Bill hardly every, only once, goes with a WR in the 1st round. It is our greatest need and this could be the year for the him and his brass to break form. If Dez Bryant is available when we pick, we are taking him. If he is gone, we will be looking at either Cody or Williams at NT. That is of course if we don't make a play for Vince Wilfork. In the 2nd round we will go with which ever road we didn't go down in the first round. If we don't go WR in the 1st, we will then take either Mardy Gilyard or Jordan Shippley. Either are solid WR's, with speed and hands, that can fill multi purpose roles. If we don't go with a NT in the first, then we might look at Odrick from Penn St to fill that need. It is also very possible that we could look at LB here and go with Sergio Kindle who could be a stud in a 3-4 D that can play end or drop into coverage.
Couldn't disagree with that more if it were possible. Starting with the fact that Jeff Ireland runs the draft.
Everyone's got their feelings on the draft of course. It's Choose Your Own Adventure day. My feeling is that if Dez makes it there, you have a tough time passing him up regardless what you did in free agency. The draft, by the way, starts in February. You have to pick out your free agent activity then complement with a draft strategy. I would grab a linebacker or two in free agency. I think we've seen enough out of Ayodele and Torbor. Crowder I think you keep, because he's a leader on the defense and knows every recipe in the cookbook. Not to mention he's a decent linebacker that could play a lot better with a better mate next to him. I think we view the NT position opportunistically. I'm not in a rush to fill it because I believe Soliai has done well, and Ferguson will gladly come back for another year if we ask him to, and an active rotation of the two into a 50/50 split might be ideal for us. Now, that doesn't mean you don't take a guy. It just means you view it opportunistically. You grab a guy if he brings something to the table that those two do not. For instance, I know that Marvin Austin brings something to the table that those two guys do not. Austin could be part of the rotation anywhere on the defensive line, and he brings athleticism that no other player on the defensive line has...along with better motor than probably anyone on the defensive line. Assuming that Bryant, Spiller and Berry are gone when we pick...you could see Miami go for a guy that they think could play the SOLB position. They have to know that Jason Taylor is out of position being asked to bulk up and play on the left side against Tight Ends. He hasn't really jammed a Tight End off the line all year, basically...though he has set the edge (at the expense of his pass rush abilities IMO). Some guys at the top to think about at that position are Derrick Morgan and Corey Wootton. I don't want to completely rule out Greg Hardy when I know how talented he is, but he never seems to stay on the field. I'll have to take some closer looks at Everson Griffen to see if he could play SOLB. My feeling is this staff always wants to be big and athletic everywhere. Guys like Morgan, Wootton, Hardy and Griffen are big and athletic. If you wait a little bit, then you could try and give Austen Lane a try at that spot, or a guy I think could be a natural at it would be Brandon Lang. And I think the odds have to be high on them grabbing an offensive lineman pretty early. They're not doing a lot of work on a guy like Vlad Ducasse for nothing. My feeling is that even though taking an interior guy would make sense, what might make as much sense to them is finally putting the hard working Carey inside at guard, and grabbing a guy that could bookend with Jake Long for a decade. That guy could be Anthony Davis. I'd keep an eye on Kyle Callaway, who did a great job on Corey Wootton in their game.
That's what happens when people make comments and accusations about you that are unfounded but never bother to apologise.
LOL. Not you doofus, although I realise it reads that way. Was just deleting some old PM's and came across something that irked me!!
Depending on the outcome of the CBA negotiations, the FA class could be extremely weak. Even true FA like Dansby, etc., can still get locked up with the franchise tag and teams I believe will have two transition tags to use. You'll see even marginal guys like Fujita get the transition tag so if you make an offer you'll have to wait or screw around with the poison pills. I'm just not sure FA can be counted on for much of anything this year.
Here is a quote from Jeff Ireland: "There are certain core positions you have to have," Ireland said, listing cornerback, left tackle, a pass rusher, quarterback, a top receiver and nose tackle. "We don't have a whole lot of those core positions right now, to be honest with you. We need probably all of them." So if this quote is true and we look at our team, what do we have? LT = Jake Long ✔ Cornerback = Smith and Davis (debatable but..) ✔ Pass Rusher = Wake, Porter, Taylor - may need some help here XX Quarterback= Henne . ✔ TOP RECEIVER= Not even close XXX Nose= Paul and Ferg (not bad but not great) X So Jeff says it, then the first round pics the past 2 drafts have been in these categories. So I see us going after a WR, DT or pass rusher in the first round.
