Merling placed on the active/non-football injury list
After some brief speculation into why Merling was still listed on the active camp roster despite having a torn Achilees' tendon, it was confirmed today that the former second-round pick was indeed placed on the active/non-football injury list last Friday. That means the Dolphins can go after some of the $600,000 he is scheduled to make this season because Merling suffered the injury away from the team.

Paul Soliai continues to shine
After two straight days of earning a little praise for the improvements he has apparently made this offseason, Soliai had another outstanding practice today, splitting first-team reps with Randy Starks. At 355 pounds, Soliai is the prototypical nose tackle, not undersized like Starks (305 pounds), who converted inside from defensive end. If Soliai can stay consistent throughout camp, and perform well in the preseason contest, the door could open for Starks to move back to defensive end, where he was arguably Pro Bowl caliber in 09'.

Part of the plan was for Starks to still get snaps at defensive end, but only on limited occasions. In the event Soliai emerges as a starting caliber nose, though, he could fill the void of the retired Jason Ferguson, while Starks switches back to where he is proven. The Dolphins could still use Starks as a hybrid, moving him to the interior or the outside depending on the situation. Whatever the case, only positives can come from Soliai making drastic improvements. And just imagine how potentially loaded Miami would be at defensive end if this scenario were to play out.

Misi back to starting with Wake
A day after losing out on first-team reps to the surprising Alama-Francis, the rookie was back with the starters today. There have been mixed reports about how Misi is performing dating all the way back to rookie minicamp, but the worst I've heard is that he struggled against Jake Long. How insulting right?

Cameron Wake meanwhile, has been the guy at weakside linebacker for three straight days. And with everyone raving about how well he continues to rush the passer-yes even against Long- I'm starting to wonder if he hasn't already won the starting job.

O-Line rotates
I expected the line to rotate on day two, but John Jerry and Cory Procter stayed put as starting right and left guards. They finally did today, though, as Jerry moved over to starting left guard, where he spent the spring, and Donald Thomas got promoted to starting right guard. Richie Incognito still hasn't cracked the starting lineup in camp, but that could be because the coaches already know what he can bring to the table, and want to experiment with the other guys a bit.

I wouldn't expect the experimenting to drag out all of camp, though, because Sparano wants his starting line to develop chemistry. That's kind of hard to do when there are different starters every other day, and certain players are lining up at multiple positions. With that said, I expect them to continue to play around with the lineup for the first couple weeks, but for them to have their starters in place before the preseason concludes.

At the battle for starting center, Jake Grove and Joe Berger continue to switch every other practice. Berger was the starter today, so Grove will likely start tomorrow's morning session.

Injuries at Receiver?
Fifth receiver/kick-return hopeful Ryan-Grice Mullen missed practice today, and was seen riding the exercise bike. Nothing appears to be serious, however, and he is expected to make a return tomorrow. Brian Hartline spent some time with the trainer, but later returned, as it appeared to only be a cramp.

Sparano raves about Dansby
Ever since Marshall-mania and all the talk surrounding the various position battles, Karlos Dansby has been sort of forgotten. Well that's a bit exaggerated, but he hasn't received the attention you would think, after signing the lucrative deal he did this offseason to come to Miami as a Pro Bowl capable inside linebacker. Sparano reminded everyone of how much improved Dansby likely makes the defense, today. Sparano reportedly labeled Dansby the most "eye-popping" guy he's seen out there, and hinted he reacts to everything so much quicker than everyone else.

Sources: Sun-Sentinal, Omar Kelly, Mike Berardino, Armando Salguero

A day after opening up camp, the Dolphins were back at it again at 9 a.m. this morning and then again at 5 p.m., conducting their first two-a-day. Is it just me or are we always in for surprises this time of year? Last year it was Matt Roth's mysterious groin injury. This year Pat White has provided the speculation, and a possible cinderella story is unfolding in the outside linebacker competition. And when you throw in open competitions at multiple positions, we have more than enough to keep our interest peeking throughout camp.

