I hope they give him a chance to be involved in some plays too. I think he would be a playmaker. Remember, Miami basically only used Wes Welker for kick returns until New England got him. Let him play against Dallas!
That is my hope, would like to see at least 1 end around and some work at the slot down the seam of the field. And I know, I've read that ST Coach Rizzi went to LaTech to interview him, it will really help his chances if he can be used in the offense is all I'm saying.
I don't see why we couldn't use him like the Chiefs use McCluster. Livas is slightly shorter but actually heavier, between the two. Their workout numbers are not appreciably different, except Livas has that great 10 yd time.
McCluster did not play very much last yr Mr C but I do agree with your sentiment, to me you want playmakers wherever you can get them on the field, save for S, especially guys who can make plays who don't make mistakes on the other side of things, sometimes those playmakers do dumb things trying to make stuff happen, Livas has not shown a propensity for doing so.
While I would love to see the Dolphins keep him. The fact is that the numbers just don't look good for him to remain on the team and I would not be surprised if he isn't returning kicks for another NFL team this coming season.
Personally I wouldn't keep 3 of these quarterbacks unless Pat Devlin kills it tomorrow night in preseason. I'd cut him and sign him to the practice squad. I don't see any reason he wouldn't clear waivers. I would keep the following on roster: QB Chad Henne QB Matt Moore RB Reggie Bush RB Daniel Thomas RB Lex Hilliard FB Lousaka Polite FB Charles Clay TE Anthony Fasano TE Dedrick Epps WR Brandon Marshall WR Brian Hartline WR Davone Bess WR Clyde Gates WR Marlon Moore WR Phil Livas OL Jake Long OL Richie Incognito OL Mike Pouncey OL Nate Garner OL Lydon Murtha OL Marc Colombo OL Joe Berger OL Vernon Carey DL Kendall Langford DL Paul Soliai DL Randy Starks DL Jared Odrick DL Tony McDaniel DL Ronald Fields DL Ryan Baker LB Cameron Wake LB Karlos Dansby LB Kevin Burnett LB Koa Misi LB Jason Taylor LB A.J. Edds LB Jason Trusnik LB Quinton Spears DB Vontae Davis DB Sean Smith DB Chris Clemons DB Yeremiah Bell DB Benny Sapp DB Jimmy Wilson DB Nolan Carroll DB Reshad Jones DB Nate Ness DB Tyrone Culver LS John Denney PK Dan Carpenter P Brandon Fields That's 51 legitimately rosterable players, IMO. It still leaves room for two more players to be claimed off waivers. I would hold onto Phil Merling and Will Allen just in case someone comes calling about a trade for them, but also you need to hold onto some guys while you see what is available on the waiver wire. On the waiver wire, what you claim all depends on what comes available. I would look at the waiver wire for QBs, RBs, TEs and OLs. You have two spots open, so why not? You don't HAVE to have a 3rd tight end, because we all know Charles Clay is kind of used as both, and a 2nd fullback is a luxury. You don't really have to have a 3rd QB if you think the guy that came to camp with you will clear waivers and make it to your practice squad. And again, unless Devlin absolutely kills it tonight which I doubt, I think Devlin is definitely clearing waivers. You don't necessarily have to have a 9th OL. A 4th tailback is usually considered a luxury. So with the 51 roster spots I've stacked up, plus Phil Merling and Will Allen whom I believe should be cut, you'd have some freedom to pick up guys that come available that you like. Also, among the rosterable players I named, obviously guys like Nate Ness, Tyrone Culver, Quinton Spears, Ryan Baker, Marlon Moore, Phil Livas and Dedrick Epps are really marginal players, so if any of them are cut and replaced off waivers, you'd be hard pressed to shed a tear, although I unfortunately have very little faith that they'd be cutting them and replacing them with someone worth rostering.
I like that roster although I'd like to keep W. Allen and move Merling for something. I think Merling has some value so I don't want to lose him for nothing. My ideal scenario would be to move him for Tebow, but a better #2 TE, OL or even a pick would be fine.
There will be some tough decisions at the bottom of the roster. I like your list CK, but would hate to see Roberto Wallace go.
