Fox is the first cut of the new/old regime. [video=twitter;687020088868888576]https://twitter.com/GregLikens/status/687020088868888576[/video] Dallas Thomas survives another day; gives up 4 sacks on Tannehill.
Now continue with Koa Misi who can't be traded because of durability issues and Kelvin Sheppard because he sucks.
I think there is a long list of players worse than Kelvin Sheppard on Miami's roster. I'm betting he's in the mix to be a starter next year.
Jamar Taylor, Dallas Thomas, Walt Aikens, Greg Jennings, Jordan Cameron, Earl Thomas - I would cut them all via email because seeing their faces even one more time would make me want to vomit.
Dang, I wish we had earl Thomas, but I think you mean Earl Mitchell. If we do convert to a base 3-4 and there is a team like say, the Browns, converting to a 4-3 we may be able to swing a trade of some kind with Mitchell being a piece. Like Mitchell for Desmond Bryant. It might not be equal value and there may need to be a pick or another player involved, but Mitchell being younger and Bryant being 30 would make it pretty even. Jordan Cameron isn't going anywhere. He will play a significant role in Gase's offense just like Martellus Bennett did the last couple years. When he was healthy this last season he was getting more targets than anyone else on the team. Jordan Cameron will be integral to our success next year, but a restructure may be in order.
Alright cut Grimes, Misi, Jennings, Cameron, Albert, Thomas, Mitchell, and Taylor. Open that cap space.
How is Dallas Thomas not the very first cut? Every day that bum collects a dime from this franchise is a ****ing travesty.
This is a good move. Fox has proven to be not only horrible as a starter but not even a serviceable backup. I hope we can find and develop some depth at T in the later rounds of the draft.
He isn't paid much of anything so he will probably remain on the roster until a FA or draft pick gets his spot on the 53. If nobody beats him out of that spot on the 53,IMO it will be a sign of doom.
Why are some so quick to get rid of under-performing young players? I understand that most don't want Dallas Thomas to start, but wouldn't you want his experience with the other starting linemen to be utilized as a back-up. Looking back, one of the failures of the Philbin period is letting go limited-experienced, under-performing young players, such as J. Jerry, N. Carroll, and J. Feeney. These players did not cost their current team much, while the Dolphins' filled their positions with inexperienced rookies or wash-up veterans that couldn't make it through the season.
His experience in what? How to get the quarterback killed? I could see it now, we'd be calling Gase Philbin 2.0 or Adam Waste or some other stupid nickname for keeping Thomas around. Then....to beat all, the curse of Dallas Thomas will continue due to a significant injury to either Albert or James (my obvious guess would be Albert). This injury would force Dallas Thomas back into matador action, the season would end, Tannehill would be bleeding from his ears this time, and Ross will extend Thomas for blocking well in week 17 that brings our record to a respectable (in Ross's mind) 8-8 tally....And this will all be Dallas Thomas fault. Hell no to keeping him, HELL NO! Dude is asscheeks, somtimes clean asscheeks, but still asscheeks at football. I mean he could probably beat me up and all, but no....he's awful. I'd rather sign Stocker McDoodle out of retirement. Hell..Marc Columbo...he looks like an all pro compared to Thomas....Of course....we let Thomas go, he signs with the Pats and ends up in the pro bowl.
I think the key word here is "limited-experienced", not necessarily in terms of number of games started but in terms of how certain you are of the player's future ability. We KNOW Dallas Thomas sucks. That's why you get rid of him even if you have to replace him with a rookie. If you're not yet that certain an underperforming player with limited experience will continue to suck in the future (i.e. if there's realistic hope he'll get better), then your argument has more merit IMO.
After three years, Dallas Thomas is still a bad pass blocker, a bad run blocker, and responsible for a ridiculous number of penalties. He still gets thrown to the ground or knocked back into the quarterback like he is on rollerskates. No, I don't want him on the roster anymore.
Cutting Thomas may require filling 2 spots - a starting G and one of the 2-3 back-up lineman on the gameday active roster. As bad as he is, he's not as bad as the choice the team had during his redshirt rookie year. Maintaining depth is my primary concern and since we haven't had any starting OL from the bottom of the roster, I would be very careful with trying to fill many roles from the draft. As Thomas joined the team, the previous strategy of back-ups with potential starting capabilities (Garner, Berger, and Murtha) started to disintegrate. They earned collectively the same amount of salary as the 2nd highest paid OL. In other words, our back-up OL plans has been as ineffective and costly as the plan to fill starting roles so why not fill back-up slots with failed starters.
That doesn't make Sheppard a good player because others are worse. That's the new standard in Miami now? Well others are worse lol. Unfortunately you are right that he probably will start next year if that position isn't addressed. And with all the holes this team has that is very likely.
Kelvin Sheppard has shown signs of becoming a solid LB. The fact he finished 2nd in tackles behind Reshad Jones further validates what I saw this year. I don't know what to tell you. Misi was weak at ILB which caused a lot of problems but neither Sheppard nor Jenkins were that bad at OLB.
You have to remember. Mitchell played strictly in the 3-4 prior to the 4-3 dolphins signing him and converting him. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hey Nappy, Do you post in a GM forum? I was looking it over and noticed that same user name. Just curious and would like to help your team out if you need a partner sometime. It looks very interesting.
Our line backing unit is very under-rated. Not because it's good, but because it's no where near as bad as most Dolfans make it out to be. Sheppard isn't "good' per say but he's not that bad either. Koa is getting older and he's not a dynamic play-maker, but he does a lot of little things I don't think he gets enough credit for. Jelani is our best young linebacker but he is small which can be a liability at times but he makes up for that with speed and instincts similar to Mychal Kendricks. Hewitt seems to have some developmental potential too and maybe even some of the other young guys so I don't think that position is as bad as many believe. The two biggest problems imo that needed to be addressed were coaching and the secondary. Now if we can just grab Ramsey or Hagreaves this team will be miles ahead of last years team and we may FINALLY have a coaching staff worth a damn.
Our line backing unit is very under-rated. Not because it's good, but because it's no where near as bad as most Dolfans make it out to be. Sheppard isn't "good' per say but he's not that bad either. Koa is getting older and he's not a dynamic play-maker, but he does a lot of little things I don't think he gets enough credit for. Jelani is our best young linebacker but he is small which can be a liability at times but he makes up for that with speed and instincts similar to Mychal Kendricks. Hewitt seems to have some developmental potential too and maybe even some of the other young guys so I don't think that position is as bad as many believe. The two biggest problems imo that needed to be addressed were coaching and the secondary. Coaching was obviously addressed, now if we can just grab Ramsey or Hagreaves this team will be miles ahead of last years team and we may FINALLY have a coaching staff worth a damn. I would rather add 2 players in the secondary and at least 1 in the offensive line before even considering adding an upgrade at linebacker. And don't forget Wake, Grimes and possibly even Albert will need to be replaced soon too, and OV, Miller, and Shelby are essentially no longer Miami Dolphins at the moment and that's a huge problem.
WOW lead the team in tackles huh..well Michael Thomas must be a solid safety then(he's not) because he finished 3rd..or Misi (who you say caused problems) finished 4th....Using tackles as a stat to determine quality is misleading. Sheppard finished 31 solo tackles(75) less than Jones(106) and had one more assist. If solid means solid for Miami then sure...Sheppard is a solid MLB on the Miami Dolphins defense ..but that's not saying much. He is in his 4th year..he is what he is. I dont know what to tell you,,buy glasses? stats only tell you he made the tackle, but where was he when he made it?
yet people want reshad jones in the pro bowl bc of his stats................................................................... but his overall play is crap.