http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/02/armon-binns-could-force-his-way-into-the-miami-receiver-rotation/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs
Another 'underwear olympics' WR...We seem to have one of these guys every year, but once camp starts and they have to play against NFL CBs and Ss in pads, then we'll see what Binns has to offer... At that point, we can determine if he can get off defenders and catch the ball...I'm not gonna get my hopes up too high just yet...
There are definitely tones of Legedu Naanee in a lot of aspects about Armon Binns. He was a guy that really impressed the Bengals enough to actually get into the starting rotation at the start of the season, but then they disliked his performance so much they ended up cutting him. That's pretty much exactly what happened between Miami and Naanee during the same year. Last year he came to Miami and impressed them quickly enough that he was playing on the field relatively soon, yet dropped a couple of balls and disappointed a bit. The big difference between the two is that Binns was only in his second year last year, whereas I believe Naanee was in his sixth year. By then, Naanee should've been able to work out all the kinks. You don't necessarily expect Binns to have done the same by the end of his second year. And all we know about his third year is that he's impressing, possibly more than the guy they bought for $3.5 million a year to be the third wide receiver. So we can't call his disappointment a pattern yet until he does it this year on top of last year, unlike with Naanee who had established the pattern with two different teams over five years before establishing with a third team in his sixth year. I know this. I watched a lot of Binns with Cincinnati in 2009 and I came away impressed. He played well in 2010 as well. He has a good combination of size and movement skills, physicality, ball skills, etc. When he came to Miami and took Brandon Marshall's number, folks thought Marshall was back on the field. That's because Binns is so big, at 6'3" and 210 lbs. He runs solidly at that size at about 4.50 seconds. He's one of the guys I keep in my back pocket kind of quietly rooting for him to pull it off because I liked watching him at Cincinnati. The QBs at Cincinnati (Pike and Collaros) struggled a lot more before he ascended there, and after he left, but were real productive over the two years of his prime.
Considering the smaller stature of the current top 3 guys, I hope he can work he big frame into some solid playing time. Everyone loves a big target.
*Cough* hmm *Cough* We'll see, I suspect he had a falling out in Cinci which led to his release, not the first time that has happened in the league, then again it is not as if he has been wildly productive previously. Binns is just a large, smooth, Wr whose hands are mediocre but who THill likes imo. BUT, Gibson just signed a large FA deal, so it's doubtful Binns will beat him out, and Matthews is a Ireland/Philbin draftee, Binns has a football politics problem in Miami as much as any question about his talent.
The most interesting thing to me, is that I think the media is wrong about the battle between him and Gibson for the slot. In the Wallace Interview thread i posted a day or so ago, I pointed out Wallace is saying Hartline is going across the middle and Gibson is on the outside. Now, i'm not saying that means anything and it could be just talking and nothing more, but I also don't think there'll be a designated slot receiver anyway, which was the point of getting rid of Bess. I think we may see a Binns come in, in the red zone for Hartline. (Of course, I'd like to see a red zone package of Keller, Binns, Egnew, Sims....and Dion Jordan, but its been established I'm bat **** crazy)
He's definitely the champ of the offseason hype machine..lets hope he puts it together, we could use an unexpected player to make a huge jump.
Reality is Deej, our #4 Wr will rarely see the ball, now with Keller and Clay on the squad. He's not beating out Gibson for a roster slot either.
He didn't show very good hands against the Patriots dropping a couple of balls. But I never had issues with his hands in college. I'll say that much. [video=youtube;4de75uY_A_M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4de75uY_A_M[/video] [video=youtube;Ga96sSlBGaE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga96sSlBGaE[/video] [video=youtube;2VbZzx6nIrc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VbZzx6nIrc[/video] [video=youtube;IRb3Le2z6VY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRb3Le2z6VY[/video] [video=youtube;xsAzxxRK54A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsAzxxRK54A[/video] One more... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVQURzonIIE A compilation from his game against Louisville in 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NunWG3U-Dw Some more of Binns' work from other videos, time indexed... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLgyJmaAIDQ&feature=player_detailpage#t=71s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm-8jT0Dg5Q&feature=player_detailpage#t=41s http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=fUBbCmugNF4#t=195s http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=achQsQvmFY8#t=54s http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gNjgdcLekeU#t=43s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJNRjU-I5fA&feature=player_detailpage#t=128s That's all for now.