The problem there is Omar revealed like a week ago or maybe more that Phil Merling is on the trade block for a #2 Tight End...and still nothing has happened. There's a strong possibility that teams are calling our bluff on that. And yeah, he probably has more trade value than a Ryan Baker because of his draft pedigree...but I think Ryan Baker is the better football player and would be more valuable to the rotation. Still, I suppose there could be some thought to hanging onto Phil on into the regular season and hoping Baker remains unsigned by another team, then eventually you might be able to execute an in-season trade involving Merling and you could quickly pick Baker back up to the roster. But he wouldn't be on your practice squad, I don't think Ryan Baker is eligible for that. It would be a dicey move. I think he's a good player. Will Allen I just don't see the point anymore. The last time we saw him play was like literally 2 years ago and he STILL can't stay healthy. I mean, he was supposed to be back to play all of last year and he missed it because he still couldn't recover, and so now you're thinking ok it's been two years he should be way, way, way recovered by now...and then he misses most of training camp. The hell? Don't see any reason to set aside a valuable roster spot for that. Benny Sapp's been playing really well this preseason and played pretty well last year, and Jimmy Wilson is training on as the nickel CB behind him, and has shown promise. That's enough for me.
Roberto Wallace is another of those guys that kind of baffles me why people talk about him so much. Omar is in love with the guy and thinks he's the next Brandon Marshall or Miles Austin. I don't see it. Those guys showed out in games. Even Austin. When you get Roberto into the games he doesn't do much. It's Marlon Moore that shows out, IMO. Yeah, Marlon still does something stupid like has some dumb drop every now and again but that's a young thing to do. Roberto's just not getting that open, which is a bigger problem. Plus I liked Marlon's game tape more, in college, in preseason, and pros. There's no guarantee Wallace would get picked up onto another team and you can always pick him up to the roster during the season if Marlon is disappointing or Livas suddenly sucks on returns. And then you can invite him back to camp next year to see if that's the year he puts it together, like how Anthony Armstrong took a few years to put it together.
By the way with that roster being how it is, my practice squad would contain Pat Devlin, Nic Grigsby and Garrett Chisolm, among others. Maybe Mark Restelli, maybe Frank Kearse, probably Brett Brackett.
I'm still holding out hope that Merling and some cash might be enough to convince Denver to send Tebow our way. If not that, I'd love to send Merling somewhere for like a 4th. I do like Baker and I prefer him as part of the rotation. I think he has better position flexibility (DE/DT) for us. As for W. Allen, I do think health is the key. I don't know what has been going on all camp, but I thought he was moving well in the Tampa game.
If Merling could fetch a 4th I think he'd have already been traded by now. I think there's a good chance that the asking price for Merling could be as low as a 7th and still nobody is biting. But like I said, I only named 51 guys. Merling would be a 52nd or 53rd you keep hanging onto until/unless you find some waiver wire guys that entice you. As for the Tebow thing, I think it's dead. The Broncos paid him that $6 million bonus and the Dolphins aren't going to offer to reimburse it. It would be the smart thing to do, but when have we been able to count on them doing the smart thing?
Interesting how you've excluded R.Wallace in favor of Moore. Any particular reason? I think Wallace has the higher ceiling, and has has a better preseason that Moore.
That's why I liked your roster b/c it's the 53 I would keep. I'd only move those other guys if something really desirable became available. The only reason I won't say that Ross wouldn't reimburse is that he loves celebrity and Tebow is one even if his Jersey sales are dropping. I would guess that his jersey numbers would increase if he came here. I would guess that Ross could recoup at least part of that cash outlay in jersey sales if not more.
Either/or; It'd be a shame to develop a promising looking WR to watch them have success elsewhere. Personally I'd keep both of them (plus Livas) going off of CKs list and maybe drop good ol' Lou Polite, then use Lex as our FB when needed.
I've never really bought into the hype on Roberto Wallace. And it HAS been mostly hype. The guy doesn't produce on the field very often. They tried to use him last year during the regular season and that met with mostly disastrous results. I believe there's been an implication that he ran the wrong route in the end zone against the Jets during that final 4th down interception on prime time television when we were trying to tie the game at the end. Also I know that on another play he actually just ran straight out of bounds off the jam, stayed out there a while, streaked into the end zone, Henne hit him and even though he was ineligible, he still just totally flubbed the catch. He had 6 catches during the regular season for 62 yards. Meanwhile Marlon Moore had 6 catches for 128 yards and a TD during the regular season, including that really nice short catch and run that he turned into a long TD with his RAC ability. The perception that Wallace is outproducing Moore is to me a false perception. Wallace has had the one play, mainly. He caught a 28 yard TD from Matt Moore on what was clearly a coverage breakdown. He's totaled 3 catches for 60 yards this preseason, all of them in that Atlanta game. Marlon Moore has caught 5 balls for 80 yards and has spread them out more evenly in all three games. People fall in love with this huge players at receiver but there are distinct disadvantages to being a big wide receiver. You're a huge target at the line for the jam, and Wallace in particular has trouble with that. When it comes right down to it I've watched Marlon play at Fresno State and I liked him, he stood out, and when I've watched him play in the preseasons both this year and last year, and during the regular season, he's stood out in all venues. Wallace hasn't. I'm not about to disregard what I see just because Omar Kelly has a mancrush on a guy that doesn't usually produce, and because he's a big guy. Marlon Moore is the more exciting player. He's faster. He's more explosive. He's got upside too, because he's still got this young thing going where every now and then he'll drop the ball or something like that. Some guys grow out of that. If/when he does, don't be surprised if he's a regular #3 or #4 type receiver in this league for a while. I honestly don't think Wallace will ever get that far.
