The secondary was the biggest area of concern for the Dolphins going into the offseason; it was also the one that impressed me the most during Saturday’s game against the Bucs. Our young guys have come a long way and if they can continue to play at the level at which they played on that first game our defensive game as a whole will get to a place much better than we could’ve imagined.

CBs

Vontae Davis continues to be one of my favorite players to watch. Going into his second season, Davis seems to be a lock for the starting left corner spot, as he has proved throughout camp that if nothing else, he is consistent. As the days go by, we see Davis improve his game, even when covering Marshall, he manages to stay close and make the play without drawing a flag, a quality that is extremely important for a corner to be successful in this league.

Sean Smith had a rocky start in camp and even lost his starting spot to Jason Allen a couple of times, but he’s coming back strong and was one of the most noticeable players in the first pre-season game. All that work against Marshall coupled with the pressure of not performing well in camp might be just what he needed to elevate his game to the next level, since I honestly believe he is the most talented corner we have.

Jason Allen has been hot and cold at days during training camp, but is a lock to make the team based solely on the contribution he makes on special teams; that’s not to say he won’t be used as a corner though, because he certainly will be. Sparano is very impressed with what J. Allen has done thus far in camp, mentally, he is the sharpest guy on the team and according to Sparano seems to finally have figured out exactly what his niche is, and that is OCB. He also performed exceptionally well during the game on Saturday so I’m sure we’ll see more of him this next game against the Jags.

At the start of camp, Will Allen had been used exclusively in the nickel package and was said to be the only player who could take on that role, something by the way, he does extremely well. W. Allen’s future seems a little dull at the moment, since he recently suffered an injury and has been out of practice. As usual the extent of the injury is unknown so it’s not clear whether or not he will participate in the next preseason game.

One player who has benefited from this injury is Nollan Carroll. Carroll has definitely made an impression during training camp, especially in recent days when he has been used as the number one guy in all nickel plays in place of W. Allen. In addition to that Carroll has been used in all dime packages and is believed to have almost locked a spot in the 53 man roster where he will also play a role in special teams. Carroll is the rookie I will more closely be following in the next couple of weeks, out of all the rookies he has the hardest road ahead to earn a starting job so I believe he will continue to try to develop his game and get the experience he needs to succeed at this level, I don’t think he will become a starter this season on this team but he can definitely make a significant contribution and will add depth to the roster.

The other two rookies on the team are newly acquired Hobbs, who was signed to replace Oglesby who was cut from the team yet again following injury and Nate Ness, who made the move to the position from safety. Both of these players made a splash during the first preseason game but have a long way to go before securing a spot on the team.

Ss

SS was never a worry for the Dolphins, and that’s because Pro-Bowler Yeremiah Bell is the one filling that position. Bell is one of best in the business as they say and can always be relied upon to make the play, even if his 1-on-1 play is a little shaky at times. Headed into the season there was never any doubt about whether or not he would start there was just the question of who would start opposite him as FS.

Up until this point Sparano has all but said that Chris Clemmons is the guy who will be filling that role. Clemmons has received nothing but praise from the coach who is impressed by just how sharp mentally Clemmons is. According to Sparano, both Clemmons and Bell combined have made 4 mental errors in 945 plays, a definite upgrade from what we saw from Gibril Wilson last season.

Rookie Reshad Jones has also made his presence known at camp and is currently listed as the backup for Clemmons and from the looks of it, he would be ready to step up and fill the role at any time, that is if he is healthy since he was seen limping off the field during yesterday’s practice. Tyrone Culver and Jonathan Amaya have also managed to make some plays in camp, but seem a long way from the rest of the guys.


The secondary seems to be the most improved unit of the team thus far, and I continue to look forward to seeing all of the players, most of whom are really young, continue to develop, not only during preseason, but all year long.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I want to give special thanks to the Dolfan Bandits and Marky Marc from WQAM for the updates they have been providing on the page and which have been invaluable in adding to my camp information on the days I haven't been out there.

Also, I recently started a facebook page for the blog so if you enjoy reading I hope you'll join:http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Phins-2-Phins/144135708947740?ref=ts