think he is a little bit sore right now." Porter has been battling the hamstring injury for weeks but leads the team with two sacks. Changes ahead? It's not shocking that the coach of a winless football team is considering lineup ..."
September 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins starting quarterback Chad Pennington is out for the season. Pennington, 33, has been diagnosed with a torn capsule in his right shoulder, two sources confirmed. Pennington underwent an MRI on Monday. A source close to Pennington, who dislocated the shoulder in Sunday's 23-13 loss to the Chargers when he was hit by linebacker Kevin Burnett, could request to be examined later this week by Andrews, the noted Birmingham, Ala.-based orthopedic specialist who performed surgery on the quarterback's shoulder in 2005. The shoulder has been operated on twice. According to the source, sometimes shoulder injuries are misdiagnosed. The Dolphins have remained silent about the extent of ..."
September 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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According to a league source, the Miami Dolphins are working to reach an injury settlement with tight end David Martin, who was waived on Sunday, and have claimed another tight end off the waiver wire. Davon Drew, a rookie who was selected in the fifth-round by the Ravens, was awarded to the Dolphins according to numerous reports. The former East Carolina standout will be added to the team's stable of tight ends, which is still crowded, even with Martin's impending departure. Drew began his career at East Carolina as a quarterback before switching positions in 2006. In his final three season at his new position, the 6-foot-3, 246-pounder contributed 78 receptions for 1,078 yards and eight ..."
September 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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In the second wave of roster cuts the Miami Dolphins have trimmed six practice squad prospects from the 53-man roster, and kept both of the team's young tight ends. Offensive tackle Nate Garner was the most experienced of the six players cut in the afternoon. Garner, who was drafted in the seventh-round by the Jets last season, spent all of 2008 on the Dolphins' roster after being claimed from the waiver wire this time last year. Garner initially thought he made the Dolphins 53-man roster, but the fear of losing either Joey Haynos or John Nalbone to an NFL team in need of tight ends convinced the team's decision makers to keep both, and cut the former Arkansas standout. Haynos and Nalbone, ..."
July 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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So much for that imaginary wrestling match between Chad Henne and Michael Vick over who gets to wear No. 7. In an unusual move for a typically secretive organization, the Dolphins released a statement Tuesday disavowing any interest in adding the controversial Vick to their stash of quarterbacks. The statement falls in line with those from several other teams, including the Redskins and Bengals, that they won't be signing the recently paroled Vick. "We don't have an interest," Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland said in a statement. "We like the players we have on our current roster." Speculation had begun to grow about the Dolphins as a possible landing spot for the multifaceted Vick, ..."
July 29
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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So much for that imaginary wrestling match between Chad Henne and Michael Vick over who gets to wear No. 7. In an unusual move for a typically secretive organization, the Dolphins released a statement on Tuesday disavowing any interest in adding the controversial Vick to their stash of quarterbacks. The statement falls in line with those from several other teams, including the Redskins and Bengals, that they won't be signing the recently paroled Vick. "We don't have an interest," Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland said in a statement. "We like the players we have on our current roster." Speculation had begun to grow about the Dolphins as a possible landing spot for the multifaceted Vick ..."
June 27
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Dolphins appeared to be closing in on a deal with rookie safety Chris Clemons, their fifth-round pick out of Clemson. According to Kevin Conner, the agent for Clemons, talks between the two sides are "progressing well." "We don't anticipate any issues," Conner wrote Friday night in a text message. "There are a couple of minor details that need to be finalized." Any deal figures to be similar to the one signed by former Monmouth tight end John Nalbone, taken four picks ahead of Clemons with the Dolphins' earlier fifth-round pick. Nalbone signed a four-year deal worth $1.75 million with a signing bonus of $173,000. Clemons spent much of the recently concluded organized team activities ..."
June 24
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Whether it was a case of mistaken identity or identity fraud or both, no one can say for sure. Dolphins rookie Vontae Davis just wants people to know he was not arrested on June 9 in Champaign, Ill., where he starred at the University of Illinois. A report to that effect surfaced Tuesday morning in The Daily Illini, the campus newspaper. Citing a report filed by Champaign police officer Michael A. Talbott, the newspaper reported Davis had been arrested at 6:47 p.m. and charged with unnecessary vehicular noise and driving without a valid license. The arrest summary, a copy of which is available online at the City of Champaign Web site, lists a Vontae Ottis Davis and a home address of 920 ..."
June 19
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Andrew Gardner, the Dolphins' sixth-round pick out of Georgia Tech, agreed to terms late Wednesday evening and is expected to sign this afternoon. "All parties are pleased to have the deal done in a timely manner," said former NFL defensive lineman Lester Archambeau, one of Gardner's agents. "Andrew is pleased to have that part of the business taken care of and looks forward to continuing his hard work at getting himself ready to compete in training camp." The deal covers four years and is believed to total approximately $1.65 million, including a signing bonus of about $75,000. The deal includes escalator clauses that would reward Gardner should he become a starter. Gardner, a 6-foot-6, ..."
June 7
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington, who hosted a barbecue for the entire team Thursday, said he's not worried about competition from Chad Henne or having one more year remaining on his contract. "It's a good situation to be in,'' Pennington said Saturday afternoon at the Miami Beach Marina behind Monty's restaurant. "I'm not really concerned about it. To me, it's never really a true competition until it happens on Sunday. "[Practice is] preparation and evaluation. We have to be prepared to play and be ready as players. Coaches have to evaluate and see who they want to play. Competition happens on Sunday.'' Pennington, 32, who won the Don Shula Leadership Award Friday, realizes that last ..."
