Deej, all it does it make our Dline stronger and more versatile, and if you go back to the draft, Odrick was still the best pick based on who was drafted from #28 till our 2nd round pick.
IMO Werner will be a good player at the NFL level but I'm apprehensive about labeling him great b/c I see him as a potential lesser version of Chris Long.
Solai..Starks..Odrick..Werner..Wake.. You'd rather allocate one of those players to part time duty while using a ton of resources to do so.?.. You will have to sign Starks to a new good sized contract and your using your first round pick to accomplish what you want, and your using a prior 1st round pick , part time, if this is the way you think you can win a championship then I understand, but your limiting resources for other units..a lot.
I look at it as adding an extra DE/pass rusher just like Houston did with the 1st on Mercilus despite Barwin & Reed..... and just like the Giants did on 2 occasions with JPP and I wouldn't let Odrick keep me from re-signing an impact DT (Starks), and I wouldn't let Odrick's 1st round cost prevent me from drafting Werner, Moore, or Ansah if they're the best talent on the board. Plus, what happens if Wake gets injured?..... and what happens when Wake slows down in a couple years? IMO we'd be wise to be proactive about his future heir if the opportunity presents itself considering DEs can take a few years to develop. Chris Long didn't break 5 sacks his first 2 seasons and didn't reach double digits till year 4. IMO there's still plenty of snaps to go around, and it should keep guys fresher in the process. As it is we can't afford for Starks to be off the field b/c there's really no one to sub for him in nickel. Plus, if we want to mix in a hybrid defense, we need Odrick. He allows us a lot of versatility, even if his snaps are slightly reduced.... but it's not just his snaps that would be reduced, Deej. If we draft Werner or Moore, Wake would get a few more breathers on 1st & 2nd down so that he could stay fresher when we need him the most, getting after QBs..... and Starks can sub in for Starks & Soliai to keep our Dline fresh..... and in nickel we'll have a significantly better front line, and a fresher Dline in nickel to boot b/c Starks and Odrick will see a little more rest on 1st & 2nd down. It's an all around plus IMO. It's a plus for pass rush, versatility, flexibility, keeping bodies fresh, and Wake insurance.
I know it would be great for all the reasons you listed when it comes to our d line, but there is a salary cap, and if you have a first round pick whos playin part time, I don't think that's a win.
Stanford..just kidnapp the whole team and put dolphin helmets on them please.. Step Taylor just burst thru a small hole like colt trickle in days a thunder..accelerated thru the smoke.. I mean, we haven't had a complete back in so long I'm starting to question whether we ever have.. I'm tellin yeah, if I'm a GM, I'm raidin the piss out of the that roster..their relentless, tough as hell, and smart.. I want two of them.
In ideal circumstances, a 1st round dlineman should be able to use year 1 to ease into the rotation IMO so that he's not a liability b/c of the increased physicality of the NFL.
Clemson is deafening right now. Crowd is LOUD. I remember Herschel Walker saying, "I came here knowing it would be loud and that Clemson would hit me hard, but to me, the noise was the biggest factor. I know I didn't concentrate as well because of it." Thought you'd like that, Deej considering how much you loathe our anti home field advantage (just as I do). DeAndre Hopkins' speed is still improving. He was lucky to be a 4.55 guy his first 2 years, possibly 4.6, but he seems to be creeping closer and closer to sub 4.5. Great kid, hard worker, humble, and great teammate BTW.
there are two stadiums that separate themselves when it comes to intimacy, level of crowd noise, and distance from the field to the stands, ravens Park and the Seahawks, there are some others with the advantage but these two are the best.. They're a combined 28 and 1 in those two buildings. The canes won 56 strait in a certain building.. There's no doubt our team is playing with an inherent disadvantage., the evidence is overwhelming... Anyways, Im missing a lot of your game watchin the ND game, has Sammy run three quick slants to the house? That guy heads forward when his hands touch the ball, faster than anyone I've seen in a long time.
i really HATE seeing all these college teams suited up in atypical, unidentifiable uniforms. This stupid fad has gotten old real fast. I just turned on the Stanford game, and I'd be clueless as to whom they're playing if I didn't know better. Wear your goddam original uniforms for f***s sake.
