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Full Draft Review (Draft Picks Only)

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by ckparrothead, Apr 29, 2008.

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  1. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Dec 1, 2007
    First Round - #1 Overall

    Their Pick: LT Jake Long - Michigan

    My Pick: DT Glenn Dorsey - LSU

    Grade: A

    Analysis:
    I wanted to make it clear that if I were doing the picking, I would have picked Glenn Dorsey. That is not a knock on Jake Long. I'll get to any criticisms I have of Jake in a minute. For now I will explain why I wanted Dorsey. Glenn is the most decorated man in college football. The only thing missing from his wall is a Heisman Trophy, and his knee and back injuries prevented whatever SLIM chance a defensive tackle ever had of getting that award. The fact that some voters kept bringing his name up for the award is a testament to his dominance. There have not been many defensive tackles to come out over the last decade that could match what Glenn did as a Tiger. The fact of the matter is he has shown the consistent ability to dominate in literally whatever facet of the game you ask him to take on as a defensive lineman. No game showed this better than the BCS Championship Game. Asked to face one of the top runners in all of college football Beanie Wells, not to mention a quarterback in Todd Boeckman that is awful light on the hoof when he gets himself going, Dorsey did more than his share in shutting down the ground game and forcing the Ohio State offense into uncomfortable situations. He worked his way down the line to shut down outside run plays. He used superior leverage to get off blocks and make plays on the inside. Then, later in the game when Ohio State was forced to pass the ball more often in order to make a go of winning the game, Glenn was allowed to go into pass rush mode. I've heard this criticism of Glenn that you don't see his pass rush abilities on a consistent enough basis. I would point out that a defensive tackle's primary duty against a team that is ready and willing to run the ball is to maintain the integrity of the defense and shut down the run. When you're pinning your ears back in pass rush, you are not maintaining the integrity of the defense. This is why you hear the pundits talking about running the ball to prevent defensive linemen from pinning their ears back to begin with. Dorsey's primary strength as a pass rusher is his explosive first couple of steps. Those steps see him halfway to the quarterback before a guard can even react to him, at times. They see him having closed the distance to a pulling guard well before the guard is ready to deal with physical contact, and that is when you see a guard get knocked on his butt. When the situation dictates that Dorsey can unleash this upfield rushing ability without hesitation or second-guessing, he should be among the most dangerous defensive linemen in the NFL. When the situation calls for more caution, he can use his hands, strength and leverage to work the line, maintain the integrity of the defense, disengage and make a play on the ball carrier as well as anyone out there.

    I know the thinking is, yeah but he doesn't fit the 3-4 defense. I think if you think that, you're not giving him quite enough credit. He has long arms and has shown the consistent ability to use strength and leverage to maintain gap control. At 6'2" and 300 pounds, with 35 inch arms or so, he could easily start out his career at a 3-4 End position in the NFL. That might not be where he finishes his career, mind you. He has a history of packing on a little weight, so it wouldn't surprise me if eventually he ended up on the inside plugging up the very middle of such a defense. If you ask me, he could be a Ty Warren or even a Richard Seymour early in his career as an End, and then a little later end up as a Casey Hampton-like middle guard. Even the most disciplined 3-4 defenses use 4-man fronts a good percentage of the time, as offenses dictate. Glenn would never have to disappear from these fronts. That's a big part of his value, is he never has to disappear from ANY front. On the other hand, one would have to give HEAVY consideration toward simply modifying the defense a little bit to maximize his abilities. Playing the scheme to fit the players? Noooo, who would be dumb enough to do THAT?!?

    But that's enough about the guy we didn't pick. Let me talk about the guy we did pick. This was a guy I thought it awful chic to criticize back in 2006 or most of 2007. He was getting a whole lot of hype and I felt the hype was overdone. It took me a while to buy into the hype myself. Simon (Boomer) and I were right next to each other on this one, talking about how out of control Jake Long seems to play, especially in pass protection. Keith (KB21) was right there with us (still hasn't turned).

    I first started to crack some time before the Combine, when I had started to review a lot more Michigan games and started to think about some of the trends we're seeing in the NFL. The fact of the matter is, there have been some guys that were supposed to be downright perfect in pass protection with super quick and nimble feet, but maybe a little weaker in run blocking...that have gone to the NFL and they can't even pass pro there. At least, not yet. D'Brickashaw Ferguson is the best example but Joe Staley is another decent example. Both were guys I was infinitely high on. At the same time, guys whose run blocking was beyond reproach, but whose pass protection I questioned for one reason or another, were going out there and succeeding at the next level to an alarming extent. Joe Thomas is the best example, but also Tony Ugoh, and even Levi Brown. Thomas had short arms and not a very long resume when it came to pass protection in that run-based Wisconsin offense. Ugoh had that high-hipped, uncontrolled look in pass protection that freaked me out. Levi Brown I thought just didn't have the quick feet. Clearly, something in my thought pattern needed to change here because Joe Thomas was being annointed the second coming, Tony Ugoh provided a new facet to Indy's offense that even the heralded Tarik Glenn couldn't provide, and Levi Brown was certainly holding his own out in Arizona. Not to mention Jammal Brown was turning in a Pro Bowl season in 2006, and I myself had witnessed Vernon Carey play very well at left tackle.

    I think a big part of the essence of a left tackle is dependability, and predictability. That's what a quarterback needs in order to keep his eyes focused down the field instead of getting jittery. When it comes to dependability, Jake Long truly has that. Only two penalties in his entire college career. One was as a frosh. Only two sacks allowed in his entire college career. Both were to Vernon Gholston (yeah, I know, now he'll face Gholston twice a year). His blocking grade percentage for the year was almost 90 for his full senior season, and it wasn't like he didn't face anybody. He never had a game with a sub-80 blocking percentage this year. Even bad games for him were the equivalent of good games for lesser guys (ahem, Gosder Cherilus). Not only that, but he's exceptionally smart when it comes to reading the blitzes and identifying his blocking assignment. Injuries have never been a problem. Nor work ethic. He is absolutely a player you can depend on from play to play, week to week. I think that was the most important thing.

    Now, you want to see more than just dependability from a #1 overall. You want to see a body, and physical ability. I think both are pretty exceptional. I think there's a bit of a mystery about Jake Long's arms. Some sources would have you believe he only has about 33 inch arms. Other sources believe his arms measured out to a full 35 or 36 inches at the Combine. One thing is for certain, he has humongous hands. When he gets those baseball mitts onto you, it tends to be over. With paws like those, you can see why he has the hand control to get away with the occasional hold that will never get called because he keeps his hands inside the pads. Players will certainly feel like they're being held, but the refs never call it (See: One holding penalty in four years). Whatever the size of his arms, he put up the 225 pound press 37 times at the Combine, which would be ridiculous with 33 inch arms, and practically unheard of (I've never seen it before) if he does have 35-36 inch arms. Putting up the bar that many times shows that he trains with that much weight at a bare minimum in his weight training efforts. He certainly hasn't slacked on his body building.

