I watched his games pre-injury. When I've criticized how he played, it was based on those pre-injury games. If he wasn't hurt during the San Francisco (prior to leaving the game) and Dallas games, then ouch.

 

It's a pretty common injury when you have facial trauma where a thin bone in your eye socket breaks. I'm kinda surprised it doesn't happen more often in the NFL. You can have the extraocular muscles that move the eye get trapped by the fragment or you can have the eye shift within the socket and get double vision or be unable to move your eye properly.

It'd be a huge pain in the ***, but I'm not sure it really absolves his bad play either.

 

The data I gathered a while ago about Grimes suggests he absolutely could be old enough to fall off the map. I've seen other corners peak at 27-28 years old and turn to crap by 29. Samari Rolle is a good example.

 

About half and half.

 

Should be noted he did not appear on the NFL injury report with a "thigh" injury (i.e. hamstring) until Week 5 which was the week after he broke his orbital bone trying to tackle Anquan Boldin unsuccessfully en route to a touchdown.

I read an article where Finnegan stated in pretty certain terms that the thigh injury was non-existent. They were hiding his orbital bone break.

 

One could probably make the case that his pre-injury games were collectively worse than the final 3 in weeks 8-10, right before he went on IR

 

Absolutely. I mean if you want to stack up his stats and PFF ratings from 2012 thru the first four games of 2013, I don't think it'd be very flattering.

 

When the Rams played the Titans in week 9, for some reason they did not target him and chose to run the ball a high pct of the time. That helps his QB rating over those last 3 games. His combined QB rating into his coverage for those 3 games was 81.2. Compared to the first 4 games of the season up to and including the SF game, when the combined rating was 158.3, 81.2 seems excellent.

When there were so many other viable options for a veteran CB for the same or less money, the gamble on Finnegan is going to make or break this Free Agency class IMO, unless Jamar Taylor comes on strong and outright wins the #2 job and plays well. Thus making the signing of Finnegan a lot less critical.

 

You never know and it's even more difficult to predict without a significant injury history.

Look at Derek Cox turning to crap at 26-27.

 

The point to look at where Finnegan fell off in St Louis would be 2012. Starts off strongly in the first 6 games and then just falls off a cliff. I'd be curious to know if anything happened from game 4 through 7-9 (when he went off the cliff).

 

I hope Finnegan plays well for us. It'll help the team AND shut up the critics too. Win-win.

 

anyone considered that there is a very good chance Finnegan will make a go of it.
http://www.miamidolphins.com/multim...ghlights/d9856e14-7b0e-4471-8b9e-fbddd1a53d54

can you imagine Grimes & Finnegan playing at potential?

then there is the Louis Delmas acquisition to be considered... another bone-head move? I don't think so
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GrS7KlB_WU

this is a very well thought-out inexpensive limited risk that could pay big dividends for Miami in 2014.

if these guys hit stride they will dictate the pace & attitude of our defense, terrorizing the opposition offenses they play against...

 

Happy to have him no matter what you think.
Never know what might become of him.
I hear that most that bashed the Grimes signing last season are afraid to post anything about a CB in forums this upcoming season. :chuckle:

 

Signing him to the contract that we did when there were much safer bets for only slightly more money does seem odd. My guess is that the team can honestly only focus on so many players at one time, and corner just wasn't at the top of the list. Either way, with our cap space, its not a crippling move even if he doesn't pan out. If he does, we're in a great spot and could have terrific depth at the position. If nothing else, it almost completely eliminates corner as a possibility for a pick in the first three rounds.

 

The situation with Grimes was markedly different than the one with Finnegan. Grimes performance had not taken a major nose dive immediately prior to his injury that cost him 15 games in 2012. As long as his Achilles was healed, it wouldn't be overly optimist to expect he could regain his form.

Finnegan's performance began a strong downward trend mysteriously midway through 2012. This trend continued the first 4 games in 2013. Then he got hurt, missed 3 games, came back for 3 games, and actually had his performance go from miserable to middling before getting placed on IR.
The first 8 games of 2012 the QB rating into his coverage was 64.8. The final 8 games the QB rating when throwing into his coverage was 94.3

Then in 2013, up to and including game 4, the 49ers game, when he got hurt, the QB rating into his coverage exploded to over 158. He missed 3 games, before playing 3 more, in which the QB rating came down to a middling 81.2. Then was placed on IR.

Just looking at the two sets of circumstances, it seems logical to me for one to have been more optimistic about Grimes making a comeback than about Finnegan making one. Although he could and I certainly hope he does.

 

"I'm stubborn". No . He was detrimental to his team and ego won. Not good. He's a CB and sight was the issue. Unreal. Vision to a DB is the equivalent to an arm to a QB or a Knee to a RB. Not impresssed.

 

Finnegan said it best at his press conference. He said he lost his trademark chippiness the last few years and that's what always made him tick. He can be a real turd and get under people's skin and that's what made him effective in Tennessee. He's not gifted enough to not play with that edge.

Also playing more off man instead of press will help a player whose recovery speed isn't what it was 3 years ago. Welcome to Miami, Cortland. Hopefully we see the player we all saw in Tennessee.