Tuesday Dolphin Talking Points: Intrigue surrounds injury report

So how badly hurt is Jake Long? What’s the latest prognosis on Channing Crowder? And will Vontae Davis, who was noticeably limping in the locker room Monday, really be ready to go against Buffalo? The answers to those and other questions may be forthcoming Wednesday, which is where we begin our Tuesday talking points: 1. Wednesday’s first official injury report can’t come soon enough. Coach Tony Sparano won’t allow his players to discuss injuries and has implemented league rules that allows him to keep mum about them since last Tuesday, the final day of availability prior to the Dallas game. We got a look at some of the question marks at practice Monday, when Long was riding a stationery bike wearing a knee brace and Crowder was also held out of practice, but Wednesday will mark the first time Sparano has to even identify the body part involving Crowder, and give status reports on several guys. It’s only when that report is released that we’ll learn just how likely guys like Long, Crowder, Davis and even Jake Grove, who didn’t make the Dallas trip, are to face the Bills. Could be the season hasn’t even started yet and some people will already been looking forward to the bye week to get healthy. 2. Bobby Carpenter shouldn’t be perceived as a difference-maker on defense. Dallas stuck with Carpenter for four years with minimal returns before trading him to St. Louis, and then the Rams couldn’t find a spot for him on their 53-man roster. So this is the guy who’s going to be the first

inside linebacker off the bench? Carpenter was an excellent player at Ohio State, where he played alongside fellow first-rounder A.J. Hawk. Bill Parcells thought enough of him to select him 18th overall in 2006, and he played more as a rookie than he has in the three years since. Carpenter’s propensity to avoid physical contact has earned him the nickname of ‘Bambi’ over the years. Doesn’t sound like the kind of guy who’s going to step up on fourth-and-goal at the 1. 3. David Martin could make the Dolphins regret letting him go as early as this week. Buffalo had one tight end on its roster — second-year man Jonathan Stupar, who caught all of six passes last season — before signing Martin Sunday, the day after the Dolphins let him go. The question was being asked Monday: If the Dolphins had realized Buffalo was that desperate for help at that position, might they not have made a move elsewhere? Of course, keeping Martin on the roster this week would have guaranteed his salary for the season, so that wasn’t going to happen unless management decided he was the guy they wanted backing up Anthony Fasano. And that proved to be John Nalbone. Martin didn’t catch a pass in preseason and he’s a better receiver than blocker, so the consensus had to be he hasn’t got much left in the tank. But if he goes out and catches a few balls Sunday, the second-guessers will be entitled to do what they do.

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Tuesday Dolphin Talking Points: Intrigue surrounds injury report

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