He didn’t even have to ask, it was obvious something happened between them in the Ladies room (hair out of place, smeared lipstick, tossed clothes), after all he was the one who introduced Brenda to Erika.
“Ok we can leave now, take us back to your place”, Brenda said to him as they approached.
Being the gentleman he is he politely opened the door for them and escorted them to his car.
“You’ll get a participation trophy tonight”, Brenda whispered to him as he opened the car door.
Whoa hold-on, wait a minute-wrong blog!
A Sonny Postmortem
Excuse me, that wasn’t supposed to be on here, that was for something else…
But now that you mention it – Should the Dolphins get a participation trophy for making the playoffs this year?
How about a proverbial trophy, or is it just an atta-boy.
Don’t make me list all of the accomplishments of this season, I know we started 1-4 and then a firecracker went off in the teams ass, they were pumping out wins so fast no one had time to notice the injuries piling up, the young players maturing but also struggling, a coaching staff taking hold with a clear direction, followed by consequences when someone tries their own direction. We just kept winning, it was glorious.
So what are we left with?
Are good or are we lucky?
I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floatin’ around accidental-like on a breeze. But I, I think maybe it’s both. – Forrest Gump
Are we better because we made the playoffs or are we better and made the playoffs?
I think a solid core is emerging that will lead this team to become a perennial playoff contender no matter how bitter yesterday’s loss was. I think in large part it starts with Jarvis Landry, it starts there and spreads through guys like Wake and Suh, Albert and Pouncey followed by a host of 1-3 yr players. We’ve had some decent success in the draft recently and we’re beginning to see it evolve. Injuries took their toll on a fragile roster and clearly defined the cracks that need to be addressed and that will be discussed profoundly over the next several months.
So we enter at least this post season with a bit of a hop in our step for at least participating in the playoffs. Equal growth into next season would make the 2017 Dolphins pretty formiddable.
If you want to crown ’em – crown ’em
They’re who we thought they were…
Thanks Coach Gase. You gave us hope what more could we ask for.
Finsmob Unleashed 
D
I remember you mentioning Cunningham for some time
I wrote a really long response
But my battery died and Ididnt hit post comment
So it’s lost in time
But some day when I’m not exhausted I will expand
In short
I think Cunnguhamnis an OLB
And I like Foster better
Piggy
I endorse your draft line-up before the page turn.
It solves all of our problems logically AND creatively.
Then we sign Martellus in FA and our own important FAs
and we are good to go for the playoffs next year.
I think in our defensive system you want versatile LBs, not designated Sam, Mike and Will. Sometimes Jack or even Edgar. Nobody knows where Edgar plays. LOL
Although I don’t agree with this assessment, here’s a little tidbit from earlier today on Twitter:
Matt Miller
Verified account
@nfldraftscout
Asked a scout why Zach Cunningham hasn’t declared yet:
“We’re not in love with him. Needs to gain strength, make more tackles. Rd2-3”
Definitely don’t agree. When he gets hands on players he tackles them. He might could use a strength conditioning program like 90% of other draftees but that pretty normal when moving up leagues. I’d draft him in the first without blinking.
I don’t agree either and I’ve read stuff like this before where scouts were quoted and guys were taken in completely different rounds. There’s always a possibility he falls to early 2nd but any scout who thinks this guy is a 3rd rd prospect should find something else to do.
And, if he were to fall to early 2nd it’s only because other prospects like qb’s get pushed up. Teams make mistakes all the time. that’s why there’s so many bad one’s.
Why? He played ILB in college, he is pretty much just like Deon Jones who is an ILB now. I hope you find the post you lost because I’d like to see why ya feel that way
HArdy Nickerson the kid of his famous dad is an interesting prospect for today’s pass happy NFL. He could be used in a lot of ways and so far is shown as a later round guy due to size limitation.
He’s been well coached for years though. 🙂
Piggy
Zach Cunningham can probably play either MLB or OLB in the NFL. Right now he’s about 230, I’d like to see him a little bigger, around 240, so he has a little more thump behind his tackles.
