Sports Buzz-Miami Dolphins players credit Mike Nolan for improved defense

I was elated when the news of Nolan coming to Miami first broke. IMO, we'll be lucky to have him for another season. With the addition of a couple of key pieces this off season, I can see us joining the ranks of the elite defenses in the NFL.

 

I have been as critical of Marshall as anyone, and the drops have sucked, "but" I do not recall him dropping passes in the 4th qtr so to me that damage from them is somewhat mitigated.

And Dupes saying they should do more with him is spot on, they FINALLY put him in the slot in the Jets game and lo and behold, he had a linebacker matched up on him and scored a TD, now if Henning holds to form, we will never see Marshall in the slot again..it worked so we can no longer use it..

That is one of my beefs with Henning.

 

If only we had a good offense, one year of good defense down the drain.

 

Said it before and will say it again: fire Sparano and his fist pumping ways and give Nolan a second shot as a HC. While you are at it, get a real OC.

 

This is the worst song, played on the ugliest guitar.

People suggesting Mike Nolan would be a better head coach than Tony Sparano cannot be familiar with what Nolan did in San Francisco.

 

Dude was horrrriiiibbblllleeeee in San Francisco, as in nothing worked, even the defense in SF was terrible, as in 25th in the NFL bad.

Not feeling the hate for Sparano either, could be Dolphins fans, some, are delusional?

 

I actually beg to differ...I feel he had a tough hand to play with in SF. I have faith he would do better with a second go around as a HC.

 

The core here is better, I think we can all agree with that...especially on defense. I am not being delusional, rather, I do not think Sparano, or Henning for that matter, have what it takes. Sparano seems to lack fortitude or in more layman terms...balls.

 

only way we lose him is if he is offered another hc job which is a possibility.minny might need a new hc,the donkeys,maybe texans,redskins or chargers among the few.i don't know if i want him as hc.don't fix what not only isnt broken but working at a high level.rather let him concentrate on a second year with this d.

 

Recall the carnage that was/is Alex Smith, fmr #1 overall in SF?

That was Mike Nolan's watch, Nolan went so far as to semi accuse Smith of exaggerating the extent of a shoulder injury in the Media.

Nolan really needs to rehab that image he created of himself in SF.

 

Mcd grading out to be the teams #1 Dlineman....Thats my boy...

Irish needs to be creative and close deals on him and Solai..He needs to show that hes our GM of the future...This will put him in our good graces..

Moses steppin up over Ike Francis...Whats up with that Pod...I want some respect on that one..lol

Maybe I should go to the salary cap forum but in the opinion of someone who would know more about this, is it feasible that both players can get signed considering where were at in the salary cap and the performance of both players...Iam thinking both players are looking at 4 years 16-20 million range no?

 

What better place then Miami? Honestly, it would be quite risky... I love what the guy stands for with an example being the suit on sidelines. True, Alex Smith over Rodgers was bad...but here are the good: Gore, V.Davis, P.Willis, J.Staley. Its an option and honestly, I would hate to lose the guy...

 

I would be pleasantly surprised if we keep both McDaniel and Soliai.

They're both in the market for good money. Soliai plays the more valuable position in this defense, but McDaniel plays three downs.

Odrick's injury really muddled the waters for us. If we let go of McDaniel and Odrick can't stay on the field, you're diminished. If you let Soliai go, it's all on Randy Starks and possibly a draft pick in the middle. Starks gives you a different dimension down there, but is it better overall than what Soliai is doing now? And can he do it over the course of a season? Soliai has now proven that he can.

On the other hand, as I've asked all season, will Soliai revert once he gets paid? He had his breakout season -- the first in which he wasn't in the doghouse for a lack of professionalism -- in a contract year. Common tale. The Dolphins weren't counting on him in 2010, as evidenced by their flirtation with Dan Williams (strongly rumored to be Parcells' top choice) and ultimately the selection of Odrick for the purpose of relocating Starks.