As much as I'm rooting for a big, physical (and cheap) WR to grab our #3 or #4 spot in the rotation, I couldn't put Binns ahead of Gibson. Gibson has produced in actual NFL games and made some pretty big plays in the process. Binns has not. Hopefully the coaches work Binns into some 4 WR packages and give him some opportunities to showcase that he deserves to be our #4 receiver (Wallace-Hartline-Keller), but until then, I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid
I think he will have to work on hands and concentration. That's a hard thing for some players. They can run good routes, be athletic, get in position but it's that will to focus totally on the catch. But, I also think players can improve their hands through hard work and also mature in their on-field intensity and concentration. If I were a pro WR I'd have my own football pitch machine and when at home catch as many as I could during the off season. Especially the week or two before camp. Get that ball in your hands continually. This is the most positive I've felt about our WR's in many years (though I still wish we had Tavon in the fold!).
Nor am I, do think injuries happen, and having quality depth is always a plus. Real question w/a camp queen Wr is whether they can play special teams well, otherwise they won't even be activated on game days.
Come to think of it - esp. after watching that long TD catch in the endzone against UConn above - the guy Binns may be comparable to is Jordy Nelson. Both about the same size (6'3, 210 - Nelson is 217) and similar speed (4.5). Those long legs and ability to get over top the CB could be huge for us. esp. with the threat of Wallace taking up a double team.
With the wr corp we have now, the number 3 and 4 guy will get chances to make plays. This is exciting
We should really call it the Robert Baker award. Miami pre-pads winner 4 years running (99-2002). Career Dolphin receptions: 1 for 17 yards. Had a couple solid years playing for the Argonauts, but attitude and untimely dropped passes/fumbles got him cut and instead of reporting to the team that claimed him...he retired and changed his name to "Shake Severs".....rapper wannabe. This is what happens to all pre-pads WR winners ;p [video=youtube;nPTfe_zWjLY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPTfe_zWjLY[/video]
IMO Binns always excelled at catching the high ball. He has great length and other than that game here last year, good enough hands. But he never played fast enough for my tastes, which is why Philbin's comments are encouraging. He also never showed that physicality to push off and create space (w/o being penalized). That's why I have Matthews over him. Matthews has an incredibly physical presence. He just seems bigger and stronger than every DB he faces. It's not that he is really that huge though. He just knows how to use his body and his strength. He has a polish (or maybe it's natural instinct) that Binns lacks. That part of his game reminds me of a Hines Ward or Anquan Boldin (although he has better separation speed and quickness than those guys ever had). That's why I have such high hopes for Matthews. I'm curious to see if Binns continues playing fast when the pads come on. He has generally struggled against physical play in his route running. He was okay with contact during the catch and as I said he was great at using his length to catch passes over the top of the DB. My guess is that he has a lower body strength issue. My hope is that he becomes a redzone specialist for us this year. Kind of a like a young Chris Carter ("he only catches touchdowns"). I don't know anything about his personality so I can't say whether he would have the drive to continue to improve beyond that (like Carter did for example), but I think he has the skills right now to be a TD target for us. I don't believe his route running is near the level of what Gibson or Matthews provide unless he is still just playing so much faster after the pads come on.
Well, if he manages to sneak into the gameday roster, like Pads said - on special teams - he might be a difference maker in the red zone. Similar to much of the discussion we had around Plaxico Burress, worth bringing in just for those jump balls in the end zone. right now, we don't have that, and we need it.
I like what Binns brings to the table with his size and speed. That being said, I dont think that whoever our 4th and 5th WRs are, they're going to see the ball much. Keller may play in the slot as our 4th WR when we go to that look. He and the top 3 WR should see the overwhelming number of looks from Tannehill.
I think Binns has better speed than Carter - but no one had hands like Carter (except possibly Belitnikoff). Often it takes time for WR's to learn to run at speed in their routes (both in terms of not having to think about the route and being comfortable with the route) then they can focus on the ball. And, if Binns runs to his speed capabilities, with his 6'3 frame I still liken him to a Jordy Nelson type who has the size to go up and get the ball. But, I also love the Matthews / Boldin comparison.
i didn't wanted to create a new thread for this but....Happy Birthday Coach Philbin, 52 years old today
