How's it going Dolphins fans? It's almost time for Training Camp and the 2012 season. On Thursday, July 19th at 7:00PM EST, my radio show will make it's debut on FinsRadio.net. This will be a two-hour show based primarily on the Dolphins upcoming training camp, along with some other NFL tidbits. I've been working very hard over the last month or so to organize everything. There's some really great guests coming on that should provide some terrific insight. This is what my co-host and I are trying to do as a career, so we have begun branding efforts for the show. You can like our page on facebook for sports news and updates. www.facebook.com/extrayard Guests include: Tim Graham (ESPN, Buffalo News) Jimmy Wilson (Safety for the Miami Dolphins) Emory Hunt (Founder of FootballGameplan.com) Alex Miglio (Fantasy football editor, Pro Football Focus) Once the season kicks off, we will have one or two shows per week. As you can imagine, we're very excited for the near future. I've done two writeups on the quarterbacks and running backs, and I will do a few more breakdowns below. Please excuse the brevity, but it'll be a lot more in depth on the show. Quarterbacks: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1250431-miami-dolphins-training-camp-breaking-down-the-fins-running-backs Running Backs: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1248785-miami-dolphins-quarterback-breakdown-heading-into-training-camp Receivers: Chad Johnson (Ochocinco) will have to make a profound impact for this group to be close to decent. Bess will also need to continue being a reliable slot receiver while Hartline needs to be more consistently involved in the offense. Some compare Hartline to Jordy Nelson in Green Bay's offense. That's very wishful thinking at this point. The two rookies (BJ Cunningham and Rishard Matthews) need a good showing to claim roster spots ahead of Roberto Wallace, Julius Pruitt and Marlon Moore. Tight Ends: Miami will likely keep three or four tight ends. The three I like making the roster are Anthony Fasano (even if there are reports of him not fitting in the offense), Charles Clay and Michael Egnew. A guy that I am rooting for is Les Brown - the former basketball player. This guy has the physical tools to contribute but he will need a good understanding of the playbook and terminology to make any kind of impact. He will also need work adjusting to the physical part of the game (blocking, bumps and big hits). Offensive Line: With the left side of the line pretty much set in place (Long-Incognito-Pouncey), there will be a lot of eyes on Jonathan Martin, Lydon Murtha, Artis Hicks and John Jerry. Early reports of Jerry aren't good, so don't be surprised to see Hicks as the starting right guard. Martin's two biggest issues are footwork on the right side and strength. He spent his college career on the left side, so he needs to get comfortable doing everything opposite. He also needs to bulk up a bit. Defensive End: Early signs point to Jared Odrick playing defensive end on the opposite side of Cameron Wake. Odrick is one of those guys that can play any position on the defensive line because of how strong he is. If Odrick does start at defensive end, Olivier Vernon will still have a role during pass rushing situations. On passing downs, Odrick is more than capable of playing on the inside. Another player that could see playing time in pass-rushing situations is Jamaal Westerman. Defensive Tackle: re-signing Paul Soliai was huge. With Soliai and Randy Starks, Miami's interior will be very stingy against the run. Soliai's ability to eat up blockers will also give the rest of the line freedom on lots of single blockers. Linebacker: Along with the defensive line, the linebacker unit will also be one of Miami's strengths. Dansby's skills fit in great with the Mike linebacker spot (in the middle). He will have more freedom to move from side to side since there are four defensive lineman up front instead of three. Kevin Burnett will be spending his time as the Sam linebacker (lining up on the side of the tight end). His ability to take on lead blockers and cover the tight end will be tested. The competition at linebacker will be at the Will linebacker spot (weak side, lines up on the opposite side of the tight end). Koa Misi seems to be ahead of guys like Gary Guyton. Misi hasn't lived up to his hype coming out of college, but maybe this will be a position he can excel at. Cornerback: Sean Smith is in a contract year. For Miami to re-sign him, he will need to show a vast improvement from last year to this year. He has had issues dropping interceptions and can't seem to put it all together. For Smith and Vontae Davis to be a great tandem, they will need to create turnovers and be more involved during every game. If Smith struggles, new acquisition Richard Marshall could push Smith for some playing time. Marshall signed a big contract with Miami and he provides solid play at the nickel corner position. He will also be a fill-in if Smith or Vontae get hurt. Safety: This could be the weakest position on the whole defense. There's no telling who the two safeties could be; Reshad Jones, Chris Clemons, Tyrone Culver or Jimmy Wilson. In Kevin Coyle's defense, the two safeties are asked to do the same thing. Each player has to be able to cover the run and drop back into coverage. In my mind, the two starters on opening day will be Jimmy Wilson and Reshad Jones. Both have shown good instincts and a willingness to throw their bodies around. Again, this is just a brief overview. We will be doing lots of in-depth coverage during the show and especially for the key positional battles. To listen, either head over to www.finsradio.net or go directly to the media player: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/finsradio/2012/07/19/miami-dolphins-training-camp-special We can't wait to bring you guys an awesome show. If you have any questions you want answered on the air or anything you think would be a good point of debate, feel free to share. Thanks everyone.