    Does he have quick feet? Going forward he has as much explosiveness as I've seen, and a pretty impressive amount of body control for the speed he's hitting right off the snap. You see him jump off the snap and take three steps into the linebackers, launch himself into a flying, sliding cut-block that puts the weak side linebacker on his butt before he can even move out of the way, and all you can do is smile if you're a football fan. Bowling for linebackers, with a 6'7" and 315 pound ball. I've heard Simon talk about how he gets ahead of himself with his first couple of steps and that was absolutely true...at the college level. He'd get out there so fast he'd overrun the linebackers and have to redirect to get back to his assignment. But you know what? That won't happen in the pros. In the pros, he won't be the only guy on the field moving that fast off the snap. In the pros, he'll have to switch gears from being worried about overshooting to worried about undershooting.

    But let's get to the nitty-gritty of what has always thrown me off about him. It is his pass protection and his kick slide. Is he prone to getting beaten in pass pro more than his 2 career sacks allowed would suggest? Absolutely. I've seen Matt Shaughnessy give him a fit or two. Vernon Gholston obviously gave him trouble two years in a row. Derrick Harvey did manage to knock him on his butt once before Jake Long thoroughly dominated him for the rest of the game. Ohio State's other DE Heyward managed a bull rush against him. What do I say about that? It comes with the territory. You hear guys emphasize a tackle's hands and technique. ANY time an offensive tackle's hands get neutralized in pass protection, he's going to look susceptible, without fail. If you don't get your hands out quick enough and a DE gets into your body, guess what you just got bull rushed. If a DE manages to knock your hands away he's going to have the outside pass rush at his pleasure, and if you over-correct for it he's got the inside arm-over. Every offensive tackle that has ever come out of the draft ever has always had to work on using their hands better because it's the offensive tackle's primary weapon. It isn't that he doesn't use his hands well, not at all. In fact, I would call it a strength. But, everyone has lapses sometimes, and every tackle as an ongoing effort has to keep working on using their hands.

    The most concerning aspect of his game, to me, is the speed and choppiness of his kick slide. If a tackle were a horse, you'd probably never see the guy at a gallop as he'd be useless as a blocker with so little control over himself. His job is not to run away from people but to run toward them. On the other hand, the guy can definitely come out of the blocks at a smooth canter in the run game, getting out to the next level. Jake Long does this and does it well. In backpedal, though, I also want to see the guy's first step come back and out at a long, smooth, fast and explosive canter, before slowing up to work into the defender. Too often for my tastes, Jake Long looks like he's coming back and out at a bumpy and hurried trot. Lots of little steps. To my highly unprofessional eye, I would think he would benefit from a more explosive and controlled (natural) first step back and out. Make the step longer, smoother, faster and more controlled. I think that is what Jeff Otah has and why I've always really liked him. Otah looks comfortable mirroring and waiting for the defender to engage, then hitting him with all he's got. Jake Long, as Conuficus once pointed out on another board, he does not look comfortable or natural until he's got his big mitts all over you and he is mauling you.

    But every player has SOME thing they need to work on. This is just a thought, but I wonder if the Dolphins' hard core strength and conditioning program couldn't help him out a little bit with that lower body explosion. I don't want to accuse Jake Long of having skimped on his weight traing, mostly because with 37 bench reps the opposite is likely true. But, also because he could pound my sorry behind into thinly sliced veal and still make it on time for McDonald's breakfast. Nonetheless, with his upper body being so well built it's possible he could use more work on his lower body strength and explosion, and that is exactly what the Dolphins' program is supposed to emphasize.

    In the meantime I think there's a reason why, even with a weakness in his kick slide, Jake Long has been able to avoid getting his quarterback sacked. It isn't because Chad Henne is especially mobile or has an especially quick delivery. Just the opposite, Mel Kiper and others have harped a bit on Henne's long delivery and lack of mobility (more on that later). Nor is it because the Wolverines run some kind of gimmick offense like Texas Tech. They run a very pro style offense and passes go to the receivers WAY more often than to the backs and tight ends (also more on that later). Jake Long is a tenacious dude, is the bottom line. I know it's kind of cliche to talk about a guy that doesn't quit but Jake Long is not the type of guy that's going to get shocked by an especially impressive move that a Defensive End pulls on him, and then left standing with his jaw on the floor while the pocket turns into a prison shower room. That isn't his style. He's going to keep working back at you and sticking with you until the play iis over. If you get outside his shoulder, he'll get that arm over to try and inch you just beyond the quarterback. If you manage to get him unbalanced and onto his butt, he'll keep himself between you and the quarterback so that you still have a 4 foot 315 pound obstacle between you and the QB. He really excels at getting himself out of trouble that way. I once talked about how Stephen Neal has a little bit of that going for him with the Patriots, where his wrestling experience helps him leverage himself out of bad positions. Unfortunately, Neal gets himself into bad positions way too often. On the occasions when Long does get himself into bad positions, he has a bit of that same quality of being able to fight on the beaches, fight on the landing grounds, fight on the fields and in the streets, fight in the hills, never surrender. That's the kind of attitude that an offensive line coach adores. That's the kind of attitude that will make him the Dolphins' left tackle for the next ten years, at least.



    Second Round - #32 Overall

    Their Pick: DE/OLB Phillip Merling - Clemson

    My Pick: DE/OLB Phillip Merling - Clemson

    Grade: A

    Analysis:
    I can honestly say that this is the pick I would have made, if given the choice. James Hardy would have been extremely tempting for me right here, as I had him the top receiver in the draft and potentially worth a pick in the top half of the first round. But, this pick had similar value to me, while fitting a more pressing need for pass rush presence. The pick fit with the overall motif of the draft in taking a bunch of bigger, stronger players to help out both lines. In some strange ways, taking a James Hardy may have even screwed with the general feel of the infusion that the front office had in store for this team. The other tempting player, to me, was Quentin Groves...who NEARLY made it to pick #57. I've been on record not particularly liking Vernon Gholston (I've nailed him up on the cross many times) and I have said that I don't see Quentin Groves being that far off from him. It only makes sense that Groves at #32 would seem a steal to me, if I have Gholston in the top 10 or 15. But, I still thought of Phil Merling as a more complete player.

    In watching Phil Merling you do have to keep in mind the undiagnosed hernia that he played with all season long. He felt like it really limited his top speed and I'm sure he was right about that. But, I don't think this guy is by any means a 'slow' player. Fully healthy, I think he could test right up there with Chris Long and maybe even better. He's got the same weight on a little bit of a taller frame and I think he moves similarly, although not with as low a center of gravity as Chris Long tends to move. Merling has a lot of burst and explosion, has really quick hands and I think he can hoof it.
    The overwhelming question about him seems to be whether he'll play as a 3-4 End or as a 3-4 Linebacker. I would humbly suggest, based on what I have seen from the guy in his games, that he is not a 3-4 Defensive End. In his Day 2 wrap-up press conference, Jeff Ireland described what he likes in a 3-4 DE.

