Kendall Langford

I had no idea who Kendall Langford was when he was drafted but he became one of my favorite players when I read the crazy stat from college that when a team ran at him it averaged like .7 yards or something like that. He is a stud.

 

Stud.

 

I do not think the training camp battle will be as heated as you think.
-Langford gets a starting spot. He has earned it for all your stated reasons
-Starks gets the other DE position, but will float along the DLine depending on the situation
-Odrick is the primary backup that gets major playing time, but really I see 4 starters for our 3 positions - Starks, Langford, Soliai and Odrick, and they will rotate according to need during the game.

-either McDaniel or Merling is the odd man out wrt playing time as a backup. Merling is decent, but nowhere near the level of first four or Soliai, Merling should be the odd man out.
- but, if Odrick is healthy, then I think McD will be the odd man out, unfortunately. Not because of lack of ability, but because of the money he will command

 

I think Odrick is going to work his way into the starting lineup this year, but I'm not sure if that will be at Starks' or Langford's expense.

 

A lot of it is going to depend on matchups. I think we'll see Starks playing inside more than we'll see Odrick though.

 

He's our best D lineman imo

 

I don't think it has to be at anyones expense. You can give the maximum snap count that big linemen typically(700-750ish) to three players pretty evenly with all the roles those players fill in this defense. There would be virtually no room for anyone else, to a degree you might not be able to justify keeping Merling(much less McDaniel) over a developmental prospect who you can justify getting minimal snaps.

I think you should pull Starks back from the base defense some. He's not a great fit for Nolan's 2-gap base, and Odrick has the size for it. Let Starks focus on his strength. He might not be a "starter, but I think the distinction is unimportant.

 

Starks played a single game as a NT, and the opposing runningbacks averaged I believe under 3 yards a carry, and I believe only one successful run came up the middle.

The defense went from a base 1-gap to a 2-gap. That's the issue, I think. Starks likely gives up reach to 6'5"+ tackles, and that's significant when he's got to engage and make a read rather than just getting quick off the line into his gap assignment.

 

I agree for the most part. Losing McDaniel means that someone is going to have to kick inside at times, and Starks seems the best suited for that. I do think that getting Starks and Odrick on the field at the same time is going to be something we try to do a lot, because they are very effective at rushing the passer.

 

Randy Starks was only "kicked inside" in the 3-4 in one game this year, the Bills game. After Odrick got hurt, Soliai became the base package Nose Tackle and Starks became the base package Right End. Starks continued his traditional role as a Defensive Tackle in nickel defenses, and he's excelled in that role.

There's some thought to the idea that Starks is a little less suited to Nolan's responsibilities at Right End but in reality I think Randy just geared up to play Nose Tackle, trained for it all off season, focused on it, I even though disagree with folks that think he gained weight for it, nonetheless when you practice a position all off season trying to be able to play it, and then suddenly you're thrown back to your old position, you may not be as sharp at your old position as you would have been if you'd been allowed to continue sharpening your technique at the position you're going to play. I would note that Randy was more effective after about 5 games of the 2010 season. He drew a -3.0 cumulative rating from the graders at PFF in his first 5 games, and then a +12.6 for the remaining 11 games. If you look, that pace in the final 11 games is not far off what he did in 2009. So to me, what really happened is he geared up technique-wise to play Nose and then when he got suddenly shifted back to End, it took a good four games for his technique to get sharp again.

That to me is why Randy Starks was worse in 2010 than he was in 2009. I'm trying to think of a good equivalent but if Jake Long were to (for whatever insane reason) work all off season at Left Guard thinking he was making a big move there, and then suddenly in Week 2 of 2011 he's back to being a Left Tackle, I wouldn't expect him to have as strong a year at Left Tackle in 2011 as he did in 2010. You need the off season and training camp to work and perfect your technique. The technique for playing Nose is a lot different than playing End. Training at Nose all during camp and off season had an effect, IMO.

