I think a developing story that bears keeping an eye on should our Phins continue the entirely enjoyable winning streak (and the potential playoffs that come with it) is the fact that should the Phins do the improbable and actually pull off an AFCE Division crown, NE will be picking in front of them. NE, with their age at LB, will similarly be looking at the OLB position, but will have the advantage of picking prior to the Phins. I'm aboard the Stintim train, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if BB sees the same "fit" in his defense as we do in ours. Just bears watching. I think I can say fairly definitively that the Phins WILL use at least 2 of their first 3 picks on the defensive front seven. Boom has put together a great list in another thread on OLB prospects, and each of those players could help in some fashion. I think it would be nice to look at the DL prospects in a similar manner as it seems this draft class could* (depending on who comes out) have a number of players at those positions which would be impact players in our D (just off the top of my head Cody, Raji, Jackson from LSU, Jerry, the kid from Oklahoma, perhpas Hood from Mizzou (but I'm wavering on him a bit), etc.). So while I'm currently a Stintim lover, I don't think he's the only player who could help (and may not be on the board) when the Phins pick. I know that next year's schedule will be more challenging (Phins won't get the play the pathetic NFCW and AFCW and will be playing higher up the food chain in other cross-divisional matchups). So it goes without saying that without improvement across the board the Phins won't be able to duplicate this years W-L success without continued improvement. I think it behooves the FO to continue its work on building the OL, while continuing to focus on the front 7 defensive deficiencies. I'm a firm believer that in this era of NFL football a successful team must have: 1) An effective QB; 2) a pass rush; 3) an above-average NFL OL - probably in that order. Currently the Phins have about 1.5-2 of those factors. I say Chad fits the QB requirement, and Porter has given us pass rush, but until recently, he was about the only one producing it - I'm not sure much long-term we can expect that level of production (so I give that one about .5); and I like where the OL is heading but its not there yet (the other .5). The middle of the Phins line wasn't anything to write home about PRIOR to the Smiley injury. Maybe Thomas and Smiley "fix" some the internal OL issues, but does it take us all the way there? I don't think so, I think the Phins will be looking to add 1-2 players from this draft into that mix. With that said, anyone else salivating at the OTs and Cs who should be available with the Phins 2a (seeming Washington pick) and 2b?
