Fasten Your Seat Belts

Friday, July 25, 2003,
Alistair Henderson
MDBW Staff Writer

Gentlemen, start your engines.

Ready or not, here they come. The season starts here, and finally all us armchair quarterbacks have got something to get revved up about.

Here we are at the start of training camp, and of course there are all kinds of questions in the minds of the fans now that the pads are finally on.

The Dolphins have done a fine job hanging on to the considerable talent they have and bolstering it with exciting additions through free agency like Seau, Griese, Buckley, Battaglia, Thompson, Knight, Rogers and Zgonina. And maybe there are a couple of rookie diamonds in the rough in Moore and Tolver.

Actually, there is so much talent on this Dolphin squad that at first glance the final roster almost picks itself, apart from four or five positions. So what does all this mean for training camp? Is the final roster a foregone conclusion, or can we anticipate some surprises?

Well, of course there will be some surprises. It's more than likely that injuries will play a part in this whole process, and like it or not the Fins will be missing one or two of the pieces which make up the perfect squad come September 7. That's football, and it will be the same for most teams.

But you can be certain of one thing. There are going to be plenty of battles for starting positions.

Of course, most of the media coverage will be on Fiedler and Griese. Coach Wannstedt will do everything in his power to downplay that competition, but it's not going to go away.

Fiedler, rightly or wrongly has too many loud detractors in Miami, who will never believe that he has the ability to take the Fins to the Superbowl. Regardless of his winning record, they will never be convinced. Even if he gets them to the big game and wins it they will never be convinced.

So be prepared for the Fiedler/Griese sideshow to overshadow not only training camp but the whole season and next year's off season too.

The plain and simple fact, however, is that, barring another injury, Fiedler will start the season and play the season. He is Wannstedt's man, and Griese is there for insurance. End of story.

But if you're looking for the best battle of training camp, look no further than the receivers squad.

Take your pick from Chambers, Gadsden, McKnight and Thompson, and then throw Tolver, Baker, Jackson and the others into the mix. That is going to be quite a competition. Who will win out is anybody's guess at this point, but if Tolver ever gets signed, look for him to be right there at the end. He impressed Dave Wannstedt in minicamps, and the coaches like him a lot. Gadsden and Chambers have to show that they are over their injuries and back to full speed. It's hard to write off Gadsden but he missed minicamps and for all his experience will have to work hard now to overtake Thompson.

There will be more. Buckley and Fletcher. Freeman and Knight. Mare and Hart. Who?! Well, I just had to throw that one in, being a transplanted Englishman myself. Rob Hart is a 28 year old kicker who was born in Southampton, England, who is listed on the official Dolphins roster. So, just for old times sake, I kind of hope he gives Mare a bit of competition. Just enough to push him you understand. But sorry Rob, Olindo has to stay.

So here we are. Fasten your seat belts and prepare yourself for one heck of a ride. We are off and running and this time we could go all the way to the finish line.

Alistair Henderson can be reached by e-mailing fishface@miamidolphinsbahamas.com. Or you can talk about this story and more on the MDBW Forums message board!