A few guys who I think the Dolphins should have on their radar; No surpise but if we don't gp McClain, Spikes, or Dez Bryant here are my two guys... CJ Spiller-RB-Clemson *Spiller is simply an electric football player. The first time I really started to take notice of this guy was when they player the Hurricanes. Spiller accounted for 310 all-purpose yards including a 90 yard kick-off return right before the half. Spillers' small frame concerns me on whether he is an every down back or a glorified Leon Washington. Spiller is as dynamic of a return specialist as he is a running-back which would allow to excel in two phases of the game. (Projected Round: 1) Dan Williams-NT-Tennessee * Over the coarse of the ast few weeks of the college football season I think we all saw Dan Williams leap-frog Terrence Cody as the premier Nose Tackle in the draft. Williams stands at 6"2, 330 lbs and is in far superior shape than "Mount" Cody. Williams is a solid run stuffer, quick feet, and strong hands, and sure did benefit from a year under Monte Kiffin. Williams' impresses me enough to think the Dolphins should take a long look in Round 1. (Projected Round 1-2)
I actually would love to see us sign Vince Wilford in FA and pair him with Williams, Bryan Price, or Marvin Austin..... and have a front 3 of either (Price, Williams, Austin) - Wilford - Starks.
It's his ability to separate at the pro level that concerns me. Other than that he has stud potential and he produces. Great size and he'll go up and get the ball. I'm trying to keep a sharp eye on him. I can see him 2nd rd, I'd be all over him in the 3rd. Actually him and ILB Sean Lee. I posted this earlier- good play against UM. Thomas just looks smooth. Nice replay iso of him- I like how he calmly looks the ball into his soft hands, textbook. Lousy tackling by UM, but a great play. And he's been doing it all year, avaraging 25 yds/catch. I really want to see him run at the combine- my main issue is separation and explosion, but he sure looks smooth for a big guy. Maybe he has deceptive speed, I'm hoping so. Good point about seeing him run against some 4.4. guys. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr1YuGhi1D4"]YouTube- Demaryius Thomas TD[/ame]
I always look for ways to calibrate a guy's speed like that. Demaryius is a long strider and if he's really not that fast he might be forced to gain weight and slide in to Tight End. There's no doubt that he makes the Jonathan Baldwin catch. But can he separate like Baldwin against fast guys?
Good question, and that's why I'm a big fan of A Benn- monster, physical target with great yac potential, but he has those wheels as well, can be a deep threat. I'd love to get both of them, but with Thomas you have to keep in mind that Pat Turner is waiting in the wings, another big glider type. And it kind of goes back to who stays and who goes at WR. Benn just steps in at #1 and solves most of the problems imo, but I have a hankering for D Thomas as well. Just a nice, smooth jumbo sized target.
These guys are sticklers. They don't care what your talent level is. If you don't do it exactly right consistently, they're not putting you out there. Look how we've kept the most efficient pass rusher in the NFL locked in a box for most of the season.
Assuming that the metaphor is to the length of his wait and not his arms- I'm not so sure that Turner makes it. Granted this is only his first year, but there's a cluster f at the position. Maybe he goes on the practice squad next year, maybe he gets poached. Maybe he turns it on next year, I don't really have a good guess as to the whole situation. I'm bothered by the fact that at 6-5 225 lbs he's had major problems getting off the LOS. Maybe he's too passive for the pro game.
If that's the case then I really have to wonder if he earns a roster spot next year, or if maybe he's relegated to the taxi squad and we take our chances that he gets poached.
Larry Shannon was way faster than Turner. If I recall correctly he popped his ACL early in his stint with Miami. If we would have drafted Moss that year and then gotten Matt Hasslebeck instead of nearly missing out that would have solved a lot of problems, problems that plagued the whole decade. Bad move from JJ and typical ineptitude from Yanni minus the Cher wig. And yes, that refers to Wannesdet.