    "He has to be able to knock that tackle up the field if it’s a run. He has to be able to transition versus run and pass. More importantly, he just has to be able to hold his ground. You can’t get knocked off the ball. You can’t get lost inside. You hope that if you go in a nickel situation that he can slide out or slide in and be a pressure player from the inside or the outside.”

    I read that, and I think back to another interview with Jeff Ireland where he explained what he needs to see in a guy that will make the conversion to 3-4 Outside Linebacker. The first words out of his mouth were about a guy that loves chasing the ball from the back side, a guy that can put pressure on the quarterback, and a guy that knows how to get out of trouble on his feet. He mentioned explosiveness, but only in passing at the very tail end of the explanation. So, I'm looking at these two explanations, and I'm thinking to myself, which one is Merling? I have ALWAYS thought of him as the latter, not the former. To me, Phil Merling has been an edge rusher at Clemson that chases the ball well from the back side, redirects on his feet really well, and strings together good technique against the run.

    I had seen Merling play a few times before, and I think we have all seen the highlight videos. So, I had my feelings on where he will be at the next level already. But, I was open a change of opinion, especially when a guy like Mike Mayock is saying he will be a "perfect 3-4 DE". So, late Saturday night, I took back to the tape, and luckily I still had the Auburn-Clemson game recorded. It only confirmed what I thought before. To me, he has never been a guy that knocks a big offensive tackle straight back on run plays, and I have seen him get swallowed by double teams, getting lost on the inside and getting his back turned to the ball. He is absolutely better against the run than his predecessor Gaines Adams, but that does not mean this edge rusher has what it takes to be the kind of two-gap bulkhead you need your 3-4 DE to be on run plays. He seems a lot more comfortable being able to move and redirect toward the ball.

    Many would point out that in his Day 1 wrap-up presser, Ireland did label Merling as an "End". However, the first word he used to describe his position was not "End," it was "Pass Rusher". Most of the instances that he used the word "End" to describe Merling, he made sure to stick in there the words, "Pass Rusher". I think this was on purpose, and he did not do the same thing when he talked about Kendall Langford. With Kendall Langford, he used the word "Defensive End" and left it at that. The sense that I get is that there is a reason for this debate about whether he will be a 3-4 DE or a 3-4 OLB. That reason is, the Dolphins themselves might not be sure.

    Rewind back to the Chris Long debates. What is Chris Long? Is he a Defensive End in the 3-4, or is he an Outside Linebacker? There was active debate about this. The Rams have made that debate a moot point because they took Chris Long for their 4-3 defense knowing full well that they had Glenn Dorsey rated higher. Chris Long and Phil Merling have virtually identical dimensions, and I believe they have very similar athleticism. Merling might even be more explosive, though not as strong.

    Where the front office came out on Chris Long's position is important, because I believe Jeff Ireland views Phillip Merling as a DIRECT REPLACEMENT for Chris Long in the Dolphins' plans.

    Everyone has tried to insinuate that the Dolphins were lucky to get Merling, that they couldn't have expected him to fall as far as he did. Jeff Ireland as the Dolphins' GM has every reason to play up that angle and allow us to think exactly that. After all, who wouldn't want the fan base to think we were lucky to get a certain player and that the GM was extremely disciplined for staying put and allowing a player of that caliber to fall?

    The problem is, Jeff Ireland flat out denied it. He rained on everyone's parade, and revealed that they had Phil Merling rated right about where he went and therefore were not surprised to see him available. What does this imply? This implies that Phil Merling was part of the plan from the very beginning. This was not a last-second audible. Bill Parcells wanted Chris Long, we know that now after it was revealed that Parcells set a very early internal deadline for getting the negotiations with Jake Long done before he would force us to switch to Chris Long. Remember last year when we all thought the pick had to be Quinn and that we could get a receiver in the second round? That front office decided the best fate for the franchise would be Ginn and Beck, instead of Quinn and whoever. Jeff Ireland also made the decision that Jake Long and Phil Merling is better for this franchise than Chris Long and Offensive Tackle X (whomever was still available at #32).

    And he was absolutely, one hundred percent correct. You know how many offensive tackles went in the top 26 picks? Eight. Eight! Guys like Duane Brown and Sam Baker, neither of whom had any business going in the first round, still went there. If we had taken Chris Long at #1 overall, by the time we got to #32 overall we'd be staring at the 9th best OL in the draft, which probably would have been John Greco. Now, they liked Greco I'm sure, but the #32 pick is practically a first rounder (and traditionally it is, thank you Patriots). Greco is NOT worth anything close to a first round pick as an offensive tackle. He should probably move to guard in the pros.

    So, instead of Chris Long and John Greco, Jeff Ireland opted for Jake Long and Phil Merling. That was his thought process.

    What will we see Phil Merling do as a rookie? Simon (Boomer) has been saying forever that it would be folly to think Chris Long opens as an outside linebacker right from the starting gun, with as little experience as he has in coverage. With Chris Long's penchant for preparation, I think he could have done it with a full camp and preseason under his belt. But, Simon could and should say the same thing about Phil Merling because with him, it is absolutely true. Merling is about the future, not the present. His body is not where it needs to be. His arms are underdeveloped. His legs are underdeveloped. He has battled an undiagnosed hernia for a year. He has a little bit of gut that he needs to lose. He needs to become a lot more lean, and probably lose about 8 to 10 pounds from his 2007 playing weight. Sure, he weighed 290 at his pro day a few days ago, but that was after not being able to work out coming off his hernia surgery. He's probably out of shape and Ireland made it a point to let everyone know it.

    What I believe Merling will do as a rookie is play Defensive End in our four-man fronts. He will be a Jarvis Green, if you will. Or perhaps a David Bowens. One of the biggest mistakes of 2007 was allowing David Bowens and Kevin Carter to both walk because it immediately made our four-man fronts completely ineffective. If you have a weakness like that, teams are going to exploit it, and that's exactly what teams did. We could not strike a balance with our four-man fronts in terms of pass rush and run defense. Jason Taylor was ineffective against the run, as was Joey Porter when we had him playing DL. Matt Roth was no good as replacement for Kevin Carter, and Joey Porter couldn't be as dynamic as a down lineman as David Bowens.

    Even the most disciplined 3-4 defenses are going to have to put out four-man fronts as dictated by the offense's personnel grouping. If they take you to nickel, you're probably going 4-2-5, not 3-3-5. So, we need a set of valid four-man fronts for every occasion. If one of our situational four-man fronts has a big weakness, teams are going to exploit it and that can set off a chain reaction that has other parts of the defense collapsing. Phil Merling now becomes a tool to make those fronts work. He will probably not play very often in our base 3-4 defense. He will probably be asked to come along slowly as a potential ROLB backup to Jason Taylor. If they're shooting for the moon, they might make him a LOLB and hope his coverage comes along to enough of an extent as to make that transition work. But, in the mean time, we will probably see him mostly in nickel fronts.

