http://www.newerascouting.com/home/827-scouting-101-nfl-center-rankings/ 31 Satele Samson Miami Dolphins 5
But Ryan Kalil is ranked higher and he struggled the majority of the season....Well that pretty much discredits this whole read to me. hmm...could have sworn Satele was impressive (for the most part) all season. I could be wrong but didnt he allow only 2 sacks and our runners averaged over 4.5 yards a carry when he was making the lead block? So your telling me 30 other players did better then that? Man this is a league of talented centers...
well that is an obvious opinion piece that a lot of us will disagree with. Satele isn't the best in the league, but i'd say he's top-half. He's only going to get better as well... wouldn't be surprised to see a probowl appearance or two when his career is over with.
Satele needs to get stronger at the point of attack, hopefully with a new off-season program he will get stronger and techinque get better with better coaching.
Dr. Z who I respect a lot over at CNNSI (about the only NFL guy I respect over there ...) gave Satele an honorable mention during his ALL-PRO team article. Just said to keep an eye on him. That doesn't mean top five, but doesn't mean 31 either. Somewhere in the big middle, but that's good for a rookie.
I will start paying attention to league ranking of players at the end of next season, not before. We are a 1-15 team, that means we have 1-15 players in the eyes of the league and media. We all know the potential Satele has, and the new regime, coaches, conditioning program are all factors that only we Dolphin fans will take into consideration. So any polls like this are pretty much worthless to me at this time. Sorry Anthony, don't think for a minute I don't enjoy reading this crap, and I appreciate the link/thread.
I think I would almost agree with that ranking. For a rookie he didn't do a bad job. I expect him to do much better this year. After this year he should be ranked higher. He made a lot of rookie mistakes last year.
This article is great because it's just a list, without any real justification or explanation for the rankings that are given. Because the rankings are apparently subjective, and not actually based on say, performance on the field, but instead reputation or draft order, they are inherently flawed and deserve to be ridiculed. As others have mentioned, Dr. Z seems to have a high opinion of the kid, and he's about the only football writer I have any respect for. I've watched Samson quite a bit, and I can tell you that my only complaint is that he plays a little too recklessly at the point of attack sometimes. Otherwise, I see a very solid player-in-the-making. Next time New Era should watch some game film before throwing stuff out there to see what will stick.
That article is nothing to get excited over one way or the other. It's doubtful that Luke Paul Chandler, whomever he is, watched every game Satele played, or every game of any other center on the list for that matter, nor is it likely that anyone here watched every game of every center on the list to be able to refute him with anything more than he is offering, that being just one man's subjective opinion, based probably as much on the alignment of the planets as anything else. Something to fill in the idle hours of an impatient fan base who are like kids in the days before Xmas, anxiously awaiting the first day of training camp.
Honestly, heading into this thread I already thought I'd have Samson around #16. Now that I look through it, it makes me question that. Here's why. What I Love About Samson - Natural, balanced, poised, stays with it in Pass Protection - Unbelievable mobility that puts most guards to shame in the run game. He pulls and gets upfield like a fullback. - Tenacious, persistent, always looking for someone to hit. -tough (dentist anyone?) - You can tell he just has a very strong protective instinct. When Trent got KO'd who got big, ugly DT Travis Johnson the -bleep- away from Trent's fallen corps-icle? Samson. he reminds me of the big cente in "Unnecessary Roughness" who wants to protect Kathy Ireland. (Man, she was so hot... oops, I digress) - He fires out fast and low on short yardage, key for critical 4th and shorts and Goal line. Despite being a HORRID team last year, I believe we did well on 4th and short. Thanks, Samson! What I Am not Sure About - So much of a centers job has nothing to do with his athleticism or what we see. He must make the right calls, the right blitz adjustments. Is Samson in the top half of the league as this after only his rookie year? I highly doubt it. It is this critical task of centers that has probably cost Samson the most in his rankings. The good news? He will learn this tuff and improve this year. - He did have some sturggles with the exchange as our QB carousel went along last year. Some fumbles were Samson's fault. That also doesn't help your ranking. Again, I think a year more of experience plus stabiliy at QB will eliminate this problem entirely. Overall, I think Samson should still fall in the 20's, and by next year he will be seen as a center belonging in the teens. Hey, recognition is built slowly on the O-line because it's not a highlight reel position. Eventually, though, word will get out about Samson's talent. Bpk
It all comes down to opinion. Everyone has one. The 1-15 season has it's negative influence way past the end of the season. If the dolphins improve to 6-10 or 8-8 you will hear a lot different tune from the pundits. I still won't pay much attention to them.
Samson Satele, the 31st best Center in a league with 32 starting positions? Just ahead of a goddamned backup Center for the Oakland Raiders? That's absolutely awful. These people aint got any business making lists. Seriously, if you just watched what he did to Vince Wilfork, then you've got him just outside of the top 10 at least. Even outside of Satele, that list is bad.
