On my way to work this morning they did a segment with Charles Davis that I found to be a great interview in regards to the dolphins and to the draft... I don't know if they have it online but I will give some spark nonotes This has to be one of the only "pro analysts" that I have heard praise the fins for their off season. he was asked about us chasing the pats and his response was roughly this. He spoke not just about our spending in free agency not on just top names but in regards to how the game has changed into a high flying passing attack and that we addressed that change on both sides of the ball. First with our WR signings and how we not only kept our familiar faces in Bess and hartline but added key pieces in speed (Wallace) and bright potential (Gibson). He didn't just say that in regards to signing a bunch of people but to express how each of our receivers are A. Entering their prime, not in it or past it and B. all playing supporting roles to each other He then added his ideas about our defensive signings in Ellerbe and Wheeler. That we grabbed two guys who will be able to cover large areas and space with their speed and bring pressure to the QB when blitzing. He also reiterated that these two guys are also ENTERING their prime, not in it not past it. He loved that we got younger faster and more explosive. he then moved onto the draft. first up was his impression of tavon Austin. He had high regards for his incredible explosiveness and ability to make plays from both the True running back position when he lined up their at WVU and as a reciever. He mentioned guys like bess and wellker and amandola but brought the factor that these guys were simply not 4.3 guys and didn't have the toughness that Austin has showed especially for his size. He said he might not go before a perimeter guy because of the old school reasoning behind drafting a slot guy early but said he might change that this year in the draft. Said he is a likely favorite to go at 16 to the rams. in regards to the dolphins if I remember correctly he said because of our great signings in FA we have plenty of flexibility in our options for the draft this year. That we set ourselves up perfectly to be able to draft whoever we want at 12 and be happy with our pick. the last bit that I enjoyed that he brought up was the Need vs BPA approach to the draft. Davis compared the pacers the year and I'm sorry I'm not a huge bball fan the year the pacers picked someone else over Jordan. He said they didn't becuse they didn't have that need, and eventually that player they had went on to becoming a hall of famer, but was it Jordan? No. He pretty much said his view on the draft is this, if you keep chasing needs you will never catch up, you will eventually miss if not often and continue to keep drafting needs instead of the best player available to you, the Michael Jordan. Overall it was nice to hear a old pro gives us some props for so far having a great start to the offseason. I figured I'd share it with you guys. I might not personally love Austin at 12 and have my own man crush on Star at that pick but I can see the love affair with a lot of the guys in this draft. I'm really excited for us. I think we just might have turned the corner from our last decades woes and have the right foot forward Phins Up!
Whether you like Austin or not, If the rams really want him at 16 then take him at 12. Just sayin..... **** the rams.
Hahaha like I said regardless of who I want at 12 or not fins always first. They seem to be going in the right direction and ill be behind whoever we take. Sigh even if its oline again lol
I am in favor of Austin at 12 but with all the hype going on now, I get the feeling that he might not make it to 12. Just a hunch.
He was probably referring to my Blazers, not the Pacers. They made the same stupid mistake twice. First, selecting Sam Bowie over Jordan (Olajuwon went first), then recently selecting Greg Oden over Durant. both times taking the classical approach of the big man over the electric scorer.
I really like Keenan Allen as a prospect, best bigger receiver on my board, even over Patterson, but if someone is gonna tell me your going to take Keenan over Austin because he's bigger I'm gonna disagree..
I agree with several things Davis said. BPA vs. need: the question implies that you have a choice between a better player or a lesser player at a position of need. In that black and white situation, I agree that if you always take the lesser player you will end up with a team of lesser players. The only caveat I would add to that is that position matters. Some positions simply have more impact than others. In terms of our draft this year, it's why I don't see the wisdom in reaching for a CB or G at #12 when we could easily fill the need later in the draft or with a mid to low level vet over a high impact player like a pass rusher or Austin. On Austin vs a perimeter player: I agree with the point about old school thinking. I think that as the league evolves into more passing, more space, less contact allowed between the CB and WR and more restrictions on how you can hit the WR after he catches the ball, that a smaller, slot WR can have more impact than they ever could before. I think the value and impact of an exceptionally dynamic slot is increasing. Personally, I think that Austin is a far better, more forward thinking and safer choice than a perimeter player we hope has matured and will develop. On our offseason: I think we wanted to keep Dansby at a lower price as our restructure request showed. IMO we wanted his coverage ability. But more than anything else we wanted to improve our pass rush. I think we obviously improved our ability to rush the passer from the LB position. And though I think we lost something in terms of our man coverage ability at the LB position we also improved our ability to cover flats and limit gains with our LBs. I think this screams that we'll be using those LBs in zone schemes. It maximizes their strengths and hides their liabilities. I still expect that we'll look to improve our pass rush from the DL.
During the interviews at the owner's meeting, Ireland stated this was a deep draft for CBs when asked about that particular position. Maybe he feels he can go BPA as opposed to need and take a Tavon Austin with what appeared to be Ireland's favorite word of the PC, a contingency plan at CB by addressing it once or twice in the second round.
If you are referring to my draft wish list it's super old and for some reason it's not allowing me to change my sig.
Kinda funny about Durant is they were making the same comparison to the Jordan situation right at the time the Oden pick was made. Same team too. What a legacy for the Blazers.
The logic is the same though. When you consider most rookies take time to develop and by the time they are, other holes are springing up on the roster, it remains best to take the best available players. If we pass on an elite DT simply because we have two on the roster, what happens when those two go to free agency the next season and the passed on DT becomes an all-pro?