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What does the draft tell us about how the FO views the Dolphins?

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Pauly, Apr 28, 2013.

  1. Pauly

    Pauly Season Ticket Holder

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    letting the dust settle and looking at the draft and using the draft as a way of looking at how the FO sees the state of the team.

    1) The FO thinks that the phins are a solid contender.
    The biggest pointer to this is the trade up to grab Dion Jordan. Whilst Dion Jordan was arguably the premier defender available in the draft the position he fills (OLB/DE) isn't one where the phins are glaringly deficient. This wasn't an attempt to desperately get the best DE/OLB because we suck at that position, but an acceptance that we could get the BPA available at a modest cost.

    2) Having said that we need to improve the OL and defensive backfield. These areas of concern were addressed, but not to the point where we drafted put of desperation.

    3) The new regime places an emphasis on the speed/agility/intelligence triangle. Philbin seems to be heading down the Don Shula of the 1970s path of teams that won by being smarter and more disciplined and having everyone contribute, not having a team that leans on a few stars.

    4) The later rounds were used to stockpile depth that we hope to develop. Not much of the high risk/high reward players with character/injury risks, more guys that need time and training to develop their skills. This sort of thinking happens when you are confident that you can win with the team you have. When you have holes in your team is when you start drafting 4th and 5th rounders with the hope that they could be opening day starters.

    So overall this wasn't a draft of a team desperately trying to fill holes, but a draft based on building on solid foundations.

    Whether this is the true state of the team is another question, but the FO behaved in a way that suggests that it is confident that it is a team capable of making the playoffs.
     
  2. apatos19

    apatos19 New Member

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    We are a team who is transitioning from one coaching scheme to another. Whether you like Ireland or not, he has done a god job of making that transition and trying to the guys his coaching staff needs to win.

    i expect Miami to get to the playoffs next season, and be serious contenders for a SB title in the years after. But it doesn't blind me to certain tendancies and core beliefs that may be wrong in them. This draft is proof of that. But I'd rather have our FO than the jets....
     
    NCFINFAN, cuchulainn and Fin D like this.
  3. electrolyte

    electrolyte New Member

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    What I got from the draft, is that everyone who says Jeff Ireland's job is at stake this year is dead wrong. Ross is behind him 100%. Ireland picked a bunch of raw but athletic players, guys who have a lot of upside but are not ready at this moment, guys who need at least 1 year to develop. He would not do that if his job was on the line for this year because he would not have time to wait around for these raw players to develop.
     
    NCFINFAN, rafael, Hiruma78 and 3 others like this.
  4. Jaj

    Jaj Registered

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    Ireland is probably not done. There's no reason not to make a move on Eric Winston now and if it's Martin at LT so be it. They have the cap room to make other moves and they could potentially re-structure contracts to shift cap hits forward to this year in order to free up room in future years.
     
  5. Pauly

    Pauly Season Ticket Holder

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    Very true
     
  6. shouright

    shouright Banned

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    Ireland likely has Ryan Tannehill's developmental period as his "leash" IMO, and if you've noticed, the effort of the team in the offseason and the draft has been to stockpile younger players who can stay together during that period and eventually become Super Bowl contenders together if Tannehill's development facilitates it.
     
    inFINSible likes this.
  7. GMJohnson

    GMJohnson New Member

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    Was it ever in jeopardy to begin with? I don't believe so.
     
  8. toto

    toto Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Don't forget, it takes some time to build a team with so many new starters. And with a tough schedule in the first weeks and needing time to gel we might find us in a hole right away.
    But this team is on the right track, no doubt!
     
  9. PhinishLine

    PhinishLine Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I don't view passrusher as a single position. Like QB, a passrusher improves many positions on the field. If Dion Jordan is what we think he is, he instsantly improves out defensive backfield, our blitzing from the LBs, coverage, and dictates plays teams will run. Unlike a DB, Dion Jordan can affect the landscape of the D. You select a legit pass rusher you don't need Darrelle Revis in the backfield. The way offenses are so multiple these days, you can't shut them down with coverage. You need Good to Elite Pass rush and put the QB on his ***. That's the name of the game.

    I honestly think some of the holes were planned to be filled but there were some crazy runs on Tackles, DBs, WRs in this draft at times. I honestly thought Armstead was going to be available.
     
  10. Rouk

    Rouk Well-Known Member

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    we 100% needed a passrusher now if we got the right one or not we will find out in the new few years but the position was the number 1 need imo
     
  11. ExplosionsInDaSky

    ExplosionsInDaSky Well-Known Member

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    Pass rusher was indeed our top need in my opinion. I think Offensive line is a close second followed by cornerback.
    My biggest concern right now is probably our offensive line. Without a good offensive line the Mike Wallace signing, and all this other hype means nothing. Mike Pouncey is the mainstay for us at center, Jon Martin I think is going to be very good, Incognito is good too but as usual right side is going to be a question mark. Can Jerry finally come in to camp in shape?, Is Lance Louis the answer?, Is Nate Garner ready to be the man? We drafted Dallas Thomas who is pretty much slated to be a guard and probably Incognitos replacement at some point but we don't have a right tackle at the moment.
    I hate to say it but the other question mark is still Ryan Tannehill. I question his toughness probably more than anything but I also question his instincts, pocket awareness, and descision making. Can he improve on those things? Guys like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers get by with average O-lines because of their ability to do those things. In my opinion that is where Tannehill needs to improve.
    Nothing has been gift wrapped to us and while the front office has had one of the better offseasons I can remember ever having (draft included) I am still worried that this might blow up in our face. Shades of 1995 and the collapse of a season that was filled with a ton of promise.
    Obviously the front office views us as a team that can contend right now. We went 7-9 last season on a team that got by on pure effort and basically no talent. Things need to happen this year.
     
  12. inFINSible

    inFINSible Bad ministrator

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    I agree with whoever says this team will flirt with the playoffs and even sneak in this year and is being set up for serious title consideration two years from now. Its not hard to believe that the imrpovements in free agency alone will be enough to crash the play-offs party being that we were in contention for much of the year last year with a clearly inferior team, talent wise.
    I also think that Ireland's job is rock solid safe as there is almost zero chance of this team not being an improvement over last year's team.
     

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