Hey Piggy do you think that ass hat alien is going to do a comparison on
Reuben Foster
Raekwon McMillan
Jarrad Davis
Zach Cunningham
Yeah I do
Not sure about McMillan
But the other 3 are top priorities
That’s if he doesn’t destroy our planet first
We will see
Either there are a scouting report it we all die a painful alien death
Time will tell…
Let’s hope he was inspired enough by the Dolphins playoff season to spare us all
https://twitter.com/MDCheer/status/818911380837437440
D, Mike and Pro Lou
Don’t get me wrong
I would love to draft Cunningham
It’s practically utopia for me
Say we drafted Cunningham
And then we managed to draft another LB like Davis, Anthony Walker or Beckwith on day 2
I would probably play Cunningham outside and the other Draftee inside
i think Tim’s point about versatile LBs is a good one
Cunningham really fits that mold IMO
But I happen to think he will be better on the outside
And since we have a need for both, I may draft him with a vision of playing him outside depending on what else happens in the offseason
My style is to kind of get excited for the draft
I don’t spend a lot of time talking about the cons of players I like
And I don’t mention it in the wedge reports
But here is the thing about Cunningham IMO
Not the best tackler
Doesn’t square up
Kind of throws him body into a guy and uses momentum
He’ll probably collect 100+ tackles a season in the NFL
But just saying – not exactly among the elite technicians of this draft in terms of tackling
Doesn’t matter though
He busts up so many players by getting to the play
Love his instincts and athleticism
You guys will find this funny but Rob Rang (and I like rang) compared him to Phillip Wheeler…
Lol…I think he meant that as a compliment
You guys remember wheeler
Wheeler always found himself near the play
And that tackled the air around the ball carrier
I don’t think the comparison was a comparison in terms of quality
It’s more about style
And Cunningham is going to be great in the NFL
Take phillip Wheeler and make him 100x better and his is a hall of famer….lol
LOL – Like I said to Randy, at least he wraps up when he tackles, rather than aiming himself like a missile and bouncing off. Versatility is fine, as long we have the right guy in the right place. IMO, Alonso is versatile, but I think he’d be much better off outside than in the middle too. I want our MLB to have played MLB before, because I want him to have that experience of making the calls, and usually, you want a guy who is mart and anticipates well too.
Lou or D or anyone else
Have you seen Anthony Walker Jr
I’m liking what I’ve seen of him
I think I saw him in WalMart the other day. He didn’t look like the typical WalMart shopper
Sound a lot like Jenkins
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/top-nfl-draft-prospects-anthony-walker-a-franchise-player-at-northwestern/
Jenkins?
Not seeing that
but I guess many opinions vary
He is definately worth a looksee if we are unable to address LB very early int he draft
It sucks! The lightning bolt alone was much better.
what’s the over under on how long it takes for the Dodgers to sue them for copyright infringement
What the fuck is this joke of a hack job
its looks like some one fell asleep while writing the dodger logo
I’m glad we got rid of joseph and I hope we hire the right coach regardless of scheme than getting a coach for a specific scheme.
Well we didn’t get rid of him, he left to be a HC. 😉
Well just listened to the end season presser and it sounds like we’re not switching to 3-4. Also Gase said that he didn’t do anything with defense. Joseph did everything. I would hope going forward gase will be the coach of the whole team not just offense.
Did you really believe this was going to happen?
I think Gase should do whatever he feels is best. If he feels he wants to have someone better qualified to run the defense fully, then that’s a smart move by him. Know your limitations!
Walker was much better last year when he was smaller. He bulked up to have a shot at more teams being interested in him, for 3-4 or a more prototypical 4-3 MLB. It looks to have slowed him and taken away the thing that made him most special. I think he is still a solid prospect but I think unless he shows he has some of his speed and agility back at combine, he us going to fall to 3-4th
I’ve heard some people say the say about him
It was Gase’s first year as a HC and he was calling plays. I wouldn’t expect him to do much with defense. Also, why would we switch to the 3-4. There’s absolutely no sound reason to do so. If we’re in the playoffs with a shot at the SB any year that Gase is here, I don’t even care if he’s not there on game day.
yea I’m sure we’ll be going to the superbowl if Gase is not at the games on game day.
