When: Tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST
Where: EverBank Field- Jacksonville, Florida
TV: Local only, replay on NFL Network Monday night at 11 p.m.
Weather: Around 80 degrees with a 50% chance of scattered thunderstorms

I've been out of the office for last couple days with some technical difficulties. As a result, I wasn't able to cover the final day of Dolphins' training camp or post my weekly take on the 53-man roster. But hey, it's the preseason for me too I guess. Tonight's exhibition contest in Jacksonville seems far from meaningless for the Dolphins, who need a huge bounce back performance for morale and momentum.

And when I say the Dolphins need to bounce back I'm really just talking about the offense, and more specifically the first-team. Four possessions, no points, not moving past their own 39-yard line, and three drops isn't going to cut it for this offense. Especially when all the pieces appear to be in place for this unit to finally break out. So what three questions need to be answered, and which three players will I be watching ever so closely?

Three questions

Will starting offense bounce back?
Because of those well-documented struggles last week versus Tampa, Tony Sparano has hinted at letting Chad Henne along with presumably the entire first-team offense play as much as the entire first-half. Now, in the event Henne and the crew produce a couple scoring drives early and move the ball fairly consistently, we may see a satisfied Sparano pull them out sometime in the second quarter, but regardless we are going to get our best look yet at this supposedly revamped offense. 

The fans are going to want to see the running game continue to look as good as ever, Chad Henne effectively move the chains by utilizing his top tier arm strength all the while making sound decisions, Brandon Marshall actually hang on for his first catch, and then get a few more, and the interior offensive line finally settle down. A full half of action against a likely average defense at best, should produce a couple scoring drives for the night to be a success. And when I say scoring drives, I'm not talking about field goals.

Will Run D' get first true test?
Considering Maurice Jones-Drew only ran the ball twice last week, and the Jaguars as a whole only ran nine times in the entire game, we may have to wait for Micheal Turner to come to town next weekend. If the Jags decide to let Jones-Drew out of the cage, though, we will get a great look at the run defense with Randy Starks at nose tackle. Outside of a few missed tackles and a couple over-pursued angles, the Dolphins' front seven was pretty solid in the first-half last week. Would that continue if one of the league's best backs is featured in the game plan tonight?

How will the secondary fare?
The secondary wasn't awful like the first-team offense last Saturday, but I think we can all agree that things could have been a little better. Vontae Davis, despite solid coverage, got beat for a deep pass along the sideline, Sean Smith gave up a touchdown because he was too deep covering the flats, Chris Clemons failed to lock up the starting free safety job, and all three strings struggled to get off the field on third down.

After going 5 for 10 for only 35 yards last week, David Garrard, who could also be feeling some pressure from Luke McCown's 244 passing yards and three touchdowns in the same game, will be looking for a bounce back performance of his own. Davis and Smith need to start showing signs of a near future dominate corner tandem, Chirs Clemons needs to wrap-up ball carriers, and those on the roster fringe can't afford to have a poor showing.

Three players to watch

Randy Thomas: After signing this week, former Pro Bowler Randy Thomas needs to showcase signs of his old self if he's going to make this team, yet along compete for a starting job. He's obviously not in good enough shape yet to see extensive time tonight, but I expect him to get possibly a whole series with the starters at left guard.

Nate Ness: Ness stole the show in the second-half against the Buc's, but consistency will now be a must if he's going to convince the Dolphins to keep six corners. Bill Parcells even reportedly called him a one-quarter wonder, which is likely a motivational tactic by the Big Tuna to get the same type of production out of Ness tonight and the rest of the preseason. He's obviously not going to force two fumbles and break-up two passes every game, but lock-down coverage against Jacksonville's second and third team receivers will keep his momentum going.

Patrick Turner/Marlon Moore/Roberto Wallace: Okay, I cheated a little bit by listing three players. But those three players are competing for just one spot. Patrick Turner is the unanimous favorite at the moment, but Moore and Wallace flashed enough potential last week and reportedly in training camp to possibly unseat Turner by taking over a game. All three need to continue to make plays in the passing game, but how they contribute on special teams will be equally important.

