Barry Jackson Sports Buzz: Dolphins face tough decisions

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by jim1, Aug 31, 2011.

  1. jim1

    jim1 New Member

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    With Saturday’s roster deadline looming, difficult decisions await the Dolphins. Where things stand heading into Thursday’s preseason finale against Dallas, under the premise Miami keeps 25 on offense and defense:

    ### Defensive back: Safe are the starters, the loser of the Chris Clemons/Reshad Jones battle and very likely Benny Sapp and Jimmy Wilson. That’s seven, leaving two or three others. Nolan Carroll (due to earn $450,000) enters Thursday with a narrow edge over Will Allen and Nate Ness for the fifth cornerback job, with Allen’s $1.5 million salary guaranteed for the season if he’s on the roster Sept. 12.

    Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...ions-nevin-shapiro-unhappy.html#ixzz1WfONJmbL
     
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  2. ChrisKo

    ChrisKo Season Ticket Holder

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    Barry did a very good job with that break down.
     
  3. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Good read, just cant post the entire thing, pesky thing called copyright laws and such. :)
     
  4. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

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    How much did Alexander sign for? Could be a good chance he signed for exactly what Culver was reduced to, $700k, so the redone salary won't make a difference. Maybe just put them on even footing going into this final game. Alexander at least has been a regular starter for a couple of teams. Culver has yet to be able to make that jump.
     
  5. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    I don't know if I would characterize the decisions Miami has to make as being all that tough. I'm not even sure I see 53 roster-worthy players, so it's not like you have to cut 5 guys that you know are really roster worthy.

    A team that has real tough choices ahead of them would be the Packers, who have FIVE tight ends that are probably all better than anyone Miami has on roster other than Anthony Fasano, and that's including Charles Clay. If they cut any of those five, the Dolphins had better put a claim on whoever it is, and the honest truth is they should probably be calling them about a trade rather than hoping the 14 teams ahead of them on waiver priority pass on whoever is cut.

    Those guys are good. D.J. Williams is probably the worst of the five right now and he was an excellent prospect, the Mackey Award winner. He made it to the 5th round on size concerns but I watch him play in preseason and he doesn't look that small, and he blocks bigger than he is (which is what he did in college). Yet, both Andrew Quarless and Ryan Taylor appear to be better players right now. And of course, Jermichael Finley is Jermichael Finley, and Tom Crabtree is the most accomplished blocker.

    If the guy they're thinking of cutting is Ryan Taylor...again, you make the phone call, don't let it get to waivers. Trade for him.

    Same with Daniel Hardy over in Tampa Bay.
     
  6. Pandarilla

    Pandarilla Purist Emeritus

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    Damn, not even a mention of Nic Grigsby...
     
  7. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Grigsby hasn't shown himself to be roster worthy yet. I think he'll have no trouble making it through waivers to the practice squad. However, there are some RBs out there I'd claim if they came available.
     
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  8. Pandarilla

    Pandarilla Purist Emeritus

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    Just being a Univ of Az homer is all.
     
  9. Muck

    Muck Throwback Uniform Crusader Retired Administrator

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    One place of interest is the fourth safety battle.

    Culver took a paycut this week. Bringing in Alexander might have been a leverage move by the team.
     
  10. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

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    I doubt Alexander's contract is for much if any more than what Culver's was reduced to.
     
  11. Muck

    Muck Throwback Uniform Crusader Retired Administrator

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    Exactly. It's about half of what it was. Adding another veteran safety likely compelled Culver to accept that lower salary IMO. Typically they give guys what, a day or two to contemplate it?

    All things being equal, I'd be surprised to see Culver not make it now that he's taken said paycut. We'll see though.
     
  12. MrClean

    MrClean Inglourious Basterd Club Member

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    If they are confident Alexander is healthy, imo he is a better player. Culver has been a decent workmanlike backup for a few years, but Alex has been a starter for a couple different teams.

    My main point in the previous post though was the reduced salary for Culver may have put them on even footing contract wise, so it will be all about the better player as for who makes it and how much they count against the cap won't determine anything.
     
  13. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    If Culver plays like he did last year, I'm not even sure he's worth the reduced salary.
     
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  14. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Culver's been pretty bad this preseason too if I remember correctly.
     