And completely missed the point
Cunningham is my no 1, foster is a very close second. Davis a very close third. Davis might have been my number 1 if he hadn’t gotten injured this year. He seems fully recovered, he played again before the end of the year, so not overly concerned but all this being so close between those guys, I give the other two the edge. Foster also suffered a minor injury late in the year but obviously bounced back from it. The one thing I love about Davis and a plus for Cunningham as well is the seem to exude leadership qualities. I think there are hidden pluses with both those guys.
Beckwith I really like a lot as well. I do think he looked better last year, possibly because he had Jones opposite of him and he could gamble a little more on his reads, but could also be that the team as a whole was weaker this year from coaching on down. He would be an easy option to go with it we don’t go lb in the first, or if we are doubling up higher in the draft.
I think Davis is the best tackler of that trio
I think injuries are the main concern with him – and given that he is a bit undersized people are going to focus on those injuries
In terms of Beckwith, a lot went wrong with LSU this season
its a shame that it hurt his stock
I’m not sure going from Dion Jones to Duke Riley is a huge downgrade
Between LSU and Alabama there are 5 viable LBs available for us
Its pretty amazing
if you throw in other SEC LBs that may be able to play in the NFL like Cunnigham, Davis and Reeves-Maybin and you are up to 8
throw in Bower from LSU and that is 9
and Anzalone from UF is 10
I think it might be a very good LB Class
I don’t know how good these guys will be
but 10 LBs from one conference that have a shot at going in the first 5 rounds
That sounds like a lot to me
I agree I don’t think Gase would make the call to switch defensive strategies. That said, I think he would select whomever he felt was best option as DC and let them make that call. I think he would ask them to keep the continuity if they didn’t think it completely compromise his ability to put together a good defense, but I also think he would let them do what they needed to to put forth the best defense.
That said I’m not totally sure what will happen but I’m leaning towards him promoting Burke’s keeping the same basic scheme and style of play and then working with Tannenbaum to get Burke’s the guys he needs to do that best. Burke’s had one of the NFL’s best LB unit the last few years, I think he will know what’s needed to fix this and I don’t think it will take changing the defensive formation to do so. Make as few changes as necessary, that’s going to be Gase’s input to whomever is hired
mike,
I want a top 10 defense and don’t care what scheme we run. We were 30th last year so what we were doing wasn’t working obviously.
I also do want gase to be involved in game planning on defense. Do you think belicheat doesn’t work on offensive game planning and just leaves mcdouche to do it.
I know this was his first year and I give him leeway on that. Maybe the reason our defense sucked was because Gase wasn’t more involved in game planning every week.
Jenkins is a much better LB than he looked like this year. His issue to me isn’t ability it’s health. When there and healthy he has been better than Alonzo was thus year, and his coverage ability is generally very very good. I’d say Walker latcyear compares to Jenkins his last year at UF (I think it’s pretty hard to compare most college players to NFL players with years experience) . Walker this year us more like Denzel perryman the year he came out.
https://professorlousmiamidolphinsblog.org/2017/01/12/2017-nfl-draft-prospect-scouting-report-jarrad-davis/
Lou
I didn’t know you did scouting reports
Are yours done from the point of view of an alien contemplating destroying the Earth too?
😀
I watched all his games, and he us way more consistent a tackle than that. Assists also mean he us always around the ball. Florida’s defense is a swarm style defense, if he was getting solo tackles, their defense wasn’t working correctly.
that’s what I see. Opinions will differ. This is mine. I put it out there so I’m on record. Back in ’13 I said Jordan would be a MAJOR project. never thought he’d have all these issues but I wish I kept the stuff I had written on these guys I did evals on. Most of them were pretty spot on.
60% or higher in solo tackles is a benchmark I use for LB’s with a 2nd rd grade or higher.
Not saying your opinion isn’t valid, just saying I have seen a lot more of his games and my opinion differs.
