Smitten Parcells Signs Butter Fingers Tight End
5th-rounder didn't expect to be drafted and thought he'd been picked up by Dallas
By JANIE CAMPBELL
Updated 6:00 PM EDT, Fri, May 22, 2009
John Nalbone must be pinching himself constantly because there's a million reasons he shouldn't have just signed a 4-year, $1.75 million contract as the first Dolphin draft pick to come to a contract agreement.
But has Bill Parcells ever met a Jersey TE he didn't like?
To begin with, the tight end from Monmouth hilariously fumbled his selection call from the Dolphins, forgetting himself in the excitement and telling Bill Parcells how he'd always been a Dallas Cowboys fan and was grateful to have the opportunity to play for "America's Team." (Hey, just add a "Central and South" in front, Nalbone, and you do!) According to Nalbone's cousin, the line went silent, until coach Tony Sparano laughed and told him to get ready for camp. You know, the one that's not in Texas.
And Nalbone didn't do much to distinguish himself in camp, angering Sparano with daily dropped passes and a bout of the tripsies: “Stand-up, dammit!" he yelled after a catch that caused Nalbone to falter. "No one even touched you!”
But Parcells "can't help himself" when it comes to Italian tight ends from New Jersey, joked the Dolphins' Anthony Fasano, who should know. "He has to have one of them in every draft."
Perhaps the sheer wonder at still being on the roster sped up the signing process for Nalbone, who may come in handy as Fasano and backup David Martin are in the final year of their contracts and second-year backup Joey Haynos might not be the answer either.
At any rate, at four years, Nalbone just might have enough time to climb the steep learning curve from small school to big time.
Or learn who employs Bill Parcells these day.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: May 22, 2009 4:09 PM EDT
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