Pat White back at practice
A day after being absent for the team's first workout, White was back to work, despite reports suggesting his season was in jeopardy with a "serious situation." Coach Sparano and White himself tap danced around what the issue was, only conceding that it was a personal matter, nothing injury-related.

Staying on the quarterback front, the Dolphins are scheduled to workout current AFL QB Tom Grady on Monday. It's too early to read much into this, but if he makes the camp roster, White would likely lose out on valuable reps that could make or break his 53-man chances.

Procter and Jerry the front-runners at guard?
To my surprise, the Dolphins chose not to rotate which guards got first-team reps today. Instead, Cory Procter stayed put at starting left guard and rookie John Jerry remained at starting right guard. Does that mean they are the front-runners to start Week 1? It's tough to say, simply because this could still be strictly experimental-with the coaches needing another day to effectively evaluate, or the rotational strategy could differ from the spring.

Maybe they are rotating every two days, or every week. Currently, though, I would be hard-pressed to say Procter and Jerry aren't the favorites. But things can change quickly, so it's way too early to count out Donald Thomas and Richie Incognito.

Speaking of Incognito, that notorious temper of his was on display today. There was no headbutting, but he reportedly got into a little scuffle with Tony McDaniel. If it were anybody else, you simply shrug this sort of thing off as in the spirit of healthy competition. But with Incognito's wild on-field track record, he can't afford do make this sort of mistake in games and kill drives with personal foul penalties.

Meanwhile, the battle for starting center saw Joe Berger take over first-team duties, which suggest that's where the closest competition currently resides along the O-line.

Ikaika Alama-Francis sees first-team reps at strong side linebacker
In a "out of nowhere" development, former defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis (lets call him Ike from now on because I'm lazy) is now apparently in the competition at outside linebacker.

Ike started over Koa Misi on the strong side in the morning session, being pared with Cameron Wake, who has continued to dazzle as a pass rusher. Is this still an experiment, or does Ike have a legitimate shot at unseating Misi? We will probably have to wait a few days to see if Ike continues to get first-team looks, but the Dolphins could have found a diamond in the rough here.

Of course, he has a long way to go for that to become a reality, but if he can move as well as some of the reporters and coaches are saying, I can't wait to see him play this preseason.

Nose Tackle update
Reports have been limited about how well Randy Starks is transitioning to his new role as staring nose tackle, something I would probably be watching intently if I could make it to any of these practices, but he pulled a Joe McKnight today when he was seen puking on the sidelines.

I don't think we can question Starks' conditioning. He passed his conditioning test, after all, and something like this could happen to anyone playing under the South Florida sun while working their butt off. Backup Paul Soliai has drawn a little praise here and there for his work, and was even seen chit-chatting with Parcells some during practice.

If Soliai makes drastic progress this year, could he take over the starting job and free Starks to switch back to defensive end, where he was border-line dominate a year ago? It's too early to tell, but I would surely welcome that scenario, given the moderate level of uncertainty with Starks' move.

Kick-Return candidates
Ginn's departure gives this year's primary kick returner some big shoes to fill. So far, the candidates to take over include: Tristan Davis, Kory Sheets, Nolan Carroll, Ryan Grice-Mullen, and Taurus Johnson. We will have to wait until preseason to see who has the most big-play potential.

Sources: Sun-Sentinal, Armando Salguero, Omar Kelly, Mike Berardino

Ah, the smell of football is in the air again. The Dolphins opened camp today at their practice facility in Davie, Florida, as the start of one of the most anticipated seasons in recent memory is underway. Yes, it's just practice, but with how the NFL has captivated the hearts of the American sports fan, the opening of camp is quite eventful.

And with competition all over the field, we won't be short of topics to delve into as we inch closer and closer to the regular season. As for today's session, there were a few surprises to hit the airwaves, but mainly just excitement and optimism as we have now shifted to the time of year we have waited months for.

Marshall dominates
When you dish out $50 million to a guy you expect to drastically improve an entire offense, today was exactly what you want to see. Marshall reportedly looked dominate at times out there, and made second-year corner Sean Smith look foolish, causing him to fall to the ground on two occasions.

