Chris Clemons "amazing"?
According to Tony Sparano, it's now been over 400 reps with only one mental error for first-year starting free safety Chris Clemons. Sparano even used the word "amazing" to describe Clemons' work so far in camp. That's some high praise from a coach who typically doesn't like to concede much about how his players are progressing. Still though, I'm not sold on Clemons as a starting quality safety yet, regardless of how mentally sound he has been. Can he make tackles in space? Can he effectively limit big plays in the passing game from center-field?

Those are the things I am waiting to see first-hand before I buy the hype. I will also add that I am a little concerned about his lack of playmaking ability. I mean, come on, 400+ plays with the first and third teams and no interception, hardly any reports of any passes broken up? I hope I'm wrong, of course, but excuse me for not prematurely chalking Clemons up as the last remaining piece in the secondary. We are only a year removed from witnessing Gibril Wilson lost in coverage all season long, after all.

Cameron Wake and Sean Smith have great practices
Of the players that were on the team last season outside of Chad Henne, and obviously excluding new additions like Brandon Marshall and Karlos Dansby, there is no player I am more excited to watch than Cameron Wake. If the daily practice reports are indeed accurate, than Wake is tearing it up out there. This morning, he reportedly produced another two sacks. Maybe I'm being too quick to jump the gun on this one, but after what we saw in limited action last season and what we are hearing so far in training camp, I would be extremely disappointed if Wake didn't put up double-digit sacks this year, or at least eight or nine.

On to Sean Smith, who continues to bounce back from a rough opening week. Smith had a solid showing in last Saturday's scrimmage, and according to Omar Kelly, had his best practice of camp today with a pick-six and a couple of well-executed pass deflections. Despite Smith's early struggles, I stand by my opinion that he has a brighter future than Vontae Davis, who I still believe will be a solid starter for years to come. Smith has elite size for corner, and even though he didn't pick-off a pass last year, he flashed some lock-down potential. There is a reason he started over Davis before Will Allen went down last year and that he has spent the most time matched up against Brandon Marshall.

Nate Garner reaggrivates foot injury
Just when we had reason to believe the interior O-line's struggles were about to turn around with Nate Garner's switch over to starting left guard, Garner reaggravated the foot that kept him out for all of OTA's and minicamp. It's unclear how long he will be sidelined, and maybe he missed so much time in the spring for precautionary reasons in a less meaningful time of year, but Garner was spotted on crutches shortly after the workout, so the Dolphins will likely have to make due without him for the time being.

When you add in Jake Grove still not being 100% (started practice with the second-team, but eventually ended up back on the exercise bike), things are a bit shaky, to say the least, in the middle. With that said, Saturday can't come soon enough. Time to see if the media's portrayal of how troubling things look between Long and Carey is accurate.

Dolphins work out a couple corners
With Evan Ogelsby likely seriously injuring his ankle yesterday, the Dolphins worked out two potential replacements today in former Raven Frank Walker and former Brown Matterrall Richardson. At the end of the day, though, I think we already know which five corners the Dolphins will keep on the 53-man roster. Obviously, Davis, Smith, and Will Allen are safe, and fifth-round pick Nolan Carroll has been impressing on a daily basis. And even though Jason Allen gets exposed in coverage from time to time, Tony Sparano has been talking him up in press conferences and his fantastic special teams play makes him difficult to cut in the first place.

Dolphins go bowling
Instead of conducting their scheduled evening practice session, the coaches called the workout off and took the team to the bowling alley. I'm sure that was well received with the players, who could sure use a night off with the non-stop grind that is training camp. They will be back at it tomorrow, though, with two practices scheduled for 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Sources: Omar Kelly, Benjamin Volin,

Banged up Dolphins
You know we are truly in the dog days of training camp when the top story of the day is Evan Ogelsby- who has virtually no chance of making the 53-man roster and has actually been cut once already- going down with a reported ankle injury. No longer will these daily practice sessions satisfy our Dolphins' fix. It's time for game action. And in four days, that's what we will finally get.