  15. jim1

    jim1 New Member

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  16. RoninFin4

    RoninFin4 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Did they ever say what Culver's injury in the TB game was? I've watched the 1st quarter this week on rewind, but frankly I've been swamped and haven't had time to watch the rest. I'm assuming he's okay and has practiced this week.
     
  17. Nappy Roots

    Nappy Roots Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, he had his time(albeit very small amount of time), where he actually played decent and contributed. But he's simply not that good of a player, I think its time to move on.
     
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  18. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    The one thing in Culver's favor is his special team's play. He had 10 tackles in 7 games, second on the team to Amaya who is no longer here. Mitchell and Wilson will be big additions to that unit but, with expected very limited play on the D, ST's are important for that roster spot.
     
  19. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    I realize Culver's contribution to ST, which is very important to me, but if he's detracting from potentially upgrading one of our weaker positions at safety, is it still justified keeping him. IMO, answer is easily no.
     
  20. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    IF there was a clear upgrade at S available, I would completely agree. There is not. So, for now, I have to go with ST play.
     
  21. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Getting back to the Green Bay tight end situation again, Quarless may be the guy that gets cut, and has been rumored to be the odd one out by various media. But I think it could also be Tom Crabtree.

    Looking at the situation, you can't keep 5 guys. You just can't. It's too much. Already 4 is too many, but 5 is ridiculous.

    D.J. Williams is the worst of the 5 guys right now but he has what should be a bright future, he was the Mackey Award winner for a reason, after all.

    We know Jermichael Finley is safe as safe can be.

    The problem is, D.J. Williams is a pass catching guy, and so is Jermichael Finley. Andrew Quarless is a more effective pass catching guy than D.J. Williams right now, but that doesn't change the fact that you've got 3 guys in that mold...and so naturally you'd think one of those could be gone, and Quarless seems the most likely based on Williams' potential. Quarless is pretty one-dimensional. Williams has the potential to be less one-dimensional.

    But Quarless is very athletic, and a pretty good pass catcher. Here's an example of him catching a touchdown on a seam route, which is a route that the Packers like their tight ends to be able to run. You'll see most of their tight ends running this at some point or another.

    [video=youtube;GRgaWfO3DW8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRgaWfO3DW8[/video]

    Another play they like to run with Quarless is sort of a backdoor screen to him where they rely on his athletic run after catch skills. He ran one like that in the 3rd preseason game and did well with it. Here's another play that shows the athleticism to be DBs, though it comes on a trick play and the guy throwing the ball led him a little too much, and Andrew awkwardly sort of trips at the end. That's kind of an example of Quarless' drawbacks. As a rookie he was prone to some mistakes like that, but I can think of a lot of good players that also had those whoopsie moments as a rookie too.

    [video=youtube;rqIh2ZdF_Ow]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqIh2ZdF_Ow[/video]

    And then here is some of his college tape:

    [video=youtube;lS4nQrc_f0o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS4nQrc_f0o[/video]

    But Tom Crabtree is more of a blocking guy...and the most accomplished blocker to boot. Ryan Taylor is more in his mold, although Taylor himself is a little bit more H-Back-ish than Crabtree. The Packers are OK with that, though...because of the way their system is structured. There's a possibility that they will get rid of Crabtree because he's fairly one-dimensional (right now, more on that later), whereas Ryan Taylor has shown the potential to be just as good a blocker, but more two-dimensional.

    So I would forecast about 90% chance that the guy cut, when push comes to shove, will be Quarless or Crabtree. The Dolphins could use either player, though. They don't have a blocking specialist on roster at all. Anthony Fasano is a complete Tight End, the 1st string guy. You can only have him block so much or you're wasting him. Charles Clay looks clueless when asked to get on the line and block, he's better off in the backfield. So the Dolphins could use a Tom Crabtree. But they could also use an Andrew Quarless because when you get right down to it Charles Clay hasn't looked all that compelling in the passing game so far and he was just a 6th round pick, a rookie to boot. Andrew Quarless would be an immediate boost to the passing game over a Charles Clay.

    Tom Crabtree may be more two-dimensional than the Packers give him credit for, though. Just a feeling I have. He gets over there and considering the company he's in, he's clearly been pigeon-holed for a blocker because he's very accomplished in that regard whereas most of the guys that have been around him have not been. But you wonder how much they kind of forced that onto him, because of the one-dimensionality of the guys around him like Finley and Quarless.