    Also, keep in mind that you could easily make the case that given the presence of guys like Vonnie Holliday, Randy Starks (who signed a very long term, very high paying deal), Rodrique Wright and now Kendall Langford...there just isn't room enough for Phil Merling as a straight up 3-4 DE. Particularly relevant is the selection of Langford, given the presence of Starks and Merling. You could argue that Holliday is not long for Miami, but Starks and Merling certainly are! There's no doubt Langford is a 3-4 DE, and the Dolphins had made it pretty clear that Randy Starks is a 3-4 DE as well.



    Second Round - #57 Overall

    Their Pick: QB Chad Henne - Michigan

    My Pick: ILB Dan Connor - Penn State

    Grade: B

    Analysis:
    I am not one of those people that absolutely hates the Chad Henne pick. In some ways, I really like it. I thought the Dolphins should have stopped Dan Connor's slide at #57 by taking him and grooming him to be Zach Thomas' replacement. I don't buy the argument that Dan is too small for the inside of this 3-4 defense. He's got a 6'3" frame with 232 pounds on it and if this team showed anything with the selection of Phil Merling, it was an eye toward what you could be physically in the future rather than what you are right now. Connor definitely had room for growth on his body. If put in the Dolphins' strength and conditioning program, I believe he could have gotten to where he would need to be within the year. In the mean time, the Dolphins do have Reggie Torbor, Akin Ayodele and Channing Crowder, and they could afford to bring Connor along slowly.

    The bottom line, to me, is this team is now missing a Zach Thomas. That was a huge cog in your defense and we saw how porous the run defense could be without him in the game with his noggin running at one hundred percent (see the Oakland debacle). The 3-4 defense was originally designed with the intention of stopping the RUN. That is its strength. But in order to do that you have to build your 3-4 defense with strength up the middle. That means nose tackle, and that means some great tacklers at linebacker. If you can't stop the run, the 3-4 defense is about as useless as a ****-flavored lollypop. I don't think you replace a Zach Thomas with an Akin Ayodele and pretend you've done your job. When you have one larger than life personality leave your team from the inside linebacker position, I think you try and replace him with another guy like him. Dan Connor COULD have been that replacement. We will never know, now.

    But, it isn't all bad. Chad Henne at #32 overall would have incensed me to no end because I absolutely *KNEW* that there were still premium first round talents on the board that could help this team immediately and on into the future. Specifically, I would have been upset about passing on Phil Merling and Quentin Groves. By #57 overall, most of the premium talent was gone. Dan Connor was the only one that remained, and he continued falling all the way to #74 in part because of some poor taste crank phone calls that got him a harrassment charge from a girl. Oops.

    I have publicly nailed Chad Henne to the cross several times over the last two years, mostly because some folks kept insisting that he should be a top ten prospect as a quarterback when he comes out. I never quite saw that, and so I loved to pick on him. But now, the mighty hath fallen, and at #57 overall you're likely to find a lot more sympathy from me.

    What do I know about Chad Henne? I've watched him a lot over the years, and even more over the last month as it began looking more and more obvious that Jake Long was to be the pick at #1 overall. Yet still, I feel like I only know a few things about him:

    1. He might be the best pure thrower in this draft,

    2. He always had a stellar ground game to fall back on,

    3. With Jake Long the only exception, his offensive line couldn't pass protect worth a damn against respectable competition,

    4. He thinks "checking down" is a poker move,

    5. His receivers were capable of great catches, but not great separation,

    6. He thinks "looking off" a safety is gay.

    Often times, I absolutely feel like Chad Henne is a little too Rex Grossman for my tastes. But sometimes, I wonder if Dan Marino himself didn't look a little like Chad Henne coming out of the University of Pittsburgh.

    That's the skinny on Chad. His accuracy issues are not so much about his throwing ability, they're about his shot selection. Over the last two years, 329 of 431 pass completions went to the wide receivers at Michigan, as opposed to the backs and tight ends. That 76.3% figure is pretty notable. He throws a very strong ball, with great touch and accuracy. He throws extremely well vertically (which is always nice). Many of his throws at Michigan were vertical sideline routes off the three- or five-step drop. The array of throws he made at Michigan probably translates the best into an NFL offense of any quarterback's in this draft.

    But I will tell you a few things I do not see. I do not see him checking down to his second or third options very often. I do not see him reading the entire football field. To this day I do not think I've ever seen him look off a safety. He will absolutely throw with anticipation and timing, he will absolutely read the defense pre-snap, but he will also absolutely lock onto his target and telegraph his throw. When he does check off to a second or third option, he seems to lose some of that accuracy and touch that he has on his normal throws. He was not a great play-action passer in the mold that Ron Jaworski kept illustrating over the weekend. His delivery is a little bit long and he is not really anywhere near mobile in the pocket.

    What he is, is a tough son of a gun that can take a beating. He started 47 games at a big time school. He played 4 bowl games against tough competition and had a 96.0 QB rating in those games. He has a big arm with accuracy, touch and timing on his first reads. He made his living throwing the vertical and the out, which are NFL throws, to wide receivers rather than backs and tight ends.

    I believe he is a project player. Mind you, he could play immediately. He has that ability because I have always felt the ability to play immediately at that position stems from being use to heavy fire situations at your school, while possessing a large amount of physical size and skills. Guys that rely on mental skills tend to click a little later, in my opinion. Bottom line is all of these prospects come to the NFL and find out they don't know jack squat but if they accept where the coaches are telling them to throw the ball, they are use to bad offensive line play, and they have a good deal of size and physical throwing skills on their side, they can flash some rookie success. John Beck was not a guy I thought could play immediately but had a genuine shot to be another Steve Young after the game slowed down for him, probably in his second or third year. He has physical ability but not size, he made his best work happen in college using his noggin and not hit physical gifts. He was not use to his offensive line being overmatched by defenses. Chad Henne is a guy that I believe could play immediately and even enjoy some bits of success, but might be best served to sit a while and learn behind someone like John Beck.

    When things click for John Beck, I believe he will be a guy that Chad Henne would benefit from watching in action. When the game slows down for John Beck, he will do all of the little things right. He will look off the safety. He will read the entire field. He will use his cadence to his benefit. He will check down to Ronnie Brown for hard-won yardage and first downs. He will work hard and he will lead the team. It may be difficult to think of a second year player as a mentor for a first year player, but you have to remember that Beck will be 27 years old before the season starts while Chad Henne will just be turning 23.

    The goal here is to make sure we have at least one quarterback for the future on roster. Many people will try and make this out to be an indictment of John Beck. It is not. In fact, I believe John Beck claimed victory this weekend at picks #1 and #32 overall when the Dolphins felt so comfortable with Beck that they did not feel the need to reach for Matt Ryan, and felt perfectly comfortable with taking Phil Merling over Chad Henne even though, as Ireland himself admitted, they didn't have Merling rated as some kind of great steal. Even further, the Dolphins knew that the Packers wanted a quarterback at #56 overall, and they still refused to trade up for the rights to secure Chad Hennne.

