Before you give up on this season a week in, a drastic reaction to an overall negatively portrayed offensive outing, just remember it's only a scrimmage and we are still just a week into the 2010 season. Should we have wanted to see great things from Henne and company today? Of course. But is it time to hit the panic button because the defense reportedly dominated the scrimmage? Absolutely not.

The defense is typically always ahead of the offense this time of year, and when you factor in things like the ongoing carousel competition at the guard spots and center and how the running game-still this offense's bread and butter- was seldom used, it's easy to see why today won't likely be indicative of what we see this season. And let's be honest, Brandon Marshall wasn't himself today. After being uncoverable for over a week, Marshall was limited to only two catches for 11 yards. And that reportedly came on six targets, which included two uncharacteristic drops. For some reason I just get the feeling that kind of performance from Marshall won't be the norm.

When I actually had time to look at the play-by-play report, the doomsday tweets seemed quite honestly like an over-reaction. Sure Henne was far from brilliant today, but is 12-22, 72 yards, and a touchdown really something to panic over? Looking at the last drive, Henne apparently was able to settle in, going 7 for 7 against the first-team defense, and ended the day properly with a scoring strike to Brian Hartline.

Maybe that doesn't quite redeem him from that 5 for 15 start, but once again, take a deep breath, it's early August. Don't forget either, that after the scrimmage Sparano mentioned that Henne was completing around 75% of his passes with only two interceptions going into today.

And what about the defense? Shouldn't they be getting some credit for an outstanding session? Sean Smith bounced back nicely by breaking up a long pass to Marshall along the sidelines and getting in on a sack from a corner blitz, the defense as a whole was bringing pressure from everywhere, which is a refreshing change of pace from last season's vanilla scheme, Charles Grant may have submitted a nice little resume for the nickel package with three sacks of his own, and Cameron Wake was reportedly one of the more impressive players out there today, contributing two sacks.

Has Mike Nolan really transformed this unit into a top-notch defense in just over a week? Not likely. Today's defensive domination was probably derived from several factors. Some have already been mentioned, like the defense typically being ahead of the offense this early in camp, the offense having a lackluster, uncharacteristic day, and Ronnie and Ricky only combining for four carries. Other factors include Mike Nolan's blitz heavy scheme being a little much to pickup without a week of preparation, and players like Sean Smith playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder after reportedly getting beat up pretty bad throughout the first week of camp.

No, I wasn't in attendance this afternoon, and maybe I'm just clinging to the optimism the Dolphins head into the 2010 season with, but I just feel the offensive struggles were slightly blown out of proportion today. And this just gives us that much more reason to get pumped up for the preseason opener next weekend. Something tells me the offense is going to come out with something to prove.

Sources: Sun-Sentinel, Miami Dolphins in Depth

Dolphins bring back an old face
With Miami's tight ends being all but invisible so far in camp, the front office decided to bring back David Martin. The 31-year old Martin had arguably the best season of his career in 2008 for the Dolphins, when he posted a career-high 450 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, combining with Fasano for an excellent one-two punch. Fasano's receiving skills diminished a year ago, but his superb blocking will secure his starting position.

If Martin can return to form, he will likely get the nod over the third tight end to make the roster when the Dolphins line up in two tight end sets. The battle for the final roster spot is about to heat up, though. Joey Haynos, Kory Sperry, and John Nalbone are now set to go at if for the rest of camp for that third and final job opening at the position.

Clemons limiting mental mistakes
For a player who is taking over the reigns of a position that was arguably the most detrimental to the team a year ago, Chris Clemons isn't exactly drawing much attention so far in camp. Evidently that is a good thing. Sparano enlightened the media this afternoon by claiming Clemons has only made one mental mistake in 238 practice reps.

That is pretty phenomenal considering how mentally challenging the free safety position is, especially for a second-year player. Now, he hasn't been making many plays according to practice reports, but if he can just stay mentally sound, and play solid coverage all year long, it's safe to say this secondary will be miles ahead of where they were a season ago.

