Dolphins
Boston's season shaping up with Dolphins
By Michael Cunningham
Aug 2, 2004

DAVIE (sun-sentinel.com) - Dolphins fans seeking hope for an offense still trying to find its way should look to wide receiver David Boston.

That's right. The player who came to South Florida with a reputation for poor work habits and then took some heat from coach Dave Wannstedt because of a slow start in the spring now is with the program, wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan said Sunday.

Sullivan said Boston, whose pumped-up physique caused him problems last season in San Diego, now weighs less than 230 pounds. That's down from as much as 258 last year and 240 in May.

Sullivan, Boston's position coach in 2001, was a big reason Boston wanted to come to the Dolphins in a trade. Though Sullivan isn't big on predictions, he said it's a good sign Boston is in the same kind of shape as 2001, when he had a career year with 98 receptions for 1,598 yards and eight touchdowns.

"I expect him to have a good season," Sullivan said. "He has answered some of those questions by what he has done to prepare himself for the season. He came in here, and he got in the offseason program [after] we asked him to do that. The weight thing was an every-15-minute news conference thing for about two or three weeks [in the spring].

"He answered that and has done the things we asked him to do about his weight. He is working hard out here. He has done a good job with [strength coach John Gamble] in the weight room. I think all of those things should tell you he should do well. He is on the right path."

Sullivan isn't the type of coach to give out false praise, so it's encouraging for the Dolphins that he believes Boston is on track, particularly with his weight.

Boston weighed about 235 pounds in 2001, according to his personal trainer, and was one of the fastest players in the league.

The Dolphins took a chance on Boston because they felt he could blossom under Sullivan and regain the form that once made him a top receiver.

"I need him to be a playmaker," Sullivan said. "I had David in the past, and when I had him he was a playmaker. That was the assumption. That is why we got him here."