Well no offense meant to rafael as he did become a Rishard Matthews fan after the draft but he never uttered the word "Rishard" prior to the Dolphins having drafted him so I don't know where you'd have read his predraft analysis on Matthews. Stitches was a big fan heading into the draft. Consistently talked about him, wanted Miami to take him. As I recall wasn't Stitches actually a receiver himself? I know that's a position where I always notice his evals. Big Red said in January 2011 that he'd have loved to see Rishard declare early for the draft that year. Back in February 2011 I was calling him a "blue chip" prospect at the position.
Exactly, on the flip side, developing Shelby and Fede will pay off. Problem with the Wr investment is..only one football..and aside from Landry, they offer nothing as Returners. BUT, then they take Landry off of kick off returns and insert Williams..Landry was leading the league in APY, we are very deep at Wr, this is the move Campbell makes..first I've really disagreed with him making. Look how deep we are at DT, even before drafting Phillips, looking at the 10 picks after him, none stand out as a good replacement pick based on our needs in this moment, still, Draft a DT #2, and start Kelvin Shepphard at MLB?
You sold me on him when you posted that highlight video in the draft forum. I remember distinctly you pointing out that reverse where he makes something out of literally nothing. I bought into the guy and have been banging his drum ever since.
This is from May 2nd, 2012. http://www.miamidolphins.com/multim...Kouffman/92f9b2c8-ad70-449a-a158-ea16676b8828 Paraphrasing: 1. (They ask what I think of Ryan Tannehill) Was very happy that the Dolphins went ahead and took him. Admittedly I liked Weeden and Luck from a pure talent standpoint. They have a chance of being elite. I don't have great vision for Ryan Tannehill becoming elite like Brees, Peyton or Brady, but I have almost zero vision on how he's going to end up a bust between his skill set and intangibles which are underrated. He's going to start in the NFL for a long, long time. 2. (They asked me to grade the draft) At least a B+ or A-. They rattled off a number of picks I liked and the only picks I disliked were a couple of the later picks (I didn't mention them by name but they included Josh Kaddu and B.J. Cunningham). 3. (They said they know I liked Rishard Matthews, asked me to tell them why) He's got great leg strength and between he and Cunningham, he's the more athletic of the two, gifted. Especially good on out routes, comebacks, curls. Electric with the football in his hands. There's a 2010 reverse against Boise State that people really need to see. He was unbelievable on that play. He's got a bright future as a pro. 4. (Who aside from Tannehill has the best chance of going to a Pro Bowl) Lamar Miller. Big steal where they got him. A little physically under-developed, will take some time that way. But I think he could be a Pro Bowl caliber player down the road. 5. (Tight End is important for the WCO, what did we get in Michael Egnew) First off it's a little scary him coming from Missouri as they had some guys with high billing as pass catchers in Chase Coffman and Martin Rucker and neither lived up to it. In that system the production could be fraudulent. But Egnew is really different from those guys in that he's much, much more of an athletic specimen. When you think of seam threats you mostly think of speed but really a seam threat has to have some size to make for a bigger window for the QB fitting the ball into a tight area, and Egnew fits that perfect at 6'5" with his jumping ability and pure speed. (Editor's Note: Part of me still can't believe Egnew was as big a bust as he was. Just look at the highlights they're playing while I talk about him. But he was mentally soft. Not something I could sense.) 6. (Who is the steal of this draft? Lamar Miller, right?) Well I already talked about Lamar Miller so let me talk about an undrafted guy that was a steal, and that is Jonas Gray. Watched him a lot, physical back, a hammer. Converts on goal line opportunities and scores touchdowns. Reminds me of Shonn Greene or Thomas Jones in that they're all built like rocks (5'10" & 230 lbs) but also have agility for that size to cut and move, explosiveness to get down the field and break off big runs. He tore his ACL on senior night versus Boston College, so Dolphins will need to be patient with him. Start him on PUP. Really develop him. "I kind of have a visions of he and Lamar Miller pairing up long term in the Miami backfield." Yes, in retrospect I regret being as high as I was on Jonathan Martin and Michael Egnew. But both guys were mentally soft. They had talent. It's hard for someone in my position to know how mentally soft a guy is. Sometimes you can sense it. Sometimes you just know that you're going to step on some land mines by virtue of your position as a media-based evaluator. As for Weeden, it will take me a while before I ever like another quarterback that has very little ability to improvise and make things happen with his feet. That was the lesson there. The game has passed those guys by, for the most part. You have to have at least SOME ability to slide around like that. Still...the primary problem has probably been his age after all, which gave him a very short leash as nobody wants to wait for a 29 year old to "get it". He's got a higher passer rating than Tannehill does right now, though a notably better line.
I didn't mean it as mean spirited as it sounded. Someone posted that he might be OK with letting Olivier Vernon go if it means re-signing Rishard Matthews, and my knee-jerk reaction to that is "F--k Olivier Vernon"...because Vernon has been such a disappointment in a year he was supposed to have the world at his fingertips. Contract year, he's got Suh and Wake commanding attention, and OV can't get anything done no matter how many other players' reps he steals during 1-on-1's.
