Dolphin DL

He's got all of 31 snaps as a NT, I don't see how you can draw that conclusion.

 

Well, here is my take:

-This is the hard work portion of rebuilding the Dolphins Franchise paying off, Tuna, Ireland and Sparano have invested heavily in the Defensive Line in terms of draft picks and development and FA signings, this performance imo, should be viewed as the substitute for taking flashier offensive players in the Draft.

Two #1's a trade up in the draft to take Langford, a FA signing, a trade, and literal yrs developing Soliai and the two high draft choices have made no impact this season but that is how much of an investment they have made into that unit.

 

Must sign Solai and Mcd...young, good, and developed by us...

Irish has got some signings to do this offseason...Solai, Wake, Mcd....That might limit us somewhat in free agency but I think those three are worth it.

 

Well, put it this way, there is going to be a lockout so do not expect any huge contracts to be offered.

And Soliai should be the priority FA signing, or at least make designate him as a the notch below "Franchise" player as NT's are massively expensive to sign..as for McD, with Odie and Merling coming back in 2011 does it make sense to re-up him Deej?

 

I wouldn't and here is why:

Soliai has had 3.5 season where he was mediocre, he has weight issues, and if there is a lockout, if you sign him now to a big money deal he could look like an Orca waddling onto the practice field next September, it would be better to tag him and see what happens, if he maintains himself during the layoff then you can think about a big money deal, if he shows up at Camp and weighs 400 pds and he has 15 million in a signing bonus in his pocket the Dolphins are screwed as the new labor deal could have a Salary Cap.

 

Because of how much we like to rotate our Line, IMO re-signing McD should be a priority. Only Langford has more tackles on the Dline.

The other reason I keep him: Tony is just beginning to come into his own IMO. Just as it took Starks 5 years BEFORE he really emerged, McD will be entering his 6th year in 2011. If we re-sign him now, we could potentially be getting a bargain for him....... or even recoup a much higher draft pick than we paid for him.

 

I understand where you're coming from, but I actually disagree with you. Soliai's playing with confidence and has tasted blood..... and he's displaying some serious emotion & passion out there. I think we need to positively reinforce him now and keep him mentally riding the high he's currently on. He's never really had any sort of standard to be held to previously (as a mid round pick/non-starter) which can effect the effort he gives. However, now he does have a standard, and IMO if we can hold him to it, he'll be motivated to keep up with it (or even exceed it) b/c I feel these are the sort of principles he has. All we have to do is keep reminding him that he's playing for his family. He was a 350 lb college kid who's now finally becoming a man. We've yet to see the best from Paul, and by next year I believe he'll potentially be playing like 1st round NT talent who becomes the key to our defense.

 

Our Dline is the strength of this team IMO. One of the keys to that is the quality of depth we have to maintain a strong rotation. If we allow McD to walk, then we lose a good bit of that depth and can potentially compromise our team's strength. We don't know how Merling will rebound.... and Odrick's health shouldn't be counted on as 100% dependable.

 

I loved that sack! Heck with "another one"...... I wanna see another "bunch". lol. I'd re-sign him ASAP before his price goes up even higher..... b/c every game could be an increased amount to his dollar figure.

Plus, these guys are building some great cohesion together.... and a strong sense of team. It seams like they feed off each other IMO, and I'd really hate to break that up.

For me, I don't see them as "Starks, Langford, McD, and Soliai" per say. I see them as "1 unit"...... and a great f'n unit at that who will only get better as they become more seasoned. Add Odrick and Merling to it, and it's an even better & deeper unit who will stay strong despite multiple injuries (just as we're seeing this year with multiple injuries).

 

SB, it'll be interesting to see Soliai against my previous love fest, Alex Mack. lol. This'll be a good test for both of them IMO.

 

Conu believes that Odrick has the potential to play nose...... but I'd still like to get in another big Soliai type body who can dominate at nose while being a capable end too. These guys seem to take a few years to develop, so if we get a young one now, he could be ready to take over for Starks spot when Randy's contract expires in 3 years IIRC. I'd prefer to plan for the future to constantly keep our Dline a strength year in and year out.

 

Maybe our Oline could equal that by landing Mankins and having Jerry a year seasoned.

Where would we be this year if we didn't have this much depth and talent on our Dline. If any other team lost 2 players on their Dline drafted in the top 32, they'd probably look pretty poor, and their season might even be over....... but not us! This is all the reason I need to keep them ALL intact.

 

Ok.... I'll take Mack. Watching his play can actually say a lot about our defense.

 

The problem is that McD knows that as well. I read that Miami submitted him an offer, however he didn't sign it. I think he is going to test the market unless Miami pays him a decently big deal.

 

At least he's seen slightly less limited snaps b/c of our rotation..... so I'm curious as to exactly "how much" the rest of the league would be willing to pay him. Will they pay him starting money? I'd pay him borderline starting money. We probably low-balled him early hoping he'll sign before he has an opportunity to finish showing his worth. I just get this feeling that he's on the verge of becoming a pro-bowl caliber DE who could end up becoming one of our best DEs.

Merling's contract is up after next year. I'd rather keep McD and skip re-signing Phil..... then re-sign Langford next year and possibly let Starks hit FA the year after that. Then we'd end up with McD, Langford, Odrick, and Soliai after 2012.

I'm wondering if we could re-sign McD & Langford for close to the $27 million we're paying Starks & Merling combined. If we can, then I say we keep both of them and let Merl & Starks walk after their contracts are up. Couldn't we stagger their contracts so there's no serious spike in cap money on any of the years?

 

I think it'll be enjoyable watching how we do against Hillis (despite at the beginning of the year thinking this would be a less than enjoyable game to watch)

 

Merling, Starks, Chris Baker (who is one hell of an athlete if you look up his numbers) Ryan Baker.

 

Me either. I'm not really worried about us playing down to their level like NO and NE did. At least I hope we learned from their mistake.

 

All his snaps at NT came in a game in which the opposing offense averaged 2.9 yards a carry. Doesn't mean he did a great job, but it's difficult to see how he played poorly.

I don't think you can really put the genie back into the bottle in regards to Randy Starks. He was elite at DE last year, but the DE position is different in Nolan's defense. Pasqualoni had him as a 1-gap DE, the position is 2-gap in Nolan's generally. He's forced to engage and shed blockers who have a significant reach advantage on him heads up over the Tackles, where as a 1-gap player he was trying to avoid their blocks and penetrate. He'd still be 2-gap at NT in Nolan's system, but he wouldn't be going against guys who all are generally 6'5"+ and have a big reach advantage on him.

 

I like how we won last week too. We seemed more like more of an aggressive, assertive team than we did through the first 8 or 9 games. We didn't completely take our foot off the gas once we had a lead like we've seen in the past. I hope this is a sign of more of what's to come. Is it possible that Sparano AND Henne are beginning to come into their own simultaneously? After all, I'm sure it's not just players who experience a learning curve and go through a developmental stage. The thing I like the most is that he's attempting to adapt, and is having success at it recently. ?????

 

So what you're saying is we should prioritize signing McD this year and Langford next b/c they're better suited than Starks for Nolan's D? How about trading Starks next year after we see how Odrick looks in preseason etc? He's gotta be worth a 2nd.

 

This is sparanos game to show he knows how to keep his team from being flat, a lot of circumstances have been built up for this very game...now remember iam one that thinks he should be extended now, however if he falls short 2maro in motivating this team, those circumstances that have built up in this dept the past 2 years will put him squarely on the hot seat imo..

This is why I love this game...I know he knows..

 

I agree he does seem to be improving lately. Maybe he's just needed some time to adjust to a variation of his position.