Dolphins news for week of 6/1

[Gunzlingr]

Post Dolphins news here.

[Gunzlingr]

Let's not cloud this.

You didn't make the playoffs last year because of your backup quarterback. And now you have a chance to upgrade substantively at the position that most hurt you.

You do that.

Without worrying about your starting quarterback's feelings.

Without worrying about controversy at the game's most important position.

Without worrying about all the potential yammering on idiot radio about chemistry, stability, leadership, blah, blah, blah.

Without worrying, period.

more (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/5993876.htm)

[Gunzlingr]

IT KEEPS TALKING about the last weekend next January. It keeps warning me to keep all plans open. With the Dolphins expected to highlight their off-season by signing Brian Griese, this voice keeps uttering the two words everyone in South Florida promised never to say or think until the D-word — “December” — stops being partnered with the C-word — “Choke.”
“Super Bowl,” the voice says.
Actually, it’s a small voice, just a whisper, a blinking beacon bordering on annoying.
As always, spring has been the kindest season for the Dolphins. Games are played on paper and not in December. Hope has emerged from six feet under when comparing this team against the rest of the AFC.
In other words, it’s that time of year again. But who can’t like what Dave Wannstedt has done this off-season? Who doesn’t agree the roster has improved — and at bargain prices? Who won’t admit that with headliners such as Griese, Junior Seau and Sammy Knight coming on board, this might just work this December?
Griese is the most important deal. Maybe he becomes Fiedler’s backup. If so, it would be an improvement, considering the fix Ray Lucas gave the team with his 2-4 record last season. Maybe Griese jump-starts his career to overtake Fiedler. If that happens, it would mean the Dolphins have a better quarterback than their established starter, which would be a plus, too.

more (http://www.msnbc.com/news/920714.asp)

[Gunzlingr]

The Dolphins began negotiations Monday with quarterback Brian Griese only minutes after he was officially released by the Denver Broncos, and Miami hopes to have a deal in place today.

The Dolphins seem to be the front-runner for Griese, particularly after Dallas coach Bill Parcells confirmed his team is out of the running.

Very much out.

''I'm not going to be involved with Brian Griese,'' Parcells told the Dallas media. ``We're going to go to [training] camp with what we have. I'm not interested in being 8-8. I'm not interested in a quarterback who can get me to 8-8. If I thought there was someone who was economically feasible and could get us to a championship, then I'd be interested. But I haven't seen that guy.''

What the Dolphins have seen is a strong candidate to back up starter Jay Fiedler. Still, having Griese in for the first day of the Dolphins' third of four quarterback schools, which begins today, seems extremely unlikely. Griese was in Denver as of Monday night, awaiting word from agent Ralph Cindrich about talks with the Dolphins.

more (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/6001153.htm)

[The_Philster]

Negotiations between former Broncos quarterback Brian Griese and Miami continued Tuesday, but it wasn't clear if a deal could be completed before the end on Thursday of the Dolphins' three-day quarterback school.

The sides opened contract talks Monday, shortly after Griese was formally released by the Broncos. They resumed Tuesday morning, with another round scheduled for the afternoon, Dolphins vice president Rick Spielman said.

"They know where we're at," Spielman said before Tuesday's afternoon discussions with Griese's agent, Ralph Cindrich. "We'll see if we can bridge some things on incentives or whatever we have to do. We'll just keep working at it and see if we can get it done."...

more (http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2003/0603/1562602.html)

[Gunzlingr]

Talks between the Dolphins and the agent for quarterback Brian Griese began to take on the absurd tension of a Survivor episode Tuesday afternoon -- complete with an appearance by Jenna Morasca, the latest winner of TV's reality staple.

Agent Ralph Cindrich said he didn't speak with the Dolphins in the afternoon after holding talks in the morning -- and he also hinted that the sides had hit a stumbling block in negotiations.

''We're pretty much where we were [Monday],'' Cindrich said. ``Not much is going on with it.''

Cindrich then adjourned for an early-evening meeting with Morasca, who is seeking an attorney. Both are residents of the Pittsburgh area, and Morasca's father competed against Cindrich in wrestling and football during high school.

Said Cindrich of talks with the Dolphins: ``I'm available if something comes up, but I really don't know where it's going to go from here.''

more (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/6008998.htm)

[Gunzlingr]

DAVIE -- Wide receiver Chris Jackson, the Arena Football League's offensive player of the year, signed with the Dolphins on Tuesday and made an immediate impression.

Jackson, 28, signed a two-year minimum deal, agent Brian Levy said. After taking a red-eye flight from Los Angeles, he went directly to practice.

"He's got great hands," coach Dave Wannstedt said. "He's made a lot of plays, he's a young kid and he's got some talent."

Jackson, 6-feet-2 and 205 pounds, caught 117 passes for 1,737 yards and 46 touchdowns in leading the Los Angeles Avengers to the playoffs.

He nearly signed with the Dolphins last year after Oronde Gadsden underwent wrist surgery. He was on Green Bay's roster for one game but did not have a catch. He was in training camp with Seattle in 1998 and 1999 and Tennessee in 2000.

more (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/auto/epaper/editions/wednesday/sports_e3dd1735464dc08b0089.html)

[The_Philster]

DAVIE -- The Dolphins opened their third quarterback school Tuesday, but Brian Griese was nowhere to be found.

