Tony Sparano just went out of his way to mention the play of Kendall Langford yesterday.

http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/aquavision/aquavision.asp?category=1&mediaid=40892

 

I did this a while back in Week 10. Obviously I need to go through and account for the last 6 regular season games and the Ravens playoff game, but this should give you just some of my opinions about them. Just so you know, Merling really got better towards the end of the season and became a bigger contributor to the D so my opinion of him went up a lot since week 10; when I wasn't so high on him.

I am just going to throw in the other players I evaluted back in week 10 as well. REMEMBER MY OPINONS HAVE CHANGED, so don't get all mad at me lol.

1.) Jake Long-10 games Started at LT
Thus far, Jake has been a beast at LT for this team. He has held down the LT position amazingly well for a Rookie. I still believe he is better suited for the RT position; not because he is inadequate in Pass Pro, but because he is so dominate at Run blocking. There have been a few times this season that Jake has missed an assignment or misread the defense, however those small mistakes are becoming few and far between. He is a relatively clean player and has committed few Holding or False Start penalties.
Grade: 9.5/10

2a.) Phillip Merling- 10 GP, 2 Games Started: 15 Tackles, 1 Sack
When we made this pick I was really happy, most rankings and projections had him going anywhere from pick 18-28. Getting him at 32 was a steal IMO. All that being said, I have thought of this pick as so-so since watching Merling play. It is really difficult to determine 3-4 defensive linemans value. Purely looking at his stats you would think he isn't that good of a player for us; however he has been a vital part in our rotation and Holds his point of attack for the most part (which is HUGE in the 3-4). Personally, I would like to see him used more as a DE in the 3-4, but a lack of talent and depth at the DT position has forced him to play there at times. He has a excellent motor and doesn't give up on plays. Some people still say he wil eventually play LB for us, but at 6-4, 290 I just dont see it in the near future. Average pick.
Grade: 7/10

2b.) Chad Henne- 2 GP; 7-12 for 67 yards. 74.0 QB Rating
Im not going to lie guys. I was really upset when we made this selection. I really wanted Brohm and almost cried when the Packers picked him right in front of us. Looking back, I think this was a HUGE pick for the future of this team (AND I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG). Chad Henne looked really sharp in Pre-season action and can make all NFL throws. Our Front Office and/or our Offensive Coordinator said that Henne is as good as Matt Ryan is right now. While I am not sure if that is 100% true, even if they are close with that assessment I would be pleased. I think Henne will learn a great deal from Pennington and will be a great starter in 2 to 3 years barring a Pennington injury. There where many rumors before the draft that Henne was our guy and that we where thinking about trading up to the late 1st round to get him. I think it was great that we were able to stick with our plan and draft him with our second 2nd round pick.
Grade: 8.5/10

3.) Kendall Langford- 10 GP, 8 GS: 19 Tackles 2 Sacks
Once again I am not going to lie about my original reaction after we selected Langford; I was confused. I saw a lot of talent still on the board at the time and didn't know much about Langford so I considered this a really big reach. And I felt that reaching was something a 1-15 team didn't have the luxuary of doing. Luckily, Langford was quick to prove me wrong and has emerged as one of my favorite new Dolphins. He got sacks in each of his first two games and has been a solid 3-4 end ever since. At 6-6, 290 Langford has played a huge part in our newly transformed DL and has done a great job "holding his blockers up" and allowing our LB core to make plays. He plays like a man on fire and is ALWAYS around the ball especially on runs. While his stats seem average Langford will develope into a beast on our DL for years to come.
Grade: 9/10

 

...yet, neither one provides much of a pass rush so thats something were going to need to address in the offseason, be it a DE or a LB.

 

well they're 3-4 dlineman. In a 3-4 the OLBs are supposed to get the pressure. The problem is Roth not getting any pass rush at OLB, not these two at DE.

UCF Finatic, has your opinion on Merling changed, even a little, after that pick 6 against the Jets? It was definitely an impressive and athletic play.

 

Big time issue that needs to be taken care of. IMO, we could use a DE, ILB, and OLB. Maybe get 2/3 of those in FA and draft a secondary player and NT high in the draft. That'd be amazing.

 

I've seen just about enough out of Roth. He's working very hard to be an "ok" 3-4 OLB.

And in a dominant 3-4, "ok" does not cut it.

 

agreed. I don't hate the guy, but there just needs to be more talent there.

 

Great post :up:

I'd like to see someone opsite of Porter that can get a huge pass rush...Jason Taylor maybe?? :shifty:

 

Yes it has. When you try to evalute players you try not to over or under look one play. That was a very, very impressive read and react play from a young player, which you don't see very often. It was a very veteran move. Another thing to note was how he got a lot more playing time towards the end of the season then in the beginning, which tells me he has been getting better during practice and the coaches have noticed.

 

I agree. I wouldn't mind seeing Jerry Hughes spelling him in passing situations. :D

 

We're talking about needing a pass rusher. Roth is fine for containing runs, but he's not anywhere close to an elite LB that we need for a dominating pass rush.

 

i understand that, but when you have your LBs dropping back into coverage, you still a push from your DEs. Not to mention wrapping up RBs that run by. I dont think either one of them stands out in this regard. They seem to do the little things good, but theyre not going to make big plays IMO. The pick six against Farve by Merling was kind of a freak play.

 

Rookie lineman generally start coming into their own in their second and third years. Mario Williams did poorly as a rookie, but has gotten better every year. I'm not concerned with their futures. I think they'll both emerge next season in all aspects of their game.

 

Your still going to need a consistent pass rusher opposite of the replacement for Joey Porter. I love how Roth sets the edge but he's not a very good pass rusher.

 

good point. we'll have to wait and see

 

Right. And I really don't ever see him overcoming the reasons he isn't. Can't extend those T-Rex arms he has. Setting an edge is important, but isn't game changing like a solid pass rush.

 

Definitely. Just point it out.:wink2:

 

Personally I think we should address the NT, LB (both ILB and OLB), CB, and WR through the draft.. If we can bring in Dansby, Asomuhga, or someone to eliminate one of those needs above, then that's great.. I don't think FS and SS are that big of a need because Bell is a great starter (if we re-sign him) and Hill a solid starter that (according to Bell) runs the secondary because he's a very smart player. I am just fine with Hill being our free safety for another year or two because I think he's a solid starter. However, we could use a nose tackle to eventually replace Ferguson and some linebackers.. A wide receiver would be nice to get, but it's not really a necessity. Wouldn't hurt to shore up that offensive line as well.

I don't know why, but I don't see the secondary and wide receiver corp. as big of a need as some seem to...

 

I would love Dansby and Kevin Burnett (paired along with Ayodele who at worst is a solid reserve) in the offseason. And if we could manage to get OJ Atogwe from StL that would be butta!

 

I don't think it ever has as big of a role as pass rushing.

I would never look at the Jets game as an example either because Washington still ran all over us and was mysteriously (or stupidly) abandoned in the game plan.

 

it'll be much easier to get a WR or CB/S in the draft than a NT, i know that much is true.

 

Dansby is easily #1 on my wish list.

 

but our lack of pass rushing was exposed in the Ravens game when Flacco had all day to throw. I saw that too much during the course of the season.

 

Not sure how it was exposed. Flacco played extremely poorly. Take away that one amazing catch by Mason and he did nothing at all.

Of course the pass rush was terrible, but that had nothing to do with the outcome.