Eifert is the guy who I think represents the best weapon for our Qb and this offense, a tight end with a great overall skillset, great size and athleticism, just a matchup nightmare..this dude is good.
I don't see how there is anything wrong with admitting failure with Odrick. He has failed to develop into anything more than a situational interior rusher. He's certainly not a 4-3 end. At this point, Werner might not be there when we pick. He is just killing guys right now. The draft is stacked with very good pass rushers though so the idea that the Dolphins could take one with their 1st should be seriously considered. Especially if the go for a #1 WR in FA.
I think with the vision that Stephen Ross has for the team, the coaches he has aquired, the countless comments about having an exciting offense here in Miami, this could be the draft where you just go for it, like what the colts did..get'em on the same page early and together.. Could you imagine an infusion of Eiffert..Austin..Taylor..Swope...
You've still got to find a way to give some teeth to the defense still. I think there's a better pool of talent in free agency you can access - primarily at receiver and guard, perhaps TE as well. I know it's not Philbin's M.O., but Miami needs to fill some holes via free agency to save them some draft picks to use on defense. This team is still devoid of a second pass-rusher, a CB and/or S with ball skills/turnover generating ability, and you need some depth at LB. Both Dansby and Burnett are getting up there in age, and I believe Dansby only has 1 year left on his contract as well. And, as always, there's the O-line to deal with. Jake Long, obviously. But you still could probably stand to bring in another starting G and another insurance policy for John Jerry. That is of course unless you can hide all of his forks all offseason.
Considering every year we hear the same chorus over and over lamenting the tight ends...this could be a good year for them. I like Tyler Eifert obviously, but I've loved Joseph Fauria for years now, and I like Levine Toilolo from Stanford probably even more than Zach Ertz. And then you've got some nice bargain types like Travis Kelce and Phil Lutzenkirchen who may be smaller but damn well knows what to do with the football (as in, catch it, then run with it). I don't know if Kaneakua Friel would come out of BYU early (probably not) but if he does, he caught my eye big time earlier this college season.
I'm a huge fan of Toilolo. Stanford could have two TE's go in the first 2 rounds. I wonder if that's ever happened before.
Ricky Williams circa 2002 and 2003. I think you could make a case for him in 2009 as well; 1,000+ yards at what, 33 years old?
I think that I'd rather see how Clay and Egnew pan out, focus on DBs, pass rushers and WRs in the draft. Still intrigued by John Simon, Brandon Jenkins and Corey Lemonier, and very much Damontre Moore if he comes out this year- word is he's been waffling a bit after indicating that he would stay at FSU. That's just a shame about Carridine, would love to get him at a value price.We're always rushing players- Gates, Ninkovich, Donald Thomas, etc. I'd rather double up on pass rushers, DBs and WRs in the draft and FA. Still looking at Xavier Rhodes, and speaking of FSU- Greg Reid tore his ACL at Valdosta ST- I wonder if he could be a 5th rd steal. Multiple busts for weed could nip that in the bud (no pun originally intended) but you never know.
Xavier Rhodes is a fun football player to watch. I'm not on the Brandon Jenkins train but I'll take Tank Carridine if any team dares let him fall into "bargain" territory. But that's if I don't go up and grab this draft's best defensive end/pass rush prospect, Bjoern Werner.
Carridine is solid. Big pass rush and he plays like a man, very good player. As to Jenkins- I'm no expert on much of anything but I will say this: I tried to compare Jenkins to John Simon and I thought that Simon was quicker off the snap, more relentless in his pass rush, stronger/handles OTs better, played with more of a sense of urgency and was just a load coming off the edge, dare I say explosive. Pretty much what I wanted to see in Ezekiel Ansah and didn't. Simon is just a talented animal who plays his heart out, is stout against the run and a terror off the edge. I'm still very interested in the speed rushers Lemonier and especially Damontre Moore, I'd like to see what both could do at OLB to compliment Odrick. Moore looks like a pure stud. BTW your guy Werner looked like an animal against UF- physical, heady player and fast. Heck of a player.