Wallace hurt his cause a week ago by allowing his man to block a punt. Those types of mistakes simply can't happen tonight. Moore will reportedly get some looks returning kicks. Consistently hitting the whole hard by going north and south and possibly breaking off a big return would likely make Moore the front-runner to surpass Turner.  

Dolphins sign Randy Thomas, waive Ryan Grice-Mullen
In light of the Nate Garner being sidelined for likely eight weeks, to go along with an interior offensive line still attempting to come together, a move needed to be made. That move was the signing of 11-year veteran Randy Thomas, who has started 143 games in his NFL career and has made the Pro Bowl as an alternate on two occasions.

In the past three years, though, Thomas' career took a turn for the worse, tearing his triceps in 2007 and last year, which sidelined him for a total of 27 games. He's also obviously not in the best shape, considering he was still without a teamthis late into training camp. Still though, he was thrown right into the fire on his first day on the job. The Dolphins tried him out at first-team left guard in the second team period. Contrary, to what his track record may suggest, Thomas is no lock to start, and will have to earn his way on this roster.

At 34 years old, starting Thomas would be nothing more than a stop-gap solution for the struggling interior. Meaning, Miami would probably find themselves in searchfor a new starter as early as this offseason. At the very least, though, Thomas isgoing to provide some much needed depth, and his addition may come at the expense of Cory Procter. First things first, though, Thomas is going to have to get in football shape in a hurry, catch up on everything that's been installed thus far, and prove he still has something left in the tank.

Ryan Grice-Mullen on the other hand, was a milddisappointment after receiving some press in the offseason for being similar in many ways to Davone Bess. His chances at making the team really went out the window, however, when he injured his hamstring, which caused him to miss a good chunk of vital reps. Besides that, the emergence of Roberto Wallace and Marlon Moore was really the knockout blow.

Soliai works with starters, but gets handled by Joe Berger
After his near dominate performance in the second quarter of the preseason opener, Paul Soliai received some well deserved first-team repetitions this afternoon. Things didn't go over as well as they did onSaturday night, however. Joe Berger, who is presumably ahead of Jake Grove in the competition for starting center, reportedly easily single-blocked Soliai, a big no-no for any nose tackle.

Thigpen shines
Tyler Thigpen reportedly had arguably the best day of practice since joining the Dolphins, connecting on two long touchdowns to Roberto Wallace and Davone Bess. I think it's obvious by now that Tyler Thigpen is this team's third quarterback. I don't think it was ever that big of a competition. There's no easy way around this, but Pat White's days in Miami are over, outside of this regime having a complete disconnection from reasonable philosophy.

Greg Camarillo still rehabbing groin, Reshad Jones rides the bike
Onceseemingly aguaranteed member of the 2010 team, some are beginning to question whether or not Greg Camarillo is now a possible cut. Given how he maximizes the limited talent he possess and how he catches everything (0 drops last year), I still think he makes the team.

We will get more into that topic in the upcoming "Who's In, Who's Out?" post, but if Marlon Moore and Roberto Wallace continue to impress we may have an unexpected competition on our hands.

Fifth-round pick Reshad Jones spend the day on the exercise bike, conceding his second-team free safety reps to Jonathan Amaya. If there is still a battle between Jones and Clemons for the starting job, like Sparano has recently said,Jones really can't afford to miss another rep if he wants to keep pace.

Sources: Sun-Sentinel

Practices are vitally important, just ask any coach, but I think it's safe to say that games are a better test for those players fighting for roster spots, and those who are competing for starting roles. We will get to the update on the guys who are trying to crack the 53-man roster tomorrow.

Today, we shift our focus to the position battles. Last week we closed the book on a few of the battles the Dolphins went into camp with, but I was premature with my take on the free safety position. Let's reopen that discussion, as well as delve into the other remaining competitions on this roster.

Offense

Right Guard: John Jerry
If Jerry's knee turns out to be okay, this may be the last time we consider this position. Considering that I had Richie Incognito here last week, a pretty drastic change after only one preseason game. But I was really just going by the South Florida media's portrayal of how Jerry was progressing.

When I actually got to see Jerry go at it with my own two eyes, he far surpassed my expectations. He pulled well, provided decent push, and was solid in protection. Another game like that on Saturday, and I think we have our first interior starter.