It’s without a doubt the best lb class I have seen in a very long time. Anzalone himself woukd probably be a second round guy in most other draft years. He us really good and he us probably going to be a 4th or 5th round guy
So should we trade out of the first this year and load up on lb’s?
NO!
We only need to draft 2
we don’t need the extra picks
if anything trade up to get the best quality
Imo my thing with trade back is if I don’t have anyone in particular I’m just crazy about or if I have multiple people I have rated about the same level on the top of my board, I trade back to get more picks. I would never trade up and lose picks unless it’s a guys I felt certain I was going to miss out on if I didn’t make a move and that guy would have to be a guy I was really excited about. If those top three guys I mentioned were gone wgen we pick, and none of the other position players I was really liking were still there, I’d look to trade back for sure. I don’t however think that it will be the case that we wouldn’t have at least one guy we liked that evaluated being worth a 22nd pick wont be there. This draft is, as a whole, pretty deep and there is going g to be a quality player we like, there.
I might would trade back a few places if we get there an let’s say Tabor, and Jamal Adams, and Pocic, maybe Dalvin cook as well, are there but none of those three LBs are there. Trade back a few spots, pick up a third, and still get one of those 4
I don’t like the idea of a TE in the 1st rd but I do have to say if Howard is there I can’t see us passing on him. Teams need to increase the overall talent on their rosters whether they are lacking at certain spots or not. While TE is not a dire need for this team I’d say Howard does put us at a different level from a talent perspective at that position.
So, while I’d rather see us go defense in the 1st rd there may not be a player we have a higher draft grade on at our position than Howard if he’s there. And, if we feel that some of those defensive players will be there when we pick at #54 then we may just do that.
That’s assuming Howard falls and I don’t think Tunsil had him make a vid yet.
We have too many needs to trade away picks to move up. We got into the playoffs but this roster won’t do it perennially or go further until we get it stocked.
It’s tough to say bc who knows how a prospect plays out
But I do think 2-3 quality players are worth a lot more than 6 that fill holes
Lou it depends bon the defense. That stat can’t be used to eval all LBs. Defenses with a lot if speed, that has stunts with DLs slot, who swarm to the ball with good run support safeties and corners are going to have tons of combined tackles. It’s the nature of those defenses.
Foster has about 50% himself. It’s because the whole defense is good at getting to the ball
I would say number o e thing I look forward us fundamentals followed closely by instincts and play recognition.
No doubt and I don’t see the instincts and play recognition there as often as I would like. He looks to WANT to make the play when he vaults towards the line of scrimmage to fill a gap but too often takes the wrong gap. He also needs to be kept clean by his d-line or he will struggle with blockers.
I understand what you’re saying and that’s why the benchmark isn’t written in stone. If you look at Foster, for instance, 53% of his total tackles where solo. Not the 60% or higher I’m looking for but compare the two guys and Foster has 60 solo while Davis has 60 total.
Now I understand Davis’ numbers could have been slightly better if he didn’t miss those games but the other thing you also have to consider is he plays better vs non-conference opponents.
I’m also just not going off the numbers. I take the numbers and put them into context when I watch his film. I see some major inconsistencies in his play that, to me, make him a guy who will play special teams in his first year and may be able to crack the starting lineup in year two. Maybe.
67% of Foster’s tackles were solo. And he’s doing it on one of the best defenses in the country. That says a lot about a linebacker. He gets to the play and if you watch the two of them there’s a night and day difference.
lost my place. 67% of his tackles were solo in his jr yr.
I feel like you do about the TEs Lou. I really like a few of them and I could actually see us taking one in the first, but I would rather they take a shot on getting one later, and trying to snag a value selection, someone that should have gone sooner but fell due to talent rich draft.
At #22 BPA is probably the best way to go.
better be on defense 🙂
If the BPA was a receiver or a QB
Would you select the BPA?
I would not
There are a few positions I’m not touching early in the draft
no, but if it is for another team that’s when you turn that pick into other picks.
You usually have a few options.
I think it should always be a combination of need and BPA. Never get tunnel vision about a player or position. Trust your scouting…set your board and stick to it.
