I thought we cut Stockemer a while ago. EDIT: we did cut him... only room on this team for one white receiver http://www.miamidolphins.com/news/a...r-Moves-/8f51dffc-2a76-4a63-9d1c-838c194d1706 From May 16th:
As Allen Iverson would say, "we talkin' bout practice, man". The coaches don't flip coins and the players don't draw straws. The film room, weight room, training room, and practice field dictate who plays and who doesn't. Egnew had his fair share of chances to earn playing time, he just failed miserably. Meanwhile, Clay was learning two positions for the 2nd season in a row, playing decently at both, and contributing on STs. Egnew will get another shot this year and I'm hoping he succeeds but please stop with the "he didn't get a chance" nonsense. Going back to Clay, IMO he's one of the quiet keys to the offense because of his versatility. Because he can play FB, he could make Javorskie Lane expendable, creating a valuable extra roster spot. With Keller and Clay on the field (along w/ a RB and 2 WR's) the offense can lineup in any number of formations to credibly attack defenses depending on their personnel and alignment. Traditional 2 back set, 2 TE 2 WR, 3 WR 1 TE, 4 WR 1 RB, or even an empty set with all 5 guys split out. We saw some of this last year, but it was never a credible threat b/c there weren't any match up issues being created. Keller is on a 1 year deal, Sims is a rookie and Egnew hasn't shown much of anything. Clay is a 6th round pick coming into his 3rd season and he's far exceeded any reasonable expectations. IMO there's no reason whatsoever to suspect that he's in any serious trouble.
I think Lane's days are numbered. He'll have to blow the staff away at FB to keep his spot, or learn to return punts.
Still though, the question to me is Courtney Gardner impressing, or does this guy just assume he is because he just found out Stockemer wasn't with the team?
I was thinking the same thing earlier today. And, more than that, I was thinking in terms of this OL compared to last year's OL: Last Year: LT - Banged up, inconsistent Long LG - Incognito C - Pouncey RG - Still immature, overweight Jerry RT - Completely overmatched rookie Martin This Year: LT - Bigger, stronger, more aware Martin (with a full offseason to train with the offense) LG - Incognito (should be same); Dallas Thomas backing up. C - Pouncey (as good or better) RG - Jerry in better shape; pushed by Lance Louis competition (when healthy is a significant upgrade over Jerry last year) RT - Tyson Clabo (significant upgrade over RT last year) Of course, the OL has to come together as a unit. But, I like this year's over last year's at this point.
From the 1st set of OTA pics ... but I like this one: http://prod.images.dolphins.clubs.nflcdn.com/image-web/NFL/CDA/data/deployed/prod/DOLPHINS/assets/images/imported/MIA/photos/clubimages/2013/05-May/tempBANC1070--nfl_mezz_1280_1024.jpg?width=960&height=720
If this had been a mandatory practice I wonder if Ellerbe's absence would be considered excused or unexcused, because of the cancelled flight. I'm guessing unexcused. I'm just curious.
They're saying it was last night's flight that got canceled, and I guess he couldn't find one this morning. But I'm with you, he probably would've paid a fine if this were mandatory.
Seems like I read Rizzi lobbied for Sturgis. We could all pretend we know better than he, and from what I seen, I liked Hopkins more. I defer to Rizzi's stature as the STC though and being a very good one. As for the 5 misses in practice, it did not say out of how many attempts. Maybe he attempted 50 or more FGs in that practice. Do we even know?