John Simon is the embodiment of everything you could want in a defensive football player...except for his pass rush. Push comes to shove, that guy's just not turning the corner on anyone. Linebacker awareness and brutality with a defensive lineman's strength and wing span. Just no pass rush. Technique will only get you so far. But we'll see.
I don't know. Nine sacks in the year including 4 last week against Wisconsin, not sure how he stacked up against Michigan in the last game. I wanted to see how he looked against Wisconsin last year against that OL and chasing Russell Wilson. I liked what I saw, especially his pass rush, but I'd need to see a whole lot more film to have a solid opinion. That being said, the guy has 9 sacks this year minimum and from what I've seen I just like his pass rushing ability quite a bit more than you do, and I'd have to disagree as to his ability to turn the corner- the term bantered around these days is bending the arc, and Simon looks to me like he does it pretty well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbWfBBqr_F8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNAxf60wBas Here's highlights from the Wisconsin game last week, take a look at 1:12/2:02/2:30/2:34- a couple of the sacks and a couple of other nice plays. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hk56DjBMPQ Princeton could use a guy like Joel- remember that one? In that spirit I think that the Dolphins could use a player like John Simon. Dude brings it.
He needs better technique. Better way to use that strength. He doesn't have elite speed rush but he does work. I mean we have Odrick and Simon is pretty much the same player, same role. I hope he gets a Senior bowl invite.
"With four sacks last weekend against Wisconsin, Simon took over the Big Ten lead this season and moved to No. 7 in Ohio State history in that category. Those tackles for a loss also gave Simon 43 for his career, the seventh-highest total for the Buckeyes -- and just 2.5 takedowns shy of moving into the top five with one game to play." http://espn.go.com/colleges/osu/foo...s-defensive-end-john-simon-program-heart-soul The thing that struck me was how quick, I thought, Simon looks off the edge. I pulled up some film of Brandon Jenkins and Simon, compared the two, and from what I saw I liked Simon better in that regard. That kind of surprised me. He's no Corey Lemonier or Damontre Moore, and he might not be the niftiest of pass rushers, but I saw some speed coming around the edge, with intensity and bad intentions- dude comes to play. We could use some of that, just my opinion.
Agree to all this except for not being ready to trade up for Werner yet with Moore potentially still out there. I like Jenkins better than Everette Brown but I'm not sure I could take him in the 2nd round. He could possibly become a "Sure, why not" type of pick if he's there in the 3rd though. I'm just wondering if Carradine's best days aren't still ahead of him, as in a potentially higher NFL ceiling than Werner. Can we get a package deal for all 3 FSU kids? lol
Carradine's best days are indeed ahead of him if he can get healthy now that he's injured. The concern with him has to be that he doesn't turn into O'Brien Schofield.
I understand that the guy has nine sacks this year. I saw him notch quite a few of those against Nebraska, including a nice outside rush against Jeremiah Sirles who may even be drafted next year. I saw his stuff against Wisconsin as well. This is just my opinion but I don't see too much of his pressure translating at the next level. A bunch of them are sacks that I see in college but have a tough time seeing in the pros. He'll have a tougher time getting the inside post leg of an NFL tackle and I think his outside speed rush against NFL tackles will be non-existent (it tends to be non-existent for most unless you've got dynamite in your ankles like Cam Wake). Those are my concerns. The sacks where he works his way to the quarterback with counters, strength, hand use, and motor...he'll get those at the next level. The other sacks though I can't help but think, that's not going to be that easy at the next level and he doesn't have the explosive vertical ability to earn it on his own. You have to understand I like the guy and think he's a good football player. If I were a team that had a one-dimensional guy like Antwan Barners or Bruce Irvin and needed someone to pair up with him, John Simon would be my guy. But ultimately I'd like to shoot for the moon...and shooting for the moon is to me more of a Bjoern Werner, Tank Carridine, James Gayle, Alex Okafor type. I would also throw Dion Jordan, Corey Lemonier and Barkevious Mingo ahead of him because what they offer is harder to get than what John Simon offers.
