The Dolphins do not announce the draft prospects that are summoned to team headquarters, but sources say Miami’s list of upcoming visits includes North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples (an option at pick No. 8), Mississippi offensive tackle Bobby Massie (ESPN’s Todd McShay has Miami picking him at No. 41) and West Virginia linebacker Bruce Irvin (combined 22.5 sacks the past two years). Among others booked for visits: guards Brandon Brooks (Miami of Ohio) and Desmond Wynn (Rutgers) and Montana cornerback Trumaine Johnson (a potential second-or third-rounder). The Dolphins drafted Johnson’s former defensive back teammate, Jimmy Wilson, after he visited last year. Teams can bring no more than 30 non-local players to their facilities. Among players with local ties, Miami invited all the notable UM and FIU prospects, plus others including Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David (5.5 sacks), Wisconsin All-Big 10 cornerback Antonio Fenelus and Virginia Tech cornerback Jayron Hosley. http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/ Like the marshall nug from Wisenhunt, like that we wanna resign Starks, Like that we are looking at Jimmy at safety. His natural position IMO.. Our fans better think about what Wheeler said...
A lot of the time though, it seems like when we bring a player in for a visit, we wind up not drafting them.
Yes sir.. Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sport...#storylink=cpy Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sport...#storylink=cpy Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sport...#storylink=cpy
Damn it, none of my links work, that's why I didn't post em in the first, thought this new IPad was suppose to be easier..anyways thanks to whoever put the link into my first post.
Of course that's going to happen. We bring in far more players than we have picks to draft. I'd think all teams do that.
Bruce Irvin with our 2nd please. (but I'd settle for a sliding D'onta Hightower or Lavonte David) Irvin is in my top 3 favorites this draft, possibly #1. I get that indescribable tingle when I watch him play (which partially comes from knowing this guy will always play like he has something to prove). Some teams pass over a player b/c they can't initially see how they'd use him. Well, in Irvin's case, I wouldn't care. I'd draft him with my 2nd round pick and then figure out how to use him in camp when he and all the other bodies are on the field together, and if my DC can't then figure out creative ways to get him involved and let him impact the game, I'd fire my DC and get one who could. IMO occasionally the people making the decisions get too wrapped up in the X's and O's chess-matchup aspect of the game and forget that underneath it all it's still a competitive sport, one with individual battles occurring within the battle itself. IMO Parcells [and Henning] were incredibly guilty of this from 2008-2010 as too much focus was placed on players fitting a specific criteria and an excessive amount of focus on execution (at the expense of bringing in playmakers or allowing players to actually make plays themselves). Therefore, IMO, if you find a guy [of the non-conventional mold] who can either be disruptive or disrupt the other team's rhythm or make plays outside the normal X's and O's, you gotta grab him, throw him on the field, and just let him do his thing. That's how I see Irvin. He's like one of those imposing backyard pickup game players whom you badly want on your team b/c everyone knows he's a wildcard and you know he's gonna make something happen, and his mere wildcard presence & relentless attitude will help boost the confidence, attitude, and play of those around him. IMO every offense and defense needs one of these players. Polamalu is a great example in Pitt; Bush in Miami; Harvin in Minne; and the all time greatest example being Lawrence Taylor. IMO the Giants do a great job filling their D-line and WR/RB with guys like these.
You got any info on the kid and his recent arrest, he trashed a sign at a sandwich shop or something?, also do you see some size issues?, and the possibility that all you have is a situational pass rusher who looks to be a bit undersized?.
Basically he said it was a tough decision, but that he felt the support from the raider fans and wanted to be apart of that..
