Mini-camp Day 2

Reports are that Misi is just getting a day off.

 

Evidently Koa Misi is the Dolphins Dwyane Wade?

I wish.

 

could also help to get some mental reps, see it from the sideline and make the right call in your head

 

I totally understand the skepticism. I just think that many fans who are into the draft can get too caught up in the measurables, and tend to overlook guys that are simply great football players. Measurables are a good way to hedge your bets in the draft, but, they are by no means infallible. When it comes to Landry... I really don't care what his 3-Cone drill time is. The guy just produces on the football field.

There is a reason he was voted team MVP of LSU.

 

Didn't Philbin say they'd be practicing a lot of situational stuff this week? I wonder if this is simply practice for what happens if/when Misi gets injured (he's only played all 16 games once in 4 seasons). I wouldn't read that much into it if it's just one day.

 

have to remember that the draft is later now. in the past if the draftees had not graduated yet they were not able to participate in the early camps. once the school year ended then they would either sign a contract or sign a waiver 'til they did.

 

any skepticism I have has nothing to do with measurables Larry, or combine results, it's what I see on the field after the first 15 yards, I see some limitations athletically in route, my hope is that what he can do on a field results in a worthy 2nd round selection..he's got some really good attributes as well where I wouldn't bet against him being productive, at what level were going to see..I hope he supersedes my expectations.

 

Looks like Tannehill finished real strong in 11 on 11's, great TD pass to Wallace about 30 yards, then to Egnew for 6 on last play of practice.

Great ending to practice, two tds, multiple completions all under pressure situations.

 

I'm not sure Saban committed a worse sin in his time here than the bubble. Hate that thing.

 

I like Landry, the problem is I see him always being a type of player that you would like to get better. If you put him on the outside you would like to get a player that is a little bit faster to break off a big gain, or a little bit bigger so he could out muscle defenders and break some tackles to gain extra yards. If you put him in the slot you would want him to get a little bit more quick twitch. On all those accounts, it isn't going to happen. He will be a slower, shorter possession receiver with solid hands. I hope he has a long and productive career for us, but I never see him developing into a guy that we are really happy with at any position. It's unfortunate because most of the stuff he is weak at he cannot really improve upon.

 

I hear what you're saying, and I respect that. You very well could be right. He might lack the athleticism to compete in the NFL. I just disagree. I think he's plenty athletic, and the things he does great are enough to overcome his weaknesses.

All I hear out of OTAs is Landry is consistently making plays. So, we will see what happens when the pads go on.

 

Sounds exactly how I feel about Davone Bess, except Bess was quick with his change of direction. The problem is, once he changed he was slow as molasses.

 

Well I agree with CK. As far back as I can remember, unsigned draft picks participated in team activities before training camp. The only exceptions were if it were something to do with their college class not graduating.

 

I agree with DJ that there were issues with Landry based on his film before ever he showed up at the Combine and disappointed there then followed up with more disappointment at his pro day. On film there were issues. He's got great hands and can finish catches even in physically challenging situations, as long as the football is thrown aggressively and accurately. But defensive backs can stay with him pretty easily and the ones at the next level will just make it harder and harder for him to finish catches if he's not creating separation.

It would be different if he were big. I've seen comparisons to Anquan Boldin which are nothing short of ABSURD. That comparison belies a fundamental misunderstanding of the attributes that make Anquan Boldin special, which are his strength and run after catch abilities. Anquan Boldin is a lot bigger than Jarvis Landry, a hell of a lot stronger, and has always been electric with the football in his hands ever since Florida State...whereas Landry is just kind of blah after the catch. I've also seen comparisons to Hines Ward and once again I have to point to the two missing attributes: strength and run after catch.

I think a slower Donald Driver is a better comparison for Landry.

Something that's become kind of a peeve is how much credit he's getting for blocking and doing the "little things". I've watched the tapes too. And I've also watched a hundred other wide receivers in the last 18 months or so. Landry's blocking is not special, at all. I've seen guys much smaller than him blocking much better and showing way more effort.

He's a zone receiver. What he produces is going to be on the quarterback. If Tannehill is good, Landry will produce. If Tannehill doesn't improve, Landry will produce at about his talent level.

 

Yesterday john Congemi stated the star of the practice was our rookie Fede..

Today were hearing how quick anthony joghnson looks to Philbin, and that he got some first team reps..

Could you imagine scoring on those two guys..not gonna get excited until I see flashes in preseason but it's fun to think about what a real talent evaluator and the kind of damage they could do in the game..

 

we hear today about how Landry can stop on a dime, maybe that a p,us that helps him at this level.

 

Haha, that's funny, I wish you could of helped me in the draft thread when I talked about how Landry's run blocking is a weakness of his..and got killed by everyone.

I figured it out, mostly everyone is basing his blocking prowess on all the highlight videos, where he does show many crushing crack back blocks, but when you watch the games in isolation it's a different story, he needs to work on it and improve his technique and effort.

 

For some reason that subject, Landry's blocking, became this emotion-based issue that you're not allowed to touch. If you criticize it, well now you're just being ridiculous and you have an agenda...because EVERYONE knows that Jarvis Landry is the kind of guy that does all the little things and gives 110% every snap, right? Except it's not necessarily true.

Hell I just got done in the last couple of days with tape on two wide receivers (Josh Harper of Fresno State and Jamison Crowder of Duke) who are either way skinnier than Jarvis Landry or just smaller period (one is 6'1" & 185 lbs, the other 5'9" & 175 lbs) and in college both players were far and away better blockers than Jarvis Landry. And it's not like they're rare players. In fact I don't project them to be good blockers at the next level at all because of their physical deficiencies.