Thank you! I appreciate it. If you guys don't mind, I'm going to bump this up several times during the week.
Your right about Hartline not being Nelson..I believe he's a top 12 to 15 receiver. I believe Clemons and Rj will be the starters.. If Sean Smith gives us the same caliber of corner play he has up until this point, I would let him walk. With Solai and Starks you we have a chance to be pretty Special on that interior. fine complimentary skillsets. Good luck on your show..
I agree with all of that besides Clemons. I think our defensive line, if not our front seven, could be one of the best in the NFL. I just don't think Clemons brings the same physical style of play as Wilson does. I also don't think very highly of Clemons ability to force turnovers or make many spectacular plays.
IMO, one of the biggest misconceptions bout Clemons is that he's not physical enough..when I really study him, this is a guy with an aggressive nature, he enjoys hitting people, he goes a bit too high sometimes, but I believe he plays a physical brand of ball, and I expect him to play at a level that satisfies. ,
I agree that Clemons does tackle high, which gets frustrating. I trust Wilson more in the open field and I also trust him in forcing turnovers. Clemons rarely gets caught in the wrong place, which could end up being his ticket to the starting lineup. No matter who is the starter opposite of Reshad Jones (assumption), the backup will still see a good amount of playing time. Given Wilson's switch from cornerback to safety this year, he does have versatility to play multiple positions. Ijust think Wilson would be better suited for creating turnovers than Clemons.
It's about time we had a GREAT podcast around these parts......just makes us sick to not have some talent to listen to!
Well I hope you guys enjoy the show. We'll be doing the show 1-2 times per week during the season, based more broadly on the NFL.
I think you have to weigh their strengths and weaknesses and see what's most important, for me I'm willing to sacrifice Even though Clemons is not very good at high pointing the football in coverage, I like the other skillsets he bring to the position..I think he showed the ability to be in position as a very young player, and I know he can play the run well, and has good instincts, mother grabber just can't catch a cold..
Jmo, I like Sicks show because it's all about the dolphins, and it doesn't pretend to be something else, when you say based broadly on the Nfl are you talking about taking a more broad view in terms of your content.?
Since the show is online, we don't have a specific 'locale', if you will. Even though my co-host and I both live in Orlando, after this Dolphins show, we will focus on the NFL rather than just one team. Since the website that our show will be on has several Dolphins shows, this will help get a more broad coverage instead of having 5 or so days in a row of Dolphins talk. I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't a Dolphins fan, but i try to take a pretty objective approach to it all instead of being a homer. Covering the entire NFL also makes it easier to take an objective approach. We do game previews, predictions, and some other segments. We also cover breaking news and analyze different decisions that teams make. We have a segment called "call outs" in which we get a little more heated and animated, essentially telling a team, player or coach to get their head out of their rear. It's a nice way to let off some steam! Most of all, we enjoy doing it. If people happen to enjoy listening to it, that is success in my book. This isn't just a fan blabbering on and on about this and that. We take this very seriously and pride ourselves on being knowledgeable, informed and unbiased. We hope this is the beginning of something great, so you can be guaranteed that we will try our hardest to bring you the best show possible.
Thanks guys. Thinking about doing a podcast, and uploading it somewhere.....but nothing has come of it. You know I'll keep everyone posted. I'd like to keep this thread going for the OP though. Good luck with your show bro, wish it all the best!
