The big news on Wednesday to come out of the Dolphins first organized team activity that was open to the media was Brandon Marshall's injury. But believe it or not, there are other things to talk about.
Allow me to highlight some of those things below, in the popular bullet format:
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Joe Berger was working with the first team at center while Jake Grove worked with the second team. This isn't all too different from how the season ended. But at that time, Grove was nursing an ankle injury. He basically missed most of or all of six games in 2009 on the heels of signing a 5 year, $29.5 million deal. And with the news that the Dolphins are bringing in former Cowboy and Bronco offensive lineman Cory Procter, some think that the Dolphins might be looking to dump Grove's hefty contract. Proctor's primary position is center, too. But Tony Sparano said that Grove worked with the first team on Tuesday at their first OTA practice and that Grove and Berger would likely battle it out for the starting job right through training camp. Considering the Dolphins averaged over 40 more rushing yards per game with Grove in the lineup, I'm not believing the hype that the Dolphins want to cut Grove. But I do think he'll have to really work hard to earn back his starting job. I expect him to do just that.
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Richie Incognito lined up as the starting right guard while Donald Thomas took Justin Smiley's old spot over at left guard. Rookie John Jerry, meanwhile, worked as the second team left guard. Nate Garner, who this regime likes a lot, was not at the OTA. He, instead, was inside receiving treatment. It's believed he underwent some kind of offseason "procedure" as well. It'll be interesting to see where Garner lines up once he is ready to go. My guess is that he'll compete with Incognito at right guard.
Ronnie Brown was back on the field despite recovering from his Lis Franc fracture. He was reportedly in "good spirits." There was an AP report, though, that said Brown was limping noticeably. Still, the fact that he was out there is a good sign. He even took a snap out of the Wildcat. Ronnie said he expects to be fully ready for the season opener in Buffalo. But will he be cleared medically when camp begins in late July or early August?
The other guy recovering from a similar injury is Channing Crowder. And Crowder was riding the bike on Wednesday while Tim Dobbins worked inside next to new starting linebacker Karlos Dansby. It's hard not to wonder what might happen if Dobbbins performs well while Channing continues to rehab. We spoke a couple weeks back about Dobbins potentially unseating Crowder as a starter. Could that be a reality?
Tony Sparano praised Cameron Wake after practice on Wednesday, saying he's improved a lot. Yet Wake was working as the second team weak side outside linebacker while Charlie Anderson worked as the starter. Quentin Moses worked as the starter on the strong side with rookie Koa Misi backing him up. Allow me to repeat this nonsense: Quentin Moses and Charlie Anderson are currently working as the first team starting OLBs. Good thing it's only May, huh? Let me just say that if Wake doesn't overtake Moses by camp, I'm not going to be a happy guy. Was there seriously no room for Jason Taylor on this roster? Really?
Reports indicated that Ryan Baker bulked up this offseason and could battle with Paul Soliai for the backup nose tackle job behind Randy Starks. But it's near impossible to tell anything about the linemen until the pads go on and practice is full contact. But it's worth monitoring, that's for sure. Speaking of nose tackles, Jason Ferguson (suspended for the first eight games) said he took a banned blood pressure medication, causing the positive drug test. At least it's not as bad as a steroid. But still, he needs to know better. And he'll have plenty of time to think about what he did once the regular season comes around.
Chris Clemons worked as the starter at free safety while rookie Reshad Jones worked as the second team FS. Tyrone Culver practiced exclusively as the backup to Yeremiah Bell at strong safety. But Sparano said this was mainly because he knows what Culver can do and needs to see more reps for Clemons and Jones at free safety.
Like Marshall, Patrick Turner will be out until training camp after undergoing some kind of "procedure" this offseason as well. This really hurts him, though. Turner is on the roster bubble and really could have used all the work he could get. Now he'll miss out on valuable reps.
First round pick Jared Odrick worked with the second team defensive line. The starters up front were Kendall Langford, Randy Starks, and Phillip Merling. Now how long will Merling be able to hold off the rookie?