Cameron sounds off on Ginn

[stomperrob]

Seems really impressed with him as a return specialist even he's still not 100% - says he still needs work as a WR:

Posted on Mon, Jun. 11,

Ginn, Satele impress at minicamp

BY SARAH ROTHSCHILD
mailto:srothschild@MiamiHerald.com

The Dolphins saw underwhelming performances from several of their 2006 draft picks last season, but after the completion of minicamp Sunday, Cam Cameron had high praise for two rookies -- Ted Ginn and Samson Satele.

Ginn, the ninth pick in the draft, finished his first minicamp, and spent five practices sharing time as a return specialist and wide receiver since Friday. Satele, selected in the second round (60th overall), took snaps as the starting center.

Ginn is about 90 percent healthy after sustaining a foot sprain five months ago, but that didn't slow him. The former Ohio State standout showed speed as a returner, and routinely breezed past the secondary in passing drills.

''He was everything I thought he was and then some,'' Cameron said.

Cameron, who has a rule about not making comparisons, couldn't help but liken Ginn to a star wide receiver he coached as an assistant at the University of Michigan.

He blurted ''Des-,'' before stopping short of saying Desmond Howard, a Heisman Trophy winner at Michigan who went on to become a Super Bowl MVP with the Green Bay Packers in 1996 and a Pro Bowl player in 2000. Cameron relented and said, ``You mean Desmond . . . there are some legit comparisons.''

Cameron said Ginn's ability to handle returning punts and kickoffs in ''tough weather'' is a major plus, as is his prowess on special teams.

''There are a ton of receivers in this league who have no interest in being that punt returner,'' Cameron said.

He also was struck by how Ginn seems to catch the ball ``so effortlessly.''

Cameron characterized Ginn's development at receiver as a ``work in progress.''

Ginn, who has not spent most of his career as a receiver, needs to work on routes and technique.

''We're trying to make it as hard on him as we can,'' Cameron said. ``We're putting him on the line of scrimmage where he can't move. The worst thing we can do for him is to start moving him around and doing all the stuff where he can get free access.''

Cameron said Satele, a former University of Hawaii offensive lineman, demonstrated grit. In the past week, Cameron said Satele had five root canals, something this 6-3, 300-pounder didn't initially reveal.

''He never flinched, never said a word,'' Cameron said. ``I have never been around a guy that practiced a whole practice with one root canal. One thing we know is he is smart and he's tough, which goes a long way at that position. We're very pleased with his progress.''

[mrblitz]

Personally, I believe Cameron's high praise, is more of a motivation for a kid that he
probably regrets taking number one overall.

[sportsaddict]

He's just trying to convince himself that he made the right pick because everyone is questioning him

Ginn's a great player with a lot of talent. I don't think Miami made a bad choice by drafting him.

I think they made a mistake making Cameron their head coach though. Seriously, with LT and Gates any offensive coordinator is going to look great, and he hasn't really produced results anywhere else as a head coach... It will remain to be seen what happens.

[stomperrob]

I don't think Cameron regrets the decision at all at this point - Devin Hester proved last year in the regular season and in the Super Bowl, the importance of special teams players.

[dgan]

I don't think Cameron regrets the decision at all at this point - Devin Hester proved last year in the regular season and in the Super Bowl, the importance of special teams players.

Yeah, but Hester was not taken in the top 10 overall....

I mean, what else is he going to say? I see no reason to give this the time of day...

[bdrotoronto]

I don't think Cameron regrets the decision at all at this point - Devin Hester proved last year in the regular season and in the Super Bowl, the importance of special teams players.

and of course many players throughout the history of the league have proved the importance of quarterbacks..

[stomperrob]

I don't think Cameron regrets the decision at all at this point - Devin Hester proved last year in the regular season and in the Super Bowl, the importance of special teams players.

and of course many players throughout the history of the league have proved the importance of quarterbacks..

..such as such can't miss 1st rounders as Ryan Leaf, Rick Meier, Jim Druckenmiller, Todd Blackledge, Todd Marinovich, Dan McGwire etc, etc.
Another return man by the name of Desmond Howard proved his value both during the regular season and as a Super Bowl MVP.
I'm not saying that QB wouldn't have been the more prudent choice at that point in the draft, but let's not write off GInn just yet because of that (and that ain't easy for a Wolverine to say, lol!).

[maddog60]

I don't think Cameron regrets the decision at all at this point - Devin Hester proved last year in the regular season and in the Super Bowl, the importance of special teams players.

Hester also had what may have been the finest return man season by any return man in history of football. You cant expect someone to repeat that, heck you can't expect hester to be that good next year, its unrealistic. Maybe Ginn will buck the trend, but chances are, he won't.

Cameron's proven to me he's not fit to be the head coach already.

- Get a 2nd rounder for your 3rd WR/returner, use your 1st rounder to draft his replacement
- Help your league rivals out of 10+ million dollars in cap tied up in a guy who won't be a regular starter for 6ht to last pick in the draft
- Not addressing the O-line or QB in the 1st round, the two most pressing concerns.

The Dolphins have lost substantial weapons, have an aging defense with lacking depth, and Cameron hasn't really seemed to do much to try and turn that around immediately (which they need him to do).

[moochman]

Cameron's proven to me he's not fit to be the head coach already.

- Get a 2nd rounder for your 3rd WR/returner, use your 1st rounder to draft his replacement
- Help your league rivals out of 10+ million dollars in cap tied up in a guy who won't be a regular starter for 6ht to last pick in the draft
- Not addressing the O-line or QB in the 1st round, the two most pressing concerns.

The Dolphins have lost substantial weapons, have an aging defense with lacking depth, and Cameron hasn't really seemed to do much to try and turn that around immediately (which they need him to do).

Now that's cutting right to the chase. I, too, feel Cameron is a fraud. A good OC but never has made it happen as a head coach. For him to come out singing the praises of his first ever draft pick isn't nearly as much news as picking an injured player way, way, way early. Funny how the Phins{ seemed like a team on the rise a few years ago and so quickly have taken on the look of another football mammal: the Lions.
Tough luck Miami.

[Munboy]

I don't think Cameron regrets the decision at all at this point - Devin Hester proved last year in the regular season and in the Super Bowl, the importance of special teams players.

and of course many players throughout the history of the league have proved the importance of quarterbacks..

..such as such can't miss 1st rounders as Ryan Leaf, Rick Meier, Jim Druckenmiller, Todd Blackledge, Todd Marinovich, Dan McGwire etc, etc.
Another return man by the name of Desmond Howard proved his value both during the regular season and as a Super Bowl MVP.
I'm not saying that QB wouldn't have been the more prudent choice at that point in the draft, but let's not write off GInn just yet because of that (and that ain't easy for a Wolverine to say, lol!).

Not really a fair compairson. We could go on all day about 1st round busts from every position on the field. The fact of the matter is, Miami stretched to pick him. They claim that they were targeting Beck in the 2nd round anyways, doesn't mean they had to stretch to pick up a kick returner and iffy WR. If they didn't want Quinn, they could have gone else where. There was some good Dline and LBs around there they could have picked up to refresh an aging D. They could have traded down and gotten extra picks and gotten Ginn later. Yes, special teams and kick returners are valuable, but they stretch pretty hard to take Ginn at 9.