Shannon had some talent, but that might have been the uber boner of Johnson's tenure here, passing on Moss and then touting Shannon so much. Well, maybe that after talking Huizenga in to hiring the idiot Wannesdedt as head coach after he had just tooled the Bears franchise. We passed on Moss and took who that year, John Avery?
Would you consider that a bad quality of this staff? Seems almost like the cliche story of disciplinarian coach vs. talented diva. I'm just wondering if you think we still benefit from that atmosphere or if this is indeed a situation where you think the staff is dropping the ball big time. (Edit - I'll say this. I'm looking for a reason to believe in Turner.)
Impossible, not even Twista or the guy at the end of those car commercials giving disclosure can speak that fast.
Back to speed calibration, here's a good example. Anthony Dixon. Probably the second best running back in the draft. He's the version of Toby Gerhart that works for me, when we're talking about NFL talent. But take all that aside. How fast is he? I assume he is between a 4.45 and 4.54 guy in the speed department. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxjw37dZ0IE"]YouTube- Anthony Dixon breaks a record and later flips into the endzone[/ame] In that video, he cleanly outruns Darrin Davis, who is a 4.60 to 4.69 kind of guy. At the same time, he is cleanly outrun by Rod Isaac, who is between a 4.30 and 4.39 kind of guy. Split the middle, to me that's how you have a perspective on what Anthony Davis can do. Nothing too fancy, just an estimate.
Benn declaring: Illinois WR Arrelious Benn will declare for the 2010 NFL Draft at a 3PM ET news conference Wednesday. Benn is coming off a disappointing statistical season (38-490-2), but was mostly brought down by the sinking ship that is Fighting Illini football. Senior QB Juice Williams regressed in 2009, and Ron Zook's team didn't even qualify for a bowl game, finishing with the fewest wins in the Big Ten. An Anquan Boldin clone, the 6'2/220-pound Benn is a physical wideout with above-average speed. He'll almost certainly find a place in April's first round. Dec. 16 - 1:04 pm et Source: ESPN.com
Heck if I know. Al Davis once caught wind of the theory though and tried to sign the micro machines guy to play safety.
BTW let's not even get into that helicopter move of Dixon's into the end zone and how he landed on his feet like a damned cat. Disturbing part is if that wasn't the end zone, he was poised to take off and starting running again instantly upon landing on the ground. Some guys were just born to carry the ball.
Things will get interesting if he rips off a 4.4 at the combine: December 16 (1:00 PM): Illini WR to enter draft … Illinois junior WR Arrelious Benn is expected to announce at a press conference this afternoon that he will be forgoing his senior season and entering the 2010 draft. The 6-2, 220-pound Benn with reported 4.4 speed is projected to be one of the first receivers off this board this coming April despite coming off a disappointing 2009 season in which he had just 38 receptions for 490 yards and 2 TDs as he was slowed much of the year by a nagging ankle injury. That compared with 67 catches for over 1,000 yards the previous season. For the record, the GBN has Benn rated as the #2 wide receiver as well as the 17th best overall prospect for the upcoming draft, although several other services have him somewhat lower. http://www.gbnreport.com/
Its crashed IMO. This is what i see out of the player..very mechanical, needs a lot of space in the pocket to go thru his throwing motion, if he gets it?, theres some arm strength, if he does'nt?, there is'nt. His arm slot gets consistently low when throwing the football, which drops his release point.To get zip on the ball, he needs to drop his hips and flex too low to do so. Does not throw the ball from an upright position, which causes a lot of batted ball's, and unclear passing lanes. Does not track his receivers well deep, throws to spots waaaay to much.. I do not like the way he manages a football game, nor his abilty to read defenses, something the tape may not show you, I think his throwing motion is gonna get him in trouble at the next level, i say that because, if he does'nt have the clear space to throw, he loses a tremendous amout of arm strength, especiially considering he's gonna have less time to set up and read. On top of these weaknesses, i see a very immature footbll player...gonna take a long time for grown men to let themselves be led by this cat.. Player most like..Rex grossman...People said he had a great arm, but i say only if he had great space for which to throw, both cannot make the arm throw, {like a brady or henne}...i see similarities in both their body type, and their game.
