Possible. But guys are pushing themselves and their bodies harder against other teams than they are their own teammates... making injuries more likely. And I don't feel these practices significantly improve the players preparation-wise in order to outweigh that increased risk of injury.
Have to remember though that Delmas is also back sooner than normal off of surgery as well. Even the staff held him out of the Bears game last week.
The practise thread covered the initial live updates - it starts from this post here if you want to follow how it happened.
Season hasn't even started and we might be testing the limits of our depth. Not good. I don't like to start being cynical about the season until half way through the season at the earliest.
Sucks to hear the news about Delmas. Not only do we lose a talented starter, but he's the leader of defense in both attitude and in communication. I hope it's not a season ending injury and the team is being cautious since it was his surgically repaired knee. If there's any silver lining to this news, this injury happened early enough in training camp/preseason that the backups can properly prepare and become oriented w/their new starting role before we go live. Hopefully Thomas and Aikens are ready for the big leagues, if the worst case scenario plays out w/the injury.
Delmas is done. Sucks because last year when he went down you could definitely notice a drop off in our D overall. Time for Thomas/Aikens to step up. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
Yea, if an injury like this is going to happen, now is ideally the time. Unfortunately. No one gets to the playoffs without some injuries. We drafted Aiken for a reason.
Even with the presence of Walt Aikens and Michael Thomas, the depth at safety is simply laughable. I think Thomas DeCoud's cell phone should be ringing any minute now... Also, would I be crucified for suggesting the team sign Jake Long and play him at LG?
Why is our depth laughable at FS? People around here act like we should have a Brock Marion stashed away as a #2 or something... Walt Aikens was a 4th round draft pick, going into his second season. Reports about him have been good. Michael Thomas is a young vet who has flashed some ability. Two young players w/potential, behind a seasoned vet is standard operating procedure.
While the loss of Delmas hurts, I don't think it's a huge loss. From everything I've been reading Aikens has been getting a majority of the snaps even prior to the injury.
We have two guys who can step up and start. How much depth do you think we need? I'm guessing your Jake Long comment was a joke.
The interesting thing with Delmas being out could be that Reshad Jones plays more in the box this year than he did last year. Jones was very impactful when playing close to the LOS and had a breakout year doing so in 2012. If Aikens or Thomas are able to play more of the coverage type safety spot, I don't think the net negative of losing Delmas will be all that noticeable. Have to remember he WAS still playing last year when the D started to slide; it wasn't because he went out, the collapse had already started back in the Denver game. Matter of fact, Miami's run defense actually improved slightly after Delmas was hurt during the final few games. Just food for thought. He was around for the gashings that Denver, New York and Baltimore delivered. Well, most of Baltimore's.
I like Walt Aikens, but you can't be serious with the "he's doing great in practice" ****. Everyone looks good in practice. At his roots, Aikens is nothing more than a middling, mid-round draft pick, for we have nothing else in which to judge his ability. He, along with Don Jones, Jordan Kovacs and Cedric Thompson, are as inexperienced as they come. Meanwhile, Michael Thomas can't stay healthy. What happens if another safety goes down? Putting your faith in entirely unproven commodities is one of the reasons we have been so unsuccessful as a team. Thomas DeCoud at least provides depth that can be relied upon, should Aikens or Thomas get hurt as well.
Everyone does not look good in practice, ridiculous to say that. Have any of the guards looked good? Reshad Jones was also a middling mid round pick and that turned out pretty well. Putting your faith in an older and washed up player like DeCoud is more foolish than giving young guys with tons of potential an opportunity.
Good/interesting read from Bill Barnwell; has some details about the defensive collapse. http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-dolphins-mission-of-mediocrity/
I love it when people shove words into my mouth. Nowhere did I say not to give Walt Aikens or Michael Thomas an opportunity. I want Aikens to start, and I want Thomas to see a significant amount of action. But you seem to forget that we're due for more than just one injury this season. You seem to forget what it feels like to watch a rookie get burned by a veteran on nearly every play. With DeCoud, or any veteran for that matter, we know what we're getting - and it's likely better than what we'll get with a bunch of kids who have yet to step on the field. Our guards are also going up against the best defensive line in the game. Reshad Jones is the exception, not the rule. Give me a ****ing break.
Neither Aikens or Thomas are rookies and both have seen playing time in the NFL and you just reiterated wanting DeCoud to start even though he's an average starter at best. So you think Dallas Thomas can finally get the job done along with Billy Turner? Also you can find more 4th round picks that are legitimately good players outside of Reshad Jones.
We will be fine with Aikens, Thomas and Thompson at safety. Sure it's not ideal, but Chris Clemons wasn't either and we did just fine with him.
Hahaha. Again, I did NOT say that Aikens or Thomas is a rookie. Nope, sorry, never said DeCoud should start. Said our depth is laughable, and a veteran can fix that. Fun fact: Dallas Thomas has never surrendered a sack whilst playing at guard. And I believe Jeff Linkenbach will unseat Turner as the RG. You know what else you can find in the fourth round? Busts. And there are a lot more of them than success stories. Of course, you're free to have your own opinion, as am I. Mine is that a veteran would be better suited than a young kid to ease the loss of Delmas. Not like any of this really matters, anyhow. Our front office and coaching staff will make the decision. Nothing left to argue.
Just to reiterate, I agree with you. We will be fine, but only until another defensive back inevitably gets bit by the injury bug. At that point, I don't want Cedric Thompson, Jordan Kovacs, Don Jones, or Tony Lippett to even sniff the field. A veteran provides more than his own ability. He brings mentorship, experience, and leadership to the table, and in my opinion, that's what we truly lost in Louis Delmas.
You make a good point, honestly I'm not too familiar with DeCoud but in theory a veteran would be a nice addition. I like Cedric Thompson a lot though as well as Aikens so personally I'm comfortably with those 2 taking the FS position and Thomas taking the back up SS role. A lot of teams don't have 2 proven safety's, take Philly for example experimenting with Thurmond and you wanna talk about laughable depth check out their depth chart.
Bold disagrees with you? Either way, you seem to be talking out of both sides of your mouth. Either we should go with what we have, or we should sign a veteran to start, since "rookies" get burned on every play.
You know what's fun? Imaging who we might have had on our team right now if we had used that no. 3 pick on someone other than D. Jordan. I mean a NUMBER 3 PICK. Good times.