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DAVIE, Fla. -- If Davone Bess keeps performing at his current pace it won't be much longer before he will hear less and less of the "poor man's Wes Welker" comments and see his own name up in lights more than his higher profile Miami Dolphins teammate, Brandon Marshall. [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
In fact, Marshall is quickly becoming an accomplished publicist for Bess and a few other Dolphins players in just his first season in Miami -- but when it comes to Bess, Mr. Marshall isn't just blowing smoke. This is the former University of Hawaii standout's third season in the NFL and he already has made his mark in the record books, ranking second only to Wayne Chrebet of the 1995 New York Jets in most receptions by an undrafted rookie free agent with 54 in 2008.
Last year, Bess led Miami with 76 catches for 758 yards and two touchdowns and heading into Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers he ranks second behind Marshall with 21 catches for 245 yards and a touchdown. In my story that went up yesterday on Dolphins.com,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Marshall sung the praises of Bess, as did veteran backup quarterback [link widoczny dla zalogowanych].
"He's one of the best route runners in all of football, ever," said Marshall, who has caught 100 or more passes in each of the last three seasons. "I'm not talking just today's receivers, but ever. If you put on any tape, this guy's amazing what he's able to make his body do. He gets open almost every single play and the guy doesn't catch (76) balls just because. There's a reason for that and he's on pace to catch almost 100 balls this year and I'm excited for him and to be able to be on the same side as him."
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych] had Chrebet as one of his receivers in New York during his first six seasons with the Jets from 2000-05, so he speaks from experience when comparing the skill sets of the two of them. They are very similar in size, with the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Bess owning a two-pound edge on Chrebet (5-10, 188), and Chrebet caught 580 passes for 7,365 yards and 41 touchdowns in his 11-year career that was cut short by multiple concussions.
When [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] was cut loose by the Jets at the end of training camp in 2008 after they traded with the Green Bay Packers for Brett Favre, he was swooped up by the Dolphins and one of the first players that caught his eye was Bess. He hadn't heard much about him, but once he learned the California native played under June Jones at Hawaii, [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] knew Bess would be ahead of the curve when it came to running good routes.
"When you think about Davone and how he runs routes, he has a knack for understanding leverage on a defender," [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] said. "He has a knack for knowing when to take a little bit longer on a route, when to speed up a route and 'where do I need to be when the quarterback throws the ball?' Some guys just run routes the way it's on paper and if it's not perfect they don't get open.
"Davone has a knack to run a route and even though it's not run like it's on paper he gets in that window and he finds a way to get open. We all know how matter how you draw it up on the chalkboard it doesn't necessarily happen that way on the field because you've got moving parts on both sides of the ball."
Despite his early success, Bess remains humble and has continued his training regimen of catching as many balls as he can from the JUGS machine after practice and he did that during the offseason and on off days as well. He works well with Marshall and second-year wide receiver Brian Hartline and they all help each other out there [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] on the field.
"I think that's why we have the potential to be such a great force because we're very unselfish," Bess said. "Obviously, everybody wants balls and stuff, but we all look out for each other. Brandon is always telling the coaches, 'They're doubling me. You need to get Bess the ball or you need to get Hartline the ball.' That's what it takes to be a team and it's the same thing vice versa, when they're doubling me they need to get one of those two the ball and that's how we work together."

Davone Bess Receives Heavy Praise for Route Running, Role in Dolphins Offense