The Dolphins begin three days of mandatory minicamp practices today and everyone is scheduled to be there except fans (workouts are closed to the public) and Jason Taylor (he's apparently busy).
That means I will be there serving as eyes and ears for you.
That means you must come here for the updates because I will file as many as humanly possible -- especially if something interesting actually happens.
Your other choice is to stay locked here and simply refresh for the updates.
The team will have two-a-days today and Saturday. One practice is scheduled for Sunday. The first practice today is scheduled for 10:40 this morning.
Assistant coaches will be available to speak for the first time since their hiring five months ago so we'll see what they have to say.
Ahhh, the smell of football season in the morning ....
Mando,
Push for more info about offensive style and what QB fits it. Also, receivers.. Do they feel that receivers are the weak spot for the offense since other holes have been (hopefully)filled..
I had the pleasure of eating at Joe Theismans restaurant in DC. They didn't care for my Dolphin polo shirt.. Going back to rub it in as much as possible! haha
Go Fins!
Posted by: Panhandle Finfan | June 06, 2008 at 08:16 AM
Hey, Mando, please pay attention to the secondary, and receivers? I would like to get a feel for how much trouble we are in.lol. Would also love it if you could keep your eyes out for the rookies, and FA pickups. Thanks, buddy.
Posted by: Tree2691 | June 06, 2008 at 09:03 AM
How are doing those undrafted players like Foster, Bess ......
Don´t stop just on Ricky and Ronnie, please.
Dolphins 11-5 !!!
Posted by: Crocodile | June 06, 2008 at 09:05 AM
Hey at Joe's make sure you ask for the broken leg of lamb. It is his signiture dish.
Posted by: DaveinOhio | June 06, 2008 at 09:06 AM
That was pretty good Dave....Would of been even funnier if you had spelled "signature" right!
Posted by: john | June 06, 2008 at 09:27 AM
morning mando & tree,
here we go boyz, yes the fresh breezy humid days of summer camp. damn, it was a long off season. mandatory means the start of the fun !! can't wait 4 the updates, hopefully no injuries.
Mando, any word on Michael from his x-ray and/ or MRI?
Posted by: harricane | June 06, 2008 at 09:44 AM
Thanks John
Maybe you would be happier at a blog titled " I'm smart enough to write a book, just ask me " Just kidding.
Posted by: DaveinOhio | June 06, 2008 at 09:48 AM
"That means I will be there serving as eyes and ears for you"
Maybe you should serve as Parcells's ears
Posted by: JB | June 06, 2008 at 10:03 AM
Mando,
How does Jalen Parmele and Lex Hilliard look? They need to play well with Ronnie hurting. Also, is Henne taking any of the first team snaps?
Posted by: dc | June 06, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Harricane I read that it was a dislocated ankle
here are the things i read
"6/4/2008 10:44:00 PM et
X-rays showed Dolphins CB Michael Lehan's ankle injury to be a dislocation.
The intitial timeframe given was four to six weeks, meaning he should be fine by the start of training camp. Lehan is one of Miami's top three corners."
and
"6/4/2008 8:39:00 PM et
The agent for Dolphins CB Michael Lehan says his client will miss the next four to six weeks after injuring his ankle during Wednesday's OTA.
This sounds good, but we'd hesitate to take any injury news coming from agents as gospel. Lehan may have suffered a high ankle sprain, a tricky injury. The agent's estimate would have him sidelined for the rest of OTAs."
hope this helps
go phins
Posted by: finfan in orlando | June 06, 2008 at 10:25 AM
Armando, if you have a chance could you please rate ALL the player's progressions, and tell us who Parcells is wearing today also.
Posted by: tinshaker | June 06, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Is Parmele still around? I got the idea from early reports he wasn't making much of an impression, but I haven't seen anything recent.
Posted by: tinshaker | June 06, 2008 at 10:31 AM
tkx finfan.
yea, its a dislocation if its 6 weeks. a high ankle sprain would be 6 months, I know, I had one three summers ago.
mando, in addition to parmele and hilliard, how much work is the "forgotton" patrick cobbs getting. i knew we kept him and i sam him in that pic of ricky receiving a pass. can't wait to see that on third down...
crock, i made that 11-5 call as well. wild card baby.........all we have to do to get there is beat the jets, buffalo and the cheaters once each this season..........any takers?
oh btw, hopefully we don't need a FG kicker as much as we should be getting those first downs. we WILL need a deep ball on kick-offs as there will be many of those !!
Posted by: harricane | June 06, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Armando, Give us a feel for the stamina of the team. Its a nice S. Florida day today, not blazing Summer heat yet. Just wondering if the conditioning program is paying off or are guys feeling the heat. We brought in quite a few Northern boys so Im curious.
Brian
Posted by: Brian | June 06, 2008 at 10:52 AM
i think 11-5 these days doesn't guarantee a wild card spot plus I think it's very optimistic. I would be happy with a .500 record, satisfied even with a 7-9. Basically anything not too embarrassing would be an improvement.
Posted by: tinshaker | June 06, 2008 at 10:58 AM
You guys are drinking the coolaid again. 11-5? Come on! I love my Dolphins and died a little bit with every loss last year, but I don't have any unrealistic expectations for this year. 8-8 MAYBE. They have competition at almost every spot. That means NO ONE has distiguished themselves yet. If no one is pulling ahead, that leads me to believe that the team is still not that good. We'll have to wait and see. (and pray)
Posted by: Rockphin | June 06, 2008 at 11:06 AM
rock, compitition is good. i think the upgrades caused the compitition and with a healthy backfield to off-load QB expectations .500 ought to be a given not an outside chance.
i had been waiting for a bigger/younger defense. uncle tony & Co gave us that. 11 W's is a high expectation, but ya gotta aim high to get anywhere in the league.
