Hypothetical -- Tanny and Moore go down in game one of the regular season. How many games does Devlin win for us? 3?
If Devlin has to start game 2 on? I honestly think we'd win 6 games. Now that's not anything to write home about, but it is what it is.
Randall's been going against 1s and 2s, while Francis has pretty much been 2s and mostly 3s. Robertson has run against 1s, 2s, and 3s. I'll take Robertson solely because they've used him as a 1 technique, 3 technique, 5 technique, and he's been on sub packages with the 2s. That said, Francis, IMO has still shown enough to warrant developing. He's like this year's Isaako Aatui. Good enough to make you notice him, but not there yet.
Randall is limited athletically, Francis has a bit more upside to him it seems, especially if he can start taking care of his #1 tool.
Well, neither seem to be able to get around a blocker with a move or athletic ability, it's more to do with power, so the comparison looks to be one of coordination and who's a bit more agile, I just see some more upside in those depts, and when your talking about low end draft picks or undrafted free agents, I think upside goes into some decision making, I'm not saying Francis is the better player at this point , I just see a bit more explosiveness, agility, quickness on his side, one more big game to go..should be a good battle.
Regardless of what you may think about Francis, I think the odds are he gets claimed if he is waived. A matter of whether you like him on this team relative to other choices, like Martin.
My 53 at this point: QB (2) Tannehill and Moore - Devlin apparently has PS eligibility and his hand injury should keep him from being poached. Also it's en vogue to only keep 2 QBs nowadays. RB (4) Miller, Thomas, Gray, Thigpen - Gilleslee is a guy I like, but he's not shown enough. I see him as a PS candidate. I gambled here by not keeping a FB on the roster, but they're easy to find and Clay will fill the dual role FB/TE. WR (5) Wallace, Hartline, Gibson, Matthews, Bumphis - McNutt and Bumphis are close and my guess is that they may like McNutt more b/c of his size, but IMO we have some big guys that can provide what McNutt does in Gibson and Matthews, we don't have a Bumphis type. TE (3) Clay, Sims, Egnew - Miller might make the PS. OL (10) Martin, Incognito, Pouncey, Clabo, Samuda, Thomas, Louis, Jerry, Garner, Yeatman - That's one too many but w/o more injury info on Louis, Jerry and Garner, I'm keeping all three for now. I'd probably stash the one with the longest recover time frame on the PUP list for the first 6 weeks to free up a spot though. DL (10) Wake, Soliai, O'Drick, Starks, Vernon, Jordan, Randall, Shelby, Francis, Robertson - I'm keeping Francis over Martin b/c I see more potential. Robertson is a PS candidate. I kept him over a FB b/c I see some potential and I hate losing good players. He's probably #53 and would be the first out if vet TE became available. LB (7) Ellerbe, Wheeler, Misi, Trusnik, Kaddu, Robinson, Jenkins - Kaddu and Freeney were a close call for me. I keep Jenkins over Spitler based on upside. I'm not thrilled wth our depth here. The one upside is that I believe Jordan has enough position flexibility to be used here in case of emergency. Secondary (9) Grimes, Marshall, Patterson, Taylor, Davis, Caroll, Jones, Clemons, Wilson - Caroll and McCray were close but McCray has PS eligibility and Marshall has S experience. I love our top 5 CBs and Jones. Clemons is a decent starter. I see top 5 in the league potential in that unit, but I'm not happy with our last two. STs (3) Sturgis, Fields, Denney - Solid group. I'm looking at opportunities at TE, LB and CB. I'm not as concerned as most about RG. I think there's talent there that just needs to get healthy. I'm not even as down on Samuda as most. I think he's decent against the strong guys he just struggles with the quicker DTs. These last two match-ups have made him look worse than he is. I love our QBs, WRs, OL, DL, secondary and STs. RBs have talent, but Miller has disappointed of late. I see top 10 physical talent there, but I think he's just a dumb guy. You can be a dumb guy at RB and be very successful though. I just haven't seen it on the field enough this preseason (just flashes). I like our starting LBs well enough. (I love Ellerbe), but I don't care for our depth. I can say the same about our secondary. The starters are very good and CB goes five deep, but there are a couple of guys I'd really want to upgrade.
The way it appears right now, Thomas just might be the starter at RB this year. Miller is better suited as a change of pace back. Just like he was used when Bush was here last year. Grey will probably be used when the Dolphins need short yardage and down close to the goal line. I don't see Gillislee as one of the top three backs and it wouldn't surprise me if he is cut and maybe added to the practice squad if no team claims him. I'm not a big Thomas fan, but so far he has been the best RB on the team during preseason. There is absolutely no way the Dolphins would trade him at this time. I personally think RB will end up being a problem for the Dolphins this year and I wish Bush was still on the roster. He is better than any of the RB's now on the Dolphins roster.
