With this morning’s session in the books, the Dolphins only have one more practice (tomorrow at 11 a.m.) before they kick off the preseason in Atlanta on Friday night.

Camp has given us plenty of hints about this 2011 squad, but everything is taken to another level in a game setting. Starting jobs will be won and roster spots will be earned in the exhibition season.

The action on the practice facility in Davie will still go a long way in shaping this team, however. And certainly a string of solid performances at practice will open the door for more opportunities to impress in the preseason. Let’s recap the happenings from today.

Chad Henne’s inconsistencies continue
What would our daily camp reports be without an update on how Chad Henne is progressing in his third season as the starter? Henne didn’t exactly build off of his outstanding performance in Sunday’s intrasquad scrimmage, when he tossed three touchdown passes to Brandon Marshall.

“Erratic” was a popular word used by the South Florida media to describe Henne’s workout today. He went a dreadful 2 for 8 in the Dolphins’ team session, but it should be noted that Brandon Marshall dropped a ball that was put on the money.

You know what you’re getting from the elite quarterbacks in this league week after week. The same can’t be said for Henne. Sure, he’s had some great outings in the past, but he just hasn’t been able to string together several solid games in a row. It’s clear that consistency is in order for Henne to finally have the breakout season he’s overdue for.

I’ve said before that there isn’t much of a competition between Chad Henne and Matt Moore. It’s clearly Henne’s job to lose, and he’s basically going to have to hand the thing over if Moore stands a chance.

Well, Matt More reportedly was fairly sound at practice today, putting together his best workout since signing with the Dolphins. I still think it’s a long shot, but if today’s rough practice for Henne was a sign of a slump to come, Matt Moore could have a final say in this thing after all.

Free safety competition getting interesting
The Dolphins are now presumably rotating Reshad Jones and Chris Clemons into the starting lineup every other practice. Jones received first-team reps in Sunday’s scrimmage, but Chris Clemons was back working with the starters today. There wasn’t much word out of Davie regarding how either one looked today, but it appears that neither has a decisive advantage.

Personally, I would give a slight edge to Jones because of his playmaking ability. But I see this bout going all 12 rounds, ultimately being decided by who makes more plays or less mistakes in the preseason.

Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages….Phins Phocus is going to be proudly brining to you the most electrifying blogs in sports entertainment. We have some news over here at the site and that is that we will be launching a new segment called Phinstake: The Great Debate! This new segment will sort of be like ESPN’s PTI and will be launched every week on our website.

Phinstake will be blogs of me (Daniel Eliesen) and my counterpart (Cody Strahm)  going head to head, facemask to facemask on some major Dolphins and NFL topics.

Topics that might come up in the future: Reggie Bush or Daniel Thomas, who should be the feature back?  Chad Henne (A robot or a person)? Do the Dolphins have enough weapons?  Coach Sparano love him or had enough?

We will try to do our best to provide insightful and entertaining information in the new segment.  I am going to apologize in advance if I make a lot of not funny jokes or am obnoxious during this segment as it is only in attempt to entertain the Phins Phocus audience and maybe score a deal on a new romantic comedy movie starring across Mila Kunis.

So get your popcorn ready, because after the first preseason game we will hit you up with our first segment going back to school giving out grades to the Dolphins roster.

We’re now eight practices and one intrasquad scrimmage into Miami Dolphins’ training camp. It’s still early and plenty of work is yet to be done, but first impressions have been made.

The 53-man roster is a long way from taking shape, but some players have begun to put themselves in the driver’s seat for a spot on this team. And early favorites have emerged in the few position battles on the roster.

With that said, let’s recap which players have helped their cause and which players have hurt their cause the most in the first week-and-half of camp with our first installment of Stock Report.

RISING

Jason Taylor, OLB: Not many expected Jason Taylor to return to Miami after his one-year hiatus with this franchise’s biggest rival in New York. Even less expected Jason Taylor to not only sign with the Dolphins, but start opposite Cameron Wake.

While, that’s certainly no lock at this point, JT has lined up with the starting defense the last two practices and again in yesterdays scrimmage. Not only has he got the nod over Koa Misi, he’s actually showed flashes of the Jason Taylor of old. He reportedly was explosive rushing the passer yesterday.

Jimmy Wilson, SS: Even as a seventh-round pick, safety Jimmy Wilson came into camp with a mild level of expectations. As a player with mid-round talent that saw his draft stock drastically diminished by his murder case, many foresaw Wilson making a legitimate push for a roster spot. He hasn’t disappointed thus far.

Wilson has been physical as an in-the-box strong safety and projects to be a difference maker on special-teams. According to a source close with the team, Wilson has already all but won a roster spot.

Reshad Jones, FS: His stock was essentially elevated when Tony Sparano hinted that the free safety battle will be decided by playmaking ability. While, Chris Clemons has speed and rarely makes mistakes, Reshad Jones is clearly the more productive playmaker.

