Paul Solai has a 4th of july suprise for us..

I hope this is true. I was concerned that once he got a big pay day, he would slack off.

 

I hope this is true because I herd one of the radio guys say that Solai showed up somewhere in May and was 360 pounds!!

 

He's probably going to be just like Albert Haynesworth. I swear you homer fans sometimes.

 

Target weight loss is 1.5-2lbs a week, without losing muscle mass. Although, I do realize that these guys have different regimes than the regular shmoe. And lineman got extra fat to give. Minus Jake Long...

 

It shouldn't be a big surprise. He's franchise tagged, he's essentially up for a big, long-term contract from someone if he plays well. Even Albert Haynesworth had his best season then.

 

He is turning into one of my favorite players. Hope he keeps it up. Also hopes he poisons that Jet nose. Pretty odd group all together for that matter (a Dolphin, a Jet, a Raven, and a Steeler).

 

4 of the best defenses in the NFL.

 

I hope you're right DJ. I have a tuff time forgetting that Soliai was a waste of time and a whole lot of space for 3 years, and got suspended twice, letting his team down.

My aqua-colored beer goggles still want to see a bit more from Soliai. I thought the same of Ricky, and he delivered. May Soliai do the same, and then some.

 

DJ, He was suspended twice when the team needed him. How would you describe that? Growing pains after 3 years?

 

He(Joe Rose) said someone on the D line gained weight, my guess: Philip Merling

 

NT is historically one of those positions where they have to be developed. You don't find the position in college. You can find DTs who play right away, but true NTs tend to be really big guys who struggle with their weight and take 3 or 4 years to learn how to play with leverage while being hit from multiple angles. Soliai followed a fairly typical development for a NT (typical other than most don't develop at all).

 

Every player comes into training camp in "the best shape of their lives".

Every player coming off of ACL surgery is "ahead of schedule".

 

I hope you're right Raf, because this year, if tags stay in place, we're paying Soliai more than Long or Marshall. Damn, that bothers me.

 

The franchise tag number is always an anomaly. Its a product of the system and can't be compared to the salary of any player in a regular contract. I do expect that he will sign a regular contract and that it will be close to those guys salary wise just based on the value and difficulty of filling the position and what he showed last year and his potential.

 

Not the same. Solai was specifically mentioned, and I'm pretty sure I herd this on 790 or 940. I do not listen to QAM nearly as much as I used to...

 

The Dolphins would be smart to get him locked up longterm. Solai and his agent could make a bold move and refuse in hopes of him not getting injured and for him to have great season.

 

He's not happy with his performance last season and wants to do better?
Yeah baby that's what I'm talkin about.

 

Talk is cheap. Encouraging but still cheap. He's a big part of the defense and the defense was a huge part of why we won the games we did and why we were competitive in some of the games we lost. We'll see how he comes in when training camp starts. Personally, I was a little worried what might happen with him this off season with no team structure in place to keep an eye on his weight, amid this lax atmosphere of the lockout where players everywhere are feeling a little more freedom than normal.

I think Phil Merling is a good guess on Joe Rose's defensive lineman who has gained weight. I believe they've struggled with him and weight in the past, quietly. The Dolphins don't NEED to dump Merling, but he's not doing much good for this roster. He's not a very good player. I still think he should be traded to a 3-4 team that attempts to motivate him to get down to his college playing weight at the low end of the 270's and try and make the move to SOLB like Matt Roth. Or get his weight down and promise him a real shot at being a 4-3 DE. With him, it feels like things might have gotten stagnant and he's pretty discouraged not only obviously with what happened between he and his significant other but also his injury, playing time, how low on the totem pole he's been bumped down, etc. He could use a change of scenery. If I were another team I wouldn't pay much for him but I might at least try and see if a change of scheme, change of scenery would do him some good.

 

I've been a big proponent of Soliai. I've said all along, that IMHO, it takes 4-6 yrs for a stud 3/4 NT to really develop...

He started to show that last season...he needs, however, to continue to show that improvement for another year or so...unfortunately (assuming the tag stays the same in the new CBA), we had to pay him now with the hope that his development continues....

 

If he's telling the truth, I won't worry about him regressing the way I worry about Cam Wake regressing. Wake is a hellish hard worker but the simple fact of the matter is, teams can do a lot of things to scheme out a certain pass rusher, whether it be play calling or sending extra protection. I don't think anyone is going to scheme Soliai, and the options for scheming a guy like him aren't as varied as a pass rusher, so for him it's all about his weight, stamina and consistency. I suspect consistency will continue to get better as it has every year, but weight and stamina are depended on how seriously he takes this off season. That's something we'll just have to see when we see.

 

No doubt he's been working hard. He's about a year away from making a boat load of money. The question is whether he'll keep working when he gets that boat full of cash.

 

I don't think $12 million is chump change. That's the amount of money he's guaranteed to be paid this year if there's an NFL season. He could blow up like a balloon and still get that $12 million, which isn't much (if any) lower an amount than he would have gotten in the first year (signing bonus included) if he'd signed a contract extension prior to the franchise tag being used.

If he really is working hard and getting in the best shape he's been, etc...that's a really good sign. I don't think a longer term deal would change that, because every contract in the NFL is a one year deal, in reality. I just wonder if it's not just cheap talk and in actuality things haven't really changed much about his eating and workout habits.

 

And that's where I hope Koa Misi and Jared Odrick can really shake things up this next season. As teams gameplan for Wake, those two should get ample opportunities to create pressure.

 

If he plays this season without signing a new contract then signs one in the offseason, now that's about the biggest boatload he could make...

He gets almost as much as a good signing bonus would be this season alone.

 

You got to wonder if they don't go for one of the younger run stuffers on the market this off-season as an insurance for next year. Someone like Gabe Watson or Ryan Clifton, who they can fill in and take the snaps at NT that guys like Ryan Baker and Tony McDaniel got last year.

 

In order to do that though, Koa Misi is going to have to be able to consistently win one-on-one matchups with NFL left tackles out on an island against him. Do you think he can? I don't, not yet.

If I'm Mike Nolan, I'm spending some time in training camp getting Cam Wake brushed up on rushing the passer over left tackle. That would be one of my answers to the way defenses will try and account for Wake. Cameron did the better part of his damage against NFL right tackles in 2010. If the Dolphins are now having him rush over left tackle, suddenly teams will have to re-think whether they want to send extra protections at him and run all these games at him in the play calling. He's untested on the right side. If they stick with the extra attention even as he flips to the right side, then that makes things all that much more doable for Koa Misi who can use his speed and motor to beat right tackles instead of left tackles.

That's how I'd approach the chess match. I'd also want to sign an Antwan Barnes so that I could mix up my rebuttals.

 

I think the guy they drafted, Frank whatshisname, will fill that role as the guy that trains behind Soliai. Nose tackle is really a 1.5 man position because even the "starter" only takes like 50% of possible snaps. I think they'll consider themselves done at that position.

 

Definitely. Agree on all counts here.

 

Reports from Darlington after speaking with Ireland:

 

I think if Soliai is telling the truth and he's in great shape then they could get a deal done pretty quickly.

 

I hope he's telling the truth . . . because if he's lying and we're stuck on the hook for $12 million, that sucks.