53 updated as follows here after the Bucs game: After the Bucs game, I'm thinking I'm more unsure of the 53 now than ever... needless to say, there will be a lot of roster turnover at the bottom 5 to 7 guys... meaning we'll be bringing in guys from other teams to fill those spots... so this is kinda pointleess at this stage but here goes. WR Hartline, Wallace, Gibson, Matthews, McNutt OL Martin, Incognito, Pouncey, Samuda, Clabo, Garner, Thomas, Jerry, Yeatman TE Egnew, Sims, Clay RB/FB Miller, Thomas, Gillislee, Rodriguez QB Tannehill, Devlin, Moore DL Wake, Odrick, Starks, Soliai, Vernon, Shelby, Randall, Jordan, Francis LB Misi, Ellerbe, Wheeler, Freeny, Trusnik, Kaddu, Spitler CB Grimes, Patterson, Taylor, Davis, Carroll S Clemons, Jones, Wilson, McCray K/P/ST: Sturgis, Fields, Thigpen, Denney Out: Bumphis (just not getting the reps), Louis (nothing to see here), Marshall, Gray (that fumble was a killer) In: McNutt (runs nice routes, I like Tyms too for the PS if he's eligible), Spitler (special teams), Carroll (guess so), Gillislee (good game tonight) IMO there are clearly some guys who shouldn't be buying property in South Florida just yet. Gillislee and McNutt especially.
I'm hoping there will be a quality running back to pick up before the first game of the season starts.
I don't see Francis making practice squad (someone will claim him). Robertson is likely for PS Bumphis's reps have plummeted and I am not sure why. Has he been that bad in practice?
I don't really see the Dolphins keeping 3 QB's on the 53 man roster. Devlin just hasn't seemed to improve his play during his time with the Dolphins. If Tannehill and Moore were to go down and Devlin had to fill in for the last 15 games. I think 3-4 wins would be about the best this team would do.
Devlin has been objectively better than Moore this preseason. Devlin has been hampered by our 3rd string oline, and has literally outplayed Moore.
I doubt it. Everyone fumbles. Without gray we have no one who can pick short yardage or punch it in from the goal line. Daniel Thomas is literally one of the worst RBs in the league at that.
The problem is, and I agree with you, this coaching staff doesn't seem to agree. There is nothing that Daniel Thomas brings to this team that couldn't be filled with Gillislee or Gray. And obviously a couple things like short yardage situations, things they could do better.
The more I think about the Bumphis situation, the more its becoming obvious to me. I think they restricted Bumphis' play in hopes to keep him on the practice squad. They seem to like Tyms and his size.
I don't think they agree that Gray fumble last night sealed his fate. But I'm with you in not understanding what the staff sees in Thomas. Thomas: [table="width: 300"] [tr] [td]Att[/td] [td]Yrds[/td] [td]Avg[/td] [td]TD[/td] [td]Fumble[/td] [td]Long[/td] [/tr] [TR="bgcolor: #009ca5"] [td]19[/td] [td]52[/td] [td]2.7[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]13[/td] [/tr] [/table] Gray: [table="width: 300"] [tr] [td]Att[/td] [td]Yrds[/td] [td]Avg[/td] [td]TD[/td] [td]Fumble[/td] [td]Long[/td] [/tr] [TR="bgcolor: #009ca5"] [td]33[/td] [td]99[/td] [td]3.0[/td] [td]2[/td] [td]1[/td] [td]29[/td] [/tr] [/table] Gillislee: [table="width: 300"] [tr] [td]Att[/td] [td]Yrds[/td] [td]Avg[/td] [td]TD[/td] [td]Fumble[/td] [td]Long[/td] [/tr] [TR="bgcolor: #009ca5"] [td]28[/td] [td]78[/td] [td]2.7[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]0[/td] [td]10[/td] [/tr] [/table] Thomas has run against better competition but he's also had better blocking. Gray was also used in goal line situations so his average will be lower, but he did get 2 tds out of it. In case anyone isn't paying attention, you'll notice that even though DT is getting hype and Gillislee is getting cut by fans...they virtually identical numbers.