Jones’ interceptions have tailored off some the past few days, but he made a strong first impression out of the gates by reeling in a few picks to kick off camp. He was rewarded with first-team reps in yesterday’s scrimmage.

Chad Henne, QB: It was a rough first few days of camp for Chad Henne, culminating with the infamous boos/Kyle Orton chants last Monday night at Sun Life Stadium. A lot has changed in only a week. Henne hasn’t had a lackluster workout since and seemingly had his best practice as a pro with a dazzling three touchdown performance in yesterday’s scrimmage.

A great showing in a scrimmage won’t mean anything come September, but it’s a nice step in the right direction. I’ve maintained that this is Chad Henne’s job to lose in regards to any competition with Matt Moore. Certainly Henne is vulnerable to being replaced with any prolonged struggles in the season, but he appears close to sealing the deal as the Dolphins’ starting quarterback to begin the year.

Lydon Murtha, OT: When Vernon Carey was moved inside to guard last week, the right tackle position instantly opened up for the taking. Marc Colombo is the favorite to land the job, but Lydon Murtha is at least making him sweat it out.

Murtha has been solid so far in camp and has gotten the best of Jason Taylor at least twice, pancaking the future Hall of Famer. Sparano reportedly wants to decide on a starting line shortly after the first preseason game, so this week in practice and Friday’s game should make or break Murtha’s chances at cracking the starting unit.

The potential has always been there. Well, ever since the Dolphins sent two second-round picks to the Rocky Mountains for Brandon Marshall, pairing one of the most talented receivers in the league with a quarterback who had all the tools but was in dire need of a go-to threat.

A year has come and gone, and while Chad Henne was the arm behind most of Brandon Marshall’s 1,014 yards receiving in 2010, the connection that began the year with so much promise, certainly left something to be desired by season’s end.

Henne and Marshall just never really seemed to get on the same page. An overthrown pass here, a misread there. Most of the blame was placed on Henne, and a lot of that was justifiable, but Marshall dropped his share of catchable balls, further complicating the matter.

But that was 2010. This is 2011. And while positive signs in a scrimmage a week into camp aren’t going to answer any questions, if confidence was built today progress was made.

Surely, confidence was built today in the Henne/Marshall connection that was responsible for three touchdowns, or as many scores as Marshall registered in all of 2010.

There were no official stats kept, but ESPN 760’s Ken LaVicka scored Henne as 10-15 for 145 yards, the three touchdowns to Marshall, and one bad decision- a 99-yard pick sick courtesy of Karlos Dansby- away from a near flawless afternoon. Marshall, meanwhile, managed one more catch besides the three scores to rack up an unofficial 4 receptions for 75 yards.

What will all of this mean when the Patriots come to town on September 12th? Well, nothing. Henne and Marshall are going to have to duplicate success like this when it actually means something to finally put some of the pressing questions we have about this offense to rest.

Today was a refreshing step in the right direction, though. Particularly in Henne’s case, if his confidence is beginning to grow, something that clearly held him back in 2010, playing well in a simple scrimmage may carry a little more weight than you would think.

They don’t call them dog days for nothing. Any player will tell you that the heat makes training camp brutal at times, but Dolphins’ players know the true definition of brutal. It’s hot everywhere in August, but the South Florida heat and humidity is a different beast.

Today was no exception, as some media members speculated that it was the hottest day of camp thus far, with no breeze or cloud coverage for relief. But working through these conditions will only benefit the Dolphins from a conditioning standpoint.

And kudos to the fans for still coming out. This fan base has been taking a hit lately with the whole Henne booing/Orton chanting saga, but they deserve credit for showcasing their loyalty in the heat.

Charles Clay has strong practice
The Dolphins’ rookie class has been solid a week into practice. Most notably, Clyde Gates has looked the part of playmaker and Jimmy Wilson has been making quite the impression for a seventh-round pick. Well, now you can add sixth-round selection Charles Clay to that list.

The presumed H-back had himself quite the session today, highlighted by two 25-yard touchdown receptions in 7-on-7’s. We will probably have to wait for the preseason to get a feel for exactly how Brian Daboll will utilize Clay. If he continues to impress, either fullback Lousaka Polite or whoever wins the third tight end spot will be out of a job.

Who said Reggie Bush wasn’t physical?
Reggie Bush, the labeled finesse runner, had arguably the play of the day by going truck stick on Sean Smith. Bush ran right through the 6-3, 215 pound corner, knocking him to the ground. Those are the types of plays Sparano will have to see if he’s going to entrust Bush with a starter’s workload, something I think is very unlikely.

But outside of flashes like these, it’s really hard to get a feel for how productive the Dolphins’ backs have been so far. They typically don’t tackle to the ground in practice, so we’ll have to wait for the preseason to see how the new-look running game is progressing.