Good to know, not a single back over 6'1. This will be an odd offseason Des, we have 14 FA's maybe two or three I expect them to try and keep, Soliai, McDaniel, Garner, maybe McQuistan or Incognito, that means we will cycle a slew of guys through training camp..if there is a training camp that is to say.
As crazy as it sounds I think the interest they showed in Dez Bryant last year might mean they take a serious look at Julio Jones this year. Both can run block, take a short pass or go deep. I think Marshall has turned out to be more a very fast flex TE for Miami, excellent in the slot but not the flanker they were looking for. Jones could be that guy. Maybe you deal Bess after that you get you that RB?
Something is cooking with the Wr corps Des, not saying Bess is on the block, though it would mean Marshall would move inside to play the slot, add in the udfa type Wr's they are stockpiling and the CFLer they worked out and Henning saying they just have not been explosive enough on offense and something is bubbling.
Well they do ... ideally... need speed and explosiveness at the position. Does that take priority over areas of need? RB , QB , TE , interior OL ? I don't know . Suppose it matters who is available ,when they are available and at what cost. Not at all unpleased to see they recognize a shortcoming at the WR position.
Depends on the player(s) they would get. To me Hartline certainly isn't indespensible , I would not give him away of course , but would I replace him with the right wr? Absolutely. Whoever is or was our 4th wr this year , let alone our 5th. There is some promise with Wallace , Moore but let's face it , also a lot of question marks. Supplant either of them with an impact kr that also plays wr and can turn a crossing pattern into 6 or stretch the field and semi consistently make pass/reception plays of over 20 yards. Marshall and Bess are very good at what they do , we need to utilize them better , properly and that can be done by adding a legitimate speed player at wr imo.
I think that in a more modern offense that Marshall, Bess, and Hartline would all be more effective. Clearly, Brandon Marshall was more effective with the Broncos with Cutler and Orton than he is in Miami with Henne or Thigpen at the helm. I definitely think you can upgrade over Marlon Moore and Roberto Wallace - they'd be the first to go. I think pretty much everyone on offense would perform better with a better system that maximizes players' talents, not tries to get them to conform to the system. That, and better QB play.
You do if you get the right compensation. It's more of an improving the balance of the WR core trade, not a trade because you don't think the guy himself is a good player that's far from it. Didn't seem to do anything to New England when they sent a similar guy away in Deion Branch. Bess is a great story for Miami, but he and Marshall both need to be in the slot and I doubt you want a 4 WR set to be your primary formation although you could probably pull it off if you acquire a Vincent Jackson instead of an Owen Daniels. Sparano would probably cry though at the thought of something so aggressive. Best part is you could probably run pretty well out of that 4 WR set against a dime. Better than with Mastrud and Polite against a full 3-4.
Randy? Randy Mueller? Is that you trading Wes Welker to the Patriots? Okay, I’m being a little bit sarcastic, but the point stands. Trading Bess just hobbles the offense even further and provides little advantage beyond the general “we get a draft pick back” type of move. We don’t need draft picks, we need players. Bess is a player. Keep him. Free agency is relatively loaded in the offensive areas we need the most help: tight end and running back. We don’t need to subtract in order to add.
I agree but you're looking at situation where it's tough to get a TE on the outside burning the defense allowing Bess to stay as a slot receiver. Perhaps a more effective approach would be going 4 WR with the 4th WR a big guy that can get deep as well as run block. There are more of those guys available than there are TEs with great speed and blocking ability. The Jets go with Keller, Edwards, Holmes, and Cotchery yet they're one of the more effective run blocking teams around. I don't think Marshall is much less of a blocker than Keller is when we're talking about in the slot (not in-line off course), I think Hartline is better than Holmes, and Bess and Cotchery are about the same. I don't think Edwards is much of a blocker either so theoretically we could hold onto our run blocking identity we had in previous years and do it out of a 4 wide set at least until Miami gets to the red zone. You could go the length of the field in 4 WR with Marshall and Bess on the inside and then go 2 TE with that big WR, Marshall, Fasano, a bigger back, and say a second TE like a Dante Rosario around the redzone. Just some ideas to play with.
