More Samson Articles

A couple more great articles profiling Samson Satele, who is working hard to be the starting center for Miami. The first article is from Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald, starting with what teammate Tala Esera has to say about Samson.

So when Dolphins guard Tala Esera dishes out compliments about his fellow rookie and friend, center Samson Satele, it's typically going to be genuine. Maybe even a bit blunt.

''He always acts like he knows all of his stuff,'' Esera said Wednesday, reclined on a plush leather couch in the Dolphins locker room. ``Even though sometimes he might not.''

A backhanded gesture? Not at all. Because at this position -- and at this age -- that kind of quality isn't only important for a center like Satele. It's imperative.

And from Samson himself:

Satele, who appears to be the early favorite to start at center from the start of training camp, has the total package. And that early projection as a rookie starter has caused him to want to improve even more.

''That motivates me a lot,'' Satele (pronounced Sah-TELL-ay) said. ``They weren't just going to hand me the spot. I've got to work for that spot. Now, I'm there. Somebody has to take it away from me, and I'm not going to let that happen for as long as I can.''

The second article is from Harvey Fialkov of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Here are some words of praise from backup QB John Beck.

Rookie quarterback John Beck, who has seemingly mastered the complicated playbook, said Satele has the smarts and hands to handle the center position.

"He's the one recognizing everything, recognizing the fronts quick and making a decision on how he wants them to block," Beck said. "I know the guy did a lot of shotgun snaps in college, but he's extremely easy to get a snap from. I don't think he or I have had one fumble on a quarterback-center exchange, and I think that just shows his talent."

Awesome.