That's the impression I get. My guess is, they keep 6 receivers -- Wallace, Hartline, Gibson, Matthews, McNutt, and Tyms. They will see if they can get Bumphis on the practice squad. Bumphis has gone 2 games without a target. The only other reason I can think of for his lack of action is that they have already decided that he's on the team and were giving McNutt and Tyms more opportunities to see what they can do. With Daniel Thomas, it will not surprise me if they start shopping him around. They talked him up and gave him a lot of reps with the 1st team over the past 2 weeks. They talked him up to the point that there was a suggestion that he was pushing Lamar Miller for the top running back spot. When given the opportunity, Thomas didn't perform. Outside of a couple of runs this preseason, Daniel Thomas has been the same old Daniel Thomas. He's a big back that doesn't run like a big back. He kind of reminds me of Terry Kirby back in the day. Terry was a 230+ lbs running back that looked like he ran on glass all the time. Terry was a much better receiver though.
Moore has NEVER been very good during practice or in the preseason. Devlin outplayed Moore during the preseason last year. All Moore is good at is getting the job done when he is called on to play in a regular season game. I don't think Moore would be an effective long term starter in the NFL, but he is still one of the top backups in the NFL. I don't see Devlin ever being more than a third QB on any roster in the NFL. With Tannehill and Moore as their starter and backup, I would rather see the coaching staff keep a player at another position, instead of a third string QB. I doubt any other team would pick up Devlin this season and the Dolphins could probably resign him at a later date in case Tannehill or Moore are injured and they want to go with a QB who is familiar with their offense.
Gray's problem is that Gillislee was drafted, and unfortunately that tends to mean it isn't a fair competition. Thus that fumble becomes something that enables evaluators already biased towards their own draft pick to lean further in that directon. I don't agree with it but if we're keeping just 3 backs (not counting Thigpen) then Gray is going to have a hard time making the team. Hopefully he can make it onto the practice squad.
That and the fact he didn't appear to to have any quickness or explosion in the game. Prior to the game, I thought he would be an effective RB when the Dolphins got close to the other teams goal line or in short yardage situations. He just didn't look good at all last night. Gillislee is what he is and I hope the Dolphins are able to find another RB in the next few weeks who can come in and compete for a spot on the 53 man roster.
After yesterday, I could see the Jets and Bills bringing in Devlin. They're looking at Leinart and Beck right now. Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk
If it were my call on some of the bubble players I'd let Clay go for starters. He runs terrible, easy to read routes and can't make the tough catch. After watching both of Rodriguez's catch and runs last night I feel like he would be an instance upgrade in Clay's role. He has got a quick twitch to his play that I really like. Letting Clay go would open a roster spot to keep Lane as the blocking FB ... just don't throw to the dude What to do with Egnew? No throws his way that I can remember. Gray hurt himself big time with the late fumble. I think he would have given us that short yardage HB we need. If they decide to cut him, I would hope they will be looking over the waiver wire for a HB that can pick up the tough yards. None of our other HBs have that ... of course some of the fault for that can be put on the O-Line. John Jerry just isn't ready. Once he was replaced the line blocking actually improved until the backups came in. I think it was Samuda who came in and was at least somewhat serviceable. I was really hoping Louis would stabilize RG ... not sure if his knee is 100% or not, but he looks rough out there. Martin & Cogs are OK on the left side, but if we lose either it will spell big trouble as our depth is pretty bad. Another season of Clemons at Safety is going to give me gas when it comes to him being one on one with a ball carrier. Takes bad angles and is easily faked out. Can we clone Jones? Please? The fumble by Thigpen is why I cringe on every punt. The long return is why I get excited on every punt. With no one else looking like they have much to offer I guess we are stuck with him. I'd use Hartline to take over Bess' designated fair catcher role.
Lane is not going to make this team. I saw him blow at least one block this morning that almost got Gillislee killed. He will likely be among the first major cuts.
If their salaries were the same, they'd keep Devlin over Moore if we only had two qb's on the roster. Thing is, Moore's salary makes it impossible to release him this year. I don't think we'd trade him, but you never know.
Great, maybe he will become their starter and that would assure the Dolphins at least two wins this season. I think if I was either of these teams, Leinart, Beck, or even Harrell would be a better option than Devlin if the Dolphins cut him. Sorry but I just don't see Devlin as a player this team needs to keep on the 53 man roster. The coaching staff and many people on here probably disagree, but that's just the way I see it.
At times, Daniel Thomas reminds me of another #33 from Florida State. But I think he's solidly on the 53. Our problem last night with the Bucs was that their 1st team d line is really good vs the run and we had difficulty running behind Martin and Incognito.