Then, just like every year before, the meaninglessness of the preseason will take it's toll, and we will be starving for the real thing. But hey, a few weeks ago all we had was baseball. Anyway, outside of Ogelsby getting hurt, Jake Grove only riding the exercise bike with a bone bruise, Patrick Cobbs returning to action, and Tim Dobbins not being present as expected with that minor ankle injury also ruled the headlines this afternoon.

Nate Garner remains first-team left guard
If you were wondering if Nate Garner would return to backup right tackle today, conceding that yesterday's switch to guard was only temporary, that didn't happen. Instead, Garner spent his second day in a row working with the starting O-line, and Sparano confirmed at his daily press conference that Garner is in the mix. Judging by how poor the interior of the line has looked so far, I happen to love the move when you take into account how affective Garner was at guard last season in relief duty.

I would only expect him to improve with a whole preseason to perfect the craft he had to pick up on the fly last year. Does that mean he is now the favorite to start on the left side? Not yet, but he surely has a golden opportunity to pull away form the rest of the competition. Personally, I can't wait to watch him, and the rest of the interior O-lineman for that matter, go to work on Saturday night.

Will Nolan Carroll return kicks?  
The Dolphins worked on their emergency field goal scenario this afternoon, as punter Brandon Fields split the uprights on two extra points with Greg Camarillo on the hold. They also revealed a glimpse of their field goal return play, which featured rookie corner Nolan Carroll bringing a missed Dan Carpenter kick back to mid-field. Does that mean Carroll has a legitimate shot at winning the kick-return job?

Well, he was listed as third on the Dolphins' first released depth chart yesterday, even though Sparano instructed the media not to read too much into it. Carroll certainly has the speed to potentially be a big-play threat, too, but once again, we are going to have to wait until the preseason to evaluate who the kick returner should be. Good thing for Carroll, though, his job doesn't appear to be depending on it, as he continues to make an impression at corner.

Sources: The Daily Dolphin, The Sun-Sentinel

Unfortunately, for the fans, the scheduled 40-play scrimmage at Sun Life Stadium was called off because of the rain. Instead, the Dolphins were able to practice outdoors at the teams training facility a little later in the evening.

Even though the session was open to the public, the announcement came right before the workout so most fans who were planning on coming out tonight probably weren't able to make it up to Davie. A disappointing break for the fans, but nonetheless there was plenty to talk about on the field tonight.

10 sacks: Nolan's scheme that good or is O-line that bad?
I tend to think the media likes to blow things out of proportion this time of year, but the interior of the Dolphins' offensive line is really starting to worry me. Yes, I am excited for the progress Nolan has made with this defense so far, as the pressure is seemingly coming from everywhere, but let's be honest, there is no way these exotic blitzes should be this affective.

The O-line reportedly conceded 10 sacks tonight, with Karlos Dansby leading all defenders with three. Hopefully, that is a sign of things to come from Dansby, who brings play-making ability to the inside linebacker position, but bluntly speaking, the guy isn't suddenly Lawrence Taylor. The scheme and the player have to get some credit, but in reality the interior of the O-line is probably in far worse shape than we thought.

My two cents: get a starting lineup nailed down, stick with it the rest of camp, and let the group gel properly. Let the debate begin on who those three players should be, and that is a topic for another post, but the bottom line is getting things settled needs to happen sooner rather than later.

As for tonight's lineup, Nate Garner spent both practices today at first-team left guard, John Jerry was, once again, at right guard, and Joe Berger manned starting center, as Jake Grove continues to miss time with what is now being diagnosed as a bone bruise on his knee.

Running game shows some signs
Finally, a positive report about the offense. Ronnie Brown reportedly had some nice runs tonight, and the running game as a whole apparently looked pretty solid. So where has the ground attack been all camp, you may ask? Well, the Dolphins really haven't featured the ground game much in 11 on 11 drills, likely because they want to keep Ronnie and Ricky fresh and healthy and, really, they already know what they are getting there, which is one of the best running back duo's in the game.

