Can you believe that the pads come on in just 3 days? Can't wait!
Here are some nuggets to talk about as we await the start of training camp:
PARCELLS SPEAKS OUT
I'm sure most of you know that Bill Parcells was on HBO's Real Sports last night. I'll be honest: I didn't watch it. But the local papers have some of the more interesting parts of the interview.
First, the Sun-Sentinel tells us that Bill Parcells said it was Tony Romo's botched hold on the potential game-winning, chip-shot FG in the playoffs back in 2006 that drove him to retirement (from coaching, that is). Parcells says:
"We’d just lost to Seattle and I’m flying back. I’m sitting up with the pilots, you know, I have a little fear of flying so I ride up in the cockpit. And I said, ‘This is probably going to be my last trip.’ And you just know. You don’t want to go through the whole process again, to get to right where we were. You know? And all you got to do is kick a field goal, the most elementary of plays, and then you just don’t do it. And so I don’t want to go through that process again. Too much blood."
Perhaps we should all send Romo a "thank you" card. Thanks to his inability to take a snap and put down a hold, the Dolphins now have one of the greatest masters of the "turn-around" running the show.
And Parcells loves turning around franchises. As the Palm Beach Post tells us, Parcells says of turning around franchises:
"That’s the best! It doesn’t get any better than that."
Parcells also says in the interview that he has no intentions of being involved in coaching at all ever again. He does say that he'll talk to the players and give them pointers if he notices anything in practice. But he won't be involved in anything on gameday. In fact, he might not even be in the building when the Dolphins play road games. So to those who think he'll "get that itch" to coach again, I'd say you shouldn't count on it.
SI WRITER BELIEVES HENNE TO BE STARTER
Sure, this story is almost a week old. But I forgot to talk about it earlier.
It seems that SI.com's Don Banks believes that Chad Henne will win the starting QB job and be at the helm against the Jets in week one. He writes:
Miami's next starting quarterback will be the winner of the Josh McCown-John Beck-Chad Henne derby, and I still say Parcells' Dolphins will wind up going against his history and entrusting the No. 1 role to the rookie from Michigan. Henne has a track record of being a quick study, and his offseason work with the Dolphins leaves him well-positioned to lock down the job with a solid preseason showing.
Seriously? I'm stunned, to be honest. I'm stunned that Sports Illustrated could have a clown like Banks write for them. It's mind-boggling, to be honest.
First of all, it really wouldn't be Parcells "going against his history" if he started Henne this year. Remember, when he took over the Giants, Parcells started a young, inexperienced Scott Brunner over Phil Simms. Of course, Bill then did give Simms his shot and he won a Super Bowl and a Super Bowl MVP. Also, Parcells started Drew Bledsoe right from day one in New England. It sure seems like a writer for SI should know this stuff, doesn't it?
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, all camp reports from OTAs and mini-camps claim that both Josh McCown and John Beck have looked better than Henne. That's no knock to Henne; it just takes time to get acquainted with new teammates and learn a new system.
And I'm willing to put my reputation on the line and say that there is no way Chad Henne wins the starting QB job out of camp. I'm not saying he won't start at all this season. But certainly not in week one.
QUICK HITS
-Despite internet reports, including the one I linked to here, the Dolphins did not sign Pedro Sosa. At least, not yet. They did work him out, though. But no offer was made.
-Expect Ronnie Brown's workload to be very light to open camp. And don't even expect to see him in the early preseason games, according to Tony Sparano.
-If you don't live in the Miami area but have the NFL Network, you'll be able to watch all 4 of Miami's preseason games - on tape-delay, of course.