Injury scares
Thankfully, it doesn't appear that any of the injuries sustained today were serious. But after already seeing three players go down for the year, it's a little nerve racking when any player, yet alone a quality starer is seen limping around. Will Allen, who still could start opposite Vontae Davis, but has at least already earned the starting nickel corner job, reportedly aggravated the knee which suffered the torn ACL, but kept practicing on it, and was noticeably struggling.

Jake Grove, who is currently locked in a heated battle with Joe Berger and Andrew Hartline for starting center, limped off the field this morning, but it was later reported he only sustained a bruise. And finally Brian Hartline went down with a reported leg injury in the morning, and missed the evening session. Reports are saying it is only a minor groin tweak, though, so hopefully he will return to action in tomorrow's scrimmage. Also, Vernon Carey sat out the evening practice, most likely for rest or something minor.

Nobody can contain Brandon Marshall
I know Marshall isn't the only player on this team, and I know we have talked about how fantastic he has looked so far just about every day, but some of these reports are just too exciting to pass up. Today, Marshall reportedly got the best of Vontae Davis during 1-on-1 drills. Not once, not twice, but five times in a row. It apparantly got so one-sided that Marshall had to take time out of the workout to give Davis some much needed advice.

O-Line first-team
LG: Richie Incognito C: Joe Berger RG: John Jerry

Scrimmage time!
If you live in the South Florida area, tomorrow's 2 p.m. practice session is a can't miss. The team will undergo a live, 110 play scrimmage tomorrow afternoon, that will likely go a long way in determining some of the unsettled camp battles and will provide the best look at the 2010 team yet. Check back tomorrow night for a full recap of everything that goes down.

Sources: Sun-Sentinel, The Daily Dolphin

The media is probably guilty of reading too much into the practice reports this time of year. Some more than others. With the preseason just around the corner, though, practices are really the only way to evaluate how players and teams are coming along.

With that said it's important to take everything with a grain of salt, and realize that one negative or positive report about a player or team won't mean much by the time September rolls around. When those negative or positive reports become a pattern, though, it becomes easier to make sound judgements based on what we see and hear.

Now that we are a week into Dolphins' camp, we can start to evaluate which players have impressed and which ones have disappointed, and which prospects have improved their final roster chances and which ones appear as good as gone.

It would be difficult to condese all of that information into one post, but highlighting some of the extreme cases is a bit more manageable. Here is my take on the three players who's stocks has rose the most since the start of camp, and the three guys who's stocks have dropped the most.

UP

Ikaika Alama-Francis: This is a fairly obvious choice. Before camp, Ike was one of the more obscure players on the roster, and was a long-shot to make the team at defensive end. After moving to outside linebacker, though, he's spent most of camp with the second-team, spent one session with the starters, and is now considered a dark horse to win a starting job. It's still Koa Misi's job to lose, but in the event the rookie begins to struggle, Ike could become the most unlikely starter in recent memory.

Nolan Carroll: As a fifth-round draft choice, Carroll doesn't come into the league with many expectations. With the Dolphins' essentially trading Ted Ginn Jr. for his services, though, any contribution would be fantastic given that Ginn would have at least been a dangerous return man.

So far, Carroll hasn't dissapointed. In fact, you could probably even argue that he's had the best camp of any cornerback on the team. Of course, he likely won't move up any higher than fourth on the depth chart this season with three solid players in front of him, but he projects as a potential special-teams standout.

Patrick Turner: It was only a couple weeks ago that it was reported some of Turner's teammates were questioning his character and doubting his roster chances. Since the start of camp, though, he's reportedly been making plays on a consistent basis. If he can build on that for the rest of camp and turn in some solid showings in the preseason he shouldn't be in jeopardy of losing his roster spot as the final receiver on the team.

The next step would be pushing Greg Camarillo and Brian Hartline for playing time. We might be getting a little ahead of ourselves, especially considering Turner had a solid camp last year, but he's surely doing all he can to shake the bust label so far.

DOWN

Jake Grove: This may be the most confusing situation so far this season. It's like the coaching staff doesn't remember how much improved the running game was a year ago. And in particular the running game between the tackles. In 2008, with Samson Satele at center, the Dolphins had to rely on the wildcat to get the running game going, because they had difficulty doing so in base formations.

