More indication the Dolphins' public praise of potential starting free safety Chris Clemons is genuine: Bill Parcells recently made a point to tell him what a good job he's doing; and wide receiver Greg Camarillo said Tony Sparano told the team that Clemons ``has one of the best ratios of plays-to-mental errors on the team'' for May/June practices. • Why has Ronnie Brown still not signed his 2010 contract, which will be worth $3.97 million? At a Tuesday event for Broward children, Brown vowed he will report to training camp on time, but said the sides are still negotiating language in his deal and that Miami -- which owns his rights -- hasn't offered a multiyear contract. Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/16/1682580_p2/heat-goes-into-nba-draft-with.html#ixzz0rCcLvPn5 (note: praise from Parcells means more to me than praise from Sparano, but at least this time there is some concrete rationale to Sparano's comment , rather than his usual "I like him, I really do.")
Why? Because they sure haven't made a major push for any safety that was on the market. IMO, if this FO truly wants a player they get em. If they wanted a safety they would have gotten one. JMO of course.
It would be nice if the instincts and awareness catch up with the speed..the Safety position looks very slow reacting and chasing last year.
I really liked Clemons coming out of school. I think he's a superior prospect to Reshad Jones. I think he has range and showed the instincts in college. That being said, he looked lost far too often last year and it's impossible to know from a mini-camp in shorts whether the light has come on enough for the real games. And when I say "impossible to know", I don't mean just for us. It's impossible for the coaches as well. Most every coach will admit that. The coaches will see indicators and signs that the guy may be ready, but you don't know.
he was drafted last year ... he has had his year to watch, get some experience and learn ... now he can contribute.
the 2010 season is starting to look 'iffy' on defense: should have picked up a FreeSafety in FreeAgency & held on to Jason Taylor, instead of jettisoning him. A whole new look w/ Nolan & his defensive system w/ too many unprovens (inexperience) to make it work. we will need extraordinary luck this year to win the Division & DivineIntervention to make the SuperBowl in 2010. amid much speculation & optimism, reality rules... it is what it is: @ best, a very difficult situation
Yeah but it is Bill Parcells who is complementing the player. Not too often you hear about that. I think Bill has seen enough guys practicing in shorts to know when someone looks to be doing well and what not. I will agree though that it doesn't mean much until the pads go on and they really begin to play football. Still nice words to hear.
Keeping Jason Taylor or signing Ryan Clark/Antrell Rolle probably wouldn't have gotten us to a Super Bowl. All we would have done is prolong our teams dependence on an old guy instead of forcing us to think for the future. In a year or so once this D gels properly, JT would be way to old to be effective so we would have had him on our roster for nothing. The FO did Jason a favor because they knew it would take a while for everyone to gel and when that time came JT would just be dead salary. Also, do you honestly think we would sign the highest paid ILB, WR, AND FS in league history in ONE offseason?
It reminded me of when Parcells complimented John Beck. It was about the same point in the season. It was the same kind of statement (seems to be getting the mental side, making fewer errors, etc.). I agree that it's nice to hear, but nobody, not Parcells or anybody can know at this stage what they will have once the season starts with a player who may or may not develop. They are simply hoping at this point. And I don't mean that as a criticism of the FO or the team. The fact is that every team has a few positions they are "hoping" develops. I don't see Miami as having anymore than other teams. Fans will generally overstate/or understate their teams problems depending mostly on whether they tend to be optimists or pessimists (realist is the same thing as pessimist). But the reality is that Miami has no fewer question marks than most teams going into the season.
if it comes down to divine intervention then were screwed, if there is a God, then he should have better things to do imo.....no disrespect 23rd..
I have to disagree here. This is all about his ability to see what the offense is doing and cover the right guy or area. Make sure you're in the right spot and not go running off to the wrong place. You can see all of that in shorts. The only thing we're not seeing in shorts is his ability to make tackles and big hits. As far as coverage is concerned, they're seeing everything they need to see from him. I agree with the statement probably not meaning much, but shorts and t-shirt practices were made for WRs and DBs. Its the other positions that your not getting anything from.
People work better with positive praise then getting dumped on. Of course they are telling him this stuff now. He will be happy and work even harder to get more praise and prove he has earned the spot.
It's so true. If this kid's confidence is disrupted in any way it could be costly. No one takes into account the amount of pressure that is on this guy right now from the fan base, the media and such. Especially after last season's disaster. We all know there is a hole there. I'm not saying expectations are necessarily high on the kid that is something different I believe considering his age. The expectation is on the FO to fill the spot and you better believe they are under some pressure for it to work out. I anticipate fans to be impatient on this move. The player and the organization are already under the gun from most but remember development is the key. I'll stay patient with it. Either way we have one helluva story brewing folks.