Center: Joe Berger
Not much change here from last week. Jake Grove still doesn't appear to be 100%, and the bad snap that led to a turnover in the red-zone against Tampa, certainly didn't help his chances. The position as a whole, though, has been mildly disappointing. Sparano even used the word "average" to evaluate Berger's and Grove's play, which is a troubling drop-off from last season.

Left Guard: Richie Incognito
This is purely a guess at this point. I say Richie simply because he started on Saturday, but he definitely didn't do anything to lock this thing up. I have a feeling Donald Thomas still has a good shot at stealing the job, though, especially since his lack of playing time seems to be derived from the coaches already having an extensive feel for his game from the past two years of having him in camp and in the starting lineup in 09'.

Defense

Right Defensive End: Jared Odrick
The first-round pick had a productive night of his own on Saturday, recovering a fumble and taking on a few double-teams in that first half. Odrick's most capable competition, Marques Douglas, had a good night too, but would likely only unseat the rookie if Odrick begins to struggle. At this point, though, Odrick may be another player on the verge of clinching a job against the Jaguars.

Strong Outside Linebacker: Koa Misi
Misi's strong performance was encouraging given some of the reports from Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinal, who has been critical of the second-round pick since camp opened. He reports that Misi hasn't recorded a sack yet in practice, and won't say his name until he does. Not getting to the quarterback in around 20 practice sessions is a cause for concern, but judging by what I have seen, which is just Saturday night, Misi looked ready.

The kid has a great motor, and hurried Josh Freeman on one play in the first quarter. Ikaika Alama-Francis actually split first-team duty with Misi, though, meaning that competition is very much alive. Ike didn't do anything significant with his opportunities, however, so Misi still has the edge at the moment.

Free Safety: Chris Clemons
Clemons had an opportunity at clinching the job against the Buc's, but a couple of missed tackles later, and we still have a battle on our hands. Well, at least we did. Reshad Jones, as mentioned in the previous post, hurt his ankle tonight, but the severity of the injury is currently unknown. If Jones misses significant time consider this thing over, unless the Dolphins move Tyrone Culver back to free safety. If the Dolphins hope to field a starting quality safety back there, though, Clemons needs to do a much better job at wrapping up the ball-carrier, and any emergence of playmaking ability would do wonders for this secondary.

Special Teams

Kick Returner: Nolan Carroll
We saw two players return kicks last week: Tristan Davis and Nolan Carroll. Carroll looked much more confident and less hesitant than Davis on his only return, and will actually be on the team come September. It will be interesting to see if Patrick Cobbs is eventually thrown back into this competition, but if not, Carroll is Ted Ginn's replacement. Kind of ironic when you realize Carroll was drafted with the pick the Dolphins acquired from the 49ers for Ginn.

Punt Returner: Davone Bess
Ryan Grice-Mullen got a rep as punt returner tonight, but let's face it, he's not going to make this team unless he plays out of his mind for the final three exhibitions. Unless they consider letting Carroll do double duty, returning kicks and punts, it looks like Davone Bess is going to be the man once again. He probably will never take one back to the house, but as long as he cuts out the muffs this year, he will do just fine.

Garner out 8 weeks, John Jerry has a knee issue, and Reshad Jones limps to locker room after practice
If the continuing struggles of the interior offensive line weren't bad enough, perhaps the two guards with the most potential both had questionable status' this morning. One turned out to be serious, while the other appeared to just be a scare, at least for now.

Nate Garner, who began to work with the first-team last week, re-broke the foot he had surgery on this offseason, and reportedly had another procedure sometime in last few days. Initially, reports were saying Garner would sidelined for 4-6 weeks, but the news was slightly more sobering later one, when an NFL source confirmed he would be out for about 8 weeks. John Jerry on the other hand, is fresh off his encouraging performance Saturday night, but had a bit of a setback this morning, leaving practice early with some knee soreness.

When Sparano said he was concerned about Jerry's knee in his daily press conference, some media members started to speculate this could be on the serious side too. Thankfully, though, Jerry wasn't held out of anything in the afternoon session, not even team drills. He may be off the hook for now, but who knows if swelling or soreness will return.

