with an upgrade at ILB and some depth at NT .... to me our last 4 areas of concern are: 1- G/C: would rather not have Pouncey start at C this year ... unless, of course he is ready for it. Doubt it as he is already behind the power curve, even if his brother tutored him. That leaves Berger or Richie at C .... barring a signing. But the fact that we are looking tells us it's at least a mild concern or an area for depth at the least. I know he's old but what about Kruetz ? ... then there is a slew of Gilles, Colombo, Davis, Kaczur, Light, Brown that could all go from T to G .... 2- TE: need a seam threat .... which Fasano can do on occassion -- we do have the last 2 PSU TEs ... guess we'll see if either has anything to offer. Expectations are not that high .... Miller comes to mind .... 3- WR: it is clear that Marshall and Bess are keepers .... the other 3 are an interesting mix -- with Gates being a near lock, which leaves 2 more. We have / are talking to Edwards (meh) ... but certainly could use a solid dependable #2 on the outside. Smith wouldn't be bad, albeit, he is a bit Marshallesque ... Floyd is another option. 4- RB: we have Thomas and Bush in the fold ... no doubts there. If history is worth anything, we'll have at least 2 more (not including a FB); not sure that 2 of Grigsby, Hilliard or Sheets are the answer. I think we keep either Grigsby or Sheets ... and then it comes down to Hilliard vs another FA back with size to complement Thomas. There are several out there: Barber, Bradshaw, Benson, Taylor and Smith to name a few ... i think we bring someone in later in camp. I'll throw in #5 - QB: as most will chime in with that .... i still don't think that Orton is that much better than Henne will be -- but he would bring it immediately vs having to wait it out this season. But, at this point - there isn't anyone out there that is going to lead this team to a SB .... and i'm not willing to pay Orton 10MIL + to bring us a winning season and 'maybe' a playoff game. As a bonus, how about #6 - T: have to assume that the Longonater will be ready to go .... for if he isn't all the other efforts on the 'O' just won't matter. I still consider the health of Carey a concern ... but having to replace both would be catestrophic to any hope of a winning season (I think we can substitute Carey in house). If we hear of us talking to Light -- then there are problems brewing ....
I would be happy if we just bolster the Oline from here out.. The money saving cuts that thinned out our Oline really bit us in the *** when the injury bug bit. I can't watch another year of that ****.
actually no - i don't see Hartline as a lock this year .... he will be hard to kick to the curb for sure, but let's say for the sake of argument that we do sign a #2 .... do you think Hartline's odds are effected - i surely do. Not last year - but this year he is a bubble guy for me.
We aren't signing another WR, IMO. I think we'll be fine going into the season with Marshall, Bess, Hartline, Gates, and a developmental guy. Moore, Wallace, or that Patrick Carter guy maybe?
based on Dolphins football as we have known it, I'd normally agree. Consider, however, that Ross has pushed hard for flashier, more high-scoring offense. And that Sparano, Ross and Daboll have all mentioned more spread concepts as a result. So, we may need another very good receiver to give Ross what he wants, especially if we have 4-wide more of the time. (that said, I think Sparano's compromise is to get a tweener TE/RB/WR guy like Clay whom they can split out wide, but who can still block).
while no one is going to argue with that ... i'm willing to wait and see what happens with Wallace, Moore, Foster and Carter .... before i go so far as to say Hartline in untouchable. Someone (2 actually) will have to have extremely good camps to push Hartline out - and we won't really have any indication until the pads come on, as history tells us. From another angle, we continue to roll in tall, fast WRs to challenge and make the squad -- at some point 1 or 2 are going to stick. I'm pretty confident 1 will - just for goal line purposes. Not knocking Hartline .... he is a solid player .... but he isn't special by any measure -- and if he is replaced, that's a good thing; meaning our overall talent keeps improving
Frankly we only have 1 real question on offense; what kind of play are going to get at Qb. Based on last year I have no faith that Henne will do much more than be captain checkdown again. If that is the case it will not matter who we have at WR. I am hoping beyond hope that the problem with all of it was generated by Hennings goofy play calling and Daboll will do better and get more out of Henne. If Henne can't get it done we are in serious trouble. By the way there were a number of times that Hartline was open behind the defense last year and Henne never even tried to get him the ball. Hartline has been our fastest receiver the last couple of years and is very smart. I don't see him being on the bubble.