Once again, this is also a big reason why I think the offensive struggles have been slighly overblown. Last I checked this is still a run-first team, and because they aren't pounding the ball, like they most definitely will come September, it's next to impossible to get an accurate feel for this offense.

Randy Starks moving to nose still looks like a smart move
Yes, the whole defense was getting in on the quarterback pressure tonight, but Randy Starks reportedly beating the double-team to get to Henne is still encouraging considering how much is riding on Starks' move inside. Everyone is expecting Starks' pass rush production to drop off at nose tackle, but his ability to collapse the pocket should provide a much improved interior pass rush.

How he plays the run, and his ability to command two blockers at all times will define the position change, though. According to the Sun-Sentinel's Omar Kelly, Starks is shedding blocks better than Jason Ferguson ever did. So far, so good.

Sources: Sun-Sentinel

Nate Garner works with first-team at left guard
Before this morning, Nate Garner, a.k.a. Mr. Versatile, was exclusively working at second-string right tackle, while the ongoing competition on the interior of the line continued to mix and match. Obviously, things are as bad as most suspected at guard, as Nate Garner, who was solid at just about every position along the line a year ago, got first-team reps at left guard.

Many thought Garner would be a starter at guard heading into camp, and now that nobody appears to be solidifying themselves as a starter, Garner is finally getting his chance. Hopefully, Garner stays put at starting left guard for tonight's 40-snap scrimmage, so we can effectively get a feel for how he looks, given that the media will likely evaluate the workout more extensively than they did this morning.

If this becomes a permanent move, Andrew Gardner and Lydon Murtha may have a better chance at earning a roster spot, and Cory Procter would likely become more vulnerable to the final cuts.

As for the rest of the interior O-line this morning, John Jerry continued to work at starting right guard, and Joe Berger got the first-team reps at center with Jake Grove still out with a leg bruise.

Charles Grant surpasses Tony McDaniel
After Grant's domination in Saturday's scrimmage, where the newly acquired ex-Saint tallied three sacks, he was rewarded with a promotion to second-team this morning, ahead of Tony McDaniel. Will he possibly make a run at rookie Jared Odrick now?

I still don't think so, simply because Grant has never been known for his stoutness against the run, but if he somehow continues to get to the quarterback at this pace that probably won't matter a whole lot. I do expect him to eventually get acclimated with the nickel package, though.

By the way, Grant used his extra media attention this morning to compare the Dolphins to last year's Super Bowl winning Saints. He even mentioned that Sparano is similiar to Sean Payton, in that both are all about team.

Injury report
Greg Camarillo: The groin seems to be doing okay, as Camarillo practiced this morning and seemed to be moving fine.

Patrick Cobbs: Cobbs was held out of this morning's workout with an injured hamstring, but the good news is he was seen sprinting on the sidelines, which likely means he will return to action shortly.

Offense has chance to redeem itself in tonight's scrimmage
That's right, another scrimmage is scheduled for tonight, this time at Sun Life Stadium. It's only scheduled to be around 40 plays, though, so nothing like Saturday's 74-snap exhibition. Still though, expect the offense to come out with a chip on it's shoulder, after reportedly getting dominated on Saturday.

Hopefully, Chad Henne will find his rhythm, and I would be shocked if Brandon Marshall has another disappointing performance. As always, check back late tonight/early tomorrow morning for a full recap of everything that goes down.

Sources: The Daily Dolphin, The Sun-Sentinel

Now that we are over a week into camp, and the Dolphins have a 74-play intrasquad scrimmage in the books, how the 53-man roster will shape up is starting to become a little less hazy. Nothing is settled yet, and the biggest tests for those players sitting on the roster fence still lies ahead. The upcoming preseason games will provide make or break opportunities to those hopeful to make the team, so really everything below is subject to change. Just like the weekly "Position Battle Tracker," this segment is parallel to looking at a first quarter scoreboard, not a prediction of how I see things eventually playing out.

