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Quick Hits - 2009 Draft Edition

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Vengeful Odin, Apr 27, 2009.

  1. Vengeful Odin

    Vengeful Odin Norse Mod

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    I haven't posted one of these in quite a while, so I figured I would borrow from my regular-season format for at least the title of this post.

    The 2009 NFL Draft is now in the books. Overall I came away happy with how we did, and I'll discuss that in a little bit. There were a couple of surprises, but quite honestly I felt that there were a couple of very good picks by our team. I'm very excited to see where this team goes next fall. Let's get into it.

    What I liked

    • Double-Barreled Approach - Say what you want, but it's clear that this front office drafts based on specific areas, and they aren't afraid of taking multiple picks at the same position. Witness last year, when we doubled up at DE with Merling and Langford, as well as G with Murphy and Thomas. This year we saw a similar trend, grabbing CBs Vontae Davis and Sean Smith on Day 1 , and then nabbing WRs Patrick Turner and Brian Hartline on Day 2. It's a safe, effective approach.
    • Pat White - Say what you will about White, but there's no denying he's a talented athlete who can offer us some offensive versatility. The idea of seeing White in a Dolphins uniform makes me a little giddy. I'm envisioning a wrinkle in the Wildcat where White and Brown are side by side in backfield - and you don't know which one of them is going to get the snap. I'm trademarking the term "Double-Barreled Shotgun" now - because I think we'll see that formation before the end of next season. White, as I said, is a tremendous athlete who should allow Donald Lee and Dan Henning to get even more creative next season.
    • It's All Part of the Plan - CK posted something that I thought was particularly enlightening - year 1 the focus is OL and DL, year 2 it's CB and WR, and then year 3 it's LB and TE. That certainly seemed to be the case with how we drafted. I love the Vontae Davis and Sean Smith picks. They're both big, physical, and instinctive players. I expect Davis to start from Day 1, and I expect that we'll see Sean Smith when we go to the nickel. We needed big, physical corners to compete against the wideouts in the AFC East (See Owens, Terrell and Moss, Randy), and these two young men fit that scheme personally. Offensively, I think we'll see Patrick Turner more than you would expect, especially in the red zone. I'm envisioning a Wildcat package with Turner, White, and Brown all on the field at the same time. I like Brian Hartline, but he's raw and is going to need some time to develop. With Ginn, Bess, a returning Camarillo, Turner, and Hartline, I think we have a fairly good WR corps. I still don't know who the #1 is, but I do like that we've upgraded the position.

    What I Didn't Like

    • Pat White - I intially hated this pick, a lot. I felt like we made a luxury pick when there were other needs on the board (more on that later). While White offers a tantalizing, Vick-like mix of running and throwing ability, he's merely good in both areas and not great in either one. Perhaps White will develop into a viable threat running the Wildcat. But at the time of the pick I felt like we spent a second rounder on the next Antwaan Randel-El. As the weekend went along I mellowed to the pick, and I'm really hoping we can use him creatively in the Wildcat formation. We have to, as we just spend our second pick on him.
    • No Pass Rush? - One of the reasons for my anger at the White pick was because my personal favorite, Clint Sintim, went with the very next pick to the New York Giants. Adding insult to injury Connor Barwin went the next pick after that to the Houston Texans. We also passed on Paul Kruger at 57, instead trading down. I'm extremely concerned about Matt Roth as an OLB, and it remains to be seen if Cameron Wake can translate his CFL success to the NFL. Here's hoping that the regime is open to bringing Jason Taylor back to the Dolphins, otherwise it's going to be another long year of watching Joey Porter rush the passer (and wearing down) without getting any help from anyone else.