An upgrade at S would make my list of top 5. When Miami went 11-5 in 2008 they were +17 in Takeaway / Giveaway When Miami went 7-9 in 2009 they were -8 When Miami went 7-9 last year they were -12 Both Bell and Clemons had 1 int each.
You hit on what I was thinking. We need to bolster our O-line. Wonder what our final product will look like going into opening day. LT Jake Long LG Richie Incognito C Mike Pouncey RG John Jerry RT Vernon Carey Looking at that, the middle got kinda bolstered with the addition of the rookie, but we may have to wait awhile to let him get the game down.
Well, Clemons is a youngster who can develop. As for questions on offense, to me the RG slot is a glaring problem, otherwise we are set more or less. The "battle" for the #3 Te spot is not really very important.
adam, i think they're gonna let Jones and Clemons battle it out at FS and give Bell 1 more year .... not saying we couldn't use an upgrade - just think they made a conscious decision to improve LB and potential pressure vice coverage. Restelli could be a wildcard at SS - but i'll just be happy to see him be a STs demon. all that being said - i doubt we add any S depth ....
pads ... that's why i listed G/C as #1 - that needs to be settled. Does Pouncey move right into C ?? If not, where are we ?? Me, I'd jump in and sign Kreutz for 2 years as a stop gap for Pouncey ..... that would go a long way in settling our interior line woes.
If I know Sparano, Pouncey will play from Gm #1, at Center, he is very stubborn about some things and the guys he wants out there are going to be out there even if they figure to get their asses kicked royally, as Pouncey will vs the Patriots.
I was hoping the same thing and would of liked Dashon Goldson....... But at this point our D is pretty good and remaining resources I think should be spent on Offense.we need massive help on the Offense and one or two quality starters would be nice, we are just depending to much on to many rookies JMO
problem i have with it ... but certainly can't say for certain -- did Pouncey participate in the 'unofficial' workouts ?? if so, then he has 'some' work with Henne and some semblence of an OL. If not, then he is woefully behind (no pun intended) .... and a veteran at C, and Pouncey learning the ropes at G is a much more logical approach.
He will need some time to evolve, more scary to me is hopefully our head coach doesn't continue the musical chairs with our OL. Pouncy should get a position and stay their.........
I still think Clemmons will be good for us. This will be his 3rd year and I've liked what I've seen from him. Really I like the secondary on our team, they are young for the most part and should be hungry. The stats are up their in previous posts about our takeaways, but it's not like they were not in the right position, they just couldn't catch. They must get better with their hands and start coming away with the interceptions.
I think Jones is more of a play-maker, but don't know if he would be consistent enough in coverage to hold down starting job. I do agree they won't be signing anyone...I just want them to. I think lack of takeaways is the only thing keeping the Dolphins defense from being elite.
It appears they will try to develop Clemons. I just don't see him having more potential than average. One of the those players then when watching opponents highlight plays Clemons is always in the picture a fraction away from being in the right place to make the play. IMO the player to keep an eye on is Jimmy Wilson. I think he has the skills to be a difference maker in the secondary. I would like to see him being given an opportunity at FS.
as far as FA RB's go you are listing multiple options that aren't even still available. Benson signed a 1year deal with Cincy, Barber went to the Bears if I remember correctly and your analysis of our WR's is just silly. Please read up a bit before posting....Edwards is almost sure to sign with AZ and you are conveniently leaving out our #2 WR in Hartline?!?!? Hartline isn't going anywhere and the rest of our WR corps is solid
I sure hope we can let Hartline go and and get a real threat at wr to compliment Marshall Hartline would not be a #4 wr on most teams we simply need to get faster on offense so it doesnt sound like we have improved in the speed department at wr it sounds like the oline will be improved but not at the wr and te spots. Runningbacks , I hope someone will makesome more observations at those spots a little more though.
thanks dude ... the CBS Free Agent Ticker did not reflect Benson's re-up (today) or Barber's signing (yesterday) - unless you actually clicked on the player. I will try to be better 'read' in the future .... the point that there are veteran options at RB remains regarding Hartline ... IF we went out and got a WR, Hartline would no longer be our #2 -- it would defeat the purpose of bringing someone else in. and if that were the case, Hartline would likely be traded. I'm not disparaging Hartline, but if one was to take a point of view to upgrade our WR corps -- it is Hartline's spot you'd be talking about.