    That is a victory for John Beck. A lot of times, when you have a new regime, especially one that is as much about familiarity as this regime, they will just toss that previous regime's guy right out the door without even giving him much of a chance. After all, John Beck is Cam Cameron's boy. They didn't choose him. And even worse, when he played in 2007 he pretty much sucked hard core and couldn't stop coughing up the football. It would have been easy for this regime to move on as if Beck was not part of the plan. But, they gave him the opportunity to impress them by throwing thousands upon thousands of balls with Quarterbacks Coach David Lee, in order to try and bring his delivery up higher. It is John Beck's way to win these kinds of competitions and impress the coaches. It is what he does. I believe he did that. He achieved the best possible result given what he had to work with. It was not realistic for this staff to pass on the quarterback that GM Bill Polian recently dubbed the best in the draft (when healthy), all the way down at #57 overall. That was not a realistic outcome for John no matter what he did with David Lee or how much he impressed, and Jeff Ireland admitted as much.



    Third Round - #66 Overall

    Their Pick: DE Kendall Langford - Hampton

    My Pick: DT Pat Sims - Auburn

    Grade: C

    Analysis:
    After the first day of the draft is over, front offices generally meet and re-stack their board, talk to teams about trade possibilities, and treat the second day of the draft like a whole new draft. I chose to spend the night re-watching several games as I attempted to figure out what the team would do on Sunday, and what they should do. After re-watching the Auburn-Clemson game, I became convinced that DT Pat Sims was the target. This was not based on one game, I already had the strong feeling that they were targeting Sims in this draft. I felt strongly enough about Sims that I had put him in my top 20 players in the contest I ran to see who could name 20 players they thought would end up Dolphins one way or the other and come out with the highest percentage. But after watching the Clemson game, I became even more convinced.

    Sims reminds me a little bit of Vince Wilfork. A lot of people don't realize that coming out of The U, Vince was a one-gapping penetrator of a Defensive Tackle that happened to have a rather large girth and explosive first step. He was not really considered a two-gap guy. His strength and explosiveness translated to that position in the pros, and I felt that Pat Sims had similar strength and explosion, if not quite the same girth (as of yet). He regularly knocked offensive linemen up the field, affecting the integrity of backfield, and on pass plays he showed himself capable of going head up on a Center and tossing him aside like a rag doll. In this Clemson game, he also showed toughness, as he clearly injured himself very early in the game and was limping, slow to get up. He pushed through because his team needed him, and he still dominated. He only showed the injury during the play itself a couple of times right after the injury occurred.

    The Dolphins didn't take him, but that's not quite why I gave them a C-. If it is their prerogative that Paul Soliai is not worth giving up on yet, then heck...that probably makes me more happy than unhappy. I was immensely high on Paul coming out of the 2007 Draft, and would like to see what he can do with better coaching (first time position coach Diron Reynolds couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag). The Dolphins took Kendall Langford and from my point of view that is not quite as good as a Pat Sims pick, but Langford was also on my list of 20 names and I was very familiar with him, liked him.

    The reason I give a lower grade is because I am about 90 percent sure they wanted G/T John Greco at this pick. It was reported, I believe on Ethan Skolnick's blog, shortly after we picked Langford that the staff had wanted John Greco at pick #64, that they traded down to pick #66 so that they could pick up an extra pick (#176) and then they were completely shocked when the Rams took Greco at #65. That cute little trade cost them the player they wanted, IMO. I personally don't view that as awful, but that is just because I think Kendall Langford will be a better player than John Greco. But, they are the professionals and they liked Greco better, and they had to go to a different option because they didn't quite have their p's and q's in order. No matter how you spin it, that's a little bit embarrassing. Just a little bit.

    All that said, I really like Kendall Langford as a prospect and do not think he was at all out of place in the third round of this draft. In fact, depending on where you put Glenn Dorsey, I believe Langford might be the second best 3-4 DE prospect in this entire draft, second perhaps only to Jason Jones of Eastern Michigan. I like Calais Campbell but I think Langford can be counted on more than Calais to do the things that Jeff Ireland talked about for the position. Langford is an athletic beast that plays with true strength. He's a full 6'6" and 290 pounds, and he runs a 4.9 and can broad jump 9'6".

    I watched him play at the Shrine Game and right away, he puts a move on Tyler Polumbus, sacking Sam Keller and also causing a fumble. He was impressive when he participated in the Senior Bowl, as well. Watching him play, I believe he fits right into the defensive rotation at End in our regular 3-4 base defense. I like the Ty Warren comparison that some folks have been using with him. Believe it or not, I think he could start sooner than Phil Merling. I believe that Langford could beat Matt Roth on the depth chart, and if Vonnie Holliday were to get injured at some point, I could see Langford sliding in at his spot. On the other hand, in his first year, I could see the coaches being reluctant to put Merling out into space even if Jason Taylor or Joey Porter were to get hurt.



    Fourth Round - #110 Overall

    Their Pick: OG Shawn Murphy - Utah State

    My Pick: DT Red Bryant - Texas A&M

    Grade: C

    Analysis:
    Let me start off this analysis by explaining the contest I ran that I have been referring to as Top 20. I started a contest that spanned across two major message boards, plus the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel's blog (thanks to Ethan Skolnick who posted it for me). The point of the contest was to name 20 players in this draft that would end up Dolphins, either via draft pick or as undrafted free agents. Whoever named the most players that end up Dolphins, wins. The game was simple enough, but it was also a good way to test fan sentiment and access to information. What better way to test the effectiveness of the front office's smoke screens, than to take 75 of these Top 20 lists from Dolphin fans, and see what names are on them?

    How does this tie into Shawn Murphy? Not many folks were surprised to see the Dolphins target Shawn Murphy. Where Jeff Ireland gets an A+ for the secrecy surrounding the team's plans at #32 overall (not one person out of 75 picked Merling in their Top 20 contest entries), I think he'd get an F for hiding his interest in their mid-round favorites.

    I already mentioned John Greco and the strong rumor that the Dolphins missed out on him at #66. That may not be a coincidence. A full 50 of the 75 people that entered the Top 20 contest named John Greco as one of the players most likely to become a Dolphin. If two-thirds of Dolfandom could know that Greco was a favorite, certainly other teams may have as well.

    Meanwhile, about 35% of the entrants named a little-known guard from obscure Utah State, who happens to be the son of baseball legend Dale Murphy. For a guy considered by most to be a relatively below-radar late round selection, that's a lot of votes. Even before Murphy, 40% of the fans voted for Chad Henne and 39% of them voted for Kendall Langford. Of the 10 most popular entries in the Top 20 contest, the Dolphins ended up drafting three of them and were supposedly targeting a fourth.

