Club Comp of 1st Qtr Winners

By Vendigo, 1st Place


I'm going to tell you a secret and I'm going to be rather non-PC about it. In fact, I'm about to use some analogies that might offend the heck out of some people. If that's not your cup of tea, you're welcome to stop reading right now and watch a rerun of 7th Heaven. To say it with the immortal words of Ben Harper: If you don't like my fire, then don't come around, cause I'm gonna burn one down. Anyway, here's the secret: It is not a QB-driven league. That statement is right up there with "Nobody has the intention to erect a wall" and "I never inhaled". "It's a QB-driven league" is the credo of all NFL FOs who miserably failed to build a halfway decent offensive line and find it much easier to blame their lousy track-record on the ostensible fact that they didn't manage to produce a franchise QB because we all know how hard they are to find, right? Wrong. If someone tells you that the NFL was a QB-driven league, they're either lying or mistaken. It's a left tackle-driven league.

Jeez, Mr. Smarty-Pants exclaims, all that fuzz and now he's trying to tell us to draft Jake Long. Puh-lease, Mr. Smarty-Pants, give me a moment, will ya? After all, I said it was a left tackle-driven league, not a right tackle-driven league, didn't I? Wait a minute, Mr. Smarty exclaims, you're not saying that ... of course I am. My modest proposal, friends and neighbors, is to draft Ryan Clady, offensive tackle out of Boise State.

But ... but ... that's a reach, right? It sure is. I couldn't care less, though. Let's get this whole reach issue out of the way real quick: Successful teams aren't built by drafting great value, they are built by drafting great players for your skill positions. Left tackle is a skill position. And Ryan Clady is the best left tackle out there. Clady's got the size, Clady's got the frame, he's agile, he's quick, he knows how to use his hands and bend his knees, he's recovering well when getting beat initially, and he's got a mean streak. In a nutshell he's everything a scout looks for in a left tackle. He's the real deal. And yet we're talking about Jake Long this and Jake Long that. Why is that?

Here's why: Ryan Clady isn't as polished as Jake Long and he doesn't come from as big a programme. Big deal. If you're going to buy shoes, do you pick the ones that are the most polished and have the biggest brand name on it or do you pick the ones that will actually fit your feet (ladies in attendence, please refrain from hitting your answer button, that was a rhetorical question, thank you)? Ryan Clady certainly fits ours. We have a huge hole at right tackle and Pro Bowl RT ready to switch back there. What we don't have is a Pro Bowl LT. So let's go ahead and draft the guy literally all experts agree is the best pure LT in this class.

What about Chris Long, you ask. What about Gholston? What about Dorsey? Take a look at the Cleveland Browns, I answer. Did they have a great DT last season? A great DE? They got themselves a great left tackle and one year later, they can afford to shell out half their draftpicks in FA to fill these positions, because Joe Thomas instantly fixed their offense. Don't buy into the Derek Anderson hype. Anderson was good because Thomas allowed him to be good. He was good because Thomas gave him time to gunsling. Watch the plays where Anderson actually got some pressure and behold the interceptions. It's not a QB-driven league.

What about Matt Ryan, you ask. Well, aside from not being a QB-driven league, drafting a QB before you are set at LT is a recipe for disaster. See Joey Harrington, Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Alex Smith or David Carr for a point in case. They were put in a position to fail and so they failed. Before we go ahead and draft another QB, let's put him in a postion to succeed first - by giving him a good offensive line. Oh, and by the way, why don't we find out if we already have our QB in John Beck by giving him a good offensive line? Take a look at franchise QB stories with a happy end; the Colts got Tarik Glenn before they bothered with a QB, the Bengals got Levi Jones. Also note how Manning's play slipped when Glenn retired and the Colts gave up roughly 35% more sacks. Or how Brady turned human again when the Giants defense manhandled Matt Light. It's not a QB-driven league. I still wouldn't mind having Tom or Peyton around.

The fact that Ryan Clady isn't even considered to be worthy of the #1 selection shows you just how messed up this whole draft business has become. Everyone happily agrees that Clady is the best pure LT in this class and yet he's rated behind Jake Long? What are we talking about here - a fashion show? You don't build franchises around pedigree and polish - you build them around the best.

 

By Fin-omenal 2nd place

Who should the Miami Dolphins draft with the number one pick? Why would they be the best fit to help this team that needs help in so many different areas?


This is the great debate! Here at ThePhins.com we have a handfull of Dolphins fans who pretty much have their favorates. As far as this board is concerned its a 3 horse race between Jake Long, Vernon Gholston, and Chris Long. With a couple of darkhorses in Ryan and Dorsey.

Now for my personal opinion.

Not to play the "I told you so" game, but over a month ago I suggested we go into negotiations with a few guy's and go with the best "value".....Alot of people snickered and suggested this was a bad idea since it hamstrung us as far as trading down. I think we all know that is not an option.

That being said I couldnt agree more with the current approach of matching the best player with the best value, is there really a 5-7 million dollar difference between any of the top 3 or 4 prospects? I dont think so.

AS far as team needs, thats a widespread arguement where everyone is right and wrong on some fronts because you can make a valid argument for a handfull of positions. Does Parcells & Co.'s plans with JT have to play a role in the decision? I really dont think it has as much of an impact on the pick as many people may think. If we cant sign Jake Long I believe we still go after Gholston or C.Long regardless of what we do with Taylor.

