Cameron’s safe play was the right move

By Adam Best  |   Thursday, August 30, 2007  |  Comments( 9 )

Miami Dolphins
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans!

Typically in the NFL, position battles are long decided before the fourth and final preseason game has ever been played. This is no different from what's transpired with the Miami Dolphins and the team's roster this year. Last night's game against the New Orleans Saints will ultimately have little to no influence on the Dolphins' final roster decisions.

The Dolphins knew that Trent Green, Cleo Lemon and John Beck (in that order) would be the team's three quarterbacks. Trust me, Gibran Hamdan was toast long before he threw those two picks.

As was alluded to in yesterday's column, head coach Cam Cameron also already knows who's won the starting running back competition. That player will probably be Ronnie Brown, but Jesse Chatman and even Lorenzo Booker will both see plenty of touches this season. Neither Brown nor Chatman played against the Saints, further showing how little significance the exhibition had.

As a matter of fact, essentially no offensive starters even played.

The offensive line was completely different, and it even featured undrafted free agent Julius Wilson at its most crucial position, left tackle.

Neither Chris Chambers nor Marty Booker (both are staying, by the way) played. Derek Hagan and Kerry Reed started in their stead. Hagan made the team long ago, and Reed didn't do anything really to either help or hurt his chances. In fact, Cameron may have already decided to keep just four receivers on the 53-man roster to start the season -- Booker, Chambers, Hagan and Ted Ginn. Michael Malone, P.K. Sam and Reed, along with others, could very well be released. After all, it is commonplace nowadays for teams to only keep four active WRs and stash a couple others away on the practice squad.

The defense wasn't any different. Jason Taylor, Vonnie Holliday and Zach Thomas didn't play, as was expected, but neither did the rest of the starters. In fact, the guys playing have probably either already made the team or are auditioning for their next prospective club.

Even Cameron no-showed, to an extent, letting assistant coach Dom Capers call most of the shots.

The game couldn't have been more meaningless.

The good news is that this preventative measure worked -- no significant contributors were injured during Thursday night's game, and the Dolphins will roll into the '07 season almost completely healthy (probably depending on Joey Porter). It's not yet known if Cameron's strategy will pay off, but several minicamps, a full training camp and three exhibition games are likely more than enough to prepare a team for a season.
Got something to say?

Log In above and share your thoughts on this topic with other fans! (9)

Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report