I think dropping Lou Polite would be a bad idea. He's still our best short yardage back because Daniel Thomas has shown nothing on short yardage. He's also our best lead blocker. You could argue that taking Lou Polite off the roster actually wipes out a significant segment of the playbook because there are just things you probably shouldn't bother trying to run with Charles Clay as your fullback as opposed to Lou Polite. I don't think Lou Polite is all that great a fullback but the Dolphins haven't done a good job in replacing him either. If that was their aim when they picked Charles Clay, they should have just traded up and targeted Anthony Sherman.
Has an Omar Kelly mancrush ever panned out? Conversely, has he ever been dead-on about a player? I recall him being very tepid toward Cam Wake in 2009.
I'd go back and check but I don't want to weed through 3,000 tweets about his workout program or the new Jay-Z album. Dude needs a personal account and a professional account.
Omar Kelly says a lot of contradictory things. But he tweets so often that it's tough to scroll all the way back through and find those things. If Chad Henne becomes a Pro Bowler, he'll start to talk about how he liked Henne coming out second only to Flacco. But yes, Omar saw nothing out of Cam Wake back in 2009, he saw nothing out of Paul Soliai, either. He kept saying Koa Misi was just a guy and then all the sudden he's a starting and contributing member of a good defense. His track record on these mancrushes is dubious at best...I think the best one has been Sean Smith.
On the one hand I see his point that he's just observing what is in front of him. So he would say that Cam Wake WAS pedestrian during those mini camps and training camps...and then he turned it up a notch during games. He would say that Paul Soliai WAS cuttable in 2009, and then he took a massive leap in 2010. He would say that he never saw anything special in Koa Misi's pass rush and he still hasn't shown good pass rush, and that he's been just a guy so far in his career. But at the same time, I don't buy it. These guys don't make these sudden leaps, or flip on these switches and suddenly they're totally different players. I saw how good Paul Soliai was and could be back in 2009, why didn't Omar? I saw Cam Wake jump right off the screen in his very first preseason game in 2009, and Omar is going to tell us there was nothing any reasonable person could have seen in him prior to the games? As for Sean Smith, he loves Sean Smith very dearly.
Far be it from me to stand up for Omar, but if you just look at the Henne situation that's one where a whole lot of people are going to wrong no matter what happens with him. If the guy plays every game this season like he did against Tampa then a whole lot of people who wanted to get rid of him are going to have to backtrack like Omar had to do about Wake and Soliai. And if he stinks it up this year a whole lot of other people are going to have to realize (one would hope, you never know), that maybe he isn't good after all, no matter how much they hoped and thought he would be. They key is I don't think Omar has a particularly good eye for talent. Some people do and some people don't. Experience helps somewhat but I think Omar ends up taking a lot of his cues from the guys in the locker room. If Joey Porter didn't like Wake (and after he left Porter said some unkind things, so there's a good chance that's the case), and made that clear either explicitly or implicitly, then Omar might have picked up on that and let that become his own opinion of Wake. A lot of the things he says about the players, mostly stuff that he tweets, makes me think this could be the way he forms his opinion about a lot of issues. How a guy is viewed in the locker room is almost always how Omar views him, and if you're an independent observer with your own mind that shouldn't always be the case. Omar's always going on and on about how he's on a different level of knowledge from the fans because of the access he has, and I think this really could be the reason for that, uh... attitude. Assuming I'm right, look at it from his point of view: if you're not in the locker room, how could you form the opinion he forms? You can't. So... he doesn't trust anyone who's not in the locker room. If he asks a team leader a question about a young guy in confidence, it could be as simple as whatever evaluation that team leader gives is what Omar believes about that player's ability and potential. Except... there are other ways to judge talent. Being able to watch film and see special ability is part gift and part experience, and I haven't seen anything thus far to convince me that Omar has the former, no matter how many hours he says it takes him to watch a game replay. I'm not sure he really even believes in the concept of that ability (for the record, I don't tweet and have never emailed Omar, so it's not like I have any first hand experience with the guy). Now, I'm not going to sit here and say that you can't learn really important things about who's talented or not being in the locker room. But the fact is -- with all due respect to their knowledge and experience -- I don't think the players in the locker room have the ability to make the decisions that the coaches and front office people make. Most of them don't have that eye, either. It's a little bit of a different situation but I remember Ricky Williams being told live in an interview that Pasqualoni had been fired, for example. And while Ricky Williams is as smart a football player as you're likely to see, Ricky seemed flabbergasted by the move. Couldn't understand why they had done it. Thought we played really good defense. Stuck up for the scheme. And on and on. That may have been the dominant feeling the locker room, I don't know. But firing Pasqualoni was the right decision anyway.