Theyre still good, but they're not dominant. I'd love to see a completely dominant 3 man front that dictates a game and allows our pass rushers to wreak havoc on QBs.... where an OLine would have no clue who to even double team. Langford and Merling could still sub in and Phil would come in on obvious passing downs. Posted via Mobile Device
Hardy har har. Very effin funny. Gotta carry the condescending insults over to a different thread huh? Take care all.
So his stock hasn't crashed at all is what you're saying. In your head it's crashed but elsewhere, not? Right?
Exactly, if we take a Wr early they will be the most techinically proficient one on their board, we already have a project in Turner. Which if one thinks about it, each Asst Coach has at least 1 physically dominating player to work with, OLB Coach Reid/Wake Oline Coach Gugs Gardner/Murtha Secondary Coach Bowles/Chris Clemons Dline Coach Rodgers/Lionel Dotson ST Coach Bonamego/Tristan Davis Rb Coach Saxon/Kory Sheets QB Coach Lee White/Thigpen Wr Coach Dorrel/Pat Turner TE Coach/Kory Sperry It would seem to me that as a philosophy Sparano/Ireland like to have physically talented but long shot projects for the Staff to try and develop.
I think this cannot be understated, Sparano and Co have almost a fetish about who handles the ball and in what situations they handle the ball or even have the opportunity to handle the ball. As well as on the field time, a player either does things the way the Staff demands or they will be iced on the bench or inactive. Wake has shown such outstanding passrushing ability that they carved a niche for him, and got him 5 extra plays vs the Jags...5 plays...
I thought ive been pretty clear that it was my opinion for the past 3 years.. It was also my opinion when i wrote that Charlie weiss hitching his wagon to Jimmy claussen would eventually get him fired.
I think it's pretty clear you've lost all objectivity over Clausen. Charlie Weis's problems came from an inability to recruit defenders worth a lick. He had the QB in place, he had the offense, the pro style offense with a QB making strides year on year. Jimmy Clausen was nothing to do with Weis getting sacked.
Oh and no, I don't think you've been clear at all, hence my question. You made a sweeping statement which said 'his stock was crashing' and I wanted to know where that had come from because it's certainly not what I'm hearing.
Boomer.. I've followed Dolphin boards for quite awhile, I may be new here, but I'm not new over at FH and other boards. And I clearly remember your long-winded writings on Ted Ginn before the 07 draft.. How you thought he would be a great pick at #9 that year. In fact I argued with you on it (my boy was Patrick Willis)... I also told you Minny would be well served to draft Adrian, you thought otherwise - you thought I was nuts to suggest it in fact.. We also had a long winded argument on who would be the better center that year.. I told you Kalil, gave many reasons for it.. You came back with Satele propping him up as a lot better.. Well, Kalil has been great for the Panthers, his metrics are right near the top of the league for all centers.. And Samson ?? But back to Ted Ginn, and you salivating all over him before that draft... And your prolonged never-ending essays on how he would be a great pick at #9.... What happened there fella ? heh
Were my 'long winded writings' similar to your long winded condescensions in the other thread telling people to study 3-4 linebackers? Of course, it's always wise to be right and indeed boastful after the event and if I may be so bold, allow me to join you in patting yourself on the back because clearly that's what your post was intended to do. Wasn't it? Anyway, clearly you must have a 100% success rate for picking draft eligible players and I commend you for that. It would therefore be pointless to talk through the players I did get right - pale in comparison to you of couse. I can only continue to bow at the temple marked F.O and hope that one day I'm worthy of matching up to your enviable drafting prowess.
Your point...is just that he's been wrong before? Really? That's it? Weak. I wear badges with pride for every time I'm wrong on a draft prospect, because it means I learned something the hard way. Trying to discredit a draft evaluator because of a few single instances of him being wrong is as naive as trying to discredit Ted Williams as a batter because of several instances where he struck out.