    Yes, it was against the Dolphins...but I want you to look at this play because I remembered it after all this time and it still sticks in my mind because heading into the game I was thinking we'd have to worry about Andrew Quarless making plays on us with his athleticism, not this blocking specialist Tom Crabtree. But then it was Crabtree who made a big play in the game. It's the very first play in this video:

    [video=youtube;sEk0qUH9LJ0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEk0qUH9LJ0[/video]

    That's Karlos Dansby he beat up the seam on that play. That's not some scrub like Ikaika Alama-Francis, and it's not Channing Crowder. That was arguably the best coverage linebacker in the game today and Crabtree beat him on a straight up seam route, then did some damage after the catch, made Benny Sapp (a very solid tackler) look like a fool on the play.

    On the next play in the video, look at him toss around Lawrence Timmons (who just got what, like a $50 million contract?) like a rag doll. Look at the next play, as he takes LB Jonathan Goff on a joy ride, and makes Kenny Phillips look like a slapd-ck idiot. Then the next play, as an H-Back lead blocker, he completely erases Lance Briggs from the play. And then there's the nice touchdown with the perfect execution.

    Does that dude really look like your classic one-dimensional blocker? Hell no he doesn't. The Dolphins would do well to trade for any of the three guys that are likely to be available (Ryan Taylor, Tom Crabtree, Andrew Quarless).

    But who are we kidding? I mean, really. I doubt they'd pick up a guy that I would like them to pick up. They'd probably pick up a Jake O'Connell from the Chiefs, who is big and high energy with a lot of athleticism, but who can't block worth a damn despite his size and enthusiasm, and has thus far been relatively awkward in the passing game.
     
  22. Lee2000

    Lee2000 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Is there any indication CK that Miami has shown any interest in the guys from Green Bay, because once again, that would make too much sense? And you referred to running backs. Have any in mind specifically?
     
  23. Jaj

    Jaj Registered

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    Do you think Crabtree can be a threat flexed out and still block a LB?
     
  24. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    There's been no word of any Miami interest in any tight ends specifically, only Omar Kelly's tweet that Merling is officially on the block for a #2 tight end. But if you want some honey you'd better find a bee hive and the Packers are a bee hive.

    In the variable system the Packers run, Crabtree is already lined up all over the place when he's out there to block and so I imagine that yes he could flex out.

    Some running backs I would look at if cut include especially DuJuan Harris, Stafon Johnson, Joique Bell and Darren Evans. Well truthfully not really Darren Evans, maybe worth flipping over but he's a pretty limited straight ahead player. There are others, you just don't know who is going to get cut and who not.

    Here's a play Joique Bell made this preseason:

    [video=youtube;-sLx01pVx_Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sLx01pVx_Q[/video]
     
  25. Jaj

    Jaj Registered

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    If it were up to you how would you address the red zone issue knowing the OL is likely to be kept as it is?
     
  26. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    You need a more powerful back than Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas, and Lou Polite isn't necessarily that guy. But if you're not allowing me to change the OL then it's really handcuffing. I don't believe a Tim Tebow trade would be in order...the Broncos paid him that $6 million bonus and I doubt the Dolphins would be willing to pay it back. If it were me, I would. Joique Bell is a powerful back that could get you some short yardage.

    Truth is it's a loaded question. Given that you've blown off your training and not prepared for the last 3 months at all, and you've got one hand tied behind your back, give me your best strategy for defeating this champion boxer.
     
  27. Jaj

    Jaj Registered

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    I would argue the best strategy that you can have is replacing the running back as you said. If you're able to get that second TE like a Quarless then you'll do well in the red zone. You really are a bit handcuffed. At least you'll be able to run left health willing.
     
  28. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    I imagine Crabtree or Ryan Taylor could help in the end zone as much as Quarless. Maybe more.

    But it comes down to the way the Dolphins have built this team. We're a passing team now. Our featured running back is even known as a guy that doesn't add alpha when he's running between the tackles but does add alpha when he's catching the ball...sort of a poor man's Marshall Faulk. This is a passing team. That's the way they've set it up.

    So if that's what you are, you better be good at throwing the ball into the end zone, because that's what you're going to need to do.
     

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