On the downside, hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come for Smith, as the defense is counting on him and Vontae to make significant strides this year, but my guess is this is more to do with Marshall being the top tier physical specimen that he is, than with Smith's development. A few more reports like this, and patience to finally see Marshall in a game setting will be harder and harder to come by for Dolphin fans.

O-Line shake-up
I hope you didn't fill out your depth chart in pen, because the offensive line was shuffled around from what we perceived heading into camp. John Jerry, who spent the spring at left guard, lined up as the starting right guard- ahead of free agent acquisition Richie Incognito. Across from Jerry, Cory Procter started camp with the first-team and was backed up by Donald Thomas.

Nate Garner, meanwhile, who many media members had projected as a starter at left guard now that he's healthy, returned to reserve duty at right tackle. It's still too early to read into any of this, though, because the Dolphins rotated their guards every other practice in OTA's, and could very well continue that trend. Also, in the battle for starting center, the favorite Jake Grove started over Joe Berger.

Pennington not placed on PUP, Pat White a no-show
It was speculated that Chad Pennington would be placed on the PUP list to start the season, as he fully recovers from a season-ending shoulder injury a year ago, and in order to make room for all four quarterbacks. Well, that theory is out the window, for now anyways. Pennington ran the third-team, and reportedly looked as efficient as always.

In another surprise, Pat White, who's chances of making the final 53-man roster declined with the keeping of Pennington on the roster, didn't work out with the team. The Dolphins declined to comment on the matter, but Sparano did say a couple players could be sidelined today with some minor injuries.

Merling remains on the 80-man roster
After reportingly tearing his Achilees' tendon, it was a forgone conclusion that Merling would be placed on the PUP list, and eventually the IR. He wasn't. Instead, the Dolphins waived guard Rey Feinga, and continued to allow Merling to count towards the 80-man roster. Does that mean his injury isn't as serious as previously reported? I guess only time will tell, but at the moment, things aren't adding up.

Wake-Misi starting duo at outside linebacker.
Despite flashing signs of potentially being a dominate pass rusher, Wake only saw limited action with the first-team during offseason practices. Wake started to shine when the pads came on last year, though, and appears to be on that track again. He lined up as the starter at weakside linebacker with rookie Koa Misi at the strongside.

That's what most Dolphin fans were probably hoping for, given the potential both bring to the table. It will be interesting to see if the team lets Charlie Anderson and recently converted defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis in on the action tomorrow in the same rotating strategy they used at guard in the spring.

Defensive end competition
A day after signing his rookie contract, first-round pick Jared Odrick lined up with the first-team at right defensive end, holding off recently added veterans Marques Douglas and Charles Grant. Douglas' reps came with the second team, and Grant's with the third.

No. 2 receiver competition
Brian Hartline worked with the starters opposite Marshall, and indications suggest it's his job to lose.

Sources: Armando Salguero, Omar Kelly, Jeff Darlington, Mike Berardino

Finally, after a brilliant offseason from a personnel standpoint, and a controversial one off the field, the Dolphins are ready to get back to work. When they hit the practice field today at 2:00 P.M. ET, they will finally open up training camp, and kick off the much anticipated 2010 season in the process.

If you live in the Miami area the session is open to the public, as is most of these camp workouts, but if not, fear not, I plan on doing a camp report, that recaps each day, every night. For up to the minute updates, though, be sure to follow the following on twitter:

Jeff Darlington
Armando Salguero
Omar Kelly
Mike Berardino
Phins Phocus

The Dolphins locked up first-round pick Jared Odrick this afternoon, and shortly after made sure second-round pick Koa Misi would join him when the team kicks off camp tomorrow. Misi's deal is reportedly for four years, and is worth $4.75 million, with around $2.7 million guaranteed.

Now with the business side of the game out of the way for Misi, he can focus on earning the starting job at strong side linebacker. He spent most of the spring working with the first team, but will need to hold off the likes of Charlie Anderson and Quentin Moses as the competition heats up in camp.

Also, to make room for the newly signed rookies on the camp roster, the Dolphins released guard Dimitri Tsoumpas.