Coach won't rush Ginn into returns
DAVIE ? Dolphins coach Cam Cameron again indicated that first-round pick rookie Ted Ginn Jr. will not return kickoffs until he has sharpened his punt-returning skills, even if that means well into the regular season.
Cameron compared Ted Ginn Jr.'s potential and progress to Bears Pro Bowl returner Devin Hester, who wasn't their primary kickoff returner until Week 13 of his rookie season last year.
"We looked around the league last year and there was another team in this league whose primary punt returner [who] became an outstanding kick returner, didn't return kicks early in the year,'' Cameron said. "I think you've got to be good at one before you're good at two. I want to give him a chance to get comfortable as a punt returner before we ask him to be a kick returner.
` "There is a plan and a process, and then I think you try to speed up the learning curve as the season goes along. I'm excited by what I've seen in his ability to catch different types of punts and make sure we get the ball. Now he's just got to grow and then start to learn what to do with it and make the natural adjustments."
Ted Ginn Jr., who has averaged 18.7 yards on three kickoffs (all against the Jaguars) and just 1.8 yard per punt (four), was replaced by running backs Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman as kick returners against the Chiefs.
"Everybody is fast, everyone has that potential to come down and shut off the outside and shut off the sidesteps and running east and west. Once I get the hang of it and find out where I need to be, I think I'll be fine,'' Ted Ginn Jr. said of the speed difference from college to the pros.
Ted Ginn Jr. realizes that because he was the ninth overall draft pick, fans expect him to make an immediate impact.
"Me being a No. 1 and all, the expectations I have coming from Ohio State, doing the things I did at Ohio State, people are probably anxious to see what I could do,'' Ted Ginn Jr. said. "The only thing I could do is wait and the longer you wait, probably the better it will be for you.''
Ted Ginn Jr. said he expects to eventually run back kickoffs as well as punts.
"For some people, it might be shocking, but it's a process, and you have a coaching staff that knows what they want and how they want to do it,'' Ted Ginn Jr. said.
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Cameron sent a loud message to Brown Sunday, that because of his relative inexperience as the primary back the starting job isn't necessarily secure.
"The evaluation of Ronnie Brown is far from over,'' Cameron said. "He's an ascending player who needs to keep improving.''
Brown believes he is the best tailback on the team.
"I think so, but obviously, probably if you ask Jesse he'd probably say the same thing,'' Brown said.
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Cameron, who preferred not to have Pro Bowl running back LaDanian Tomlinson risk injury in meaningless exhibitions games when he was his coordinator in San Diego, indicated that there's a very strong possibility that three of his defensive veterans ? defensive end Jason Taylor, linebacker Zach Thomas and nose tackle Keith Traylor ? will sit out the entire exhibition season.
"Let's be smart,'' Cameron said of his pre-training camp conversation with the trio. "There's no sense in going out there in the game and letting a young guy on the other team who's trying to win a job at the expense of one of our guys.
"We never felt keeping LaDanian out would keep him from being sharp before.'' ?
Cameron said that the coaching staff would go through the, "process'' of putting together a game plan for Saturday's penultimate exhibition game against the Bucs, however, they won't utilize it in the game.
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