Posted by: harricane | June 06, 2008 at 11:13 AM
Will JT be there?
Posted by: rainey love | June 06, 2008 at 11:17 AM
funny rainey....
Posted by: harricane | June 06, 2008 at 11:19 AM
I know right, bad joke....Im insensitive. Im also ashamed of myself.
Posted by: rainey love | June 06, 2008 at 11:22 AM
compitition? really?
really?
Posted by: tinshaker | June 06, 2008 at 11:29 AM
11-5 are you serious? Name one team that went 1-15 and even broke .500 the next year. 7-9 would be an accompolishment.
How's their stamina? How is Armando supposed to gauge that?
I will say, Yes, Parmalee is still around and for an old man he has stamina.
Posted by: Realistic Ron | June 06, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Realistic Ron - The Bill Parcells coached NY Jets went 9-7 in 1997 following a 1-15 year in 1996...
Posted by: Nick | June 06, 2008 at 11:36 AM
Nick - The 1-15 Dolphins are being coached by first time head coach Tony Sparano, and it is 2008.
Posted by: tinshaker | June 06, 2008 at 11:38 AM
all ya have to look at is the TB Rays. From last to first in ONE year. Ok we are 1.5 behind right now, but my goodness...that was a re-build !!
its parmele not the guy from '94 silly man....
Posted by: harricane | June 06, 2008 at 11:40 AM
I too love that the team has gotten younger and stronger. BUT, Ron has a very good point. Name one team that has gone from such a dismal season to winning more than .50. This off season we signed a bunch of backups / special team players. We are definately deeper and that's good but some guys are really going to have to stand up and perform. I think BP's offseason training / conditioning program will help a lot. Last year we had so many injuries becuase the guys were weak and out of shape. I THINK we are going to win every game at the opening kick off, but I know that most likely we won't. That's just me sipping the coolaid too. My Wife won't even watch the Dolphins' games anymore becuase she can't stand to watch my emotional roller coaster. LOL
Posted by: Rockphin | June 06, 2008 at 11:43 AM
tinshaker - I am well aware of that. Realistic Ron mentioned to name one team that went 1-15 and was above .500 the next year. So I did. I like to be optomistic, especially in June, or it makes for a LONG, LONG year...
Posted by: Nick | June 06, 2008 at 11:43 AM
Also, keep in mind that we are installing a new defence, new offence, new coaches, etc. It's almost like we are a dang expansion team. It will take time to fill all the gaps, get the players on the same page and gelling together. Also, it is a rooky head coach (again). I will NEVER bash our team or the players, BUT you can't expect too much. If they prove me wrong I couldn't be happier.
Posted by: Rockphin | June 06, 2008 at 11:47 AM
where's the update? thev'e been practicing for an hour!
Posted by: Rockphin | June 06, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Nick, fair enough, I didn't see the question. I guess I'm finding it hard to be optimistic when the coach and the veep don't sound very confident in their players, and I we did have a "LONG, LONG" year already. I guess I'm taking a different approach this year, thinking the worst and hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
Posted by: tinshaker | June 06, 2008 at 11:59 AM
yea, both my wife and son go to other rooms when both the canes and fins are on. i have been a cardiac kid for way too damn long....lol
maybe i'll get some of 'dat funky Kool-aid this year?
Posted by: harricane | June 06, 2008 at 12:08 PM
GO TO FRONT PAGE 4 UPDATE guys
Posted by: harricane | June 06, 2008 at 12:10 PM
Oh yeah, well name two teams then!
Posted by: Realistic Ron | June 06, 2008 at 12:33 PM
Realistic Ron - You got me there!!! Let's hope the 2008 Dolphins are the second team!
Posted by: Nick | June 06, 2008 at 01:40 PM
Ron,
Unfair..you raise a question to prove a point and your point is disproven.....so you change the question?
LOL
You said name "one"...he did.
FWIW...11-5 is nowhere near what I'm predicting...but I can hope for 8-8 pretty easily.
I'm with you nick, I prefer to be positive in June, otherwise it is going to be a LONG season.
Posted by: Jahndoh | June 06, 2008 at 04:00 PM
I got one for you, the Atlanta Falcons were Abysmal the year before they went to the super bowl, though, truth be told, they did the approximate thing that the Titans did the year before last, and rode the coattails of a Young, rushing QB, playing on instinct, not from knowledge, and good D. Talk about your run on sentences! lol.
As for the Dolphins this year, I predict that we will be between 6-10, and 8-8. 9-7 would be the tops I could see as possible. We can easily lose twice to the patsies, once each to the cows, and the Other NY team, San Diego. Seattle, and Baltimore will be tough, I say we have a shot to win one, of those two. Before you get on me about the Ravens sucking, remember, they were our only win last year. They will be pissed.lol. Denver won't be easy, either. I see wins against the cows, and jets, niners, and raiders, cheifs,and Rams. All others are toss ups, except the Chargers, Patsies, and once to the cows, and jets. My heart says we can win all 16. My brains say 6-10.
Posted by: Tree2691 | June 06, 2008 at 04:04 PM
5-11 at best. sorry guys but our offense is simply horrible on paper.
Posted by: Eric | June 06, 2008 at 04:47 PM