No clue. You can bid on the transition guys w/o draft pick compensation but you need to wait on the match. Maybe we get lucky and TB won't franchise Bryant because they might cut payroll to the bare minimum w/o a salary floor in addition to the absence of the cap, but why wouldn't they transition him? If someone makes only a reasonable offer they could match. To get a transition guy you almost have to go to the franchise tag numbers or use the poison pills, which some owners don't like.
I think that's accurate and how the FO should be thinking. All those people who have ILB as the greatest need above WR are basically saying they want to pass up a more impactful position for a less impactful position. And BTW that determination that WR is a core position and ILB isn't was made by the guy who will ultimately be making the pick. (I actually don't agree with his whole list, IMO S has replaced CB as a core position). Now that doesn't mean you reach for a WR (or any position for that matter) if the value isn't there, but it do mean that you try to fill the greatest needs at the most impactful positions first, if possible.
I think the whole "Parcells doesn't take WR's in the 1st round" thing is a little overstated. You can't just look at things in a vacuum. His teams generally had a pretty good WR or two on them when he wasn't taking them in the 1st. He also had never drafted an offensive lineman in the 1st round either, yet the Dolphins took Long a couple years back. They clearly know they have a huge need at WR and I think will do what it takes to fix that. That doesn't mean reaching for one, but if Bryant is there, I just don't know that I can see them letting him get by.
I think I started the whole what Bill does and doesn't do with that thread I did a while back about the Drafting History. I think now we really have to look at how Ireland has done in his three seasons (1 in Dallas and the 2 here) as a means to find out what we do and don't look for etc. I seems as though Ireland and co. have a multifaceted approach involving both FA and the Draft. We appear to allocate certain positions for the draft and others for FA based in many ways what the strengths of the draft in question are compared to what we, as a team need. Jake Long, Donald Thomas, Kendall Langford, Merling, Davis and Smith were all taken in drafts that featured relatively deep classes at all of those positions. Hartline and Turner the same. CK did a thread last year based on how many visits we did per position in terms of where prospects were ranked etc, to give us an idea of what we'd do, and it was pretty accurate.
I don't think you reach for a WR but you get all your scenarios together, looking at free agency and the draft. You go out and try and attach your most favorable scenario, if things change you go to plan B and then C and so on and so forth. I would also bet that some of these scenarios are a lot different from what we are thinking.
you mean the ones accusing you of liking to play cricket with a flock of sheep while dressed as a ballerina singing "Its a long way to Tipperary".
I think CK and Boomer made good points about the draft which I would like to repeat. Boom reminded us that Ireland runs the draft and its important to remember. Now I do feel that Ireland views football through very similar if not an identical philosophy as Bill but at the end of the day he is his own man. If we're going through history, Ireland has to take the front of the stage now. Also CK made a good point in another thread I think when he stated that the draft is really but a part of the big picture which includes FA. I would add that evaluating our own roster is also a part of it. I wouldnt be surprised if there is a surpising player cut considering we have the 2nd highest payroll in the NFL. We may add another offseason priority even before the free agency period starts As it stands now I still say that linebacker is the odds on choice for being the double up position this year and considering we need ILB and OLB lol, well it could be a linebacker draft all together. Still with players like Dez Bryant you have to consider that they could be BPA. Berry should be gone but its not guaranteed. Spiller? What does the Front Office feel about Ronnie Brown's durability and contract? This is a tremendous draft for DTs so I dont see how we dont pick one of those up at some point. Many tight ends should be available in mid rounds and late rounds if we dont get one in FA. I think the tendency will be to debate the first pick but the story of this draft will be like all our drafts really be made in the middle rounds. The Norwoods, Pittas, D Alexanders, Hardestys are going to be the types that make or break our draft
Ireland runs the draft, but you can best believe Parcells will go tooth and nail with him on some picks, especially if Bryant may still be on the board and Bill has his eye on a LB or two. Judging from the way Bill supposedly had a strong interest in Pat White last year, it wouldn't surprise me if that was a Parcells choice. Personally, my feeling is that Bill takes a strong interest in the early picks (although the final decision is Ireland's) and lets Ireland and Gaine have more command over the later rounds. What I want to see out of this draft is a bit less risk taking. No Pat White-like experimentation or questionable reaches. A no-nonsense approach similar to 2008. As you mentioned, what I'd expect to see is at least a doubling-down on linebackers, perhaps as much as 2 each inside and outside depending on what happens in free agency.