Starks has had a down year at end compared to 2009, possibly due to the position changes. So that's also a bit uncertain. But what we really have to consider is the fact that Kendall Langford is under contract just one more season. And he's played himself into a good contract.

In the end I think they choose Soliai, McDaniel gets a good deal elsewhere and they lock up Langford sometime during the 2011 season. I think McDaniel's money will be put towards improving the offensive side of the ball.

 

I think Nolan is gone. They'll be several more job openings this offseason and you can bet teams have noticed how he's turned around this defense, with almost all the same guys from a year ago.

 

Hard to tell Deej, I think Muck is right and they keep Soliai over McD as with Odrick and Merling we are simply out of room on the Dline for everyone, and Merling is locked up for a bit, and really that money needs to go towards the offensive side of things.

 

Not only was Alex Smith over Rodgers bad, but they continued to bungle the QB situation during his tenure. Guys who should have played, didn't. Guys who were out-performed were given the job without competition. It was a mess. We may not have drafted the right guy. And he may not have been developed as well as he could have been. But the structure was correct. They had a solid veteran and put the kid on track to start down the road. The veteran kept the job until he was injured. The kid was given his shot and when he showed signs of cracking, they went back to the veteran for the sake of the team.

You also have to remember that Mike Nolan wouldn't be running this defense if he were the head coach. He'd be involved, but he'd be largely delegating. That failed miserably the first time around. Some guys are just better coordinators. He appears to be one of those guys.

Tony Sparano is a good head coach. He's not earned the title 'great' yet. He has his flaws. But he is a battleship captain. The players believe in him and like playing for him. He gets tremendous effort from them every single week. That is huge.

Sparano knows what he has on offense isn't working, and he knows the players aren't buying in completely anymore. You don't fire a guy who's proven to have his players' ear and respect for a guy who didn't in his last stop.

They'll let Dan Henning ride off into the sunset and we'll see what Tony lands at OC.

OT: for those who wanted Dan Henning fired midseason, that was never going to happen. We don't fire guys like that midseason. John Bonamego's unit was a dumpster fire. But the reason they let him go was because there was an assistant special teams coach on staff. We have no 'assistant offensive coordinator'. Highly unlikely they'd ever hamstring the staff like that. Especially while they're still in the hunt.

 

It's a good problem to have, really.

You're letting a really good player walk because you have too many other good players at the position to keep him. And at a core position no less.

This is what happens on good teams.

 

I think there is a real possibility they let Randy Starks go over Tony McDaniel. He's two years younger. He can play the end like Starks and backup the NT in Soliai. He does many of the same things as Randy and he's younger. I think they feel they may be able to lock him down cheaper too, as he hasn't been a starter.

 

What intrigues me about is how they found Starks and McD in the first place, both guys were pretty much after thought type of players, Starks came as a low level FA and McD came for a 7th rd pick.

That is one of the things I love about Ireland, he can find guys and he is not chained to the draft as the "only" way.

 

So did Bill Belichik.

 

The team is actively trying to sign Soliai and McD. Soliai wants a bigger signing bonus. Who do I send my check to? Here's hoping they succeed.

 

I think people know that Nolan is out of his depth at HC. He's sort of like Norv Turner, Wade Phillips, etc......Excellent Coordinator, bad HC. There's no shame in it. Some guys can simply function better at certain levels. I use the example of Longstreet in the Civil War...A master with a division......STumbleing and indecisive with a corps.

 

I am not a capologist but, do follow it. I see no problem in signing both, if there is in fact a cap. We signed Marshall and Dansby for a bunch but cut a lot with Smiley, Grove, Wilson, etc. I believe we are in good shape.

One thing I would add- SAVE WHATEVER IT TAKES TO EXTEND WAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

is there a possibility that we sign both sol and mcd and trade one before the season?i would love to keep them both if we can afford it but if we can't could'nt we trade one(say mcd for a 3rd-4th)and have that money drop off our cap? im not sure how that works.

 

That's pretty clearly been the exception, not the rule.