Camp Report: Day 12

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Banged up Dolphins
You know we are truly in the dog days of training camp when the top story of the day is Evan Ogelsby– who has virtually no chance of making the 53-man roster and has actually been cut once already- going down with a reported ankle injury. No longer will these daily practice sessions satisfy our Dolphins’ fix. It’s time for game action. And in four days, that’s what we will finally get.

Then, just like every year before, the meaninglessness of the preseason will take it’s toll, and we will be starving for the real thing. But hey, a few weeks ago all we had was baseball. Anyway, outside of Ogelsby getting hurt, Jake Grove only riding the exercise bike with a bone bruise, Patrick Cobbs returning to action, and Tim Dobbins not being present as expected with that minor ankle injury also ruled the headlines this afternoon.

Nate Garner remains first-team left guard
If you were wondering if Nate Garner would return to backup right tackle today, conceding that yesterday’s switch to guard was only temporary, that didn’t happen. Instead, Garner spent his second day in a row working with the starting O-line, and Sparano confirmed at his daily press conference that Garner is in the mix. Judging by how poor the interior of the line has looked so far, I happen to love the move when you take into account how affective Garner was at guard last season in relief duty.

I would only expect him to improve with a whole preseason to perfect the craft he had to pick up on the fly last year. Does that mean he is now the favorite to start on the left side? Not yet, but he surely has a golden opportunity to pull away form the rest of the competition. Personally, I can’t wait to watch him, and the rest of the interior O-lineman for that matter, go to work on Saturday night.

Will Nolan Carroll return kicks?  
The Dolphins worked on their emergency field goal scenario this afternoon, as punter Brandon Fields split the uprights on two extra points with Greg Camarillo on the hold. They also revealed a glimpse of their field goal return play, which featured rookie corner Nolan Carroll bringing a missed Dan Carpenter kick back to mid-field. Does that mean Carroll has a legitimate shot at winning the kick-return job?

Well, he was listed as third on the Dolphins’ first released depth chart yesterday, even though Sparano instructed the media not to read too much into it. Carroll certainly has the speed to potentially be a big-play threat, too, but once again, we are going to have to wait until the preseason to evaluate who the kick returner should be. Good thing for Carroll, though, his job doesn’t appear to be depending on it, as he continues to make an impression at corner.

Sources: The Daily Dolphin, The Sun-Sentinel

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