Jared Odrick will get his snaps as Tony McDaniel's direct replacement. There's plenty to go around. Randy Starks and Kendall Langford will lead the DL in snaps again, and even so Jared Odrick will have an opportunity to get about as many snaps as the "starter" Paul Soliai (500+).

Kendall Langford is a guy that has made gradual, steady improvement every year. Much as Paul Soliai has done in his career, much as Randy Starks has done in his career, much as Cameron Wake has done in his short career.

Often the improvement in effectiveness is more gradual and steady than the improvement in public recognition (which tends to be jerky and over-dramatic) and in snap counts (which can be the same). Paul Soliai wasn't "way way way way way" better in 2010 than he was in 2009. I often said that in 2008, Soliai was good to come in for one to two snaps and make a great play or two, and that in 2009 he improved to being good for two or three snap stretches before losing focus. In 2010 he was the same guy he was in 2009 for those two to three snap rotations, but he able to sustain it longer before having to come out. Randy Starks was actually very good in Tennessee as a part time defensive tackle, a little better in 2008 in Miami in much the same role as a rotation guy, and a little better in 2009. The big "jumps" were in snap counts and recognition, not necessarily play level. Same was true of Cameron Wake from 2009 to 2010, only a gradual improvement in play level but a huge jump in recognition.

Hard to say if Kendall Langford's steady, gradual improvement as a player will see him finally hitting the critical mass that triggers a lot more recognition and the label "breakout" which may be misplaced on him...but I think he's among the Dolphins' most likely players to have that happen to him. Another one is Sean Smith. Sean can literally play the exact same level of football in 2011 as he did in 2010, but if the ball sticks to his hands instead of dropping out of them, he's a "breakout" player.

 

And if Odricks pans out he'll be the reason the Dolphins won't have to give Starks a huge contract in a year or 2. Scary that Starks will start this season still only being 27 years old.

If it plays out right and Odrick is a stud at RE the Dolphins will have a very nice trading chip in Starks for a 3-4 starved team. Be real nice to be one of those teams that gets a high pick for a surplus player for once.

 

Merling will in all likelihood continue to play poorly, as he did in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

 

We'll use a four man line on passing downs. But I don't see us doing it in our base D.

 

That WAS a pretty sweet play.

But he's like another Tony Bua. One play that makes a mark and that people will remember (do you remember that hit Bua made?) but the rest of his career sucks. Or maybe if you really want to be friendly toward Phil Merling you could compare him with Greg Camarillo. But I think Greg was a more solid player all around even after he made that ONE play that will live in our minds forever.

 

He'll have to play better than he ever has to start ahead of either one. Stay healthy too. I won't hold my breath waiting for this to happen.

 

I disagree strongly. Merling has been poor every year he's been here to date.

 

When Seattle took Lawrence Jackson in 2008 over Merling seemed like we had had a steal.
Phil Merling is a bust. Jackson is a Lion now I think.

 

I have to quote what was said in a game day chat once:

"Langford never makes any impact plays,.......we need to trade his ***."

 

Merling isn't awful, but he ain't really starter-quality either. If anything, turning him into a 3-4 End was a mistake. Its a high risk or reward decision, turning a normal 4-3 end into a 3-4 DE. Even guys who have ability like Matt Roth can look pretty mediocre. Then again, you see a guy like Justin Smith and the playoff is pretty appealing.

You kinda wonder if Merling might not be the next jumbo SOLB conversion. He just might be worth giving a shot at it rather than being the 4th DE at best.

 

If he were to lose weight, I don't see the symmetrical balance in his body, nor the right ratio of musculature to produce the athleticism required to play linebacker.

 

Are you suggesting taking Cam Wake off the field, even in a 4 DL / 3 LB set? Sorry, I just couldn't agree with taking our best pass rusher off the field, even on running downs.

 

Langford is going to be on Sirius NFL Radio tonight @ 9 p.m. eastern if anyone is interested.