The former Denver Broncos quarterback and the Dolphins still were negotiating a contract, and it was unclear whether a deal would be completed before the three-day mini-camp ends Thursday.

"We're not there yet," said Ralph Cindrich, Griese's agent. "It's hard to figure out when we'll get there."

The Dolphins opened contract talks with Cindrich on Monday, shortly after Griese was formally released by the Broncos....

more (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/auto/epaper/editions/wednesday/sports_e3dd1765464d900200a9.html)

[Gunzlingr]

MIAMI - Brian Griese and the Miami Dolphins are so far apart in their contract talks that the free-agent quarterback's expected homecoming might not happen, his agent said Wednesday.

"The realization is coming that it's going to be very difficult to get something done with Miami," agent Ralph Cindrich said. "That's the reality right now."

Cindrich said the Dolphins offered a contract Wednesday that would cost them $1.03 million against the salary cap next season.

If Griese took 59 percent of the snaps and led the Dolphins to a Super Bowl victory, he would earn a total of $1.63 million, Cindrich said.

"That's everything - signing bonus, base salary and the like," Cindrich said. "By most accounts, that will probably be the lowest incentive deal for quarterbacks in the NFL."

more (http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~86~1436074,00.html)

[Gunzlingr]

Running back Ricky Williams and defensive end Jason Taylor shared the Dolphins' Most Valuable Player award Wednesday night at the team's annual kickoff banquet at the Signature Grand in Davie.

Williams led the NFL in rushing with 1,853 yards last season. Taylor led the league with 18 ½ sacks.

Williams also was named Newcomer of the Year, and Taylor received the team's Leadership Award, an honor he took great pride in because it is voted on by teammates.

''There is no better compliment than the one paid by your peers,'' Taylor said.

The MVP and Newcomer awards were determined by a vote of the South Florida media and Dolphins fans online.

more (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/football/6017454.htm)

[Gunzlingr]

Junior Seau is ready for any defensive scheme the Dolphins have planned.

He has only one requirement of the strategy -- that he's always moving forward.

The Dolphins have yet to figure how to use the newly acquired Seau, but he is hoping the defensive game plan will be aggressive whenever possible.

"We're still feeling things out," Seau said. "I just hope when I'm out there that everybody is moving forward. The scheme we have here should allow the linebackers to make a lot of plays."

Coach Dave Wannstedt said Seau, acquired in a trade after 13 years in San Diego, can have an impact because of his desire to constantly make plays.

"He wants to disrupt every play," Wannstedt said. "He has only had about 10 practices, so he is doing things from past experience, just reacting. He also is trying to funnel that into our defensive system."

more (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-dolphins06jun06,0,1172.story?coll=sfla-sports-front)

[Gunzlingr]

DAVIE -- The Dolphins have increased their offer to quarterback Brian Griese, but the incentive package still was not good enough for a deal to be signed Thursday.

Griese's agent, Ralph Cindrich, said the sides are close on a base salary, but he said the Dolphins have to improve passing and playing time incentives. He would not go into

specifics of the new offer and still might consider exploring other teams.

Coach Dave Wannstedt remains confident Griese will be signed as a backup to Jay Fiedler.

"It's just a matter of working out a few details," Wannstedt said. "If I thought there was a reason to not think it was a workable deal than I might react differently."

Cindrich said the Dolphins originally offered an incentive package that included a $600,000 bonus this season if Griese takes 59 percent of the snaps and the Dolphins win the Super Bowl. Cindrich also said Griese would receive no passing incentives until he reached 3,800 yards passing, a level he never reached in any of his four seasons as the Broncos' starter.

more (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/auto/epaper/editions/friday/sports_e30ec12726b971ca0002.html)

[The_Philster]

It took several days longer than anticipated, but the Miami Dolphins and free agent quarterback Brian Griese reached agreement on a two-year contract Friday.

The end result was precisely what everyone believed it would be from the outset.

The agreement came after a week of haggling over its incentives package and after intense negotiations Thursday and Friday between team officials and agent Ralph Cindrich, a sequence that culminated with the Dolphins dramatically upgrading so-called backside elements of Griese's contract...
more (http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1564457.html)

[The_Philster]

DAVIE -- Brian Griese was only 5 when his father retired from the Dolphins in 1980, but he was always a fan of the aqua and orange. Now, he will be wearing his father's old uniform.

Griese agreed to a two-year contract with the Dolphins on Friday, and the only thing holding up an announcement of the deal is a pending physical. Griese is expected to arrive in South Florida on Sunday and be introduced Monday.

It took some work between the Dolphins and Griese's agent, Ralph Cindrich, to finalize a deal but Griese will receive a $1 million signing bonus with a $530,000 base salary this year....
more (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/auto/epaper/editions/saturday/sports_e31ea60b26b942c800c7.html)

[The_Philster]

It took longer than expected, but the Dolphins finally landed quarterback Brian Griese.

Griese, a former Pro Bowl selection who was released Monday after five years with the Denver Broncos, agreed to a two-year deal with the Dolphins, a source said Friday. He is expected to be the backup to Jay Fiedler.

Terms of the deal were not released, but the source said the son of Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese will receive a $1 million signing bonus and a 2003 base salary of $530,000 plus incentives....more (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-griesespec07jun07,0,5753786.story?coll=sfla-dolphins-front)