DAVIE - Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain figures things have to turn around for the Dolphins.
They certainly can't get much worse.
After a bizarre offseason that included the brief return of Dan Marino and the introduction of two new offensive coordinators, star running back Ricky Williams shocked the franchise by retiring just before training camp.
Miami received another blow Friday when receiver David Boston was lost to a season-ending knee injury. Plus, Pro Bowl defensive end Adewale Ogunleye remains a holdout.
The string of events has players wondering how so much could befall one team so quickly.
"What else can happen?" Surtain said Monday. "We've seen it all in a matter of six months. It can only get better from here."
"This team has taken a lot of blows, but I don't know of any team that takes a lot of blows and stays down," receiver Kendall Newson said. "We're going to get back up."
Maybe. But expectations certainly have dropped for a franchise that so openly professed its desire - and ability - to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1985.
"There's been so much negative. When's the positive going to come?" Surtain said. "Hopefully it will come during the season, when things really matter."
On the positive side, linebacker Zach Thomas practiced for the first time since camp opened. Thomas, who led the team in tackles seven of the past eight seasons, had surgery a month ago to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.
CHARGERS: The team broke off talks with unsigned quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers, chosen by the Giants with the No.4 pick in the draft, was acquired by the Chargers in the deal that sent quarterback Eli Manning to New York. "This is very disappointing and unfortunate," general manager A.J. Smith said. "We wanted to get him signed before the reporting date, we made an effort. We tried, and we couldn't come to an agreement."
JAGUARS: Receiver Jimmy Smith missed practice with a back injury. Coach Jack Del Rio called it "nothing major," adding it was "a back strain or ache."
RAIDERS: Linebacker Napoleon Harriswill be out 3-6 weeks after tearing cartilage in his right knee during a drill. The 2002 first-round pick started 29 games in his first two seasons.