Jake Long makes the most sense and that is very hard to argue against. If you are over the age of 13 and have watched the Miami Dolphins every week, think about how many blind side hits "whoever" has taken....how many game changing fumbles have we all had to see over the past years!! Im sure we will all agree WAY too many. Can Jake Long cure this decade long problem at LT? He just might. The real question in my opinion is does the front office believe Sparano could coach up a few of the guys who may be around with our next pick? There is no question this is a very deep draft at tackle and if they think they can get close to the same production out of one of the other guy's, Long might be expandable.

Chris Long is kind of the "darling" among alot of Dolphins fans around this board and others. It's hard not to love Chris Long's intangables and his blood lines speak for themselves. His motor is off the charts and I believe in my hear of hearts he will be a solid NFL player who never has a bad year, but I fear he may never have a great year either. Im sure Chris Long will be an impact player but I just dont see a potential gamechanger and I agree that he is real close to reaching his "ceiling". It is hard for me to believe that Chris appearing to be off the Phins radar is any kind of smokescreen or trick up the regime's sleeve.

Now for the prom queen Vernon Gholston. Many believe he is a "combine" freak and an on the field phantom. Gholston's the guy who could become an instant pro bowler...or a guy who just shows flashes of brilliance here and there. Parcell's & Co. will not tolerate any half hearted effort ecspecially from the #1 overall pick in the draft. But this is already factored in...Im sure the FO has crossed the T's and dotted the I's alot carefully than even us hardcore fans. If they believed he would take plays off in the NFL he wouldnt even be a part of the discussion. So "that" arguement to me is irrelevant.

Basically I love the "process of elimination" we are going through start with one guy....move on to the next. I think this is first sign of brilliance from the new regime. We will not tolerate a holdout because "your" not that much better than the next guy! Clear sign that the inmates wont run this asylum.

I wouldnt be upset with any of the top guys other than Ryan wich is unlikely. My heart says go with the potential gamebreaker with a high ceiling in Gholston, but my head says Jake Long makes the most sense. 6 days from now and I will be there live!! Enjoy this experience fellow Phin-Phans because we wont be seeing another #1 overall pick for a long time.

 

By MonstBlitz 3rd Place


In this analysis of who should be the Dolphins' first pick my first step is to eliminate one side of the ball completely. The first pick should not be a defensive player. While we obviously need help on defense, it simply isn't our biggest area of need. I would be so bold as to say our defense wasn't all that bad last year. I classify it as an average defense that was hurt by a putrid offense. What we see in today's NFL are numerous examples of mediocre defenses helped out by good offenses while even the best defense can be hurt by a terrible offense. The best example of this is the 2005 and 2006 Baltimore Ravens:

Quote:
From pro-football-reference.com:

2005
Scored 265 points (16.6/g), 25th of 32 in the NFL.
Allowed 299 points (18.7/g), 10th.
Differential of -34 points (-2.1/g), 18th.

2006
Scored 353 points (22.1/g), 12th of 32 in the NFL.
Allowed 201 points (12.6/g), 1st.
Differential of 152 points (9.5/g), 3rd.
Besides some minor difference, the 2005 and 2006 Raven defenses were almost the same unit. The key difference was the fact that the 2006 Ravens finally got some help on offense. More points and longer drives on offense allowed the rested Ravens defense to play the aggressive style that has made them one of the best defenses of the past 10 years. The Ravens over the past five seasons have been a great indicator of the current NFL climate. As the offense goes, so goes the defenese.

Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland understand this. And yes Bill Parcells does love defense, but if he were to use the first pick on defense, what impact would that make on turning this team around? If the pick is Chris Long, Glenn Dorsey or Vernon Gholston, would slightly increasing the pass rush capabilities of a defense that already has personnel that can rush the QB make a noticeable impact? Maybe. But I would argue if you still have an offense that is more likely to go 3 and out than to record a single first down in a series, it's not going to make a difference in the win loss column, which is the only stat that matters when you get down to it.

So now we know the first pick has got to be offense. Only two players on the offensive side of the ball are worthy of serious consideration at the top spot in my opinion. Matt Ryan and Jake Long. I was and still am a Matt Ryan supporter. I think he will be a special player in the NFL, and have hoped he would be in our sites at this stage of the game. As it became and continues to become more evident that this is not the case, I've been forced to ask myself why. If it were Randy Mueller and Cam Cameron who would be making this decision, I'd be in a murderous rage that they could be so callous to once again ignore the QB position with Matt Ryan staring them in the face. I would accuse them of being bias to what I perceive to be a giant question mark in John Beck. But because it's Bill Parcells and Randy Mueller calling the shots, I have to consider the fact that these guys know a thing or two about football. Maybe even more than I do! (tongue in cheek) And finally I understand why Jake Long is the guy they are after and why he should be the number one pick.

Jake Long puts a piece into our offense that has an instant impact. The magical left tackle. By allowing Vernon Carey to move back to right tackle, Jake Long makes the Dolphins offensive line, that at this point can only be considered improved, and immediately makes it solid. This makes Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams that much more dangerous. This helps slow down the speed of the game for John Beck, or helps Josh McCown make the jump to a respectable NFL QB, depending on who wins the job. This helps the Dolphins be able to finally utilize their weapon in Tedd Gin. And with the Dolphins offense finally generating first downs, and hopefully points, this takes pressure off an average defense. A defense that just might prove to be pretty good if they aren't forced to play 75% of the snaps in a game.

Bill Parcells has been given the task of turning this team around. He has also been given the first pick in the draft. He wants to use that pick to make an immediate positive impact on this team. An impact that can be seen in the win loss column. The man who can do this is Jake Long. So while I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't still be thrilled to hear the name Matt Ryan called by the Dolphins on draft day, the fact of the matter is Jake Long is the best fit at the number one spot for our Miami Dolphins.

 

Thanks a lot for your time and efforts. We appreciate all of the entries.