Agreed!
It’s not exactly contradicting anything anyone said
But i think it’s pretty clear that we have some glaring needs
I would have drafted pretty much any position last season
And that is BPA IMO
But this year there are a few positions that are out of the question as 2st rounders
Qb, RB, WR and OT are pretty much out IMO
And that’s a lot of positions to eliminate
Interior OL is unique
If there was a Zack Martin out there I think he has to be in the radar
But I’m hearing “weak class for OL”
Gase recently said he wants Simms to be his #1 TE
If he is re-signed I think we take another TE in the draft but not early
I’m not sure about DB
But I don’t think we take a DT in the 1st
And now you are down to 2 things LB and DE
I know a lot can happen in free agency
But right now I’m not seeing a similar philosophy to 2016 which was BPA leaning IMO
We’ll have a better idea in March.
I just wait for the pre-draft visits to see who they like. Only guy who didn’t visit with us that we picked last yr was Tunsil.
I plan to speculate for months so I have soemthing to oink about 🐷
What a screwy world this NFL one is.
LA (the 2nd largest city) goes 20 years without a team.
Now they all of a sudden have two.
San Diego has none.
Maybe Oakland too….but Vegas may.
And the Jags may move to London down the road (or at least split).
Who knows what can happen, but Ross ain’t young.
For reasons other than Randy’s…..maybe we would be best off if some real Phin Phan bought the team.
I can’t see how a team in London would work. They would have to travel across the pond too many times for road games. Also not sure how many players would want to sign there.
If the team gets a BYE after traveling to London (which seems fair) then you almost need to give teams more BYE weeks
It gets crazy
I don’t seeming opening either
These international games are just a way for the NFL to increase revenue but a team in London – I don’t think so
It’s like color rush jerseys (which I like and own) – the hype sells them
sb7mvp says:
January 12, 2017 at 12:53 pm (Edit)
We have too many needs to trade away picks to move up. We got into the playoffs but this roster won’t do it perennially or go further until we get it stocked.
**************
That’s why I hate that we traded ALL our picks away!!!
Obligatory Piggy mock draft
22: R1P22
LB REUBEN FOSTER
ALABAMA
54: R2P22
EDGE CARL LAWSON
AUBURN
98: R3P34
C PAT ELFLEIN
OHIO STATE
167: R5P22
LB DUKE RILEY
LSU
177: R5P32
TE PHARAOH BROWN
OREGON
185: R5P40
G GREG PYKE
GEORGIA
207: R6P22
DL TANOH KPASSAGNON
VILLANOVA
243: R7P22
S XAVIER WOODS
LOUISIANA TECH
I’m a fan of Carl Lawson and have been for a while now
I hope he is there in the 2nd
Tanoh KPassgnon is going to shoot up boards the closer we get to the draft
I wish I could have went TE earlier but the board di not have it for me
In case you were wondering about him…
Tunsil was the perfect example of BPA. But you could also say we had a need there. When a top prospect falls you have to take advantage of it.
oline was a huge need last year.
It’s still a need, can’t count on Pouncey, and we need better depth anyway.
Anyone know some DC’s who are available for the Dolphins?
we already promoted the LB coach didn’t we?
Supposedly Burke as DC is not official.
Burke hasn’t been hired, is the leading candidate at the moment
not sure why we would want to hire burke. Our defense, especially the LBs sucked last year.
Ahhhhh
I see….
(Piggy mumbles WTF under his breath)
I am.
Phone ain’t ringing
You need to throw your hat in the ring
Piggy that dude was shredding Albany and Lafayette
He’s a project
level of competition he played against is an issue
but he is an athletic freak
mike,
yea. wade phillips. From what I hear in denver he’s not automatically a lock to come back to broncos.
Thanks, he’s a good one too. Not sure if we’re interested, but he’s a solid one for sure.
I would consider him top 5 DC in the league right now.
I like continuity when your unit is top 10. When you’re 30th ranked defense continuity is not necessarily a good thing.
True that.