In the draft, sure. In 2011 free agency? Absolutely not. There are some excellent tight ends available.
Not for playing what essentially is a flanker though. I don't think any of them have that kind of speed. Maybe Kendricks but he's a great blocker, I'd want him closer to the offensive line. I'd lineup a cost-effective lineup: FL- Jacoby Jones SL- Bess SL- Marshall SE- Hartline With a back that can catch out of the backfield. I think you could run of that group and Jones won't cost you much, but he and Hartline will give Marshall and Bess room to work.
Ingram is my favorite at the moment. I think it is silly that a running team won't draft a back in the first round but whatever, they are on the record saying as much. But I begrudgingly agree with KB that Ingram would be misused here. We have a good all-around back in Ronnie, and his carries are rationed.
Ingram is my favorite back overall. But if we could trade down and get a 2nd (vs getting only Ingram), I would rather trade down and get someone like LeShoure (if he comes out) and use the next pick on a WR/TE. With that said, I want two new RBs next year in our backfield and if they both come from the draft so be it (maybe a bigger play guy first, and someone like Evan Royster later).
I think you have it backwards. Sparano is likely directly responsible for the games in which they have increased carries—the Raiders game, for instance. Henning willingly moves away from the run, giving his lame “we didn’t abandon the run, the run abandoned us” lines. But you can lay the blame on that directly at Henning’s feet. Also, if previous coaching staffs are any indication, Ricky’s carries would increase appreciably while Ronnie might get another handful of carries. For whatever reason, three different coaching staffs have refused to give Ronnie the rock consistently. Cameron eventually relented and admitted he made a mistake, but you’ll hear no such thing from Saban or Sparano/Henning on that front.
The better Miami can get running the ball, the better Miami can control its quarterbacks inadequacies (when we're ahead).
This is a really bad time to need a quarterback and not have a really high draft pick. Option 1: attempt to work out a trade to move up to #1 overall and get Andrew Luck. Option 2: attempt to work out a trade to move up to around #5-#10 overall and get Cam Newton. Option 3: sign a guy like Carson Palmer (who likely will not be back in Cincy after this year) and hope that a remade backfield and improved interior OL will let Carson do what he couldn’t in orange and black. Option 4: stick with Henne, import a new OC and QB coach, and hope that they can work miracles together. I don’t like how Carson Palmer has played the last couple of years, but if you get a new OC/QBC, bring in Palmer, and give Henne extra time on the bench to season, then we might salvage something out of this mess. Oh, and acquiring a true complementary TE to Fasano and two new RBs goes without saying in all of these scenarios. DeAngelo Williams is a free agent…
I don't like Cam Newton's prospects and how expensive it would be to get him. I don't like how Palmer has been miserable against anything but a prevent defense or a conservative defense. I do think that Henne deserves some competition but I'm not sure who it should be. Jon Kitna?
Reviewed those premium positions again. Nothing matched up... QB- Discussed #1 WR- Done, unless they want their #1 to be a true flanker like a Julio Jones LT- Stay healthy Jake 3-4 DE- They pick another one I'm going to kick Sparano's *** 3-4 OLB- Maybe but they seem pretty high on Misi and they wanted Merriman who they'll have a great shot at. CB- Got their #1 CB Where do they go... Again on the note of QBs that play their best when the game is close whether ahead or behind, the one guy whose numbers are absolutely incredible are Vince Young's. When he's motivated, strong, and playing to his strengths he's unbelievable. Flat out unbelievable.
I've seen quite a bit of Ingram and he's a pretty special player, I think that a lot of Alabama's woes this year have been from simply getting away from giving him the ball. I think he has a chance to be an Emmitt Smith type player. My only issue would be how much his injury this year could affect him in the future.
Tell you what I'd like to see, trade for Jones and Slaton for a 3rd or 4th rd pick if we can move out of the #16 or so and pick up a #2 pick while doing so, Slaton is buried with the Texans, Jones is a contract yr guy, both would fill obvious holes and neither have that "learning curve". Jones also handles returns as well, we could make out like bandits in a deal such as that one.
