MOBILE, Ala. – Good morning from the Gulf Coast! We’re here for the next three days to cover the Senior Bowl, the annual college all-star game that features 100 of the best college seniors who will enter this April’s NFL Draft.
Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland and his staff of about 10 scouts arrived in town last night, and will spend the next 3-4 days scouting and interviewing the players and constructing their initial draft board. Ireland will speak to South Florida media on Tuesday for the first time since training camp, so it will be interesting to hear some of his thoughts on Ryan Tannehill, the Dolphins’ 2012 season and his plans for the future.
But before we get into any Senior Bowl/draft stuff, here are a few Dolphins notes from the weekend:
1. LG Richie Incognito earns first Pro Bowl visit.
Only one Dolphin was originally voted into this Sunday’s game in Hawaii – defensive end Cameron Wake – but the Fins should have at least three representatives at the Pro Bowl. Long snapper John Denney was named to the team last week, and Incognito earned an invitation on Sunday night as a replacement for Ravens guard Marshal Yanda, who obviously has bigger things to worry about this week as he prepares for the Super Bowl.
Some NFL players view the Pro Bowl as a hassle, but not Incognito, an eight-year veteran who expressed his delight on Twitter on Sunday night:
“Aloha… 1st Pro bowl!!!!” he wrote. “I want to thank my mom and dad for supporting me in everything I’ve ever done. Without them this is not possible. Aloha.”
Incognito has had a nice year of accolades with the Dolphins: A Pro Bowl invite, winner of the Dolphins Good Guy Award for his professionalism and help with the media, and a vote from his fellow players as the second-dirtiest player in the NFL.
2. South Florida connections at the Super Bowl.
In case you spent yesterday in a cave, the 49ers and Ravens each won their respective conference championships yesterday to set up an all-Harbaugh brothers Super Bowl (henceforth known as the Harbowl).
49ers kick returner Ted Ginn Jr. is the only former Dolphin who will be playing in the game, but the 49ers and Ravens both have plenty of local connections (please let me know if I missed anyone):
Palm Beach County
Ravens WR Anquan Boldin (Pahokee HS)
Ravens DT Pernell McPhee (Pahokee HS)
Ravens WR Deonte Thompson (Glades Central HS)
Ravens RB Damien Berry* (Glades Central HS)
Ravens S Emmanuel Cook* (Palm Beach Gardens HS)
49ers DT Ray McDonald (Glades Central HS)
49ers G Joe Looney (Lake Worth)
Broward County
Ravens LB Josh Bynes (Boyd Anderson HS)
Ravens CB Cary Williams (Chaminade-Madonna HS)
Ravens S Christian Thompson* (Blanche Ely HS)
49ers LB Tavares Gooden (St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
Miami-Dade County
Ravens WR Tommy Streeter* (Miami-Northwestern)
49ers DT Ricky Jean-Francois (Carol City HS)
49ers RB Frank Gore (Coral Gables HS)
University of Miami
Ravens LB Ray Lewis
Ravens S Ed Reed
Ravens OT Bryant McKinnie
Ravens WR Tommy Streeter*
Ravens RB Damien Berry*
49ers RB Frank Gore
49ers LB Tavares Gooden
University of Florida
Ravens WR Deonte Thompson
49ers DT Ray McDonald
Florida State University
Ravens WR Anquan Boldin
* On Injured Reserve