May 31
Miami Herald
columnist Armando Salguero
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The Dolphins have a No. 1 receiver on the roster, no doubt about it, coach Tony Sparano and some of his players would tell you. They say there is someone on the team who can be Chad Pennington's go-to guy, someone who can lead the offense in receptions and be there when a desperation pass needs reliable hands to finish a big play. The Dolphins insist they are comfortable with that guy. They just don't know that guy's name yet. ''I would say that, yeah, I would say I feel that way, sure,'' Sparano said last week. ``Who that guy is, I am not quite sure of yet. I think there are a couple of contenders out there that I am curious to watch when we get through this whole thing.'' I'm kind of ..."
May 22
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Dolphins locked up rookie tight end John Nalbone to a four-year deal worth approximately $1.75 million Thursday, according to his agent Joe Linta. He is the first of the Dolphins' 2009 draft picks to sign. The fifth-round pick out of Monmouth (N.J.) also received a signing bonus of $173,000. The Dolphins have eight unsigned draft picks, headed by first-round choice cornerback Vontae Davis. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Nalbone should receive plenty of snaps during the next three weeks with backup tight end David Martin recovering from sports hernia surgery. Nalbone, the first player ever drafted from Monmouth, is likely competing for the third tight end spot on the 53-man roster with 6-9 ..."
May 7
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Give it up, Miami and Phoenix. Throw in the towel, raise the white flag and cry uncle. Whatever slim chance those rival cities had of landing the 2013 Super Bowl will evaporate the minute NFL owners and executives open the FedEx boxes that land on their desks this week containing New Orleans' bid package. The Crescent City already had public sentiment, a rock-solid financial proposal and Saints owner Tom Benson's considerable influence on its side in the bid to land Super Bowl XLVII. Now it will also have the intoxicating power of the city's creative mojo at work. The bid packages the local organizing committee mailed to NFL owners and executives Wednesday befit New Orleans' rich ..."
May 4
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Owner Stephen M. Ross announced that Michael Dee will be the new chief executive officer of the Dolphins and Dolphin Stadium on Sunday. Dee will be responsible for the business development and growth of both entities, including efforts to improve the fan experience at Dolphin Stadium. Dee has worked in Major League Baseball for 14 years, including the past five with the Boston Red Sox as their chief operating officer. "I wanted someone who was a number two in an organization and ready to step up and be a CEO and someone who learned in a great organization," Ross said. "I really believe that the Miami Dolphins organization should be the No. 1 in all of sports, and I think we have the ..."
May 3
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Ravens won't have a competition at starting quarterback again this season, but there will be one for the backup job. John Beck has agreed in principle on a one-year contract and will compete with Troy Smith to be the Ravens' No. 2 quarterback, according to an NFL source. Beck will be reunited with Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who was coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2007, when they drafted the Brigham Young standout in the second round. After Cameron was fired, Beck never clicked with the Bill Parcells regime and was released by the Dolphins on Wednesday, just five days after they drafted West Virginia's Pat White in the second round. It is believed six teams had shown ..."
April 28
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Dolphins drafted two receivers over the weekend and have since added two more college free agent receivers, including New Mexico State's Chris Williams and Tulsa's Brennan Marion, according to sources. Williams, the school's all-time leader in reception yards (3,555) and touchdown catches (32), had 86 catches for 1,271 yards and nine TDs his senior season. He's had 18 games of 100 or more reception yards and was named to the all-WAC first team this year. At 5-foot-8, 163 pounds, Williams seems suited for the slot where Davone Bess roams. Marion, who's 5-11, 187 pounds, tore his right ACL on the last offensive play of his last college game, the Conference USA title matchup against East ..."
April 19
Miami Herald
columnist Armando Salguero
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In the spring of 1995, the Dolphins desperately needed offensive line help. I ran into Gary Stevens, their offensive coordinator at the time, heading back to his office after taking a routine afternoon smoking break outside the front door of the team's training complex. ''So we can go with one guy who can't run-block or another guy who can't pass-block,'' Stevens complained to himself as he walked. ``Isn't there somebody out there we can find that can do both?'' Ah, decisions, decisions. Seems this time of year is eternally filled with difficult choices for any team preparing for the NFL draft, the Dolphins chief among them. In 1998, the call was to either trade down in the first round ..."
April 12
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland made it clear last week that the Dolphins want to acquire more draft picks. But there are only three ways to do add to the nine picks the team already has. The Dolphins can trade down in each round to pick up extra picks. This regime did that last year, swapping third-round selections to pick up extra picks, and will likely explore that option again. The Dolphins can trade future draft picks, which isn't likely considering how much this regime values draft selections. And finally, Bill Parcells and company can trade players. Last year the Dolphins exchanged rookie tailback Lorenzo Booker, for a fourth-rounder in 2008. Cornerback Travis Daniels ..."
April 6
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Dolphins haven't ruled out re-signing defensive end Jason Taylor, but the interest level doesn't seem high. General Manager Jeff Ireland said this morning that the front office has discussed adding the six-time Pro Bowler, but Taylor's age, recent injuries and declining play are factors. "You have to look at every possible situation at this time of year," Ireland said. "You have to look at all these things, but with players like Jason, who is going to be 35 in September, you have to look at whether veteran players are progress-stoppers for younger players. We have to look at that." Ireland was referring to Taylor eating up playing time that would otherwise go to returning ..."