Offense

Quarterback
Projected Possible Cuts: Tyler Thigpen, Pat White
If there is any player that has defined the phrase "the media's punching bag" it's second-year quarterback Pat White. It seems as though every practice the South Florida beat writers use words like "erratic" and "wild" to describe White's reps. White was far from spectacular a year ago, but I don't think things were ever this bad. In all fairness to him, though, we really have no idea what exactly the young man is going through in his personal life. He missed the first day of workouts for personal reasons, and who knows how much whatever is going on is affecting his performance. Meanwhile, Tyler Thigpen hasn't exactly impressed so far, but it was evident in Week 17 last season he was miles ahead of White, and judging by the first week of camp, things haven't changed much.
In: Tyler Thigpen
Out: Pat White

Running Back
Projected Possible Cuts: Lex Hilliard, Tristan Davis
The battle for the fourth running back spot was set to pick up some intensity with Kory Sheets getting some opportunities as a kick returner, but since his season-ending Achilles injury, it's safe to say Hilliard has this thing wrapped up. Of course, that's assuming the Dolphins keep four running backs again. Having said that, possible sixth receiver candidates and tenth offensive lineman hopefuls will likely provide more competition to Hilliard than Davis.
In: Hilliard
Out: Tristan Davis

Fullback
Projected Possible Cuts: Rolly Lumbala
Lousaka Polite has emerged as one of the best fullbacks in the business, and there simply is no room for Lumbala on the roster.
Out: Rolly Lumbala

Tight End
Projected Possible Cuts: David Martin, Joey Haynos, John Nalbone, Kory Sperry
Assuming David Martin can return to his 08' form, he will securely find himself as the second tight end on the depth chart. That was two years ago, though, and word has it Martin is a bit on the heavy side these days. It shouldn't take long for him to get back in playing shape, however, and the upcoming exhibitions should reveal whether or not he can still be a legitimate receiving threat. That means there will be a three way battle for the third and likely final roster spot at the position. All three have been virtually invisible so far, so things should be fairly wide open heading into the preseason opener.
In: David Martin, Joey Haynos
Out: John Nalbone, Kory Sperry

Wide Receiver
Projected Possible Cuts: Patrick Turner, Ryan-Grice Mullen, Taurus Johnson, Julius Pruitt, Roberto Wallace, Marlon Moore
With Marshall, Bess, Hartline, and Camarillo already settled as members of the 2010 team, baring serious injuries of course, the six remaining receivers will battle for the final job opening. Patrick Turner is the early favorite, and if he can maintain a level of consistency throughout the remainder of camp and in the preseason I don't see him getting the axe. Then again, if Taurus Johnson or Ryan-Grice Mullen flash big-play ability in the return game and show they can also contribute at receiver, we could have an interesting scenario on our hands.
In: Patrick Turner
Out: Ryan-Grice Mullen, Taurus Johnson, Julius Pruitt, Roberto Wallace, Marlon Moore

Offensive Tackle
Projected Possible Cuts: Andrew Gardner, Lydon Murtha
With the Dolphins only expected to keep nine offensive lineman, and with the starting tackles being engraved in stone, things are starting to point to only three tackles making the team. And with Nate Garner's versatility guaranteeing him a job at backup right tackle, Andrew Gardner and Lydon Murtha could both be on the outside looking in when final cuts are made.
Out: Andrew Gardner, Lydon Murtha

Offensive Guards
Projected Possible Cuts: Cory Procter
Procter is really a borderline possible cut. Based on his past, you would think he is the least likely to start among the four guards, but he has been rotating off and on with the first-team throughout camp. That probably won't last much longer, as John Jerry and Richie Incognito now appear to be the front-runners, but with so much uncertainty at the position, the Dolphins will probably end up keeping all of them.
In: Cory Procter

Center
Projected Possible Cuts: Jake Grove, Andrew Hartline
I only mention Jake Grove as a possible cut because if he loses the battle for starting center, Miami would be wise to rid themselves of his $30 million contract. Still though, because Grove was so productive last season, I think he eventually pulls away from Berger and Hartline. Speaking of Hartline, signs point to the reasoning behind his move to center being a motivational tool to get Grove and Berger going.
In: Jake Grove
Out: Andrew Hartline