But this is like the thing where Daniel Thomas is definitely a great blocker. Why is Daniel Thomas on the football field? Because who else is going to block! And you can't point out that Daniel Thomas isn't actually a good blocker because this is his thing, his one thing. You've got to let him have his one thing, right? Otherwise you're just being cruel and you have an agenda.

If you're trying to point out why Jarvis Landry could succeed at the next level then you're not focusing on his blocking. It's not even something worth casually mentioning. You're focusing on his great hands and his ability to finish catches. The guys who appreciate a Jarvis Landry are the ones that think you don't need great receivers, you just need consistent ones who let your quarterback be great. And hey, maybe that works out for us. I won't complain if it does.

 

Fede in particular has me interested. Honestly I never did extensive work on Anthony Johnson. What little I'd seen I thought him better than Ego Ferguson but not necessarily special. We'll see.

But Fede was used in so many ways at Marist and when you see him running 4.76 with 33 inch vertical and 10 foot broad jump at 6'3" & 276 lbs, with a 7.13 cone drill...you definitely understand why. The primary difference between those testing numbers and Zeke Ansah's is the 5th gear (the "flying 20"). Otherwise the vertical, broad jump, cone drill, 10 and 20 yard splits and size are similar.

Who knows if he'll really be any good and I do firmly believe that based on his Marist tape he wouldn't have necessarily been a swinging dick at the big program level...but he's got potential.

 

What's interesting in particular about Terrence Fede is that the way he caught peoples' attention yesterday was by making an athletic interception.

If you watch the following highlight video you'll notice that at least 7 or 8 of these highlight plays are him knocking down passes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwvbFn75WOU

That's something you like to see in a guy you drafted...making plays in practice (and hopefully in games) the same way he made them in college. Goes a little ways toward proving to you that his college production wasn't a fluke even if it was against lower competition.

 

IIRC wasn't there at least two games in the past 2 seasons where we had several players cramping up b/c of the heat? I think one was vs ne* when they ran all over us and their players weren't affected by the humidity at all. That should NEVER happen. IMO the team uses the bubble more than they should.

 

Didn't last long, did ya?

 

Can you see a Shula coached team practicing in a enclosed and air conditioned facility? Let me answer that for you. On one of those ESPN/NFLN retrospective shows on the '72 Dolphins, they talked about how Shula got them to practice on a roof top parking garage. I believe it was in LA in the lead up to the Super Bowl, and I believe his paranoia that George Allen's "spies" were watching was a reason why, at least in part. Granted, they were in shorts and T-shirts (not helmets and pads), but still...we're talking about practicing on concrete in the heat of day. A/C? I think not.

 

The can practice in inclement weather with the bubble. Shula's era didn't care about concussions so should we not care about them now?

 

Here's an example of what I'm talking about when I say that at the next level it's going to get harder for Jarvis Landry to finish plays regardless of how good his hands are:

(Time Index - 1:32)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHZVb8vPRWU&feature=player_embedded#t=92

That's Jason Verrett. He's a good corner. But even he dropped down to pick #25 because he's only 5'9" and there's some doubt whether that works in the NFL.

Verrett had no trouble closing up whatever separation (if any) that Landry was able to create on the play because Verrett has the type of 4.3/4.4 speed you see at corner in the NFL and Landry has 4.6/4.7 speed. If Jarvis Landry were an Anquan Boldin with Boldin's size and strength then he still could have had the advantage here, especially against a 5'9" corner that fell down the 1st round on concerns that he's not big enough for the NFL. But that's the problem with Landry...he's not big OR fast OR even really quick.

From the same game (Time Index - 5:37)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHZVb8vPRWU&feature=player_embedded#t=337

That is one of the very few instances you'll find of Jarvis Landry running a route against man coverage from a real corner in a press position on the outside where he doesn't have the kind of three-way-go he has from the slot.

You'll see on the play Jarvis plod along from the line of scrimmage, and try and make a move to the inside, but he has zero separation and the completion would have been damn near impossible for anyone not named Dan Marino. The problem? This wasn't Jason Verrett. This was freshman safety Jermaine Antoine.

This isn't even one of those things where you can say athleticism be damned he got open against college corners so maybe he'll get open against NFL corners. The problem with that statement is he didn't get open against college corners. He got open primarily against college linebackers and dime safeties. Robinson Therezie is a strong safety. Sam Carter is a strong safety. Both will fight to be considered draftable (and probably will not end up drafted). Jermaine Whitehead is a free safety and he'll be drafted, but when I saw Landry go up on him one-on-one, Whitehead won those matchups handily.

Another of the rare moments when he gets matched up against a real corner. This time it was UDFA Chris Davis, whom I considered draftable despite his falling out of the draft.

(Time Index - 5:37)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1GECUhSgiU&feature=player_embedded#t=337

Stuffed.

I have a tough time believing the Dolphins will be able to hide Jarvis Landry from direct coverage in the NFL the way LSU did in the NCAA.

 

My fave:

Matty I ‏@TheMattyI · 1m
/pukes on desk... RT @AbramsonPBP: Michael Egnew and Daniel Thomas in with the first team. Don't count those guys out.

 

If the coaches are clearly limiting Moreno because of his conditioning then it's a real issue and not just some writers making fun of a guy for being pudgy when he really looks pretty rocked up to me.

He must be out there sucking wind and dragging *** for the coaches to treat him like this.

 

CK :

I haven't watched a ton of Donald Driver. Im certainly similar, but for a dolphins comparison, who do you think is better? Landry or Bess?