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Defense, Defense, Defense ....

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by PHINANALYST, Mar 31, 2010.

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  1. PHINANALYST

    PHINANALYST Well-Known Member

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    Heading into the draft, wanted to take a look at where we stand right now on defense:

    NT: with Fergie out for the 1st half of the season, i believe we can 'get bye' with Soliai, Starks and McDaniel ... but we need to seriously look at Thomas or Joseph as mid round picks -- almost out of necessity

    DE: with Merling, Langford and unproven Baker, Dotson and Francis - we definately lack any serious pass rushing threat. maybe we aren't looking for that from this position, maybe under Nolan we do. Starks will help when he can come back into the rotation as a DE, but we really do need a shot in the arm here as well .... it seems we like Carrington in and around rd 3.

    ILB: with Crowder and now Dansby, we have instantly upgraded our ILB situation -- but how much, considering the situation at NT. the cupboard is bare with Torbor and Folsom as backups ... so we need to look at a mid to late round injection here as well unless we sign another FA to gap us.

    OLB: with Wake, Anderson, Moses, Johnston, we are undeniably in a position of need here .... whether you want to debate Wake as a WOLB or SOLB -- we must have a counterpart not named JT heading into this season. need an early pick in either Morgan / Kindle and double up later on Lane / Lang as developmental players, especially if Wake isn't going to expand his role.

    CB: with Allen returning and Davis and Smith with their rookie seasons under their belts ... this should not be a weakness for the '10 season. we still need a solid developmental player in the mid to late rounds though.

    S: with Bell returning, and with Culver and Clemons getting some time in last year - the position isn't dire, but is definitely in need of an upgrade. outside of OLB, this position is #2. Culver might be capable, and Clemons still needs some time. Getting Berry would be a coup, but it is more likely to end up with Allen or Burnett in rd 2.

    Order of need: OLB, S, DE, NT .... and we just may draft in that exact order with Kindle, Allen, Carrington, Joseph .... i think we can trade down at least 1 time and pick up some 3-5 rd picks, so we can add a second OLB (Lane / Lang), WR (Easley / Williams), or ILB
     
    HULKFish likes this.
  2. GISH

    GISH ~mUST wARN oTHERS~

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    we are good at DE, CB, and ILB. I agree about doubling up at OLB. That is nearly for sure from this regime. I'm curious where the safety will come from. But we can't completely ignore WR/TE and draft all defensive players.
     
    jetssuck likes this.
  3. PHINANALYST

    PHINANALYST Well-Known Member

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    GISH, brother - i do believe we can address WR in the draft with a developmental player like Williams / Easley in rds 4-5 .... but, we'll need a couple more picks to make that happen.

    i don't think we go TE this year ... we can get by with what we have there this year, since we still really have 3 developmental players in Haynos, Sperry and Nalbone. the real decision is at WR. I do still stand by the slight chance we trade down multiple times in rd 1 and then ultimately trade the pick to DEN for Marshall .... that 'could' give us mutiple 2-4 rd picks -- that could still net us the above players in addition to Marshall, and would put us in tremendous shape. of course, there are a lot of IFs and unknowns involved -- but it is entirely possible.
     
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  4. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    Randy Starks was damn good last year at DE. A handful of sacks and constant pressure on the QB. I don't get why we would move him from that spot when he's been so good at it. With Langford and Merling there along with some of the other guys you mentioned we are set at DE. For a long time.

    OLB and FS are far and away the two biggest needs. I expect that to be addressed in the early rounds of the draft.

    I do agree that if there is a NT there in the mid rounds that can make an immediate impact we should take a long look at him, though I do have faith in Paul Soliai.
     
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  5. GISH

    GISH ~mUST wARN oTHERS~

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    not a fan of drafting a late WR. where would that fit in our roster?

    i think we have to draft a TE this year. Nalbone hasn't shown anything. Sperry could be ok. Haynos is garbage. Fasano is the Channing Crowder of tight ends. We need more!
     
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  6. jetssuck

    jetssuck I hear Mandich's voice...

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    I agree, not excited about a late round WR and like you, question as to why we would want more players bottle necked for the #2, 3 and 4 spots.....

    However......if we don't end up with Bryant, I'd deff take a flier on that Williams kid from Syracuse. He does make Bryant seem like a role model but he'll be cheap and with that kind of talent is worth a look.
     
  7. Rdrunn004

    Rdrunn004 Active Member

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    I completely agree with you except for the Marshall thing. I think they ride this year out with the TEs we have on the roster right now. It's been rumored that we are interested in Jimmy Graham and while I am a fan of the U, I think another option in more interesting than Graham.

    I would like to see them address defense and in the first two rounds and then go for one of two choices at TE.

    1) Take Dickerson in the 3rd/4th round and work on converting him to WR. And take a good look at Terrell Hudgins later in the draft.
    2) Try to pick up Vernon Davis next year.

    Trading down would be ideal for us at this spot considering we could use help and so many positions, but it's always easier said than done. I certainly hope they find a trade partner and add another 2nd rounder in the draft and possibly another 4th rounder (via Smiley trade).
     
  8. CaribPhin

    CaribPhin Guest

    NT: We draft NT 3rd or lower and use him and Soliai until Fergie comes back. Why do you people insist on moving our best DE to NT? Starks is a damned good DE with rush ability.

    DE: We don't need any of these.

    ILB: This should be solid. A late round development player is in order here but not many worries.