Tru dat on draft picks Mike
I the PC with Gase, TBaum and Grier, Gase said what they wanted to establish year one was put systems in place so that the next season you’re not always starting off from scratch with new terminology and techniques. You laid the foundation now build on it. This year even new players will have the guys who have been here get them up to speed quicker. Last season everything was new for everyone.
So don’t expect a switch to a 3-4 or anything like that.
Most teams run a combination of 3-4 and 4-3 anyway. I remember denver ran a lot of 4-3 defense with del rio. They then went to a 3-4 under phillips and won the superbowl that year. I just want a good DC that can make us a top 10 defensive team.
As I mentioned above we had the 30th ranked defense last year. Running the same exact defense as last year might be easier on the players but if we’re not better then who cares.
Maybe if our defense didn’t look like a civil war hospital, we would’ve been 25th.
That too.
Sure its depressing
But you should have heard Vance Joseph’s pregame speech!
Boulder, I think our issues on defense was more about personnel than systems or coaching. There’s a reason most of us keep saying DE and LB and maybe another CB this offseason. Outside of Wake we didn’t have much pass rush at DE and we basically played every LB we had due to performance and injury and many of them are FAs, so that unit will likely look very different in 2017.
I just want better defensive performance. The scheme or continuity shouldn’t matter IMO.
I think continuity is very important. Great defenses have been playing the same way with most of the same guys for years.
On the new Charger logo, I thought the same thing as Pig. I was scrolling down to get to the bottom and I was wondering why there was a Dodgers logo there.
t looks like the Dodger and Tampa Bay Lightning logos are mating
during his presses in denver joseph said that he won’t be calling the defensive plays. You can blame injuries or whatever for our 30th ranked defense but i wasn’t impressed with his scheme or play calling here. If you can’t stop the run, nothing else matters.
We made the playoffs not stopping the run though. I still think we need some better personnel.
Tim & Pig — they could make a team in London work (and it would become Europe’s team).
A split season team would be no problem (Jags most likely based on how they are setting up). That would mean four home games over there. They could work that out within the existing schedule set up (and they already did three games there this year).
A full time team there could be done……even if it would probably mean the London team would have like 2 three-home game stretches in London and a practice place in the states for the same away strings here.
Not saying it will happen, but it could be done.
It so much travel though
It’s not like every football fan has wings
Just the best of us
Look at it this way……us traveling to Seattle is like a five hour flight. Only like two hours longer to go to London.
And some ideas are ahead of their time……anyone else remember this team and logo?
One area Gase and the coaches have to improve upon is starting games quicker. We always seem to struggle on offense early and give the opponent and opening drive score. Can we break that up a little bit? 🙂
30 years old
Only 30
Sean McVay hired to coach the Chargers
Rams
So now it’s official
Son
They’ll be calling him Sean McOyVay before the end of the season
In the PC with Gase, TBaum and Grier, Gase said what they wanted to establish year one was put systems in place so that the next season you’re not always starting off from scratch with new terminology and techniques. You laid the foundation now build on it. This year even new players will have the guys who have been here get them up to speed quicker. Last season everything was new for everyone.
So don’t expect a switch to a 3-4 or anything like that.
That trend will now continue.
In-house….sorta thinking that will be how we are rolling from know on. Least will be once Gase has the culture set and his own chosen folks to advance.
Tim
My friend the Steelers fan messages me hours after the Steelers game and tells me Gase made a huge mistake not receiving when he won the toss. I explained to him how we always start poorly, and that’s why he’d rather have the ball in the 2nd half. Before I explained that though, I said do you think the game came down to the kickoff? lol
LOL
That game had 35-3 1st half written all over it and when the Steelers stalled and let us back in, we couldn’t take advantage. We had 3 big chances and blew it every time.
Yeah, no doubt
Well, the linebackers were our strength all season long, so it’s understandable why they promoted the LB coach. Wait, what?
But I was amazed at how our LBs weren’t attacked like the JV unit they were until the Ravens game. Maybe stuff like that gets you promoted.
Flacco picked us apart with the TE’s and WR’s over the middle, but teams were running on us all season long.