    That's a lot of telegraphing for your mid-round selections, and you have to wonder if their missing out on Greco at #65, then finding it necessary to trade up five spots to get Murphy, were not coincidences. In time, I hope that Ireland learns to keep his cards a little closer to his vest. He put out brilliant smoke screens for the #32 pick, but he did not put out a heavy amount of smoke screen for any other pick. The only draft pick that did not see a single Dolphin fan put into their Top 20 was Running Back Lex Hilliard (more on him later).

    That aside, the guy I would have wanted at this pick (provided we did not draft Pat Sims) was DT Red Bryant of Texas A&M. I did not feel he should have fallen this far. I thought he could have even been a first round pick. He suffered an ACL injury before the 2007 season and was working his way through the long and difficult recovery process from that injury during the year. When healthy and at full speed, he is totally dominant against the run and has excellent use of his hands and leverage with the power to hold up to double teams. He gets his pad level low enough to play the nose tackle position in the NFL, and I feel like that is a big need for us, even with my faith in Paul Soliai. I have faith in John Beck, but picking Chad Henne at #57 was a good way to hedge risk for a key position. So, why not hedge risk with Soliai by picking Sims at #66 or Bryant at #110?

    The good news is I was among the people that liked Murphy enough to put him on my Top 20 list. I had heard a long time ago the Dolphins might have some interest in Murphy. I had heard that about a hundred different prospects, though. What sold me was watching him play at the East-West Shrine Game. He really stood out at Left Guard for his size, strength, awareness and ability to shift his weight quickly in order to maintain zone protection. He got successfully bull rushed one time by a guy I also liked Nick Hayden of Wisconsin, but I've said before whenever an offensive lineman doesn't get his hands up fast enough they will all run into problems. That did not seem to be a consistent problem for him at all and I believe he does have anchor ability at 6'4" and 320 pounds.

    Athletically, he's not going to impress you running around in shorts and a t-shirt. His measurements were somewhere between poor and non-descript. But, when you watch him play ball, that is when you see he has good ability to slide from side to side and do the things he needs to do to play Guard at the NFL level. He will probably not be your pulling guard as he dpesn't have the speed for it, so Jeff Ireland's declaration about him playing Right Guard probably makes the most sense. He's the son of a legendary professional baseball player, he knows what it means to be a professional athlete, he's a hard working and he's very mature. Like John Beck, he spent two years on Mormon mission and it a little bit older than his draft class.

    Overall, I gave both the Murphy and Langford picks a C grade, not because I don't particularly like them as players. But, rather because there were players available that I graded higher and that I felt could play at a position of PARTICULAR need on this team. And also, the predictability of these two picks did rub me the wrong way. Missing out on their real target because of a small trade down does make them look a little bad. That is why I have C grades at #66 and #110. They could have done better in a number of ways, but at least they didn't screw things up and grab bad players.



    Sixth Round - #176 Overall

    Their Pick: RB Jalen Parmele - Toledo

    My Pick: DE Brian Johnston - Gardner-Webb

    Grade: B

    Analysis:
    This is where revisionist history could start to come into play for me. I'm trying to remember who I would have taken as the final seconds for this pick wound down. I had been praying that Tight End Kellen Davis would fall to this pick, and was extremely irritated when the Bears selected him 18 picks higher. He has the potential to be a Pro Bowl TE. At this point I believe I was mostly onto Brian Johnston of Gardner-Webb, and Marcus Monk of Arkansas. Many of us knew that the Dolphins were high on Tim Hightower of Richmond, however he got scooped up by the Cardinals in the fifth round. As the final seconds closed, many of us were convinced that the pick would be a running back, and that it would be Chauncey Washington of USC, as the Dolphins had shown a lot of interest in him.

    In the end, I believe I would have favored the Gardner-Webb product. Obviously a raw player, with 11 sacks over the last 2 years, he has extremely rare size and measurables for his position. He's a full 6'5" and 274 pounds, ran a 4.66 in the 40 yard dash, but finished the first 10 yards of it in 1.51 seconds! That's lightning. Just for a frame of reference, that was faster than DeSean Jackson and Rashard Mendenhall. He weighs 100 pounds more than Jackson and 50 pounds more than Mendenhall. The 40 and 10 were not isolated points, either. He had an impressive 35 inch vertical, and a ridiculous 4.18 shuttle time that was only bested by four wide receivers at the Combine. His cone drill was also ridiculous at under 7 seconds. This is one big, extraordinarily athletic man. And, that's the sort of thing I look for in the later rounds.

    But, it wasn't all bad. They went ahead and added a bit of a freak in Jalen Parmele. He has a full NFL runner's body at 5'11" and 224 pounds, which are really the perfect dimensions in today's NFL. At that size, he ran around a 4.47 in the 40, with an extremely quick 1.46 in the 10 yard split. That is plenty of speed for the NFL. They don't all have run 4.3's. Those 4.3 speedsters usually never get the chance to play in an offense where you can put their 4.3 speed to use on long runs. One thing Parmele does have that is rather ridiculous, is a 41.5 inch vertical. He ran the cone in under 7 seconds, which was good. Athletically, he is a compelling prospect.

    As a runner, he is very smooth and athletic, with deceptive power. Simon has been comparing him to a smaller Brandon Jacobs, and I think that's fair. When I say deceptive power, that's not a cute way of saying he doesn't have enough power. I believe Ronnie Brown has deceptive power. I think there is violent power, which would be like a Marion Barber, and then there is deceptive power, which would be like a Ronnie Brown. Both Brown and Parmele seem to run with gravity in their boots. Not from a speed standpoint obviously, but from a tackle-breaking standpoint. I love a guy that just looks heavier than the people that are trying to tackle him. Arm tackles slide right by the guy without even moving him off track. Other would-be tacklers just sort of fall to the ground as he passes by. I like that kind of natural power in a runner.

    He will probably find his spot on the depth chart as the #3 runner behind Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. If Ricky should flake out, look for this kid to get as many as 5 to 7 carries a game. He reminds me a little bit of Kolby Smith.



    Sixth Round - #195 Overall

    Their Pick: OG Donald Thomas - Connecticut

    My Pick: WR Marcus Monk - Arkansas

    Grade: A

    Analysis:
    I think I might like their pick better than my pick. I was certain the Dolphins were taking Chauncey Washington at #176 and they ended up with a different runner, a runner I think I like better than Chauncey. I gave them a B mostly because I felt like Brian Johnston could be something really special.

    So, I switched gears to the receiver position here at #195 because I still felt like our receivers were not enough. The best WR I had left on my board and probably the highest rated talent I had, was Marcus Monk. Monk was truly DOMINANT within the Arkansas pass offense in 2006. What he endured in 2007 was injury, re-aggravation, and probably the most trying season of his high school or college career. He must have thought he had triumphed over this horrifying season, when he ran a 4.41 at 6'6" and 222 pounds during his Arkansas Pro Day. He was wrong, and he continued to slip all the way to the bottom of the seventh round. For a guy as big and dominant as he was, with as much blocking experience as he has in that running offense, it is surprising for him to go this low. I think his former teammate Matt Jones has something to do with that. Monk needs a kick in the behind to make him play with more urgency, and his swift fall from grace might be just the ticket.

