most of us were pretty excited about having Burnett replace Crowder, so I'm not going to criticize this move in hindsight. Even with Crowder, we're still 0-4.

 

I don't know what it is about the Dolphin fans on this board especially, but they seem to hate their linebackers with any kind of personality. Joey Porter was also ran out of town after being a great locker room presence and backing up his mouth with his play on the field, especially in 2008. Nobody ever remembers the good times when a player leaves. All the good they did is completely forgotten and only the bad is remembered. Fans need to realize it's hard to replace players like Joey and Channing who were great teammates and positive influences in the locker room.

 

I don't miss Crowder or Porter and not because they ran their mouth but because they seldom backed it up with their play.

 

Maybe, maybe not, there is no way to know for sure. Too late now anyway. In hindsight we'd have been no worse off at ILB keeping Crowder and we could have used the Burnett money to address safety, like Dashon Goldson. When you combine the two positions then yes, by keeping Crowder and signing a FS with better instincts than a chipmunk, the improvement at both spots could have been enough we'd have won a game considering how many coverages Reshad screwed up on and how Burnett hasn't done jack squat against the run or pass.

 

Thats not true at all.

We would at least be 1-3. Crowder made this defense "go". He was one of the smartest players in the NFL, regardless of his inane comments he made on a weekly basis. He finished with an extremely high GPA in college along with being in the National Honors Society. The dude was smart. And he knew how to apply it on the football field.

 

Perfect example of fans not remembering the good things these players did. How many times did Porter close out a huge game in 2008 with a sack or big play? And how great was our defense against the run during Channing's time here? Yeah, we all thought he sucked because he didn't make a lot of flashy plays, but his absence is being felt now. The one thing our defense could always hang it's hat on was our run D. Now we can't stop the run or pass.

 

It looks like the Crowder-Burnett swap has failed and the players know it. The defense was never as good without Crowder and that appears to be the case this season. It doesn't seem like we have an actual middle linebacker on the roster right now (e.g. quarterback of the defense).

As for Joey Porter, he was not very good in '09. He was a liability against the run and wasn't very good as a pass rusher. He'd gotten himself deactivated for a game (partying when he was supposed to be recuperating). Porter also refused to come off the field when coaches ordered him to -- keeping Cameron Wake on the sidelines -- justified it by claiming Wake wasn't on his level and took swipes at Sparano on the way out (remember us then trying to cut him two weeks early?). He knew it was coming so he went ahead and burned that bridge.

And then Wake goes out and has an incredible season replacing him. Better than Porter's '08 and certainly better than his '09. '08 was a pretty invisible 17.5-sack season IMHO. He'd do nothing in games then get a sack. A few of those were clutch though, I must admit.

OT: I actually shared an elevator with Wake the morning of that Bucs game (where he was getting his first start for the deactivated Porter). Uncharacteristically I went into "fan mode" and started hyping it up a bit. :lol: Imagine how geeked up I was when he got to the QB three times on the first series. :D

 

Kevin Burnett was a one year wonder, plain and simple.

Even after his great year, SD made absolutely no effort to re-sign him, which should have told us all we needed to know. But of course, since the clown show knew him from Dallas we brought him in

 

I've been one of the few whom, for a long time, was in Channing's corner, defending him. I never liked the move to get rid of him and sign Burnett. I always mentioned how, maybe even despite the stats, when he was out with an injury or something, our D has always suffered. Yes, he wasn't perfect. I always mentioned how he, at times, over-pursued an got out of position, but he also made some important plays. He wasn't a highlight real player, but he was all over and made a lot of tackles. They chose to replace Channing with a safety looking ILB whom has been very disappointing and a major weakness and downgrade at that position. At this point, I can't really care anymore since having Burnett keeps us firmly in the SFL race. Good to see Channing is getting some love. He always seemed to love being a Phin. Didn't you see him last year on NFLN's Top 100 Players presenting Jake? :pointlol: He gave this team some character, personality and swagger, etc. I actually think that's important and something else which this team is seriously lacking right now.

 

I have always laughed at those here who insisted that Crowder had a low football IQ. I found it ironic that their criticism was actually proving their low football IQ.

 

Muck,

I guess I should clarify I had no problem with us getting rid of Porter when we did. I think it was the right time. With Porter, my main beef was just the way fans treated his dismissal. Because of the way he finished his career here fans acted like he did nothing positive for this team. While I wasn't a fan of Porter's play or antics in 2009, I still refused to forget that he was one of the only Dolphins on that 2007 team that didn't quit all year long. And the plays he made for us on defense in 2008. The sacks he would have to close out a game that was still being closely contested.