True Dat….but still left what we had to work with in the unit. Wasn’t that much to start with and our only possible run-stopping LB (Misi) went IR early. And the light-weight ones more for pass D were injured too. So we were down against both the pass and the run.
Just Flacco Mike?
lol
No, but he brought up the Baltimore game, so . . .
I sure hope so
Stanger
I know we were undermanned at LB, and of course at S after Reshad and Isa went down. I’m kind of joking. I guess my thinking is, they couldn’t elevate the defense at all with the lack of talent, make them competitive. Maybe it just wasn’t possible.
Well we won 9 of our last 12 games so I would say they did find a way with backups and off the street guys. But we all saw the deficiencies on defense. Strive to get better.
I had no idea what to expect especially after starting off 1-4. But to finish 10-6 and make the playoffs was a nice start for a new regime. Build on it!
http://www.miamidolphins.com/team/coaches/Matt-Burke/3f81935c-34ec-46b3-bbf2-c5435706f69d
“I really felt like we had two defensive coordinators on that side of the ball. We were very fortunate to be able to get him……For myself, this was an easy decision for our organization to make to elevate him to this position. The players respect him. They love the attitude and energy he brings every day. They respect his knowledge of the game.”
Gase on Burke — and dude went to Dartmouth and is only 40. So big brain, connects with the players and is young……almost sounds like our HC. Am sensing a theme.
Looks like Jason Sudeikis with a thicker beard, lol
Yes I do know what you are saying. LOL
This not count moving on from some guys like Misi and Williams.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/miami-dolphins/
I’d say we’d want to re-sign Branch and Bushrod as possible starters. Paysinger, Thomas and Denny are all good ST’s players, and Sims would likely be our #2 TE, unless we continue the trend of not getting a TE. 😦
Gase said very recently he sees Simms as a #1 TE
He needs to come to my place for an eye exam
Man I keep missing words in my posts. LOL
We’re going to have a solid amount of cap space to revamp this team. To me the top two picks in the draft will be key. 3-4 key FAs and the top two picks could change everything.
We have a lot of young players already trying to get better. Add some instant impact and we can be right where we need to be.
If you put Stills, Simms, Branch and Thomas’ salary together
it would still not equal fuckface Jordan
I think at this point we can go back to calling him Dion FF full time.
Here you go Mike
LOL – Did you see the guy with the twitter handle Ndamukong Jew? LMAO!!
Yeah I follow him
Well, I guess he didn’t say “good” starting TE, he just starting TE. Going forward with Sims and Marqueis Gray at TE doesn’t inspire me in the least
I see us moving on from FF Jordan $3.225M, Misi $4.2M and Williams $8.5M. Almost $16 right there to invest in other players per year in 2017. We’re already just shy of $15M in cap space. This does not count FAs coming off the books or the increase in salary cap.. We’re in good shape to add upgrades in FA.
We should have with carryover (like $13 mil) and obvious cuts like $50 mil to play with if the new cap is what they expect.
Simms is on crack.
He was the #1 TE this year, and he could be the starter next year. But if he is, my guess is we’ll have a new TE who can;t block to well but will present a more fleet-footed option on obvious passing downs (or maybe be there with Sims in a 2-TE other times)..
We already gave Marqueis Gray a contract, but I guess he could be the 3rd TE, leaving room for a receiving TE. It just hurts to think we’re going with a guy who has in 4 years less receptions than Travis Kelce did this season, and a helluva lot less yardage and TD’s too.
Well we could always also bring in that all-phase TE of our dreams that would leave SIms (assuming he is re-signed) as #2, but no matter what goes down have a feeling one of our top three TEs will be new and a legit option to line up wide at times.
stanger,
I guess it all comes down to what Gase wants from his number 1 guy. If he wants a good blocker who will get you 30 or so receptions a year, Sims is the guy. I like Sims for what he is. I just hope we try to improve that area of our team. I think we can do a lot better.
Like I said to Mike E — Sims very well may be part of the solution, but only part.
He’s fine as the in-line TE as a blocker and occasional receiver, but he can’t be your receiving threat at TE, we need someone more athletically gifted.