Anyone that's really good has a "potentially higher ceiling" than anyone else that is really good. I'm sure Tank Carridine could very well be better than Bjoern Werner just as easily as Bjoern Werner could be better than Tank Carridine. I don't think it's any question that Carridine's best days are ahead of him, he'll be fine the only problem with this knee injury will be a bank account problem, ultimately. And even that will work itself out. I haven't seen a defensive end duo like Carridine and Werner in college in a long time. I can't remember the last time, truth be told. Maybe since Mario Williams and Manny Lawson.
I wonder how likely it is that Giovani Bernard leaves North Carolina. If so he's probably the top rated RB in this Draft. If he were available at Miami's top pick in the 2nd round, and Miami let Reggie Bush walk without replacing him, I would certainly consider him there. I'm a big fan. I like some other guys, particularly Dennis Johnson of Arkansas whom I feel has special qualities. I think Jarred Salubi is underrated. I like Zac Stacey as a contributor and Johnathan Franklin looks pretty darn good at times. I think it's only a matter of time before Ray Graham gets his lower body explosion back and if the fact that it hasn't happened yet leads to him being driven down to a bargain price tag, sign me up. I wonder how the championship game will affect Cierre Wood's decision whether to come out. I like him a lot too. Curious about Knile Davis. Probably stays in another year but who knows.
Bernard is racking up the miles. IMO he'd be foolish to not leave early, especially with Jonathan Cooper no longer creating space for him IMO.
Yeah those tailbacks have to be conscious of it. You're right he's probably coming out. And he's likely the top tailback in the draft. But it's tough to say how high the top tailback in the draft will go, any given year. Probably higher than I'd think, since this year appears not to be a quarterback year...which is something I'd been arguing even before all these quarterbacks started tripping over themselves, purely due to the over-glut of high quarterback picks in 2011 & 2012.
I just got done talking about it elsewhere so I'll bring it up here. I like Dennis Johnson but some will criticize him for being a fumbler. He has lost 6 fumbles in 2011 and 2012, with 4 more fumbles that were not lost. Of the 6 fumbles lost, 4 of them were carries, 1 was a catch and 1 was a kick return. He has a total of 6 fumbles on carries in the two years. Any fumbling whatsoever is too much, and Dennis Johnson's propensity for fumbling goes beyond the "any fumbling whatsoever" mark. However, I don't think it's epidemic like with David Wilson. I would note that while he fumbled four times on 106 carries in 2011, he cut that down to two carries on 137 carries in 2012...so that could be a sign of progress.
Can anyone give a good analysis of UCLA OLB Anthony Barr? I don't pretend to know anything about scouting, but as an avid UCLA fan I feel like this junior has potential. No word as of yet if he's declaring, though CBS sports has him as the #7 overall OLB (projects him as a 2nd round prospect). 6-4, 238, motor like no other, and when watching the games I can say he is involved in a lot of game changing plays (sacks, punt/kick blocks, etc). Just wondering if a non-homer with a good scouting eye has an opinion on him?
As most of you know, I'm a big Mel Kiper fan and get all his literature and I know that Mel really likes him. I think he has him in the teens on his latest big board - something I don't get as I don't have ESPN Insider. He was an "athlete" in high school which meant that he could have played about four or five positions. Was highly rated as a HS junior but broke his leg or his ankle - can't remember which - as a senior and missed his final year. He came in and played two years at fullback but they just weren't getting the best out of him so shifted to rush LB to make use of athletic ability and skill set and boom. His old man was a running back/FB at Notre Dame - for those of you over about 36, you'll remember him - Tony Brooks, was drafted by the Eagles in the .....hmmmm, 3rd or 4th round in the early 90's. He's raw but has great technique, can bend and has excellent speed off the edge. Upside is massive.