    OLB: Big issue. I think we get two between 2nd and 4th round. Maybe JPP if he's there but definitely at least one hybrid 4-3 DE/OLB like Orakpo was.

    CB: We're good. Probably move Allen to nickel corner if Sean Smith shows why we drafted him.

    S: If Thomas is there we take him probably. Berry is not going to be there sadly.

    Real Order of Need: OLB/WR, S, NT, TE. I see us trading down a bit and picking up another 2nd rounder. If this happens we could get maybe a Demayirus Thomas and two elite OLB's/Hybrids in the second round. Third round we could pick up a NT possibly the guy from Georgia. 4th round is TE/S if we haven't already drafted one though I swear Atogwe is just waiting for a poison pill. I think Demayirus would be a great pickup and worthy of a late first rounder if we can trade down. The Defense goes deep in this draft so two quality OLB's would be there in the second round.
     
  9. MonstBlitz

    MonstBlitz Nobody's Fart Catcher

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  10. PHINANALYST

    PHINANALYST Well-Known Member

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    Slowmo ... not so sure we are set at DE ... Starks is pretty good (but i do think he will have to move to NT for a period of time this year to gap Fergie), Merling is ok, Langford is eh, and Dotson, Baker, and Fancis are all unproven. Is it a high priority -- probably not, but we could use a good developmental guy. a good DE makes our OLBs that much better .....

    i don't think any of us 'want' to move Starks inside, but the need drives the move. He has shown he can do the job.

    not sure ILB is 'set' either .... we took a flier on Crowder and it backfired -- the jury is out on how well he will do beside Dansby. Torbor has had his chances and has failed - and we don't really have anyone else in the fold. Folsom to me will be nothing more than a special teams maven .... we need something else.

    defense still needs some work both at the starter and depth levels -- much more so than on offense.
     
  11. miamiron

    miamiron There's always next year

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    GREAT INSIGHT:up:
    Lets draft offense when this defense allowed 390 points last season...Do you realize that last season was the third highest points we have allowed in 40 years??

    Only 1986 with 405 points allowed and 2007 with 437 points allowed had higher point totals allowed since 1970

    Third worse Dolphin defense in points allowed in 40 years but people want offense
     
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  12. MonstBlitz

    MonstBlitz Nobody's Fart Catcher

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    Did you bother to read Rafael's thread that I provided the link to? It shows strong evidence that most offensive statistics have a higher correlation to winning than points allowed.
     
  13. miamiron

    miamiron There's always next year

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    You score more points than you allow you win

    :yes:
     
  14. CaribPhin

    CaribPhin Guest

    We just don't have the means to get ILB's and DE's in the early rounds. If we don't come out with 2 OLB's, a NT, and a WR/S after the first four rounds I'd say we need new priorities. It would be stupid to address ILB or DE with one of our first four picks considering we have no FS, WR, NT, or OLB's. After we deal with those then we can get some developmental players at ILB and DE.
     
  15. PHINANALYST

    PHINANALYST Well-Known Member

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    while i've been clammering for a go to WR for 2 years .... unless we go Bryant or trade for Marshall .... i'm good with not bothering until you can grab Williams / Easley in 4-6 ...
    i'd very happy with Morgan/Kindle; Allen/Burnett; Carrington; Joseph ....

    Trade down and pick up additional picks in rds 3-5 to add:
    ILB: Butler, Chancy and Dillard ...
    OLB: 2 candidates are: Lane, Lang
    DE: Wilson
    WR: Williams, White, and Easley

    I'm perfectly happy with these selections .... and gives us fliers to take with rds 6 & 7 picks
     
  16. bluehaze

    bluehaze New Member

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    Defense was alot better in 08 with Hill, Taylor, Roth and Porter. The FO created the holes we are now filling. Porter might have had a point, his whole beef was with being taken out and replaced by a lesser caliber player while he was still fresh and able to play. That's a whole nother argument but the problem is we've had this hole at WR for over a decade and never addressed it. Now that we have a franchise QB it would seem a perfect time to address the WR problem especially seeing as legit #1 recievers don't come available very often and there is at least one on the market that's a guaranteed proven prospect. Kind of seems like looking a gift horse in the mouth to me.

    The whole score more points than you allow thing works both ways, if your offense can't put the points on the board you aren't going to score more points than the defense allows regardless of how good they are. So it's rather a moot point to say we need a better defense when a better offense can accomplish the same task.
     
  17. Larryfinfan

    Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member

    All good common sense things...but if RoMcClain is there, would you pass him up ?? I don't think this regime does...
     
  18. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    They better. We already signed Karlos Dansby, and have needs at OLB, FS, WR, and NT. McClain would be the one pick I would be pissed about, and not because I don't think he can play but because we need to address other areas.
     
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  19. Killerphins

    Killerphins The Finger

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    agree

    that ship has already sailed. i really doubt we are even sniffing around mcclain at this point although ILB still needs to be addressed.
    at least the one adjacent to Dansby.
     
  20. OCDolfan

    OCDolfan a.k.a. LostInPatsLand Club Member

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    Probability of winning a game given that you scored more points than the other team= 1.
    Probability that you scored more points given you won the game = 1.

    I'd say they are maximally correlated!
     
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  21. PHINANALYST

    PHINANALYST Well-Known Member

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    can only see ILB around the Chaney, Butler, Johnson, Dillard area ~ 4 the earliest ... but highly likely we will pick up 1 along the way ...
     

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