Yep, in the last practices in the bubble in 09 when Wake was covering kickoffs mando and omark took it as a bad sign, though mando said he looked the fastest of the coverage players. I think what happens is players talk to omark off of the record and he takes it as gospel and that forms his opinion, but he does not stop to realize players over value vets over rooks/unproven guys, which is one of the reasons why he is spectacularly wrong so often. As for big paulie, if folks recall in 09 he was so irresponsible that the team had to detail a sub assistant as his personal manager to make sure he did things like, oh, set his alarm and actually get up as he missed 2-3 practices because he simply slept in, but he clearly could play, but incidents like that became "oh Soliai is not going to make it". What is really funny to me is when a fan watched the practices and tweeted and gave a report, and the paid media watched the practices and did the same, and the two reports would be substantially different.
I think that's a point that many fans don't realize. I've met many scouts who have no eye for talent. They got very good at stating cliche descriptions in their reports and they may have even picked a few winners due to odds, but they can't ever see talent unless others are saying that a guy is good. That is actually why you see so many predictions that look exactly the same. Few people have an eye for talent, so they just end up buying into what some other talking head said. Pretty soon everybody just agrees that some players are good and some aren't (regardless of how much talent the player has).
I have no idea why you would want Tebow on the Dolphins. Jesus, he couldn't beat out Brady Quinn for the back up job for a terrible Denver Broncos team. While Tebow was a great college QB. He will never be anything but a second or third string QB in the NFL and it would not surprise me in least if he isn't out of the league within the next few years.
Tebow is a gamer, not a practice player. He could be successful in a system where his strengths were maximized rather than in a conventional offense like Fox runs.
I agree that Tebow was a gamer when he played in college. I just don't see his skill set translating well to the NFL. I would rather see the Dolphins develop a QB like Devlin than try to trade for Tebow. I have never felt Tebow would be effective as a QB in the NFL and nothing he has done so far in the NFL has changed my view. He strength is running the football, not passing it. So for him to maximize this strength as you suggest, he should be moved to the H-back position and forget about trying to make it as an NFL QB. Personally,I think his skills at QB would be much more effective in the CFL then they are in the NFL.
I heard all the same stuff about his skill set not translating to the SEC. And when he got a chance to start, Denver's offensive average scoring went up. He belongs at QB, but he needs a coach who isn't tied to the past and is willing to innovate like he had at UF. He had that in McDaniels. He doesn't have that in Fox.
I can certainly see that you are convinced that Tebow will be an effective NFL QB. So I will not argue with you about your belief in Tebow. All I can know is that as a long time Dolphin fan. I have absolutely no interest in seeing the Dolphins waste a draft choice in trading for Tebow. If in a few years Tebow is a quality starter in the NFL and you are proved correct in your assessment of his talent. I will be happy to accept an, I told you so, from you. LOL
A great deal will depend on if Tebow ends up in the right situation. I believe that Daboll could provide that. I also think that Miami will struggle this year in short yardage situations primarily due to the OL, so it won't matter what back we have or bring in. However, Tebow has already proven to be very effective on short yardage runs. And since QB sneaks are so close to the line, it doesn't depend on the whole OL working together to succeed. So, at a minimum, having Tebow to improve that area of our offense would mean that we would not have wasted a draft pick regardless of how he develops in the long term. I also don't think it hurts to bring in another guy who'll try to out work everybody in the building. I see that stuff as contagious and it sets the right tone for the organization.
Tebow has so much value and asset as offensive points guy...TE, FB, H-Back, QB option, red zone and especially goal line (inside the 10ydline) he would be a great value add and get. I am happy to let him work as potential NFL #1 QB, but wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket. He offers so much more to be on the field as other position guy and can exploit those touches as well.
