Not surprising considering all the reports, perhaps Matthews is finally out of the dog house? http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...d-matthews-pushing-kenny-stills-in-dolphins-o
It would have been nice if we could have figured this out, y'know, back before we drafted a 1st round pick, traded a 3rd for another, and signed another in free agency. If only we had some sort of sign that Matthews would have been a viable potential starter who shouldn't have been buried on the depth chart before that.
Props. I always enjoy well thought out sarcasm. The staff is pretty invested in Stills. Will their past decisions prove true again, or will they break the mold and actually let him play? I got flamed a bit in the past when I asked what Stills actually does. I know what he is supposed to do, but I still haven't seen it.
Matthews put himself in that doghouse. It's nice to see him work his way out of it. Honestly though if he truly is stepping up the man who should lose reps down the stretch is Jennings. Stick with the youth.
My thoughts exactly. Stills/Parker should see the bulk of pt at the boundary with Landry in the slot. Mathews and Jennings will rotate in. Atleast that's how I think it'll ultimately go once Parker gets into the swing of things. Jennings and Matthews should be battling for the 4th spot, not Stills. Stills and Parker are the 2 guys who can't be easily replaced. Stills cause he has the speed and Parker because he has the best combo of size and speed. Landry, Matthews and Jennings are pretty interchangeable. I know Landry gets a lot of love on these boards but I don't think the fins would lose a lot with Matthews or Jennings catching those short passes. Might lose a few yac yards but they would gain more of a vertical threat.
I'm not sure what the love for Stills comes from besides we spent a lot for him. I'm a prove it guy. I haven't seen it YET. There has to be some reason he was traded. Parker has to work his way back. I don't think he will be a major contribution intil mid season.
He seems to have a fight in him. He is agressive. I think keeping him on the field is a good idea. Being stacked a WR is a good problem to have.
The front office believes healthy competition brings out the best in each other and in drafting the best player pretty much regardless of position. You disagree with those philosophies?
stills looked pretty damn good on those two catches, snatched both those balls quickly and kinda slowed in route perfectly while still protecting himself from the big hit that would of exposed the ball, idk, thought it was a good showing after nit getting in play all preseason..smooth... Matthews has a lot of talent, absolutely great hands and great strength for a receiver.
Stills problem is getting off the line, which is why he was always in motion in NO, and I think that plays a big part in Matthews pushing him.
For what purpose? A trade? Why would Miami do that? I know he's on the final year of his deal, but it's not like we're going to get any real value in a trade. Certainly nothing in the first four rounds. Which makes trading him pointless. I feel like a majority of posters have written off Matthews long ago. He's got the talent, he's put in work w/Tannehill in the off-season, and his production is starting to look like it might match his potential. Devante Parker missed training camp and hasn't played in the preseason. Might follow in Jarvis Landry's footsteps and not see meaningful playing time until October. Jennings has an injury history too and is 31. Kenny Stills is coming off from and injury. And Kenny Stills is no lock to perform outside of the deep threat role. I believe he will, but there are legitimate questions about how effective he can or will be as a starter. And Matthews has a better body for the red zone than every WR not named Parker. Miami is a pass happy offense. There's plenty of balls to go round. All 5 guys can get in on the action, stay fresh and healthy, and be used in a number of situations. Let's not ruin the party and **** in the apple pie.
A young and talent player gets to the NFL but doesn't act like a professional showing up late to meetings and loosing focus in practice. He doesn't get the playing time he is used to and starts to whine and complain about it, asking for a trade. But then he sees how younger guys are passing him by putting in the extra time. He starts to mature and starts doing the extra little things expected of a pro, working out with his QB and studying film. Low and behold the coaches notice and he works his way up the depth chart. Isn't that the way things typically work? I don't get the criticism of the coaching staff for acting like well a coaching staff.
You assume they don't know what they have in Matthews and haven't figured out who their best Wrs are? C'mon man...... Gimme a break with this whining.
Its about insurance. QB is the most important position on the team and if you are going to pay one a good chunk of your cap money you should better get him some weapons to work with. BTW Its a nice problem to have.
If it results in resources being used inefficiently, yes. Rishard Matthews probably should have been starting, and he should have probably made one of our acquisitions recently unnecessary. Instead we've basically wasted him.
Philbin sucks for not getting through to Vontae Davis (even though there was no time) BUT he also sucks for actually getting through to Matthews. See the problem?
My understanding was that Stills is the only true speedster on the time, and as such, he'll fill a role no-one else can. Or is Matthews also that fast?
If we dont trade Matthews, he is walking away. Every offseason he is begging to leave. Last offseason I picked Matthews as our breakout player. He didnt really breakout... This season he seems to have figured it out though, and i think he walks away afterwards.
I love Stills if for no other reason the trade for him got us that Turkey in Ellerbe off of our roster! I thought he looked good in limited action last week after we finally got to see him play. I like all 6 of our receivers to be honest but I am pretty sure we will only keep 5. That leaves Matthews or Hazel on the outside looking in. If we are going to trade one of them rather than just cut one, the most value would be for Mathews and I would only be interested in a good quality backup guard that fits our system. Who that is, I don't know. The teams I would target in a trade for him would be Green Bay or Carolina. And the preference would be Green Bay since I don't think much of Carolina's o-line. Then again, I have no idea of Green Bays backups either! LOL!
If anything, it should be a lessen learned for the coaches to take a different approach when dealing with young and talented players with minor immaturity problems. I think in both instances, with Vontae Davis and (to a lesser degree) Matthews, the staff have failed the rest of the organization in doing what is best for the team.
Kenny Stills might currently be the best receiver on the depth chart, to be honest. He's fine. He's extremely fast, balanced, an excellent route runner, catches the ball cleanly and consistently, and flashes speed at every point of the route. I think Finster has a smart observation about his getting off the line, common for a smaller fast receiver, especially for a guy like Stills whose primary weakness is lack of physicality. The Saints put him in motion a lot to get him off the line and I expect Miami to do the same. I would be reluctant to trade Rishard Matthews even with him being on the last year of his contract, because this could also be Joe Philbin's last year in Miami as well. Philbin seems to be his main enemy so if he goes then you could find Rishard more amiable to taking a cheap extension to try and prove himself. Greg Jennings could be just a one year option here, and if he goes then suddenly Rishard has a lot more opportunity to play. Miami seems like they could make a legit playoff run this year and I'm reluctant to sell off assets during a run unless it's for a nice price.
First of all, there's not one approach that works for all. Secondly, it obviously worked for Matthews, so that is not a failure. Again, you guys have basically created a situation where he's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. Its a little cuckoo.
Might I remind you that Mathews was a 7th round pick. Those guys have to fight their way onto the roster and then up the depth chart. They need to do everything in their power to endear themselves to the coaching staff and get noticed for the right reasons. You make it sound like he was a first round pick that got buried on the depth chart. Honestly the fact that the coaching staff stuck with him despite the whining is a sign that they recognized the potential and were willing to cultivate it.
very relevant point. Mathews, while a different skill set than Jennings, might be the best value for a #4 WR if Jennings leaves after this season, assuming we don't draft another WR in 2016 that will push Mathews down the depth chart again.
To be fair though, Matthews has no one to blame but himself for being a headache the last few years. I've always liked him and gals he's putting it all together, but his punishment wasn't really unfounded.
That is actually a very good reason to bury him. Like I said, I like him, but the blame falls on his own shoulders.
I'm starting to get the impression his calf issues are going to linger the rest of the year. That's not an easy injury to deal with for WR's - especially for someone who already struggles to get off the line consistently.