When Grove singed last offseason, he finally provided Ronnie and Ricky a little room to operate up the middle. The Dolphins did improve from the 11th ranked rushing attack to the 4th best, after all. With Grove thrown into a competition with Joe Berger and now apparently Andrew Hartline, Miami is compromising a sure thing. Sure, Grove may have been a bit overpaid when he signed for $30 million, but if they were willing to pay him that much to improve the running game, and he did, why try and replace him now?

Richie Incognito: Despite coming to town with a notorious temper, which has already brought forth two minor altercations, many had high hopes for Incognito as the starter at right guard. Instead, he's spent the least amount of time with the first-team of any of the lineman who are in the mix to start. He was even moved to left guard a few days ago, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the reasoning behind it.

Still though, most thought Incognito was a near lock to start, with the real competition going down on the left side. Who knows, though, maybe he's still a frontrunner to start, but is currently on the second-team because the coaches know what they are getting with him, and are trying to get a feel for the other three against the number one O-line.

Sean Smith: I hate to keep harping on this given some of his struggles have come matched up against Brandon Marshall, but being demoted to the second-team, and being replaced by Jason Allen can't be a good sign for a corner many thought would rise to elite status in the next few years. I still think that was just a motivational tactic, and Sean will figure this little slump out soon, but if Will Allen is indeed 100% you almost have to pair him with Vontae if things don't turn around quickly.

Brandon Marshall, Patrick Cobbs, and Will Allen get the day off
Some fans' hearts might have dropped when Brandon Marshall was not in uniform with his teammates this afternoon, but no worries, he was just getting a well-deserved day off. For about a week now, Marshall has lived up to the hype, in practice anyway, and has reportedly been dominate at times. Yes, it's important for him to establish a rhythm with his new quarterback, but a physical freak like Marshall doesn't really need the same reps the others do.

He could probably work out on his own, only show up for the games, and still be one of the better receivers in the league. Of course, that's not the ideal situation, but missing a session here and there and avoiding any risk of injury for the day is not going to alter the course of this football team. With Will Allen and Patrick Cobbs, though, this is probably just precautionary as both are returning from season-ending injuries.

Sean Smith de-moted
The second-year corner has had a few bumps in the road early on in camp, but that was expected given that he would be lining up against Brandon Marshall. Today, things got a little worse. Smith spent the majority of the workout on the second-team for the first time since winning a starting job in his rookie training camp. Perhaps, even more surprising was who got the nod ahead of him. Jason Allen-yes, the same Jason Allen who's coverage skills have rivaled that of Gibril Wilson- was paired with Vontae Davis on the first-team. Now, that would have likely been Will Allen had he not had the day off.

Let's get one thing straight, Jason Allen has zero chance of cracking the starting lineup this season. Well, outside of a plague of injuries to the position, anyway. Jason Allen is in no way, shape, or form a starting caliber cornerback, free safety, strong safety, or whatever other position he has played so far in his NFL career. That's why this has "subtle message to Smith" written all over it. Yes, he's had his struggles so far, but this is likely just a motivational tool to get him going and living up the promising potential he has.

If the poor play continues, however, Will Allen will have the inside position at stealing Smith's starting job, with Nolan Carroll eventually being next in line after that, based on the solid camp he's had so far.

Is it time to worry about the offensive line?
Heading into camp the consensus seemed to be that the competition along the interior of the line had more to do with their being a surplus of talent, not a lack thereof. Unfortunately, the more camp drags on, the latter appears to be more and more realistic. We expected to see competition and rotation, but not this. A combined seven players have lined up with the first-team at the the two guard spots and center. How exactly is this group supposed to develop chemistry?

Andrew Hartline lined up with the starters at center today, ahead of Jake Grove and Joe Berger. Have Grove and Berger really been that bad, or is this just another tactic to get them to step up their game? At this point, your guess is as good as mine. One thing is clear, though, the interior isn't coming along as well as the coaches were hoping it would. If it were, at least one player would have stepped up at one of positions, and would be on the verge of solidifying himself. Rookie John Jerry has spent the most time with the first-team, but he still seems to be on a tryout basis, essentially getting looks against the number ones on defense.