Ireland basically told us what he is going to do when he talked about core positions in his very first press conference as the Dolphins GM. He has never veered from that statement. Since that press conference he has used the first three rounds to draft two cornerbacks, a left tackle, two pressure players, two quarterbacks, and a receiver. He has hit on Jake Long, Chad Henne, Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, Kendall Lanford, and you could probably say Phillip Merling too. That leaves a No. 1 receiver, more pressure players, and possibly a nose tackle. Working from that premise you would have to say that Dez Bryant, Arrelious Benn, and Golden Tate are most likely to be our 1st round pick. Brandon LaFell, Mardy Gilyard, and Jeremy Williams could get consideration too. After that Dan Williams and Terrence Cody are most likely to end up in a Dolphins uniform. After those two you have a bunch of pressure players in Jerry Hughes, Derrick Morgan, Jason Pierre-Paul, Everson Griffen, Corey Wootton, Sergio Kindle, and maybe even Brandon Graham. I would say Jared Odrick is a longshot but he's so talented you can't rule him out. You can safely rule out Ndamukong Suh, Eric Berry, Russell Okung, Taylor Mays, Trent Williams, C.J. Spiller, Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford, Charles Brown, Mike Iupati, Joe Haden, Carlos Dunlap, Ras-I Dowling, Bryan Bulaga, Syd'Quan Thompson, Jermaine Gresham, Jon Asamoah, Brandon Ghee, and Perrish Cox. However ILB and Safety seem like glaring needs even though they aren't core positions according to Ireland.
It could just be that the two share a similar draft philosophy. We know Parcells liked White, but who says Ireland didn't like him just as much? I don't think Bill will fight against a WR if the right one is there (Bryant) because he knows that is a key area of need and that Bryant is a special player. People seem to think he's anti-WR, but looking at his draft history he's taken quite a few. And again, I'll use the argument that he'd never taken an offensive lineman in the 1st round either and Jake Long was selected #1 overall two years ago. In the end I think he has input, but it's Ireland's draft. I just think they have such similar philosophies that you find the same kind of players that Bill likes being taken by Ireland.
Just because Ireland listed off some positions in a press conference a while ago doesn't mean it's some golden rule that he always follows. In two drafts, we've drafted exactly one linebacker. We resigned Crowder to a reasonable deal, partly because he couldn't find better elsewhere. We traded for a career backup who somewhat knew the system. And we signed a rotational player off the prior year's Super Bowl winning team who in two years has not been able to beat out the above two for a starting job. On the outside (i.e. "pressure players"), we have two guys who will be in their mid 30's next year, a CFL star pass-rush specialist who might not ever be able to play the position, and Moses/Anderson. And I haven't even brought up injury issues. Barring we make a stud LB signing like Karlos Dansby, I would be shocked if we didn't draft three LBs this time around. And I'm not talking about late round picks.
Outside linebackers are pressure players. If Ireland drafts an inside linebacker in the 1st round he would finally break his "golden rule." Believe me I wouldn't cry about it. If I was the Dolphins GM I would draft Rolando McClain. If he was off the board I would draft Brandon Spikes. I would also draft Eric Berry if he was still available. There are a few safeties I would also consider in the 2nd and 3rd round. All I'm saying is it will be interesting to see if Ireland sticks to this formula he laid out about core positions and how you build a team.
They have similar philosophies, but I do think Ireland is a bit more open to taking certain positions earlier than Bill is. You're correct that Parcells isn't anti-WR, but he doesn't necessarily like to pay them a great deal. That much was confirmed by Mike Francesa from WFAN, who is good friends with Parcells. The caveat to that is that the game has changed a bit over the past decade, so it's possible Bill has softened his stance on that. But WR, like OL, are positions that Parcells has felt you can draft later on and coach up. If they think Bryant can be a franchise player similar to Jake Long, then it wouldn't shock me if they go there. But if all things are equal then you could see Bill lean more towards the backers while Jeff just may favor the receiver.