I like Ingram a lot and think he's a very good HB prospect. But when it's all said and done, don't be surprised to see Ryan Williams taken ahead of him. From what I can tell, Williams really has it all. The only question with him is the injury history.
IMO option #1 is about as likely as trading for Tom Brady. I'm not crazy about option #2. I have huge doubts about Newton and could easily see him being a bust. I might pick him at our pick, but I wouldn't trade up for him and I think he'll go in the top 10 when all is said and done. IMO you bring in a vet, but none of the guys available are worth spending big for (money and certainly no picks) or handing the reins to. I think the odds of Henne improving with a better OC are just as good or better than the other options being discussed. So option #3 is only viable if there's an opportunity to get somebody for cheap. Also you bring in a QB to develop.
I can't believe there are people buying into the Cam Newton hype. What's really amazing is that the very same people who are going all gaga over Cam Newton are the ones that think Chad Henne can't read a defense and will never improve on that. Guess what? Cam Newton has the same problem. Cam Newton does not have the mental aptitude to play quarterback in the NFL. He's another Vince Young.
You’ve really got to come up with more creative epithets for black quarterbacks. It’s one thing to call one specific person unintelligent, but to apply the label to every black QB who declares for the NFL draft is silly. Newton is a better college passer than Sam Bradford.
Have to agree about the Cam Newton observation, disagree about the Henne observation. Cam Newton comes from a spread option offense and has very little experience and yet, somehow a playbook the size of the Miami Phonebook and then apply it out on the field, then expect him to be effective after using a #1 pick on him seems very unwise imho. Cam Newton has "Bengals" written all over him.. As for Henne, if by "cannot read a defense" you mean "defenses can read him like a book" then I'd agree otherwise..nope, the is a half of the field, spot thrower who does not adjust well as well as not being able to route adjust along with the Wr's..
Outside of Vince Young's immaturity and knowledge of the playbook, or lack there of, he's actually been a fairly successful quarterback in this league when he's on the field. He throws the deep ball as well as you could hope for with any quarterback and he leads his team from behind extremely well. So if we could get a more mature and stable Vince Young by moving up I would do it in a second.
I hear people complain about Ingram's speed and immediately think of all of the great, even Hall of Fame, backs that teams wish they had not passed on due to speed concerns. Sure, NFL safeties might run him down on occasion. But the combination of his vision, feet, legs, and heart is unmatched in this draft. Unmatched. This is a guy that gets to the second level even when he probably shouldn't. And he just refuses to go down on first contact. Much like Ronnie, when he falls forward, it tends to be for an extra three yards. But what I like about him the most is his heart. He comes off as a very determined kid, and I've never seen him do anything to suggest he has a big head. Watch him score TDs. He generally flexes, rolls the ball away, and turns to celebrate with his teammates. If a guy threw a key block for him, he almost always goes to find that guy to give him a chest bump. This kid screams success at the next level.
You could expand that to players at every position that fell due to speed concerns, that turned out to be excellent players. Speed is nice, and the Dolphins definitely need more of it, but talent wins out and Ingram has talent.
I've seen Auburn 9 times this season and I have no doubt that Cam Newton has all the toold to be a special QB. If he wants it enough then he has more than enough talent. He's a winner with remarkable accuracy who took apart the best defenses College Football had to offer. For a man who can't read defenses, he sure made Kirby Smart look stupid. Same Kirby Smart who bamboozled Ryan Mallett. Newton has accuracy matched only by Andrew Luck in this draft. Great arm strength, leadership, mobility, far better mechanics than Tim Tebow, has won everywhere, is strong as an ox and the Roethlisberger comparisons totally add up. He has some issues with his footwork, but to say he can't read defenses is a flat out lie because the games, the throws and the defenses he's torn apart prove 100% the opposite. Given how your position on Mike Vick has been destroyed once and for all, I think you should take a wait and see approach on Newton.
Ingram's. And I'm all for trading up for Newton if we can get him (even if we have to give up a 1 next year).
