He did get a little better towards the end of the last game, but if his response to that performance was bad enough that LJ started over him this week then yikes.
IIRC, we passed up on a lot of talent that was still OTB to take this guy [cough, Mallett - cough, cough]. Sure hope he's worth it.
I'm sure I will have to root for Mallet to be a bust. It's the only way my fragile psyche can handle the Fins and their draft choices.
Let's see how he does tomorrow. I heard some reports LJ was running with the first team during some 11 on 11's
DT dances too much behind the line? Sure looks to me like he doesn't dance enough at times given the walls he's run into during games. It wouldn't surprise me to see LJ getting some reps with the 1st team either. Not only would that be the best way to test what he has or what he can do, but there are also only so many practice reps to go around, and typically the 1st team gets the most reps (so they'd need to work him into the 1st team at least some to get adequate snaps for him, since he's coming in late).
He definitely dances. He looks hesitant to pick a cut and go with it. That and he has a lack of vision. That one nice run he had for 11 or so at the end of the last game could of been for way more if he would of just taken an angle after he made his first move.
I'm not sure where he read it, but I'm pretty sure that since camp has officially closed, only the 1st 30 mins of practice are currently open to the media. So it's not like they see everything that's going on, or have a true sense of how a particular player is doing in a particular week of practice (IMO).
Letting Ronnie go is fine with me. But it's aggrevating that we let Ricky (who has great vision) go, and of course DT's biggest problem (imo) is his lack of vision. It would of def been nice to have a seasoned vet like Rick around to teach DT or whichever rookie RB we could of drafted but whatever.
Come on Stitch.. You're splitting hairs with me. Both made it clear they wanted to come back and sign in Miami. We told both to pound sand and pursued no one else except for Bush who's never played in the role we apparently expect him to. I hope it all works out but bottom line is that it was an irresponsible decision by Ireland/Sparano or both.
It's decisions like this that tell you a lot about the people running the team. Some overlook it but to me it says a lot. What you mentioned and more are very valid reasons to have kept either Williams or Brown. I'd love to be wrong.
I wouldn't put too much into LJ running with the 1s. He's playing some serious catch-up right now. I'm not gonna read anything into that. When it comes to the RBs, it doesn't really matter who 'starts' anyway. As far as Daniel Thomas goes... well, first of all, I wasn't a fan of us trading up to get him. I have my doubts about him. Now... understanding that... the guy has played exactly 2 preseason games. A little perspective is needed here. He was raw as a RB coming out of college, but he has some real ability. Even I can understand that it is WAAAAAAAYYYY too early to judge the guy. Give me 6 regular season games, then ask me again if I'm nervous about Daniel Thomas. I'll just leave it at that.
I'm not too worried about his career based on two preseason games and a training camp. But I've always said people are underestimating a rookie's learning curve, pretending that it doesn't exist for tailbacks when it clearly does, and this particular rookie was always set to be more raw than most since this is only his 3rd year as a true tailback. We'd better hope that Reggie Bush stays healthy and continues to look as impressive as he did against the Panthers. There were times Reggie floored me with how different he looked in that game from how he did as a Saint, and I wasn't afraid to admit it (contrary to what some would have you believe). But it's becoming increasingly apparent that we're in the unenviable position of hoping that performance against the Panthers wasn't just the mirage of a bad defensive front being bad. The biggest concern isn't Daniel Thomas and it's not Reggie Bush though. It's the offensive line. That right side of the line looked like a wasteland to me in that Panthers game even going against a bad defensive front. We opened up holes because of lack of defensive discipline and some at-times strong back side blocking from the likes of Nate Garner, Lydon Murtha, Anthony Fasano and Richie Incognito.
One thing I haven't understood is the general feeling that letting Ronnie go is fine but letting Ricky go was the big mistake. Last year I thought Ronnie had way more physical talent left in the tank than Ricky Williams. Ricky did outperform Ronnie on a yards per carry basis, but Ronnie was still the only one of the two that could break a tackle and actually earn something himself, IMO. And then when the season ended, Ricky put Tony Sparano, Chad Henne, everyone on blast and just totally burned his bridges. I'm done with him. Forget him. He's old and he can't earn what he runs for anymore. Ronnie Brown still can and to me he looked tentative at times like maybe he was worried about getting hurt when he's finally about to become a UFA. He only signed for $1 million on a 1 year deal and I'd have TOTALLY done that just to have the man as an insurance policy for Reggie Bush & Daniel Thomas. Of course, that doesn't mean Ronnie would have accepted our offer...but most seem to agree that while the Dolphins were playing the "if the phone doesn't ring, it's me" game with him, he was actually pining after us and waiting for that phone call, didn't want to leave Miami. Ronnie looked pretty good on that 13 yard TD last night. Ricky hasn't looked so hot so far. Just preseason, but still.
This is one of the reasons some of us have been concerned about this season. Now it looks like one of those rookies the rah-rah crowd were so SURE was gonna be great.....well.....now we have to rely on a RB that is not as good as either of the backs we lost. I am losing even more confidence day by day in the decisions this regime makes.
