That is what we will have to find out, bringing in a rookie high draft pick is no guarantee of success, neither is having a cast of characters, someone will have to shine to win the "heir apparent" title.
His name is Gardener, not Gardner, Stubbs was on his last legs and nothing but a stop gap. Del Rio never played a down for the Phins other than one preseason, so he is not an example of anything we moved away from. Granted we upgraded one DT spot, but Stubbs was a severe downgrade from Coleman. The LB corps would have been better had Cox not left. Replacing Vincent with TBuck was a drop off too. JJ's defenses were predicated on speed and attacking above all, not physicality They were both 4-3 schemes before and after JJ's arrival, and any differences between how it was run before and after was due more to personnel changes than anything else. It is ridiculous to say Shula didn't want a physical defense, because he leaned toward a read/react. He sacrificed speed to keep some size and physicality, which probably hurt us against teams like Buffalo as much as anything, being too slow overall to match up.
Because Shula had maxed out the salary cap. Del Rio retired because he lost his job to Zach Thomas. Stubbs had his leg broken while leading us in sacks during the season. Speed is not an element of physicality? Not really, JJ's preferred scheme was completely different then Shula's, and it is odd thought that "personnel changes" does not mean faster, stronger, smaller.
The 3-4 is harder to perfect than the 4-3( probably due to the fact that 3-4 NTs are rare), but you cannot deny it's dominance. If we can perfect the 3-4, we will have a dominant and scary defense.
JJs defenses were clearly not physical ... no one was 'afraid' to come and play the PHINS ... neither JT or ZT punished anyone ... it just wasn't their game. yes, speed is a physical element ... but when talking physical style defenses - such as the Ravens ... it is the punishing aspect that is perceived. ultimately, we want both ... fast and punishing ... and that is what the Ravens are - and what we are aiming to be -- and we are getting there quickly. WRT McDaniel, i believe CK intimated when we signed him that a transition to NT would be in the cards .... i think the question mark with him is not his physical attributes ... but his desire and toughness ... if he has a breakthrough there -- he will be very successful as an every down NT ... until then, he will likely be a 'situational NT'.
GettingOldFurguson, StepUpSolai, StretchMcDanials will hold down the NT until we can make it our priority in the next draft. we need a premier NT to anchor this defense if we want to win a SuperBowl in 2010
Here are the stats on Paul Soliai. http://www.nfl.com/players/paulsoliai/profile?id=SOL128376 Tony McDaniel http://www.nfl.com/players/tonymcdaniel/profile?id=MCD147425
of the 2, i think McDaniel 'could' be a beast .... not this year, because he is too light ... but a year or 2 down the road ... Soliai's ceiling doesn't seem to me to be near as high. unfortunately, both of them have the same problem .... desire and toughness -- though slightly different
I don't know. Maybe we can sign Vince Wilfork, then draft an Inside Linebacker. Although, I remember hearing Vince Wilfork hates the Miami Dolphins.
