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Wednesday Practice Observations

Sorry for the delay in getting these up.  There were some issues with the internet service at Phinsider headquarters (ISP must be full of Jet fans).  Either way, here are some more practice observations by the members of the south Florida media.

The first comes courtesy of Harvey Fialkov:

-Rookie back Lorenzo Booker looks impressive in all areas except punt returns. He can't seem to judge or catch punter Brandon Fields' skyscraping boots. Hurry back Ted!

-Although rookie guard Drew Mormino was believed to be vying for the starting left guard spot with Chris Liwienski, there he was playing right guard in practice today. Huh? Also, rookie Tala Esera was playing left guard next to his former Hawaii teammate and fellow Samoan starting center Samson Satele. Satele seems confident that he will hold onto the starting spot. Cam Cameron commented on the kid's smarts after practice.

-Rookie receiver Kerry Reed continues to sparkle in light of the absence of Ginn. It'll be tough to land a roster spot with Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, Derek Hagan, Ginn and possibly Az-Zahir Hakim seemingly entrenched. Reed scored on a nifty end-around that includued a dynamite block by quarterback John Beck.

These next observations come from Kevin Clark:

-Booker is still fielding punts in Ginn's absence, and today looked like Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez in pads. A number of times Booker dropped punts, including one poorly timed fair-catch attempt. One arm was still waving as the ball fell in front of him, bouncing off his free hand.

-Fans of punting can probably get their Brandon Fields jerseys now. It seems like Ryan Flinn hasn't taken a snap.

-Many of the contact drills focused on the running game, and just a handful of passes were thrown by John Beck and Gibran Hamdan. The running backs were praised by Cameron for a lack of fumbles. On one would-be passing play, Beck showed impressive scrambling ability when he escaped the pocket and gained what would have been a first down.

**UPDATE**: Here's Kevin Clark's afternoon practice thoughts:

-Rookie running back Lorenzo Booker, not handling punt return duties in the bubble, showed why the Dolphins drafted him during one-on-one passing drills. The former Seminole burned safety Chris Harrell by about 5 yards before the reception and scored a touchdown.

-Quarterback John Beck did not put on the impressive display he did Tuesday. His first pass, on a slant route, turned into a dropped interception by Tuff Harris, a cornerback out of Montana.

-The grand finale was a strip by safety Courtney Bryan returned for a touchdown on the final play of the afternoon, sending the overjoyed defense into the end zone with Bryan.

Back with more on today's practices as I come across the info.