NT right under our nose

Nfl.com....

..has Starks listed at 305. Probably not quite heavy enough for the 2-gap type of NT we need.

Starks has proven he can hold his own very well at NT, but that takes him out of his better and more natural position of DE IMHO.
BTW Rio, he's more like 305 not 350. He wouldn't carry that much extra weight very well I don't think.

Randy Starks would be a beast at 350 23rd..j/k..

The project nose tackle is still on the team in Solai, he's 350 and came out when he was 20 years old...lets see if the player can keep ascending..

I wonder if drafting a young NT would help him mature?, sometimes a young guy feels like a big brother and steps up his game.

looking @ our roster, it has him @ 350
very big difference, 45 lbs can make
however
w/ a strength & fitness coach,
he could probably go up
another legitimate twenty pounds
325 plenty big enough for a NT

would never rule out the draft
however
it take @ least two years for most rookies
to learn the position & we don't have 2 years
the answer may be under our noses

I agree with DJ on this one.
I think we do have him on the roster, but Starks will be helping to spell him on occasion.
I, Not like most in here it seems, am encouraged by big Paul's progress last year. Have to keep reminding people, it takes many true NT's a handfull of years to master the position. I think Soliai is actually right on schedule.

i think Randy Starks should move to nose tackle. We should focus on defensive end in the first round. Maybe trade down.

"the 23rd wrote:

looking @ our roster, it has him @ 350
very big difference, 45 lbs can make
however
w/ a strength & fitness coach,
he could probably go up
another legitimate twenty pounds
325 plenty big enough for a NT

would never rule out the draft
however
it take @ least two years for most rookies
to learn the position & we don't have 2 years
the answer may be under our noses

He's listed at 305lbs, not 350lbs man.

http://www.miamidolphins.com/team/roster

I think if NT was an "enjoyable" position to play guys would gladly go on the Kevin Smith diet to do it

who was that cat we had a few years ago?, he started as a LB

"lbmclean_sj wrote:

I think if NT was an "enjoyable" position to play guys would gladly go on the Kevin Smith diet to do it

who was that cat we had a few years ago?, he started as a LB

Tractor Traylor.

"the 23rd wrote:

looking @ our roster, it has him @ 350
very big difference, 45 lbs can make
however
w/ a strength & fitness coach,
he could probably go up
another legitimate twenty pounds
325 plenty big enough for a NT

would never rule out the draft
however
it take @ least two years for most rookies
to learn the position & we don't have 2 years
the answer may be under our noses

You don't need a website to tell you he's not 350. Ray Charles could see he's nowhere near that and never was.

He's also one of the strongest defensive linemen in the NFL already, and had played some NT for the Dolphins before back in 2008. I think the coaching staff has seen enough that they would put him there if they thought he was the answer.

Can't wait to see Starks at NT!!!!

You have to figure that Starks is the fallback in case we don't get either a FA NT or one from the draft to work in while Fergy is out. As AZ said, imo, you lose a valuable rotational DE if you tie Starks to the NT and he's not exactly the prototype guy they want at NT...

"GISH wrote:

if Starks could lose 90 lbs, we could solve our WR problem too.

I understand that at 220lbs, Starks would be Juan Juron fast....!!

I do believe it is Starks, Soliai and McDaniel for the 'NT' rotation until Fergie gets back ...

As noted, Soliai did have a good year ... especially when he was healthy -- as soon as he injured his ankle, his play slipped. He did show some serious potential for the short time he was going good. He isn't just a 'fat' guy that plugs the middle ... he is quick and has some penetration capability - which is why i comepare him to Sapp ... and not to Fergie.

If we were to draft a NT, I look for Joseph in 4-6 .... as a nice project.

Zach Thomas should've been moved to safety.:escape:

"the 23rd wrote:

looking @ our roster, it has him @ 350

The roster at MiamiDolphins.com places Starks at 305, not 350.

Starks is not a nose tackle, nor should he be converted to one after his performance in 2009. He's the sort of aggressive DE we need.

"pigskinguy wrote:

Zach Thomas should've been moved to safety.:escape:

:lol:

That thread was simply ridiculous.

"Conuficus wrote:

:lol:

That thread was simply ridiculous.

