From Doug (Manitoba)

 

Q – Hello Mike:

1st off great job on your weekly Q&A , you may not see me live on line much but I do follow along daily and pop in live when time/life permit.. My question is , in regards to the 1 year deals we have given out to Keller, Grimes and a couple others .. Do you see these signings as 1 year “rentals” , in order to train up draft picks to fill positions long term.. IE : do you see the Keller/Grimes signings as an indication towards drafting these positions lower in the draft, or do you believe these are “show me signings”, where we use higher picks as next year replacements for the “rentals”.. Also, do you see my Crush Stedman Bailey being a good fit if he is available late 3/4th round..

 

Thank Ya..

Manitoba Fin Fan

 

Thank you Manitoba, for the nice compliment.  I think in some ways, the one year contracts we gave out were stop gaps, almost like inexpensive franchise tags, if you will. The guys we wanted for the future we gobbled up quickly, and rewarded all of them with lucrative, long term contracts (Wallace, Hartline, Ellerbe and Wheeler). Signing Keller to a one year contract showed me that at least at the present time, he doesn’t represent a guy we want for the future. I’m not sure that Keller is the complete, well balanced TE we’re looking for. I would say his game leans more towards what we hoped Egnew could be, a dangerous mismatch receiver in the middle of the field. Maybe Keller is here in case Egnew doesn’t reach that potential, and if he flourished here, he may be rewarded with a mid season extension. As far as Grimes is concerned, he is recovering from a serious achilles injury. Grimes is exactly the type of player we would want here if he were healthy, and I think right now, he’s here for depth, with the hope he can recover, and give us something at some point during the season. I doubt we push him hard early. Grimes is a guy that if he were to play well, he would definitely be in line for a contract offer during the season. He is one of the better CB’s in the game, but hasn’t always been a starter. In his 43 starts, which spans a 6 year career, he has 13 INT’s. Last year he missed 15 games due to the achilles injury. From 2009-2011, Grimes had 48 passes defensed. This is a guy that is around the football. As far as Stedman Bailey, yes I do think he’s a guy that fits what we could be looking for. Considering we picked up 2 WR’s in FA, I don’t expect us to choose one until RD 3. Stedman fits right in that slot, along with Ryan Swopes , Quinton Patton and Aaron Dobson(fly). What’s not to like about a WR that scores 25 TD’s in a season? He’s considered a great route runner, with very consistent hands. Sounds like a perfect fit.

 

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From Randy

 

Q – MikeE,

We kinda of saw a tale of two seasons last year with Tanny. In the first 2/3 of the season, it appeared they wanted to keep him in the pocket and have him make throws from there. In the last 1/3 or so, they started moving him around more and more. How do you think they will formulate the offense next season? Will they develop it to take advantage of Tanny’s strengths(mobility outside the pocket, throwing on the move), or do you think they still need to develop his pocket presence and ability to make reads and throws from the pocket and go with a more traditional offense? Or, will they turn him into Kaepersniffer II b/c they know you’re dying to buy an aqua chiffon robe and prance around it in on Sunday afternoons?

 

First of all, I do agree that it seemed like they wanted Tannehill to develop as a pocket passer. We were all screaming for rollouts, and were begging him to run at times when he had the open field, but I do believe that “training” paid dividends. I think his pocket awareness improved every game, and you could see him evolving from game to game. I do think they will open him up more, and allow him to use his strengths. I don’t expect him in any way to become a running QB like the Kaepersniffer, but I do envision him taking advantage of times when the middle of the field is open, and he has a lane to run and get some chunk yards. The read option is a dangerous game, and I don’t see that as a style we want to play here. Philbin would much prefer Tannehill to use the skill guys we got for him, and not leave his QB open to getting hit. I would say he would be more like Steve Young later in his career, just taking the “safe” runs, and not looking to run first. We have so much added talent to our roster at the moment, with Wallace, Gibson and especially Keller. I liked Fasano, but he was never the threat that Dustin Keller, if healthy will provide. Add in Mike Wallace on the perimeter, or even in the slot, and teams will have lots of trouble defending us. I also don’t think we’re done adding weapons. I wouldn’t rule out Eifert in the least, despite the fact that some think we’re desperate for a LT. In addition, I think we add another WR in the 3rd or 4th RD, and I expect that guy to be a weapon as well. I won’t be shocked if we draft Denard Robinson either. He can bring a little excitement to the offense. More than likely though, a guy like Stedman Bailey or Ryan Swope or Aaron Dobson would be the target.

 

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From Tim

 

Q – What’s up disco dancer? Here’s my short but very important question. If we were to upgrade one position right now, which one do you feel would make us a legit playoff contender?

Thank you!

