High praise indeed: http://twitter.com/merrilhoge Sheesh, were Dolphins fans saying that same thing literally months ago? Sparano said in his presser that Wake is a rare player who could rush with speed and bend around the corner with a tremendous first step who also can keep his balance. for those interested in what Sparano and Hogie were talking about, peruse this Jared Allen instructional video: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIXsjoTHWe0"]YouTube - Viking Jared Allen teaches The Speed Rush Training Exercise[/ame] the difference between Allen and Wake, besides 40 sacks or so, is Allen engages the Tackle, Wake simply fends them off while making himself a smaller target for the tackle to block all the while running at full speed, Wake when he is right is like trying to touch a cat that does not want to be touched, they simply bend away from the pressure...
Cam Wake has some freakish athletic ability. IF, if he turns in to a better James Harrison and we can find some ILB to compliment him, we will start to take the look fo a championship 3-4 defense. But thats a long ways away and there is plenty of work to be done...those days cant get here soon enough though
Boy you nailed that, Crowder and Ayodele are not downhill types of ILB's they are like having two Gary Reasons with no Pepper Johnson.
Anyone notice how during the Colts game a couple weeks ago that Jaworski was TOTALLY dissing the Wildcat and Miami? I used to like Jaws.....but after listening to him try and trash Miami, I don't really have much respect for him anymore. He came off as really arrogant to me.
He's a QB, why would he like it. It would have taken snaps out of his hands when he was with Philly. I honestly think they have to have some sort of for and against in regards to all sorts of topics on MNF. How else do you fill 3.5 hours of commentating if everyone agrees.
I'm just so sick of people calling it a gimmick. Like.....does anyone have any REAL thoughts on it? It seems really easy to just dismiss it and call it a gimmick and say that it "won't last". They had Fran Tarkenton on yesterday and he was asked about the Wildcat. His response was......"Well, it's a gimmick offense and it's not going to last."
my money says the guys that are getting their teeth kicked in by our power "gimmick" ain't callin' it a gimmick.. and I bet they all wish it WOULD go away...
You'll get your fill of Wilcat loving commentators on Monday with Gruden in the booth. That dude is so excited about the Wildcat that it's actually pretty obnoxious.
I guess I haven't talked too much smack about Cam Wake's performance last Sunday, his lack of hand use is somewhat nullified by his speed and balance and lean, then again a swim or an arm over would make and he will have arrived. I think we may see JT in a revised "Tiger" role as JP is going to play on MNF.
he didnt say much after the wildcat dominated the Colts, and then Gruden wouldnt stop orgasming over it.
He has to continue , of course not at 3 sacks per , but pressure , be consistent , make plays .... but nice when you are right isn't it? One wonders when someone has seen a player live several times and on tv in best league by far besides the NFL and there was such doubt. Also I was told by a current CFL star , former NFL player what he would bring to the table. I guess a few of us were right
Don't know if they are that far away , we need an ILB and that almost assuredly will be addressed twice this off season. While we don't know how Wake will be in all areas of the game I have little ( if any ) doubt that he will be continue to be a MAJOR disruptive force , he has the innate physical skills , the focus , the coaching , mentorship to continue to create havoc. He has the hunger AND the pure , rare physical ability enhanced by that needed desire to be as good as one can be. Formula for success.
Well, we do need ILBs, and seeing this regimes drafting strategy, double drafting, its almost a given that we will have some fresh bodies in camp next year. Agree with that 100% Id like to add that he is extremely humble, he truly appreciates the opportunity in NFL and he looks to make the most of it.
Agreed , sometimes when you don't have things flow easily it makes you both appreciate and realize how much you want it...I don't see him fall into the trap of NFL star , he has been a man on a mission since he signed.Tunnel vision , you think he will let some success stop his quest? Nah ... neither do I.
I'd be really interested to see what this defense would be like if you had Rolando McClain inside with Crowder taking over Ayodele's spot and Wake on the weakside with Roth/Taylor/someone else on the strong side. All this assuming the FO thinks like me and Joey Porter isn't a Dolphin in 2010.
You'd have two ILB's that aren't great cover guys IMO. McClain can drop down the middle of the field but when I watch him, I see stiffness in his hips when changing directions (makes you wonder if this is one of the reasons Saban plays so much pattern reading defenses and has McClain in the robber role, just dropping down the pipe with the centerfield safety over him). That worries me because we already have Crowder trailing the pass target often in pass coverage. If Michigan's Obi Ezeh knew how to play the run, he'd be a quality ILB IMO. He's very good covering from what I've seen.
Reminds me of a Christian Okoye, he was 26 coming out Asuza Pacific, he was a shot putter and discus thrower who wanted to compete for the Nigerian Olympic team but they turned him down, so he went to that tiny school and anyone with eyes would know he would succeed in the NFL, but he lasted to the 2nd round and went on to lead the NFL in rushing. Point being, when a athlete has the physical skills and is hungry, they can succeed in the NFL, so much so people ask "what were those teams thinking"? Heck, after Wake dominated the CFL he had a tryout with the Broncos late in 08 when they were going through that late season collapse and Broncos thought he was just a practice squad player and the speculation was they lowball offered him a practice squad contract and Wake wisely turned down their offer. I was a bit surprised when Wake got out of Indianapolis without a contract offer, Bill Polian has a great eye for talent, but his loss is the Dolphins gain. 3 Sacks is a high bar to keep up, but I do think Wake can continue to contribute as long as JP or JT forces other teams to double team them, otherwise Wake will have a much tougher time getting to the Qb because opposing Offenses will simply say "We won't let Wake beat us"...which was a common strategy in the CFL...
Eh, maybe we finally landed some good players and one is concerned that it is all an illusion, that soon they will be gone? Ricky W, O-Gun, Welker, all gone... Wake still has alot to prove though and he always mentions that he has much improvement to be made in his game a sentiment I agree with, right now he is practically the same player he was in the CFL, a 4-3 DE who is untested at OLB.
Ok, Jaws has never liked the WC, from the beginning. He's always called it a gimmick, but remember he was a QB (and I might add, a pretty good one), so any formation that takes the ball out of the QBs hand is going to be a bad formation from his POV... That aside, he's one of if not the best analyzer out there...he's can break down plays, pretty accurately, in real time something that takes the years of film study he's done to be able to do... The combination of Jaws and Gruden is the best crew we've had the pleasure of listening to in years....Gruden brings an enthusiasm that has been missing in most booths, and Jaws brings that technical aspect of being able to explain how a play transpired and the Tirico knows how to stay out of it...I love that booth myself...
Man, do we miss the healthy Zach Thomas we had for so many years...It's amazing how Crowder, a lot like Wilson has been, is just a split second late making plays and getting to where the play is that needs to be made...We never had that issue with ZT....
won't matter this week, but the OLB rotation will be determined by Roth during the bye ... i still maintain that Roth if healthy and improved (speed) ... will supplant JT as the starting SOLB ... and we will have a full rotation of Wake, JT and JP between standard and nickel formations. JT will be our primary cover guy ... JP, JT and Wake will be our primary pass rushers ...