    Donald Thomas was probably a safer pick, now that I think about it. This pick caught me by surprise because I thought we might be done with the Guard position. If it was to be a tackle, I'd switched gears to Thaddeus Coleman and Brandon Keith. If I had been thinking of Guards, Donald Thomas and Andrew Crummey would have topped my list. In fact, truth be told, if you'd have asked me before the draft whether Donald Thomas or Shawn Murphy would be drafted first, I'd have said Thomas.

    He fell mostly because of his lack of experience. He hasn't been playing football for very long, and some teams won't even bother taking a guy like that in the draft. If I have been naturally inclined to like the guy it might be because he had his best game of the year against my South Florida Bulls, paving the way for their halfback to dominate a quality defense. Richard Clebert is no slouch, and Donald Thomas owned him. I paid close attention to the reviews from Hula Bowl practices and Thomas really stood out, by all appearances. He stood out enough to keep on practicing, flying out to the East-West Shrine practices the following week, where he again stood out. I watched him closely during my second and third viewings of the Shrine Game, and both he and Andrew Crummey truly dominated Ahtyba Rubin, a supposed 'sleeper' that was drafted 5 spots ahead of Thomas.

    Arguably, we all saw a lot of picks coming between Jake Long, Chad Henne, the near-miss on Greco, Kendall Langford and Shawn Murphy. But, this was the pick we truly SHOULD have seen coming. Thomas grew up in the same home town as Tony Sparano. He played for UConn. Many of his teachers were friends with Sparano. His coach is in tight with Maser, DeLeone, Pasqualoni, etc. With Donald's raw athleticism and background, he will be a pet project for Tony Sparano that could pay dividends at some point.



    Sixth Round - #204 Overall

    Their Pick: RB Lex Hilliard - Montana

    My Pick: OT Thaddeus Coleman - Mississippi Valley State

    Grade: C

    Analysis:
    I think it would be unfair to give below a C grade for this pick, but it is also fair to wonder if this isn't the same kind of luxury/gimmick pick that we saw in 2007 with Reagan Mauia. Back then as I looked at Mauia, I figured this was a gimmick selection that would get some fans excited and look good at one or two limited tasks, but in the long run would not be able to find a home on an NFL roster. He surprised me with how good he was at those one or two limited tasks, namely his lead blocking. However, I still believe he's not going to find a home on an NFL roster.

    I would have picked Thaddeus Coleman, the tackle from Mississippi Valley State. Thaddeus has a true mean streak that turns some people off because it can look undisciplined. All he wants to do is hit people, he loves it. He revels in it. Most importantly, he's got the body for it. He's 6'8" and 308 pounds, and he truly dominated his level of competition in 2007 with 103 key blocks (pancakes/knockdowns), 9 touchdown blocks, only 2 pressures allowed and only 1 sack allowed on 305 pass plays. The offense only scored 22 touchdowns total, so almost half of them came running directly behind Thaddeus.

    I've heard Thaddeus called a gimmick selection, because he never even had a position coach at Mississippi Valley State. So, some have become convinced that is the only reason he popped up on radar. I just don't believe that even approaches the truth. It is true that he dominated his level of competition without a position coach. But the thing that draws a person to Coleman is his unbridled size, long arms, strength and smooth feet. He can jolt you with a teeth shattering punch, and keep you at bay with his long arms. With some patient coaching, he could have been a very good backup swing tackle at both tackle positions.

    But that's not who we picked. We picked a second runner in the sixth round, which was perplexing to most people. Lex Hilliard was the only Dolphins draft pick that none of the 75 entrants in the Top 20 contest listed. There isn't much tape on the guy, and not much is known outside of his production, his having been a Walter Payton award candidate in the past, and his reputation for breaking tackles.

    Where Jalen Parmele has smoother, more deceptive power, I believe Lex Hilliard has more violent, Marion Barber-like power to his game. He also has a lot less speed, though. A good 55 percent of Hilliard's non-touchdown runs in 2007 took more than one tackler to bring him down. From the little film I've seen, maybe about two dozen carries or so, his power is evident but his shiftiness and special abilities as a runner are not necessarily compelling.

    So why two runners? Well, you have to think about the Lorenzo Booker trade. Before we even suspected that trade might happen, many of us were projecting the Fins to take a back at some point in this draft. They traded Booker and took two runners, so the numbers stil match up, but people are having a bit of a tough time digesting the Booker trade.

    There's another theme to this draft that was effectively capped off with the Hilliard pick. They drafted positions in pairs, for the most part. Kendall Langford and Phil Merling are both Defensive Ends. Merling may end up as a linebacker but for this year he's mostly a Defensive End that will compete with Langford for a spot in the four-man fronts. They are slightly different enough that both could find a home on the depth chart in the long run, but in the short run they will be in competition with each other. Shawn Murphy and Donald Thomas are both Guards. They too are slightly different enough that both could find a home on the depth chart in the long run, with Thomas having the athletic ability to play at pulling guard and Murphy being more likely to play at Right Guard. But, in the short run, they will compete with each other for playing time. Now we get a pair of runners, and the same thing is true. In the long run, Hilliard is more of a hybrid Fullback/Halfback, while Parmele is probably a straight up Halfback. However, in the short run, they will compete for the #3 spot behind Ricky Williams. That spot is just a vintage flake-out from seeing 70+ carries during the season.

    This may be a Parcells philosophy. I, and other Patriots fans, have noticed this same tendency from Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick. They tend to draft in pairs for positions of need, as well. This year was no exception as their need at corner saw them picking both Terrance Wheatley and Jonathan Wilwhite.

    At the very least, it should be a fun camp battle to watch.



    Seventh Round - #245 Overall

    Their Pick: DT Lionel Dotson - Arizona

    My Pick: OG Andrew Crummey - Maryland

    Grade: B

    Analysis:
    I'll start off by saying, I really like the Dotson pick. This is another pick that I have a feeling might turn out to be better than my pick of Andrew Crummey. I chose Crummey because he was a very highly regarded Guard coming out of Maryland, and the reason he fell seems to be the twice-broken fibula in his leg. I guess that injury scares teams off a bit, but I think if you're patient with the guy, you'll get something sweet out of it. I watched him at the Shrine Game and he dominated more than Shawn Murphy or Donald Thomas. But, then he broke his fibula again. We ended up with two of the three guards that stood out to me in that game, and I sure wouldn't have minded taking the best of the three, depending on what other picks I was given leading up to the seventh round.