Yup. We lost a free agent because our fans have been idiots. Its as if there were people who said this was a problem. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I like his off field baggage. He didn't fold to adversity or crisis, and IMO it's what will leave a permanent chip on his shoulder to where he never becomes complacent, similar to Cam Wake. Personally, I'd draft him, then sit him down and tell him, "Bruce, we know you might make a few mistakes and do a dumb thing here or there, but that's ok with us b/c we know that's not who you really are as a person & player and b/c we know you're not gonna make the same mistake twice. When tremendous passion & fire, like you have, is combined with a less than fortunate upbringing, that you handled admirably, a person's bound to slip once in a while, and that's fine with us because we know, without the past you've had to endure and fight through, you wouldn't be the man you are today, the one I'm excited about adding to my defense. If your history is what shaped you into the player you are today, then I'll take a few blunders that might come with it b/c I understand that you can't just flip a switch and erase a rough past like yours overnight, and I don't expect you to think like that either. If your heart, passion, and intentions are there, then that's all I care about and the rest will gradually take care of itself. The last thing you need is to label yourself as a "problem" or "failure" simply b/c you goof up once in a while and others who don't know you criticize you and label you for it. If you let that happen, let it get to you, and start believing you are that thing, then eventually you'll become that thing. Now, are you familiar with Cam Wake?......." ..... and then I'd announce it for all the fans and media to hear so they'll better understand Bruce and support him, especially during any goof ups which is when he'll need it the most. To me, I think his teammates will see how hard he works and how much passion he has, see where Irvin came from & what he's had to endure and fight for to get where he's at, and it will motivate some of them to push themselves a little harder b/c they can see first hand that if this guy can go this hard after all he's been through, then there's no excuse that they can't either. IMO the harder this kid's heart beats, the harder it'll beat for the defense as a whole. Plus, Coyle comes from an organization experienced in bringing in problem players or ones without ideal histories, and they've had some recent success with it. And then there's Wake. Irvin will respect the hell out of Cam due to commonality, and Wake will likely eat up taking Irvin under his wing. That's a match made in heaven IMO. Cam will keep Irvin in line, and he's exactly the kind of player/figure Irvin will need around him to provide acceptance, encouragement, and validation of any hard work or when things get tough. Cam is exactly the type of player Irvin will look up to for approval and then work his butt off to maintain that approval IMO.
that's all I know of as well.... and since he's a defensive guy, I'm less worried by this type of thing b/c that's some nice aggression that transfers onto the field in the form of punishing offensive players. I'd expect him to slip up occasionally, and I'd make sure he knows that we understand it might happen from time to time [based on the emotionally rough past he's had to endure] as he continues transitioning into the fine man he's becoming Irvin's biggest problem will be to not create a self fulfilling prophecy where a few slip ups cause him to forget about all the growth he's made and hard work he's put in to get where he's at to where he begins believing he's a bad apple and therefore should give up on his useless quest to better himself and become a great man. IMO Brandon Marshall may have experienced this and it left him with some internal conflict. not terribly IMO. IMO he's a near clone of Von Miller in almost every physical & natural ability related regard, so you'd simply use him how Denver uses Miller--- as a 4-3 SOLB who's a standup pass rusher in nickel (IIRC). One of the ends moves inside in nickel and Soliai can come off the field, so he'd eventually become a 3 down player IMO. (We could do the same with Hightower, only at ILB instead and then move him to DE in nickel, just as Bama did with him.) Von Miller vs Bruce Irvin Height: 6'025 vs 6'024 weight: 245 vs 245 (virtually identical frames) long arms: 33.5 vs 33 3/8 bench: 21 vs 23 40 time: 4.42 vs 4.43 (fastest 40) 10 yard split: 1.57 vs 1.53 vertical: 37" vs 33.5" broad: 10'06" vs 10'03" 3 cone: 6.7 vs 6.7 shuttle: 4.06 vs 4.03 Both have great instincts and a natural feel for the game. Both have outstanding core strength for their size and pair that with a natural understanding of leverage. Both are fearless, high motored, high intensity, physical, violent natured, and play to the whistle. They're both like cheetahs on the field who relentlessly stalk their prey. Have the same level of football athleticism & change of direction ability. Both are playmakers. I'd argue that Irvin makes as many plays at his stage of the game that Miller did at the similar stage. If we mix up 3-4 stuff, he's obviously one of the OLBs.
no way. He's just making that up. Players don't care what fans think and aren't influenced by them on the field.
This is ridiculous. Wheeler didn't pick the Raiders because of the fans. I have no doubt that he signed with the Raiders for the same reason almost every other free agents the Dolphins have interviewed this off season signed with another team. Because they have been offered more money by the team they signed with. Blaming fans for players not signing with the Dolphins is just plain idiotic.
Nobody is blaming them solely, but they are partly responsible for the gross culture that is going on, and it's been going on for a while, and getting worse and worse.. Fans should be grateful they have a their own team to root for, and separate their criticisms for mgt and executives, IMO, you should never change how you root as long as your players are playing as hard as they can and as tough as they can be, you should always show up early, never stop spending your dollar, always stay late, always cheer your loudest, and always watch who you criticize and how you do it..
