Finsmob Unleashed

Miami Dolphins Training Camp doesn’t start until August 2nd, the FIFA World Cup is winding down, the NY Knicks won their first NBA Championship since 1973, so this is a quiet relaxing time for sports. MLB is approaching the All Star break, which will really grind the sports scene to a halt. It’s all good, summer is here, and this is the time to chill, enjoy the weather and the long days, and not worry too much about the sports scene. We had some record heat in the Northeast exceeding 100 degrees at least twice this past week leading up to the 250th Celebration of America. No matter what side of the political aisle you sit, America is still the best country in the world and don’t forget it!

I’ve seen all the NFL team predictions and just laugh. To me, predicting how teams are going to finish in the standings before training camp starts is very much like placing draft grades on teams for the players they drafted. None of it means a thing. I really have no idea how many games we’ll win this season, and will continue to feel that way until I see them practice, play a couple of preseason games, and then at least a few regular season games, and even then, injuries can change things immediately. Honestly, we have a whole lot of question marks all over the place on offense and defense, even before we sprinkle in all the new draftees, including the first 2 picks, RD 1 (#12) LG Kadyn Proctor, RD 1 (#27) CB Chris Johnson, and then RD 2 (#43) LB Jacob Rodriguez. While all of them figure to get substantial playing time, our 2nd RD pick LB Jacob Rodriguez who brings tons of excitement is behind some excellent veteran players such as ILB Jordyn Brooks, ILB Tyrel Dodson and ILB Willie Gay. It is possible one of them is traded which would make more opportunities available for Rodriguez much sooner, but that hasn’t happened yet, and Jordyn Brooks may well get an extension, which then would make one of the other aforementioned guys Dodson or Gay more expendable.

Back to those question marks. Yes, we drafted an OL early in OT/OG Kadyn Proctor. We saw last season how the best laid plans sometimes don’t necessarily work out, and last years trade up for OG Jonah Savaiinaea was simply a failure. His play was consistently poor except for a couple of flashes near the end of the season. He will be counted on once again, but this season at RG, where he played at Arizona. We drafted much later on, in RD 6 another OG, RD 6 (#200), DJ Campbell, from Texas. Campbell is a 4 year starter that could probably jump right in and play if needed, so Savaiinaea had better do more than just flash occasionally and play some physical ball rather than resemble a bull fighter or a turnstile. Same goes for rookie Kadyn Proctor, and then of course with RT Austin Jackson, can he stay healthy enough to play most of the season. We do have some depth guys like Jamaree Salyer from the Chargers and Charlie Heck from the Bucs, but it would be wonderful to see Paul, Proctor, Brewer, Savaiinaea and Jackson play 17 strong games together. I can’t remember the last time that occurred.

As far as the rookies, which rookie other than or even including the top 3 picks will have the biggest impact, and by that I mean positive impact? I’m hoping that Proctor is a real difference maker, a guy who is controlling the LOS, paving holes for Achane and our other backs and keeping defenders off of QB Malik Willis, or whoever is playing QB. Willis will be the man, unless he isn’t because he’s not getting it done or he’s injured. Last year’s 7th RD pick, QB Quinn Ewers showed he’s ready to start and should serve as the primary backup for Malik Willis. CB Chris Jones from what i’ve read and heard will be playing a combination of perimeter and slot CB, so he will be on the field an awful lot. I think he’s going to be a good player for us. I also think the much maligned WR Caleb Douglas, RD 3 (#75) will get his chances to make an impact in the passing game. We have a few Swiss Army knife types in LB/S Kyle Louis, LB/DE Trey Moore and I’m kind of interested to see if TE Seydou Traore makes the roster. I think 3rd RD pick (#87) TE Will Kacmarek will be on the field a ton, and then there’s TE Greg Dulcich. There’s also TE Ben Sims who’s started 8 games, but has played 45 games over 3 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and then most recently, the Minnesota Vikings.

Which young veteran players take that next step? Will it be DE/OLB Chop Robinson who took a step or two backwards last season? RG Jonah Savaiinaea at RG, who seemingly could only take step forward, not backwards. How will the trio of defensive linemen we drafted fare, DT Kenneth Grant, DT Jordan Phillips and DT Zeek Biggers? Will young CB Juju Brents be able to stay healthy and use his length to be a legit CB? Will either of the two backup RB’s Jaylen Wright or Ollie Gordon show they’re more than just a 4 or 5 carry a game RB? Will WR Malik Washington continue to be an important cog in the passing game? Now that RB De’Von Achane got his contract, will he be asked to do even more than his career best 1838 total yards from scrimmage? Will TE Greg Dulcich really be the big receiving TE most of you guys think he will be after never catching more than 33 passes over his 4 year career with 31 games played and 13 starts? Can DE Josh Uche who played for the Patriots and Eagles be a pass rush threat fro the Dolphins? Like I said, lots of questions, and we have a long way to go to get some answers. In the meantime, enjoy the good weather and mostly the long days of summer!

GO DOLPHINS!!!