All I have to say is wow! Florio has outdone himself. 15. Dolphins: Christian Ponder, quarterback, Florida State. The Fins seem to swing and miss on second-round quarterbacks every offseason, so it’s time to get serious. Ponder would be an upgrade over Chad Henne in terms of accuracy, smarts, athleticism, consistency, and touch. He’d take over as the starter at some point in year one. If we do not trade down and get a 2nd round pick and have our choice of any of these first round cuts I would lose it! Missed first-round cut: Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn, Alabama running back Mark Ingram, Ohio State defensive end Cameron Heyward, UCLA linebacker Akeem Ayers, Illinois running back Mikel Leshoure, Miami cornerback Brandon Harris, Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/28/2011-mock-draft-take-three/
I agree. It's not the best option, but then again, we don't have the first overall pick. If we could get Ingram and Kaepernick/Ponder, I'll be fine.
If ponder is the call, can we get him late? can we still trade down. I just dont see picking him so high.
You think Denver would like to trade #4 and #14 in the second round to move up to #15 overall? Would you do this deal? Could get more value with those 2 picks than we can at 15 IMO.
I'm not surprised Evan Silva went ahead and moved Ponder up to #15 for Miami. We've been talking back and forth about it a few weeks.
It all depends. I agree we shouldn't take him that high if we can trade down and recoup a 2nd. But if we can't and our FO believes he has what it takes to be the guy, then when you're talking about the most important position on the field, it really wouldn't be that much of a reach, IMO. No way he makes it to the 3rd so you can't blame them for pulling the trigger if he's their guy. Who knows if he is or not.
I've said all along although being a little far fetched but not impossible. Broncos throw Orton in with the #36 and #46 and the #15 is theirs. Done deal!
There's a few things wrong IMO. I don't think The Vikes are going to let Ray Edwards walk. I don't think they'll go DE with that pick considering they aren't confident with what they have at QB. I could have seen them going WR there if the Draft was after FA but I would think they'd go Ponder if Mallet isn't a first rounder and Ponder is. I know Amukumura is a good pick, but the Lions invested huge money into Matt Stafford. I see them protecting that investment literally. NO WAY is Jake Locker getting drafted ahead of Mallet and to the Redskins IMO. That makes no sense. I see the point he's going to make, but I don't think there's that much confidence in Locker's ability to take him 10th. But either way, Evan Silva gets payed to do that.
3-4 years from now, Ponder might be the next Aaron Rodgers. He has the athleticism, the moxie, the arm strength isn't all there, but its plenty good enough. And if we had a Favre for him to sit and learn behind for 3-4 years, I'd think it was a good idea. But we don't. If Ponder comes here, Henne is gone after this season, Ponder will be the starter in 2012, well before he's ready, and it'll be dejavu all over again. I'm on board with drafting a QB for the future, I'm just not sure the 1st round is the time to do it.
I'd be all good with Ponder at 15. And it's probably not crazy since most teams seem to really like him. This team has seen first hand how Chad Pennington elevated a team. This is a similar prospect. Unfortunately the lack of a CBA will make players off limits in any deals.
Thomas is actually one of the exciting Rb's in this draft imo. He's inside the tackles, runs outside, runs the wildcat, and he's one shifty runner in the open field. He also catches the ball pretty darn good. Far from boring... I would not be one bit surprised if he ends up in NE..
Fixed. It’s not necessarily that Chad Pennington himself elevated the team, it’s that the Dolphins, for once, had capable play from the position. It’s been so long that we’ve forgotten what it looks like.
I gotta disagree with all that. Thomas' game is just average to me. Yea, he's got some variety in his skills, but he doesn't do anything exceptional, imo. We really need to do better. And I def can't see NE taking Thomas when they have a better version of his game in Woodhead.
Let me rephrase a little bit. He is one of the most exciting, big, every down backs in the draft. To me he is far from average. He reminds me of Eric Dickerson and Con made a more recent and probably more realistic evaluation in comparing him to Eddie George. Yeah, he is not one to bust 80 yard runs but there is no denying he knows how to find the end zone. Two years in a row he goes well into 1000 yards, and followed 11 Td's with 19!! Far from average imo.
Trust me, I'm not one to overrate that extra gear bull****. That being said, Thomas looks slow to me. He's got some moves, but I wouldn't say he's quick. His vision is good but he doesn't really run with much authority either.
Id be very happy if we drafted Ponder at 15.....and Im a big believer in Henne. But what Ponder brings to the position....Henne will never have in his game.
Starting to think there's some merit to Ponder coming off the board somewhere in the mid to late first round. Some have him ranked higher than Mallet, Locker, Kaepernick and Dalton. Also, I was watching some show on NFLN last night ("Game Changers" ?), and it was about Mooch working with both Gabbert and Ponder on their mechanics and so forth (3, 5 and 7 step drops, etc.). Very interesting insight by Mooch, as he was coaching these guys. He seemed to really like Ponder's mechanics. And, while Gabbert apparently played almost exclusively out of the spread, he also commented on how good Gabbert's mechanics were given the fact that he didn't take many snaps from under center at Missouri. Mooch said he (Gabbert) has done a great deal of practicing in order to prepare for the transition to the NFL. On a side note, our very own Rotten Richie Incognito was the center working in the drills with both young QB's. Wonder is he was able to gather any intel the FO might be interested in.
Definitely. I recall him saying that Ponder needed his nails cut and Gabbert was a little too "touchy feely".
He is an every down back and that's what Miami needs imo. They need both a pounder and a change of pace speedy Rb....
Doesn't he put the ball on the ground quite a bit? Saw him a few games, and while I am no guru poring over his game film, he just didn't seem very impressive.
There are 4-5 Rb's I'd be happy with in this draft. Ingram is absolutely one of them and who I'd love over them all but remember that Ireland stated he wanted to get the 2nd rounder back so it may not happen. Ingram LeShoure Williams Thomas are all candidates if they trade back
I'm def on board w/ that. A feature back early, a scat back late, a speed WR and TE somewhere in between. That's ideal IMO. Question is, if a better player(s) is available at another position, what to do then?