I was also ok with cutting bait with Crowder, but I'm admitting I might have been wrong. Wasn't expecting the run defense to suffer the way it has. And even if I thought the run game might suffer, I thought the additional pass coverage we hoped to gain from Burnett would more than make up for it. Wrong again. So far...

 

I think many people either sub consciously or consciously judge a players intelligence based on the way he speaks. Crowder was a smart guy who didn't sound smart if that makes any sense at all.

 

Oh that definitely happens not just in football but in every day life. I'll admit that I fall victim to it from time to time as well.

 

That and he made that joke about not knowing their were black people in Europe. It was obviously a joke, but those with too little sense of humor took it at face value.

 

Yeah Burnett has been non existent this season but so has the rest of the LB's. It's like everyone forgot what they are supposed to do in this defense.
Anyways Crowder is gone now so who really gives a damn. The guy was mediocre at best.

 

Which is weird since this thread seems to be almost unanimously filled with people saying they knew it would be a bad idea all along, self-included.

 

Quite the coincidence that this happened now that Crowder is gone. Yeah, he didn't make the big flashy plays, but he was smart and got people lined up. As CK pointed out in another thread, he basically told Koa Misi where to line up and where to go. I think that's pretty evident that Karlos Dansby and Koa Misi both miss him.

 

Calling the plays, recognition and seeing things are surely his strengths. He is great against the run but no matter how we slice it, he is slow and far to often he would get beat on cutback runs.

I would say that the defense is better with him though..

 

That is a good way to put it Killah, which to me means some guys are not as dilligent as they should be in studying film and knowing their jobs.

 

I don't think Crowder is the reason for the defensive collapse but more of an "Every man has to do their job mentality.
I mean look at all the factors. We aren't doing a good job rushing the passer, breaking contain way too often, not shedding and getting initially off blocks and the tackling has been poor to say the least. Etc... Etc...
No this a team lack of effort going on out there. Too many things are breaking down even if Crowder was the one directing traffic. Just too many issues to pin it all on the absence of one mediocre player.

 

Just speaking for myself, I can't go that far. I can say that I always liked Crowder and that I thought the replacement was questionable in that we were giving up things in Crowder that many didn't appreciate. I did not see it as a clear upgrade, but I also didn't slam it and say I knew it was a mistake either.

 

I did see Burnett as a clear upgrade over Crowder going by stats alone...I was wrong. Perhaps Burnett is a not a fit in our type of 3/4 defense or he's just not that good or not trying. Whatever the case, we whiffed on this move as well.

 

I agree there's more to it than not having Crowder. But having Crowder there to direct traffic would help from a communication standpoint. He's also good at shedding blocks and making tackles in the hole against the run - two issues we have right now. Karlos Dansby isn't as good at filling that role as Crowder was, and I think that's one of the reasons you see him and Burnett getting stuck on blocks so often. How many times has Koa Misi lost contain because he wasn't lined up properly? We won't know, but I bet it'd be less if Crowder was there still. Again, that said, there's more to it than him gone, but I think you're discounting an awful lot of what Channing Crowder meant to the defense.

 

Stan.


I was a huge fan of Crowder. Search my posts. I said you keep him until you have an upgrade. most wanted to dump him regardless. You keep a player until you have an upgrade. Time and time again, lose crowder, defense suffered.

us lowly fans with just a little film and NFL.com stats could see it. Oh but we're just fans, they're on the inside. They know what's up. How many times did we hear that? Matt Millen was a GM for a while too, you know.

 

Porter did do some good things when he first got here but his play slipped at the end but his mouth stll worked fine.Crowder lost my respect when he ran away from Matt Light like a scared girl.He could stop the run OK but htat was about it.

 

Maybe Crowder was just the best tasting ****

 

He didn't run away from Light until after the fight had already been broken.

 

B. Marshall: "I'm gonna try to get thrown out of the game in the 2nd qtr."

He just said that to the media.

 

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sport...onticket+(Season+Ticket+|+Sun+Sentinel+blogs)

Here is the Marshall stuff.

Love the part about the team employee trying to get him away from the media.

Although if he is going to blow up a team, this is the one. Suck for Luck is setting up quite nicely

 

Every single time Crowder missed time with the Dolphins their run stopping suffered big time. Shhhhh

 

He was good in 2009 too. He was average in 2008. He was never close to as bad as he's been in 2011.