    Dotson though is a very quick Defensive Tackle that made a name for himself by penetrating the backfield and getting after the quarterback. I think might pack on some weight and play the nose at some point in his career. He will likely start out at Defensive End in this 3-4 defense, but I tend to think his skills will see him washed out there by more compelling players. His best bet to me would be to gain weight and strength, and see if he can maintain some of that quickness that has NFL Draft Scout comparing him to Darnall Dockett.
     
  2. Rick 1966

    Rick 1966 Professional Hipshooter

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    Very good summary. I agree completely except that I would have disagreed about taking Glenn Dorsey first overall.
     
  3. my 2 cents

    my 2 cents Well-Known Member

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    Awesome CK...simply awesome....thanks.
     
  4. phinfanuk

    phinfanuk Season Ticket Holder

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    Great write up CK but...

    You're a pats fan? :sad:
     
  5. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    LOL, poorly worded my bad.
     
  6. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Nice, now if we can sort out the Wright, Holliday, Soliai. Roth flotsam, we will have two new De's and a new NT in Ferugson to man the Dline, that is a much better rotation then we had last season...

    Head to Head, I like Thomas over Murphy, but Murphy has much more experience at Guard then Thomas, who IMO, has the athleticism to make a nice Tackle...

    Henne is a meathead, I say that in a endearing way, he is a mug, his personality reminds me a bit of a veteran NFL Qb, I bet he will be a great interview..

    The RB, Parmalee and Hilliard seemed odd, there was more talent on the board when they were selected, but paramlee could be our #3 back, Hilliard is a mystery pick.

    And we got Big Jake Long, Ronnie and Ricky should buy the FO a round of Perrier Joulet Magnums for the Oline upgrades.
     
  7. Beck2Ginn

    Beck2Ginn Season Ticket Holder

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    good write-up CK, although i disagree about giving negative grades to players we picked simply because we made a boo-boo by making a trade-down.
     
    GRT8 likes this.
  8. Ludacris

    Ludacris Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Great work CK thanks. I'm very optimisic about this draft.
     
  9. adamprez2003

    adamprez2003 Senior Member

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    great stuff CK
     
  10. emocomputerjock

    emocomputerjock Senior Member

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    Well, if we hadn't made an error in trading down, we would have gotten the players we wanted. That impacts the guys we did get, because they weren't our first choice and we had to spend picks that we acquired in order to get the guys we didn't want in the first place.
     
  11. RealDriscoll

    RealDriscoll Banned

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    Thanks CK. The only grade I diasagree with is Henne. I'd give it an A. The value at pick #57 is not always going to be there but where you get a guy that is ranked from the 2nd to 4th best QB's in the draft, that is VALUE. I think Henne is the 2nd best QB in the draft behind Matt Ryan. Henne, a 4 year starter at Michigan, put up some crazy numbers. I think Henne will be our guy. I thinkhe wins the training camp battles. Either way, I really love our QB's in Beck, Henne, and McCown
     
  12. Larryfinfan

    Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member

    Ck, I value your opinion on all things draft (along with Boomer and KB) more than Kiper, McShay, Mayock and anyone else you see on the tube...thanks for you assessment and the time you put into the draft. I know the rest of us appreciate it very much...

    I think, and we all do, that the plan for this draft was to secure the trenches and infuse something into the running game (hedging bets that RB comes back healthy enough to carry the load and RW doesn't flake out when we need him most again). That is why missing on Greco hurt, and they had to backtrack to recover. Anyway, it looks like that end result could very well be accomplished as planned. I actually think Murphy will be a better guard than Greco, but obviously doesn't have the versatility that Greco has. Either way, I feel very good about our OL for the first time in a long, long time even tho there are still some unknowns (like who our starting RG will be)...

    I think the Merling and Langford picks were vintage Parcells.... I am excited to see how things shake out between Beck and Henne. I still think Beck will be our guy this year, but wouldn't it be nice to have more than one option at QB if whoever is the starter falters ?? We haven't seen that in......well, since Marino and Strock...or Griese and Morrall...and that was a long time ago...

    I like our projected depth at RB now. I am still concerned that RB won't be 100% until later in the year. I think he'll be playing by the seasons start, but he tore that ACL late in the year last year... We know that relying on RW is like trying to catch flies with chopsticks... That gives us a couple of guys to work with that could be at least enough to fill in and get us thru until RB is ready...

    I really like the approach here. We've needed an overhaul, instead of the dreaded 'retooling' that has been done here with Saban and Cam... There just hasn't been a base to retool off of...that should change soon...
     
  13. 13Marino13

    13Marino13 Old school VH rocks!

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    WOW, awesome read. Where do you find the time?
     
  14. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Seeing as how my girlfriend lives 2.5 hours away from me, my weekdays are extremely boring. I go to work, come home, eat, work out, set up some financial stuff, and write about the Dolphins....occasionally sparing a few moments to play the Wii or watch some Attack of the Show or some anime.
     
  15. phineas64

    phineas64 Season Ticket Holder

    Very nice post, thanks CK! I like our draft better than ever now, and will be watching the training camp battles with your observations in mind to see how the players work on those issues.
     
  16. Bofin

    Bofin Member

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    thanks for the analysis ck, appreciate the insight and am excited to see the team progress and play this season. i liked the draft and think we got some good players, i'm hopeful for this season
     
  17. jdang307

    jdang307 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I noticed this in VIP, but must comment here. I never heard or new both sacks given up by Jake Long was to Gholston.
     
  18. calphin

    calphin deadly at 250 yards!!



    How do you know who we wanted or didnt want?
     
  19. GRT8

    GRT8 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    hey, were you not the one who said Dorsey does not fit our defense? Didn't I say you may not be looking at this with a open mind, because he is flat out a football player? I really think his injury quetions ruled him out of Miami and the zero % chance we could afford to get this pick wrong!

    As far as jake long, I do not believe there is a better player on Miami today.
     
  20. Dannyg28

    Dannyg28 Say hi to the rings

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    cept his injury concerns were put to rest on his pro day when LSU showed team doctors his medical history
     
  21. GRT8

    GRT8 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    no, not quite. Maybe for some media types, but there were many that were doubting his career wouldn't last long.....the knee wouldn't hold up. That may very well be the case. Same concerns people had with Channing too. Its a crap shoot
     
    Last edited: May 1, 2008
  22. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    No, I've pretty much maintained from the very start that the reason Glenn Dorsey and Chris Long were the two best players in the draft is because both of them transcend the defensive styles and can play in whatever defense you want them to play in. I had Dorsey and Long as the two best players in the draft since late December, early January...for exactly that reason.

    You may be confusing me with KB21.
     
  23. H.Moody

    H.Moody Junior Member

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    ck,great job as usual.FWIW I wanted Chris and not Jake( but can't complain).I honestly believe Dorsey would be an excellent NT in a 3-4.JMHO
     
  24. GRT8

    GRT8 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    oh okay......as you say.....my bad
     
  25. GRT8

    GRT8 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    anyway, nice job Chris. I like hearing your opinions more than the players analysis though. nice work
     

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