After the playoff loss to the Ravens, an unhappy Tony Sparano bluntly said we needed to get bigger and stronger. Well, true to form, this regime has gone out and done what they promised this offseason. Have a look.
Center
Signed - Jake Grove C 6-4 300
Replaced - Samson Satele C 6-3 300
He's not bigger than Samson, but known to be more powerful.
Cornerback
Signed - Eric Green CB 5-11 196
Drafted - Vontae Davis CB 5'11" 203
Drafted - Sean Smith CB 6'4" 214
Replaced - Andre Goodman CB 5-10 190
Vontae's known as good tackler/hitter and is more powerful and physically intense than Goodman. Sean Smith is just a size/speed combination freak at corner at that height and weight. Even the less ballyhooed Eric Green has five pounds and an inch on Goodman. We got *much* bigger across the board here, in order to deal with the Randy Moss' and Terrell Owens of the AFC East, plus support the run.
Safety
Signed - Gibril Wilson
6-0 210
Drafted - Chris Clemons
6'0"
208
Replaced - Renaldo Hill
5-11 205
Much more of a hitter with more power than Renaldo Hill. Gibril also has an inch and five pounds on him. Clemons has similar size. We've gotten bigger and more physical at the back end.
Offensive Tackle
Signed - Joe Berger OT 6-5 310
Drafted - Andrew Gardner OT
6'7"
304
Not an upgrade on the size nor strength of either Jake Long (6-7, 310)
or Vernon Carey (6-5 350). This is one area that did not need a size upgrade.
Wide Receiver
Drafted - Patrick Turner
6'5"
223
Drafted - Brian Hartline
6'2"
195
Upgrading- Undersized starting receivers
Despite having Ernest Wilford (6-4 225) and Brandon London (6-4 210) on the roster, they combined for a total of 6 catches and 0 TDs last season. Fact is, the receivers who DID see the field were Greg Camarillo (6-1 190), Ted Ginn (5-11 180_, and Davone Bess (5-10 190) are all small guys. This team is trying to get bigger players on the field to produce. We need size for redzone touchdowns, and to run block in our power running game. Turner and Hartline )especially Turner) add two guys with size who have a chance to see the field. I'm sure the regime is hoping to see their investment in Ernest Wilford return something this year if he returns to form and can crack the starting line-up. Between Wilford, London and Turner, we should have one large receiver step up. hartline is a nice complement and his roster spot probably depends on competing with Brandon London for special teams contributions. Turner and Hartline may help push london or Wilford to produce. Either way, SOMEONE with some size should win a starting role out of these four.
Tight End
Drafted - John Nalbone
6'4"
251
This is the one position where we already have more size than we acquired.
Fasano is 6'4" 255, David Martin is 6-4 265, and Joey Haynos is 6-7 265. Nalbone is a developmental guy, however, who will have a couple of offseasons to add bulk. He'll probably end up playing at 255-260lbs in 2010. Not an upgrade in size here.
LB
Signed - Cameron Wake 6'3' 267lbs (per Rotoworld)
Drafted - JD Folsom
6-3 230lbs
Wake is a good-sized, explosive OLB who adds some more size to the LB corps. Folsom is undersized, and will only make this team if he contributes well on kickoff and punt coverage units, in my opinion. I'm surprised by his signing, quite frankly, at his size.
Summary
Overall the trend is clear, we are getting bigger at most positions. We are also replacing less physical players with ones who are bigger hitters or more powerful blockers. Functional strength and power, plus a physically aggressive mentality is replacing the less physical players.
Teams who play us next year are in for a long day indeed.
[NOTE - We will still be signing several more free agents. I will try to update this as that happens.]
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