Thats not even mentioning the FA we passed up........ But it's early and you got to give him a fair opportunity ( a few real gms.) But I was concerned that we were taking on a major gamble relying so much on an unproven rookie. (one of the reasons for questioning Irelands abilities) Took a lot of grief from many in here who just anointed him a quality starter without even him playing a down in the NFL .... Hey he deserves a fair shot but still feel it was a stupid move by Ireland to not grab one of the quality FA's that were available as insurance.
I'd certainly have preferred Ronnie to Ricky if we were going to choose one to come back to this team this year, but I really felt they both fell off pretty hard from 2009 to 2010. I was more dissappointed in not getting another back out of FA than letting Ricky or Ronnie sign elsewhere. I was (and am) doubtful of Bush, but I was thoroughly impressed with him vs Carolina. I liked Thomas in the draft, though I did feel he was kind of raw compared to others, but it's not like I'm worried about him right now. To be fair I liked a bunch of backs in this past draft though (incidentally one I didn't want, Ryan Williams, I didn't want because I was concerned about his injury history not due to talent).
I wouldn't go that far. There were very few quality FA RBs available that were worth the money. Bringing in Reggie for the right price was a nice move. I was very pissed about the trade up and selection of Thomas, and to a lesser extent, not resigning Ricky.
So you read an article and suddenly Daniel Thomas doesn't stand a chance. You will see more of him than you think. So they sent him to the bench. They didn't cut him or anything. Have you ever heard of lighting a fire under a player's *** for motivation. It works. I like how you refer to the positive people who care about this team as the rah rah crowd. Makes us look like the better half of the fan base.
A huge gamble, and we still need to give him some time but still if I was Ireland, I wouldn't have done it this way. If Thomas busts Ireland will have shown that not only Sparano needs to go, but no question he does too.
A lot of people care for this team, it just doesn't mean we all believe in the direction they are going. I have been, and things like this make me feel even more worried about the future while this regime is in place.
Look the FO in the beginning were talking about being a ground mauling offense. OK then you need to spend money to have that RB that brings that to the table and there were a few....my choice Bradshaw.....who went back to the giants at a reasonable price. Looks like their plans fell apart they signed Bush and have this new aggressive approach (at least thats what they are saying ) well minimum you sign Ricky, me I'd go out on a limb and after losing out on top tier RB's in FA would have resigned Ronnie.. Can see Ronnies catching abilities and tough running adding a little insurance for Thomas and a nice tandum with another pass catching RB, Bush.. But to do nothing till now and add LJ who I hope is the old LJ, just seems to be not what i would expect from a legitimate NFL professional GM and has had me scratching my head. But like I've stated before their is a pattern here that we've seen done with the OL and the DBs a few years back........
They've been saying that since long before they got Bush. They've been talking about changing to a more aggressive approach since last season ended.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with you. Neither back was "good" and they were both kind of overrated. But I feel like the Dolphins' plan this year at the position wasn't one that I liked and so given what they did I'd just assume have Ronnie Brown back for a year as an insurance policy and to help be part of the stable of horses. They may have outsmarted me on Reggie Bush's talent for running the ball between the tackles and if that's the case I'll give them full credit where it's due. But even if that's true, is he really going to stay healthy? That's the bigger test, and was half my argument against him, the durability thing. If he doesn't stay healthy then their plan at the position will have been faulty because I don't think Daniel Thomas is going to step up. Ronnie Brown might have. And I still like Ahmad Bradshaw over all of them. What I would have done at the RB position...I'd have gone aggressively after Ahmad Bradshaw once DeAngelo Williams priced himself to the contract he did. If that meant signing Bradshaw to $5-6 million a year on a contract the last year of which he probably wouldn't see anyway, even though he ended up signing for $4.5 million a year...so be it. People are so deathly afraid of the slight overpay, it's irrational...sort of like how everyone is deathly afraid of drafting a guy at #15 that could have been there at #25. It's irrational. Get your guy. Whether he ends up good or not is going to matter a hell of a lot more than a 10-15% overpay. I would have gotten Ahmad Bradshaw and I wouldn't have stopped there. And, I'd have picked up at least two UDFA backs, preferably DuJuan Harris and Brandon Saine. But that's given what already happened in the Draft and I think it's safe to say I'd have done a few things differently in the Draft too. Hindsight's always 20/20 anyway so woulda coulda shoulda doesn't matter too much. I just think they've skipped over a few good Plan A's, and a few good Plan B's and Plan C's too.
Ricky was blowing people up in pass protection last night. But yeah, Ronnie's TD run made me shake my head. Everyone knows I wanted him at FB/H-back.
Really Thats whats so puzzling.....I mean it's obvious to a few of us fans and yet it seems to go over the head of the professional who's getting the big bucks..............it's very strange that Ireland wouldn't be aware of this basic need and do so little.....