Jimmy Wilson at FS would be a major coup. I'm pretty sure Clemons has been playing out of position since day one and has a much better skillset to play SS. Marshall has been a better corner than Smith to date but they can compete for the job and the other can man the nickle spot. I'm not sure what other bodies they have signed but that leaves Carroll, Jones and Culver as backups so far. All have significant playing time already. Not bad.
I think Miami would be in pretty big trouble with Jimmy Wilson as a starting FS. I think that while Clemons might be suited to play SS, I think Reshad Jones is even more suited to play it than Clemons. Unless it's Richard Marshall, or maybe Chris Clemons, I don't think Miami currently has it's opening game starter at FS on the roster yet. I think there's solid depth, and if Miami can get better (i.e. more consistent) production from Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, and Richard Marshall, the secondary could get by with Clemons and Jones at the safety spots, though it wouldn't be ideal. Having guys like Carroll, Wilson, and maybe even Jonathan Wade at CB is nice. Culver has shown he's a contributor at times as well. Other than finding a good, centerfield type safety, I like the depth that Miami has in the secondary. Consistent production from Davis, Smith, and Marshall will be the key.
I have no conviction about Rj at strong but I feel really good that sparano or whoever misplayed Chris Clemons development, kid should of been on the field last year, and before anyone tells me how can I say that if Iam not on the practice field, I have four words to say, Cam wakes rookie year.....guy should of been on the field for twice as many reps, but wasn't and after screaming about what a complete joke it was, sparano admittedly said he fu&&ed up.. I think they did the same with chris..I actually really want him on the field..
Clemons was injured to start the season though if I remember right. I think he was pretty much special teams only for the first half of the season until he started to come around and see the field in certain packages. I agree, he should have been on the field at FS over Reshad Jones.
Taking a guy who is probably the 4th best CB on the team and moving him to FS? I thought his play at CB last year was overrated by a lot of people down here. I still recall that Giants game when he started for Vontae and was abused by Nicks and Manningham all day long. Does he communicate well? Does he play centerfield well? That's an awfully big jump to go from playing D-IAA S, sitting out two year, playing D-IAA CB, NFL CB, and then moving to NFL FS. I don't see it. Could he replace Tyrone Culver on the roster to save some money? Yeah, I could buy that. But I don't buy him starting at FS.
Based on his play with the Dolphins last year, I'd strongly disagree with you. His play from Montana 4 years ago, yeah, maybe. As I said, if he's the starting FS come week 1, Miami will be in trouble. When he had to match up with better receivers last year - Nicks, Manningham, Laurent Robinson - he struggled. I think he'd make a good backup safety or corner and special teams contributor. But I think that's about all the more you're going to get out of him. He's not a centerfield type of guy which Miami has essentially lacked since Brock Marion, and now they don't have a guy to communicate and get the secondary aligned properly. That's a lot of responsibility to heap on Jimmy Wilson, don't you think? If Miami's planning on moving any of their CBs to play S, it damn well better be Richard Marshall.
Actually, the Giants abused Sean Smith much more. They threw at him over twice as much, even though both players were in coverage for 44 snaps. Wilson was thrown at 6 times, with 4 catches, for 42 yds and 1 TD and 1 PD. Smith was thrown at 13 times, allowed 10 catches, for 89 yds, no TDs, with 1 PD. Why did they chose to target Smith more often, unless the rookie was more often playing tight coverage on his man? Also, Wilson never allowed a catch by Nicks or was thrown at while covering him. He allowed 1 catch by Cruz and 3 by Manningham.
Wilson did not play defense on Thanksgiving vs the Cowboys. Only STs. The Dolphins played 6 DBs. Davis, Smith, Allen, Bell, Culver, and Clemons. Robinson had 7 catches. 3 with 1 TD allowed by Smith. 1 each allowed by Burnett, Bell, Clemons and Culver. The 2nd TD was allowed by Culver. When did Robinson abuse him?
I agree. Think about Madison, Surtain etc, as rookies. Did they show anything more than Wilson did? Not to my recollection.
Neither of them got moved to FS. What makes Wilson qualified to make that jump? I can't imagine him having played more snaps than Madison and Surtain did when they were rookies.
Thing is, sometimes you have to roll the dice on a player who may not be perfect for the role. They then have to adjust to what is being demanded of them, this is one area Sparano did not do well at..our young guys just did not develop the way they should have developed imo
That and really, they were poorly prepared to play. R Jones comes to mind, toss in Nate Garner last yr vs Philly..that was a tough assignment but still.