*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jul 28, 1998: -- Michael Timpson Signs --
** Michael Timpson and Terry Guess Sign
The Dolphins signed WRs Michael Timpson and Terry Guess to
one year contracts yesterday to fill in the holes at wide receiver left
by the injuries to Derrick Steagal and Larry Shannon. Timpson is a 9
year veteran who has played in New England, at Chicago and with the
Eagles. Guess is a 2nd year player who was drafted in 1996 by the
Saints but released after the season and spent last year in the CFL.
Michael Timpson, at 31, is a seasoned veteran. He spent 6
years with the New England Patriots before signing with the Bears as a
free agent. After two years in Chicago, he moved to Philadelphia last
year where he started 9 games for the Eagles, catching 42 passes for
484 yards and 2 touchdowns. His best season was in 1994, where he
started 14 games for the Patriots, catching 74 passes for 941 yards and
3 touchdowns.
Timpson is generally regarded as an inconsistent speedster, who
is fast, but not particularly talented otherwise. Despite his speed,
his yards-per-catch average is fairly low. He was kept on the
Patriots roster for years because of his speed while the coaches
waited for him to blossom, but he never really fulfilled their
expectations.
The most interesting aspect of Timpson's career is that JJ tried
to recruit him back in 1985 to play for the Miami Hurricanes when
Timpson was a track star and multi-talented player at Hialeah-Miami
Lakes High School. At that time, Timpson turned down JJ.
Terry Guess played in 5 games two years ago for the Saints,
only catching two passes, but one went for a 57 yard touchdown.
In order to make room on the roster for the two players, the
team released rookie free agent linebacker Selvesta Miller.
** Mark Dixon Promoted To Starting Left Guard
Two days after the Dolphins' scrimmage on Sunday and one day
after JJ's film review of that scrimmage, JJ announced after morning
practice today that he was especially pleased with the play of
offensive lineman Mark Dixon and was therefore promoting Dixon to the
starting left guard spot.
Dixon came to the Dolphins this winter as a free agent from the
Canadian football league. He played the last 3 years in the CFL and
last season, started at left tackle in 18 regular season and 2 playoff
games with the Montreal Alouettes. He attended college at the
University of Virginia, where he started at left guard his senior year
and was a consensus All-America selection.
On Sunday, Dixon started with the second team offensive line at
left tackle, but after 2 series, moved to starting left guard in place
of Jeff Buckey. When he was in the CFL, he was widely regarded as one
of the best - if not the best - offensive lineman in the league.
My Comments:
Timpson could make the team based on experience. However, he
is not that consistent a player and all things being equal, I think
that JJ is more likely to keep one of the younger players. He does
have the kind of speed that JJ likes, but he is not a playmaker.
Terry Guess is really just a placeholder for training camp. I
know that sounds cruel, but as JJ pointed out the other day, they sign
100 players each year and end up cutting half of them. The Dolphins
need someone to run those routes and catch those passes for the rest of
the summer.
When Mark Dixon came to the Dolphins, I - along with many
others - said, who is this guy? The fans who watched the CFL told me
that I should keep an eye on this kid, because he was very, very good,
but I only half listened.
I should have listened more.
While many of the CFL players are leftovers or rejects from the
NFL, they do play a fast and aggressive game up in Canada and it
appears that Mark Dixon has learned how to play well enough to come to
the NFL and play.
Of course, it's a long time until the start of the season and
many things can happen between now and then and Anthony Redmon is also
getting a long look at left guard. But Dixon would turn out to be
quite a story if he managed to keep that spot.
By the way, JJ also said that the whole team had a very good
practice this morning, but I'll talk more about that tomorrow in my
training camp report.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
[email protected], DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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