TK

 

If I were Omar, I would probably say QB, because we MUST draft some competition to push Tannehill, who needs to have a legitimate QB competition, and not use dirty tactics like strategically placing a rubber ducky in the path of his former QB competition, QB STUD David Garrard. Alas, I am NOT Omar, so let me get on with answering the question for real. Hard to say that one player could elevate a team to playoff contention, and I honestly think we’re playoff contenders right now, as currently constituted. I think in my mind, at this moment, there are 2 positions that I think could have the biggest impact. DE and TE. If we could find the pass rushing complement to Cam Wake, our defense would be so much better, regardless of what CB’s are back there. Nothing changes the game like a ferocious pass rush. The QB can never get comfortable, there are more mistakes, and mistakes lead to turnovers. Constantly getting pressure from the outside, would likely make the interior pass rush better as well, and I can just see us becoming a defense similar to the NYG’s, where the pass rush seemingly is coming from all sides, including the middle. You can’t touch a WR anymore, and while a good cover corner is important, they just don’t let them play anymore, so the pass rush is the one thing that you can still do that makes a defense significantly better. On offense, the TE has evolved into a major weapon. Twice a year, we watch the NE Patriots, bereft of a single WR threat on the perimeter, destroy teams with a short passing game, featuring 2 very athletic TE’s, one the prototypical size guy (Gronkowski), and the other, the H-back type, (Hernandez), and then 2 WR’s who primarily work the middle of the field, in Welker and Edelman. They also used Danny Woodhead out of the backfield as well. So many weapons to cover, and as of yet, no one has figured out how to cover all those guys well enough to stop them. How do you stop it? Pass rush seems to be the only way. Disrupt the QB enough that he can’t get the timing down, and can’t make those quick throws. If we drafted Tyler Eifert, he would be a big bodied receiver that easily become Tannehill’s best friend. 6’6” 251, with 4.68 speed, and and an all around best performer in every single category at the combine. Some say he’s not athletic, but I don’t get it.

 

“Eifert is a fluid pass-catcher with vacuum hands and the hand/eye coordination to make tough catches and although he doesn’t create a lot of space, he secures grabs in traffic, showing outstanding tracking and high-pointing ability. He is a soft spoken guy, but an animal on the field and a much better blocker than given credit, improving in leaps and bounds the past three years with excellent effort – projects as a starting NFL TE with excellent potential as both a receiver and blocker.”

 

That’s what I’m talking about! An intelligent TE that has the size and athletic ability, and the DESIRE for the game. A guy that plays “like an animal”. To steal a line from Risky Business, (And change it a little too)

 

“The Miami Dolphins could use a guy like Tyler”

 

Oh, and another great line from Risky Business.

 

“Sometimes, you just gotta say, What the fuck, and make your move”

 

I say, maybe its time we get ourselves one of these multidimensional TE weapons of our own. BTW – Son was the major proponent of bringing Eifert here, and it took a long time, but I have come around on this one. I think he may have the right idea. We’ll see!

 

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From Walker

 

Q – Great job MikeE on your weekly service to the gang.

Question: With Ireland doing a phenomenal job in free agency by picking guys at the exact value and letting guys axing too much walk, would it be too early to go BPA immediately in the draft or is there still one position of the greatest need? I still say LT, wouldn’t you agree? I’d rather play without a CB than leave the LT position with, wait, who’s our starter there again? Your BFF, Walker

 

Thanks Walker – It’s my pleasure to do this every week, you guys all contribute great stuff on this great site. We all appreciate all you and Gigi do to keep this site going all year round, every single day of the year. Major props! Well, If you haven’t figured it out by now, NO, I don’t agree we need a LT, at least not with our first pick. 🙂

 

“Jonathan is one of two tackle prospects in this year’s class that could be considered elite, and given the value of the position will be a likely first-round pick because of it. He embodied all that Stanford football was throughout his time there, as he is an aggressive, smart, technically sound prospect who will enter the league at a stage in his development where he should be able to contribute immediately.”

 

That’s from NFL.com, the combine profile. That stuff doesn’t just go up into flames because the guy struggled last year. He didn’t forget how to play, and and he didn’t lose his elite ability. It just didn’t come together coming in late, and not being strong enough, and not getting a full offseason to learn a different position. I know you take this all with a grain of salt, because you saw what you saw last year. I don’t expect to change anyones mind, I really don’t. I’m not changing my mind either. I think Martin will be bigger, stronger and faster, and will be a more confident player who’s ready to play LT like he did at Stanford, and be one of the better LT’s in the game. He’s a hard worker who is a student of the game. The coaches will have him ready for battle. Mock him all you like, but just keep in mind, he’s OUR player, with a GOOD attitude, and a desire to be a great player. I do believe we may draft a player that projects well to RT, but it doesn’t have to be with pick #12. Like I said in my earlier response to Tim, I think DE and TE could make the most difference for our team. I do think we are indeed, in the position to take best player available, but I also think we have the flexibility to target certain players that we want, and go for it!

 

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And now for today’s looker of the week. This one is more office friendly . . . 🙂

 

 

NOTE: THIS PIC WAS CHOSEN BY MIKE E, CHIEFEN & SQUAW ARE NOT LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE….J/K.  😛