Yah I can live without O.V. Very poor at run stopping to the point he looks confused out there a lot..and for a guy who sees nothing but one on one looks...he doesn't make enough plays. I'd much rather see Shelby/Fede take more time there.
People are concerned about Parker because look at our draft history.. I dont blame them for being paranoid.. I hope he becomes a star but it is troubling that he cant get playing time. Parker would be the fourth best receiver behind Doctson in the 2016 draft so that means he would be a second round pick. Every draft is different though.
This is a strange season in the NFL with many teams with poor chance of making the playoffs. Perhaps, we'll finally see significant in season trades as happens in other sports. It would be great to see Steve Smith go back to Panthers and Greg Jennings return to the Packers. Coupled with a Jennings trade, it would be great to see Matthews resigned at the same time. My belief is that Jennings helped Rishard as the offense finally had WRs that excelled at similar route trees (as compared to Wallace and Hartline). I would like to linked these two WRs as Jennings seems like a great guy and with the injuries to the Packers WRs, he can finish his career by making a greater contribution for Green Bay. As for Rishard, I would sign him long term as he is the only player to bring physicality against shell coverages that is missing with Charles Clay departure.
I'm glad many here are high on Matthews. I posted on another board years ago about how Matthews was a beast and could be a stud. They made fun of my comment and said I was clueless. OF course I said the same about Miller, and they made fun of that too. I love both of those guys!
I hope they wouldn't do that, that's a very short sighted look at it, clearing cap space for next year only and screwing up the cap going forward because it would add 5 mil to all remaining years. IOW, you take one 28 mil year and spread it out and end up with 2 years over 27 mil??? How would that help?
There are a bunch of teams that know the value of Mathews and will jump all over him if we don't sign him. Hopefully he still wants to stay wit us after the coaching change.
I think it depends on how the rest of the year goes. Do we re sign Matthews or use the money to upgrade another position?
What a pleasant coincidence. On my way to go get a haircut during my lunch break, I just heard Jim Rome interviewing Rishard Matthews on the radio. I’ll paraphrase some of the back and forth as best I can: Rome: Is Dan Campbell the type of guy he appears to be from our perspective? Matthews: Yes, he’s a “fiery” leader who makes you want to “go to war” for him. Rome: Do you think Dan Campbell could be a long term HC for you guys? Matthews: (without hesitation) Yes! Definitely. He’s a very motivational and inspiring guy. He’s always been the guy the coaches have elected to have stand up and speak to us anyway. Rome: The Dolphins added a lot of WRs. How did you feel when they drafted Parker? Matthews: I can’t lie, the thought crossed my mind that maybe it was time for a change of scenery but I’ve kept working and with Parker missing time and learning, I’ve been able to contribute and show everyone what I can do. Rome: With the old staff gone, do you feel vindicated like, ‘look at me now, you all should have believed in me all along!’ Matthews: Coach Philbin did a lot for me and I’m incredibly thankful for him and the team for taking a chance on me and giving me an opportunity….I’ve reached out and expressed my feelings to everyone within the organization and everything is good. We’re all on the same page. Rome: You recently had a son. Has this affected how you work? Matthews: Without question. It’s changed everything I do from when I get up to when I go to bed--my girlfriend’s life has changed as well. The interview kept going with some talk about a tweet Rishard made in reference to his brother (a marine killed in Afghanistan). I have to say. This guy is way nicer than I ever pictured. I can’t believe I doubted the guy. It shows what we miss from our perspective not really knowing who these guys are. He sounded like the type of guy you’d really want to root for. What stood out to me is (1) he seemed genuinely grateful for the opportunity afforded to him by Philbin and the coaches, (2) he seemed very quick to support the idea that Campbell might be a long-term guy and (3) he’s gone through a lot to get to where he is and it just may be he’s a more mature guy now than he was when he left college. There’s no sense AT ALL of him being selfish or indignant. If he puts in the work, he can be a great WR and by the tone of the interview he has no ill-will towards Miami and no desire to jump ship. http://jimrome.com/2015/10/20/rishard-matthews/
Let me tell you. It was WEIRD. Rarely have seen a Dolphins draft go over where pick after pick they're getting guys I like.
I believe that was his first catch, so that helped set the tone for the game. Reminds me when Moreno would run with authority breaking tackles, and the other players would feed off that. The physical element Landry and Matthews are providing is also paying dividends in the running game. Landry specifically holds his blocks downfield longer than most WR's in the game. That secondary level blocking is crucial.
Sure was. MAN I don't know whether to thank the previous HC for pushing him to get better, or hate him for not playing him more. I think the latter. He's as reliable as Landry...can't ask much more than that.
Always said he just passed the eye test. With Philbin giving him such limited and spotty opportunities, it was all you could go off. Just looked like a legit NFL wideout. His core and lower-body strength are Boldin-esque...Really exciting stuff for a guy who is starting to run better routes and make himself more available in this offense. When Jordy Nelson went down I was wondering if he was possibly trade bait...thankfully NOT!
