When the Dolphins traded up in the 2013 draft to grab Dion Jordan No. 3 overall, they envisioned him as an athletic, pass-rushing freak.
But nearly two years into his tenure in Miami, the Dolphins can’t find a regular spot for him in the lineup.
For the first time Monday, defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle acknowledged that coaches would consider moving Jordan next season from defensive end to outside linebacker, where the Dolphins have a much greater need.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/s...ns-will-consider-moving-dion-jordan-to/njYmH/
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Only took Coyle 2 years to figure out what we've all known since we drafted him.
mlb1399, Larryfinfan, Hiruma78 and 10 others like this. -
At very least I'm assuming this means Jordan is going to drop weight and go back to being an edge rusher, which is excellent.
The linebacker position in a base defense really isn't a pass rushing position. It's generally filled by 3-4 OLB, and sometimes that player might be a Nickel edge rusher, but the base package position is a "true" linebacker role.DPlus47, cuchulainn and RoninFin4 like this. -
I think we as fans forget there's more to matching a position and player then just physical ability.
3 parts to matching a player to a position:
- Physical Ability
- Mental Acuity
- Drive/Determination/Heart/etc.
While Jordan certainly has the physical ability in spades, he may have been lacking in one or both of the others parts. And that is something, we as fans, simply don't know because we don't have that kind of access.Fin4Ever, unluckyluciano, Sceeto and 6 others like this. -
Fin4Ever, Larry Little and Fin D like this.
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Too little, too late for Coyle. I think he should be gone after this season. I know it's extremely far fetched but I would like to see Rex come on down to fill that job.
resnor likes this. -
I think I read they wanted to move him there before this season but because of his suspension it complicated the move so they decided to hold off.
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Better late than never I suppose.
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My question with Dion Jordan moving to OLB would be does Miami just simply plug him into Philip Wheeler's spot with Chris McCain as a backup (honestly, that's intriguing), or do they tweak the defense to where they're aligning more like Denver does with a bigger, more stout base DE in Derek Wolfe that allows Von Miller to rush more? Miami did this in 2012 with Jared Odrick, but I think we all can see that Koa Misi is not a Von Miller type of OLB. You could say the same thing with respect to Seattle having Red Bryant there last year and now moving Michael Bennett to being a full-time starter with Bruce Irvin coming off the edge.
I like Olivier Vernon, but I'm not sure he's the right player to have in front of Dion Jordan if you're moving Dion Jordan to OLB.Pandarilla, DPlus47, DolphinGreg and 1 other person like this. -
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[video]http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCQQ3ywwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNop tofKbQ04&ei=M4SZVJC5KsukNvbpgfAC&usg=AFQjCNEiEI08oeuj0On6rOqdfNI7u244gQ&bvm=bv.82001339,d.eXY[/video]
cuchulainn likes this. -
Gee. where we have we seen a tweener DE/OLB who played standing up and in a 3 pt stance.
I just can't think of where that has worked before... -
That's probably going to cost, and you're not really fixing the DT problem either.RoninFin4 likes this. -
Isn't Dion Jordan a pass rusher first and foremost?
Why in the world would we want to take such a premier talent and ask him to cover and make tackles in space?
How is that a good thing? -
Took two years to see what most would have seen coming out of the draft.
mbsinmisc, Clark Kent, RoninFin4 and 1 other person like this. -
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For these reasons I could not support him as the #3 overall pick. But he did have a tremendous amount of potential as an outside linebacker where he could rush, drop back in coverage, play in space with surprising ability, and perhaps even blitz with high efficiency (more effective blitzer than pass rusher and there most certainly is a difference). Guys that lengthy with that kind of speed and fluidity, just not common.
There's a reason they had him shadow Megatron in man coverage during the final stages of the Detroit game. Now, that was a dumb move in my overall opinion, but only because they haven't been training the guy in space as a linebacker and in coverage from the start. They've been doing the opposite, which in my opinion was misguided. I could see it in his rookie year because if pass rush was his biggest stumbling block then I can see the logic in allowing him to be a relative redshirt while he trains up that pass rush under Kacy Rodgers as a full time pass rush specialist. You could justify the move on that basis, thinking long term. Maybe not the smartest move, but justifiable. However in 2014 when they reaffirmed that he is a down defensive end ONLY, even implying that they were going to take away what little coverage duties he had in 2013 (e.g. Gronkowski a few times, Graham a few times, etc)...that was a mistake. By now he should have already been training as a linebacker. And to just throw him in cold with barely any training to shadow the best wide receiver in football during a clutch moment was beyond reckless.
But with a little bit of training, it won't be so reckless anymore. It's something he could do for the defense that presents real value, if trained properly.
I don't know what possessed Jeff Ireland to scout the Oregon outside linebacker and say hey this guy can be our full time down defensive end in our 4-3 defense opposite a lightweight defensive end like Cam Wake.
Just didn't make sense.Fin4Ever, jim1, Pandarilla and 4 others like this. -
I doubt it comes to that as I feel like Kevin Coyle is too much in love with Olivier Vernon. -
Jordan transitioning to LB would help the need at that position, leaving only MLB to be filled (Jenkins should obviously start at OLB next season too). Surprised it took so long.
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Phins_Fan_87 likes this.
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mccain, misi, jenkins, and jordan would be a nice linebacking unit
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Pandarilla likes this.
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Clark Kent likes this.
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I'd also consider using Wake less frequently in base D so that we could more appropriately mirror the offense's strong side. Glue Vernon to the weak side while having whichever bigger DE we get [hopefully] follow around the strong side.Pandarilla likes this. -
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Put him in a Jamie Collins rover type role.
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Secondly and most importantly, Ireland extensively did his goddam homework on Jordan before trading up to #3 for such a dynamic player he confidently believed would specifically be playing OLB, so spare me the "you don't know what drills they put him through" bull****. If there's one thing Ireland has been great at it's identifying defensive talent, especially pass rushers, most specifically- hybrid type pass rushers who can play 3-4 OLB, and he runs circles around Philbum & Coyle in doing so.
You act like Miami was run by WalterFootball and spent all of 10 minutes watching a couple YouTube clips of Dion before drafting him. He was thoroughly f***ing vetted first to determine the type of player he is, the type of person he is, the position he'll play, and whether or not Ireland and his evaluators feel strongly enough about his potential at that position to make him the draft's first defender taken, and I guarantee you Ireland and his staff invested a LOT MORE TIME in making this evaluation than whatever Coyle & Philbum did at the start of Jordan's rookie year while he was still recovering from February shoulder surgery that limited his participation early on when these so-called assessments you speak of would've been made.Fin4Ever, MrClean and Pandarilla like this. -
But fine, neither of us know what happened and what didn't.....so you're right and I can't be? Awesome logic. -
jldolfan and Pandarilla like this.
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They jumped the gun on Dion. They did the complete opposite of what you said they did- they stuck him in at DE without providing him opportunity to show out at OLB. Dion missed most of the early practices due to his shoulder, and within 3 days of him finally suiting up he was penciled in at DE where he was expected to face a positional battle with Vernon. As far as his "mentality" goes that you spoke of questionably, Cam Wake specifically stated during camp that he displayed the correct mental approach, and I'm guessing by teammate reactions to Dion's big special teams play that he's well liked and heavily supported by them. It was the type of reaction you'd expect toward a player who is doing everything asked of him and finally gets a moment to shine.jldolfan, MrClean and Pandarilla like this.
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