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It may have been in a limited capacity, but Miami Dolphins center Mike Pouncey was able to return to practice yesterday. The 2011 first round draft choice has missed the team's last two games due to food poisoning. The illness was severe enough that doctors were worried they may have to remove Pouncey's gallbladder.
Last week, Pouncey returned to the team after a few days in the hospital, but he was simply present in the team facilities, unable to actually perform any workouts. Yesterday, he was back out there with the team, and after practice, said he would be ready for this Sunday's game.
"I feel great. I'll be out there," Pouncey said. "I'm aiming to play every snap of the football game. It's hard when you're a lineman. It's not like you can just come out of the game. Once you start playing you're playing the whole game, so my intention is to go out there and play the whole game."
If Pouncey is able to play, he would likely move back into his center role, with Nate Garner moving to left guard. Sam Brenner would come out of the starting lineup and into a reserve role for the team, just in cause Pouncey, or someone else, isn't able to complete the entire contest.
The fact that it's a game against the New York Jets has't escaped Pouncey's attention, either. "It's a division game, so it's going to be really loud. Both teams are pretty much even, record wise, and that team's always will coached. We have to go out and play our best game of the year. It's going to be cold, we know it's going to be a really physical football game, and we have to go out and play our best."
He added, "The hate us, and we know it. It's a rivalry game. We're going to go out there, we're going to play as hard as we can. When it's a rivalry game, everything is hyped up just a little bit more. We will be physically prepared, and mentally prepared, when we step out on that football field."
Asked if he hates the Jets, like they hate the Dolphins, Pouncey laughed, "It's the Jets man, what do you think?"
"We don't like the Jets," he threw in.