It's important to remember it's still early, however, and at this point in camp the defense is usually ahead of the offense. It's just a little frustrating that no one seems to be rising to the occasion. There's still plenty of time, so hopefully the continuous competition and grind eventually gets the most out of this group, and clear cut, quality starters emerge.

Henne struggling with touch
We haven't heard much about Chad Henne so far in camp. Nothing overly positive, nothing overwhelmingly negative. If there was one aspect of his game he was looking to improve the most during the offseason, it was probably his touch throws. Any improvement made wasn't on display this evening, though. Henne reportedly had an attempted screen pass knocked down by Koa Misi, had another intercepted by Jared Odrick, and had a dump-off pass taken back to the house by Reshad Jones. On the bright side, at least the rookies had a solid practice.

Sources: Sun-Sentinel, Miami Dolphins in Depth

Roster moves made
With two season ending injuries in two days and a player leaving the team, some cleaning up duty was in order. That consisted of the team reportedly placing linebacker A.J. Edds on the IR, placing running back Kory Sheets on the waived/injured list, placing receiver A.J. Wallace on the reserve/left squad list, and resigning cornerback Evan Ogelsby, who was recently cut.

The Dolphins risk losing Kory to another team as he goes through the waiver wire, but it's unlikely anyone will bite given he's an unproven back-up who wouldn't be able to contribute until 2011. That being said, expect the team to retain Sheets and place him on the IR with Edds. Who knows, maybe 2011 will be a better situation for him in Miami with either Ronnie, Ricky, or both possibly out of town, as they are currently in the last year of their contracts.

More rave reviews for Marshall
There are certain players that just stand out. Brandon Marshall fits the bill. He reportedly had another dominate practice tonight, and was nearly unstoppable on the jumpball fade to the corner of the endzone, scoring two touchdowns. Take a deep breath Dolfans, we still have a week and a half before we see Mr. Marshall in live action, and over a month before he suits up for a game that actually matters. Yes, it's hard to contain the excitement, but these reports will have to suffice for the time being.

Same for Cameron Wake?
Maybe Wake isn't the all-around player the Dolphins want him to be, but it's becoming evident that they may have an elite pass rusher here who could be on the verge of taking the league by storm.

Tonight, Wake reportedly "roasted" Vernon Carey, getting to the quarterback by turning the corner with dangerous speed. Once again, he's started every practice session so far in camp, and weakside linebacker doesn't seem to be the competition it was supposed to be. Which is fantastic in my book.

Maybe he doesn't defend the run or drop into coverage as well as we would like, but in a league that is increasingly becoming more and more pass happy, if you have a double-team commanding stud of a pass rusher you play him as much as possible. You don't just hand him a third-down role and give the Tom Brady's and Mark Sanchez's out there a pass on early downs.

Pencil Nolan Carroll and Patrick Turner in on your 53-man roster predictions
Over the last few days, both Nolan Carroll, a fifth-round corner out of Maryland, and Patick Turner have been turning heads at camp. Nolan has been making notable plays on the ball, whether it be pass breakups or interceptions, and Turner has been making outstanding catches left and right.

Now, before you jump back on the Turner bandwagon, remember back to last year's camp, when he also impressed pretty consistently but was a non-factor in the regular season. Still though, both players are making enough plays on a consistent basis to earn roster spots. Carroll is working in the dime package, where he will likely have to make due for this season with the three guys in front of him being Davis, Smith, and Will Allen, but could potentially be an ace special-teamer, as he has experience on both the punt and kickoff teams and has even been mentioned as a candidate for kick/punt return duties.

Patrick Turner would be the fifth receiver if this season started today, and if he can continue to make plays he will keep that role. Taurus Johnson appears to be his biggest threat at the moment, spending tonight as the first-team kick-returner, but the Dolphins will most likely give Patrick Cobbs Ted Ginn Jr.'s old job, given he's already a virtual lock on the final 53-man roster and has been solid as a returner in the past.

Sources: Omar Kelly, The Daily Dolphin