    Overall Thoughts

    I thought we drafted very well, again, this year. I'm very excited with the two CBs we got, and I think that the WRs will add solid depth, particularly Patrick Turner. The Pat White pick is both good and bad, I love the flexibility it gives us on offense but I hate the fact that we passed up two OLB prospects in order to draft him. I like our late round picks for the most part. John Nalbone at TE should beat out Joey Haynos as our #3 TE. Chris Clemons is an athletic guy who can be groomed to take over for Yeremiah Bell in a few years. I like Andrew Gardner a lot, and I think he could possibly even be moved in to guard at the next level. Overall, we took a safe, conservative route, and got solid players and solid value at the positions we needed the most help in. Another nice draft, at least for now, by this front office.
     
  2. 2xBlown

    2xBlown Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    You know, I got this sense too, but it is the reason why I don't like this draft. Far be it for me to question the leadership of the Dolphins, but wouldn't it be more reasonable to adjust your strategy based on how the draft unfolds and not how you want it to unfold? They probably thought they could get some good WRs and CBs in this draft, but when some quality LBs fall to you and some great overall talent is sitting there in round 4, why do you stay stubborn and take someone who you may have rated quite a bit lower?

    I think its a distinct possibility that the FO's reluctance to stray from their plan in the face of adversity made them miss on some great players and reach for ones that they didn't have to.
     
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  3. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    Good work VO. :hi5:
     
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  4. Dolphinsfan69

    Dolphinsfan69 Member

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    Good job.

    Just wanted to point out it's David Lee... not Donald Lee.
     
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  5. Vengeful Odin

    Vengeful Odin Norse Mod

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    It's a conservative approach that's both relaxing and frustrating at the same time. On the plus side, we know that they're going to stick to the plan and draft according to what they've planned, but on the other side there's no willingness to possibly score a player that's falling that shows good value.

    That's why I liked the Davis pick - it was a combination of both need and value that ended up working well for us.
     
  6. gunn34

    gunn34 I miss Don & Dan

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    Thanks VO. Nice write up.

    I too like the Double-Barreled approach. Because it's better competition and if the one you choose gets hurt or just plain sucks, you have options.

    IMO many teams need a certain position and select one guy to fill it. If he doesn't work out, they have that need again the following year until someone fills it. (just look at the Lions and their QB position)

    I agree on a flexable plan. You don't pass a Sintim or Barwin for a luxury pick like White.
     
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  7. ATVZ400

    ATVZ400 Senior Member

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    Nice work
     
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  8. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    I don't know.

    I don't think we were horrible last year at pressuring the QB. We could be better certainly, but everyone is making it sound like not getting more help there is the BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER!!!!!!

    We went 11-5 with what we had, and we added Wake & 2 CBs. I think we'll be fine.
     
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  9. Caps

    Caps Movimiento Juvenil

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    I didn't necessarily like the Pat White pick when it happened (I've warmed up to it since) but I do take issue with people saying it was a luxury pick. In your eyes it may be seen as a luxury pick, in the FO's eyes it was a necessity. If you take a look at our Wildcat against the better D's late last year, it was inept and ineffective because everyone knew that Ronnie Brown couldn't throw with consistency and loaded up the box. Now, we can do whatever we want in the Wildcat package, and I'll be the first to eat crow if the presence of Pat White doesn't result in touchdowns in close games this year and beyond.

    Lots of people didn't like the Henne pick at this time last year either, and it's turned out alright for us I'd say.
     
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  10. Frumundah Finnatic

    Frumundah Finnatic U Mad Miami?

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    I think The Trifecta likes what they see out of Merling, Langford and Wake, so thats why they didn't take a OLB or a DE.

    Considering that he's with the Packers, I'm impressed that he has time to give Sparano and David Lee his input.
     
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  11. the 23rd

    the 23rd a.k.a. Rio

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    I agree mostly
    nice post
    White was no mistake. This was well thought out.

    You can shift (align) the four backs in the back field any way you'd like.
    You can even shift from strong side to weak side (offensive line shift)

    single wing (Wild Cat ) was first made popular by Knute Rockne & the greatest running back of all time, Jim Thorpe ran exclusively out of it.
    got some credentials there.

    by the way our Mr Pat the WildCat ran, almost exclusively, out of the single wing.
     
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