That was the first thing I thought of when I read this.

"PHINANALYST wrote:

I do believe it is Starks, Soliai and McDaniel for the 'NT' rotation until Fergie gets back ...

As noted, Soliai did have a good year ... especially when he was healthy -- as soon as he injured his ankle, his play slipped. He did show some serious potential for the short time he was going good. He isn't just a 'fat' guy that plugs the middle ... he is quick and has some penetration capability - which is why i comepare him to Sapp ... and not to Fergie.

If we were to draft a NT, I look for Joseph in 4-6 .... as a nice project.

I am going to have to disagree with your statement. Soliai had a decent year, but far from good.

Did he show good penetration on occasion? Sure. But his biggest problem is taking on double-teams. This defense does much better with the guys who can consistently take two, rather than the guy who beats his guy and lets the guard/center take on our LBs. Miami NEEDS that big-body in the center, and Soliai is just not the type.

In fact, it was because he played too high that he got injured. Up to the point of his injury, he played decently. But it was against NE where he totally got blown up and run over by either guard or center. I forget by whom, but it was a one-on-one situation. That's how he hurt his ankle, because he did not stay true to form/technique.

Soliai is not a Warren Sapp type in that, he is late on his penetration. Sapp could get in the backfield and create plays on his own. Soliai might get in the backfield, but because he is much slower than a Sapp, the play is already past him on most occasions.

This is why Miami chose to re-sign Ferguson. Firstly, it gives Ferguson a full half-season to get back into shape from injury. Also, Ferguson will be fresh for the end of the season (when games matter most), where most of the O-lineman will begin to wear down a little. Very smart by Miami. Ferg can come right in and give you 20+ snaps, and in turn, keep the other guys fresh.

Trust me, if Soliai was the man, I seriously doubt we'd be having this conversation.

"Colmax wrote:

I am going to have to disagree with your statement. Soliai had a decent year, but far from good.

Did he show good penetration on occasion? Sure. But his biggest problem is taking on double-teams. This defense does much better with the guys who can consistently take two, rather than the guy who beats his guy and lets the guard/center take on our LBs. Miami NEEDS that big-body in the center, and Soliai is just not the type.

In fact, it was because he played too high that he got injured. Up to the point of his injury, he played decently. But it was against NE where he totally got blown up and run over by either guard or center. I forget by whom, but it was a one-on-one situation. That's how he hurt his ankle, because he did not stay true to form/technique.

Soliai is not a Warren Sapp type in that, he is late on his penetration. Sapp could get in the backfield and create plays on his own. Soliai might get in the backfield, but because he is much slower than a Sapp, the play is already past him on most occasions.

This is why Miami chose to re-sign Ferguson. Firstly, it gives Ferguson a full half-season to get back into shape from injury. Also, Ferguson will be fresh for the end of the season (when games matter most), where most of the O-lineman will begin to wear down a little. Very smart by Miami. Ferg can come right in and give you 20+ snaps, and in turn, keep the other guys fresh.

Trust me, if Soliai was the man, I seriously doubt we'd be having this conversation.

You mean he got hurt due to lack of technuque?
The same way Fergie, Jenkins and Jamal Wiilliams did.
While those are 3 of the very very best NT's in the league, none of them started coming into their own until they were in the league a while and learned the position.
Give Soliai some time, I think he's gonna be just fine.
Athletically, he is very good. He does need to continue learning the position and technique.

"alen1 wrote:

Tractor Traylor.

You rang?

"pigskinguy wrote:

That was the first thing I thought of when I read this.

And me too :lol:

I haven't a problem with Solai, and i think he may progress again. i just worry if he gets injured early and we dont get Fergie back until week 9. The NT is an integral part of the 3-4, and we dont have much in the way of cover. Starks could do the job, but really he would be better suited as a 4-3 DT.

Good NT's are so hard to get hold of it would make sense if there was a good one available, to draft one. Having said that I wouldn't want us to waste a pick with one of our first two draft picks, unless he was better than any LB or FS available

"DePhinistr8 wrote:

..has Starks listed at 305. Probably not quite heavy enough for the 2-gap type of NT we need.

Ferguson is 310 so i dont think 5 pounds is going to make a big difference