The name that kept on giving has taken his leave.
The Dolphins confirmed that rookie tackle SirVincent Rodgers departed Davie yesterday "of his own accord." It would be great if that alluded to something fun, like SirVincent running off to join the circus, but it probably means he found himself low on the depth chart and gave up.
Donald Thomas' return from injury will certainly help Tony Sparano survive the loss.
Speaking of Sparano, he and Jason Taylor are picking up right where they left off: enamored of one another (see?).
The prodigal defensive end is winning rave reviews while working out where Matt Roth's functioning groin used to be.
"The guy's a tremendous, tremendous pro," coach Tony Sparano said during the break between Thursday's two practices. "The guy comes out here, he doesn't say boo, he works his tail off, goes a million miles an hour... Having passion to play this game when you've been doing it for 11, 12, 13 years says an awful lot to me. I still see the tools out there; I'm seeing more and more each day."
For his part, Taylor says he's comfortable tackling the learning curve at outside linebacker: "I need a few weeks and I'll be fine."
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The wind beneath his wings? "Tony's great - his attitude, his demeanor, what he expects, and the way he is very demanding and sometimes a little rough," said no. 99. "I liked that from previous coaches. When I left here a year ago, I said I wanted to play for Tony. Now I have a chance to do it, and I am happy."
Aw. Here's a few more nuggets from camp:
- The Fins are trying to determine how they can use Pat White. "He has a lot of things he needs to work on right now," said Sparano, who's trying to figure out what White does well (so far, just operate out of the shotgun) so he can put together a "Pat Package."
"Let's figure out what this guy can do well for us right now and let's not bog him down with what he maybe doesn't do so well just 'cause [the coaches] want to do it."
- The young receiving corps is shaping up to be very dangerous, if camp performances translate.
- CFL star Cameron Wake is finally waking up. Yeah, Canadian Football lulls us into a stupor, too.
- The Fins have so far managed to avoid any major dings. Rookie CB Sean Smith sustained a knee bruise after friendly fire from Anthony Armstrong, but played through. Channing Crowder (knee) sat half of Thursday as a precaution.
- Fans are really, really ready for some football.