A day after Sparano mentioned that the free safety competition was still ongoing, Chris Clemons' challenger, Reshad Jones, appeared to injury his ankle. He reportedly limped badly to the locker room after practice and spent time with the trainers getting it looked at. There is no word yet on the severity of it, but I'm sure we will get the whole scoop in Sparano's press conference tomorrow.

Competition at punter?
It appears Brandon Fields has some serious competition for starting punter. Brandon Marshall dropped his first pass of the day, nothing new there, caught his second for a touchdown but apparently pushed off on Sean Smith in the process, and then punted another ball across the field.

At least he's frustrated with himself and not causing a disturbance over a contract issue, like his previous tenure at punter with the Broncos. In all seriousness, though, Marshall bounced back nicely in the afternoon session with a touchdown catch along the sideline against Nate Ness, a deep reception matched up against Sean Smith, and drew a pass interference call on Vontae Davis. Speaking of Davis, the second-year corner got in on the heated competition himself by punting a ball after breaking up a pass intended for Marshall. No word on how Marshall took that, but personally I find it pretty funny.

Ryan Grice-Mullen not dead yet?
By dead I mean his roster chances, of course. Those received a jolt of life today, as Grice-Mullen got some reps with the first-team at slot, and another rep as punt returner. Unfortunately for him, it appears as though the final receiver will either be Patrick Turner, Marlon Moore, or Roberto Wallace. That's why this looks like the coaches were just trying to get a feel for him as a potential practice squad prospect.

Interior O-line update
Aside from the injuries to Garner and Jerry, the starters at the guard spots and center were as follows: LG: Richie Incognito, C: Joe Berger, RG: John Jerry.  

Sources: Sun-Sentinel 

Dolphins' extend Ikaika Alama-Francis' contract
It's been a good last few days for Ike. The former second-round pick spilt first-team reps with Koa Misi against Tampa Bay, even though Misi's strong performance likely gives him the current edge in that competition, and today he was rewarded with a contract extension, keeping him in Miami through the 2011 season.

Ike will reportedly be paid $640,000 next season in addition to the $545,000 he's scheduled to make this year. This just about guarantee's his place on the roster, and it will be interesting to see if he can turn up his productivity in the remaining three preseason games and challenge Misi for the starting job.

Finally, the Dolphins get some work done in the rain
Initial reports said the Dolphins were scheduled for more bubble work today. A disappointment considering how unprepared they obviously were for the heavy rain on Saturday night. However, in light of all the dropped passes, though, the Dolphins got out of the bubble and into a reported downpour for today's workout.

More drops for Marshall
It is apparent now, if it wasn't already, that Marshall is suffering some confidence issues. After two embarrassing drops in his Miami debut, he reportedly dropped another three balls today. Marshall was so frustrated that he was seen punting one of the balls he dropped, and didn't stay after to get any extra work done on the Jugs machine like a few of the other receivers.

Is it time to get worried, yet? Eh, I still say no. A big play in Jacksonville this weekend should do wonders for his confidence, but then again, another drop or two, and the downward spiral could continue. Let's just hope we don't have another Braylon Edwards on our hands.

Free safety job still up for grabs
Sparano mentioned last week that Chris Clemons was close to cementing himself as the starter at free safety. A solid performance in the preseason opener would have probably sealed the deal, but Clemons was average at best, and Sparano said nothing is settled yet in today's press conference. And while Clemons appeared to stay mentally sharp and in good position in coverage for the most part, he didn't wrap up on a couple tackles and let the ball carrier escape his grasp.

Obviously, that can't happen when you are the last line of defense, but I expect Clemons, and everyone else on the defense for that matter, to drastically improve their tackling by the regular season. Sparano doesn't believe in tackling to the ground in practice, choosing health over defensive fundamentals, so these preseason contest will be instrumental in getting the defense ready for the season.

Reshad Jones, meanwhile, who is battling Clemons for that starting role, had a notable fumble recover in which he returned eleven yards. Choosing to take the ball out of the end-zone instead of kneeling for the touchback was probably a rookie mistake, but I guess that's what you get when the new mindset for this defense is to produce more scores this year.

Sources: Sun-Sentinel