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The 2008 Miami Dolphins Training Camp officially opened today and marked the first practice the fans have been
able to attend this off season. I for one couldn’t wait for this day to come. I saw the players in full gear and
was surprised but then again, I was used to seeing the team the week after the NFL draft which was not the case
this year. It was a beautiful day out at training camp and the fans came in full force, not an empty seat in the
house. The practice drills were scattered all over the field for all the fans to see. The Miami Dolphins Pro Shop
was open and merchandise was flying off the shelves. I guess that 1-15 season officially has been forgotten, well…
maybe not totally. There was a sale on Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor merchandise. The roster has a few sprinkles of
players from the old regime but you can see that change has occurred by all the new faces.
The real question for Miami Dolphin football fans is, are you ready for some football? We will have our first
pre-season game in two weeks against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on August 9th here at home. I really liked the energy
out at training camp because all the players were going almost full speed. New Head Coach Tony Sparano pacing the
field on one side and Vice President of Football Operations Bill Parcells, pacing on the other. It’s very early but
here is some thoughts on today’s first practice. The quarterbacks need a lot of work, they just looked aweful. Josh
and John were over throwing receivers and going to the dump off a little too much. Chad Henne did not practice in
the morning session. Our backs are studs, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams looked really sharp and got a few cheers
from the crowd today.
The new coaching staff is putting this team through it’s paces and you can expect this team to be competitive
and have plenty of gas in the tank late in the fourth quarter. This team will be stronger and faster but can these
guys get it together. I don’t have any crazy predictions because I know it’s going to take a few years to right the
ship. It’s going to look a lot better than last year but don’t get your head twisted. This rebuilding era is going to
need a couple of more drafts to really get the pieces in place to make a run at a championship. We will surprise a few
teams because no one knows what to expect from the Miami Dolphins but after a couple of weeks the training tapes will
get circulated around the league and then it’s up to the coaching staff to insert there wrinkles and make this team
competitive.
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