We ain’t gonna bring in a stud everywhere we want. That is one place were we could bring in a glorified WR on the relative cheap and keep it TE by committee.
We all know that’s not what Gase wants.
Gase had Julius Thomas in DEN, and Martellus Bennett and Zach Miller in CHI
They surprised us all by going after offensive players in the draft last year. It wouldn’t shock me to see them prioritize TE in this draft. I’m not saying they should…just that anything is possible.
They did surprise us indeed. Seems the only relatively big items we might go on O are TE and G though (assuming Pouncey looks to be healthy and they re-sign Stills). And yeah anything is possible, other than at LB there is lots of flexibility.
A good receiving TE with size could be magical in this offense. I think it’s the one element we’re missing.
And we have been waiting for that one for a while. Keller, Cameron, like every top TE that comes up every draft……maybe this is the year we get it.
I love Simms
I know he is a blocking TE first
but he is the a tremendous assett to our OL
I hope he wins Unsung Porkchop
I would not mind adding another TE
I just don’t consider it the same level as priority as some of you
How bout we draft a 6-5 270 Pound TE
The TE class is really stacked at the top
Here is a another 270 Pounder from a tiny School
Adam Shasheen
Where is Ashland University?
While I don’t think we have to draft a TE high, I do agree with MikeE that it could help this offense take a step forward. The more weapons teams have to defend the better.
I mentioned Hardy Nickerson last nite and not one response from you pecker weeds….smh!
UDFA?
I think he’ll be taken in 5th or 6th….depends on combine.
He is an interesting prospect bc of his NFL roots
He’s a guy that could fill a nice role. He’s a student of the game, bounced around a few colleges. Potential sleeper. Has speed and a knack for the ball.
I like him, I think he has coachable flaws and some intangibles to build off of. That said he is still pretty raw and as a candidate he could go either way as a selection, which can be said about most. Probably highest round I’d draft him in is 5th.
Rams hired Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator.
It’s a massive get for the resetting Rams. The Rams went bold at head coach, hiring 30-year-old Sean McVay. Phillips and his decades of NFL experience is the perfect counterweight, especially since he spent the past two years coordinating the most fearsome defense in the league. Born two years after World War II, Phillips will be working for someone who graduated high school in 2004. It’s an awkward fit on paper, but Phillips has some talented players to work with, most notably perennial DPOY candidate Aaron Donald.
I’d find it really hard to believe we’d take a TE before the 3rd, unless we were able to get 2 LBs and a DE in FA.
Maybe Engram in the 3rd
TE for me is going to be a draft selection of value. For example if we find ourselves in the second and OJ Howard is there I think there is a good chance we would take him, or if Jake Butt falls to 4th, etc. It’s going to be about value and weighted BPA. I don’t think we select a TE with one of our top DE, LB, OL, or likely CB prospects still available
GDP
We talked about Hardy months ago. I would take a flier on him late, because if he’s 3/4 of what his dad was, he’d be a good LB
Interesting? though I don’t agree
https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphinsTp/status/819870820877078529
Don’t like the prospects or don’t like the position they are suggesting them for, or don’t like selecting OLB over MLB?
We could have gotten a lot more out of our offensive players last year, especially at TE. Adding another TE than we aren’t going to use to the fullest doesn’t making me feel warm and fuzzy.
sB I think this is a chicken-egg discussion. I think the reason we didn’t get much out of the position is because we didn’t have the right guy to do what Gase wanted. You can’t expect a Ford farm truck to scream down the field like a Ferrari.
^
D,
I’m not talking about fitting square pegs into round holes. I’m talking about maximizing skillsets and playcalling and it wasn’t just with TEs. It was with wide receivers as well. The offense just wasn’t as creative as expected and people can say that we didn’t have the players to be creative but I’ll call bull crap on it everytime. It was an upgrade over Philbin, but pretty much anything would have been.
I’d say Sims is more like a mail truck though, he delivers, it just takes a long time.
SB
It was really hard to judge the offense last year. In the beginning, we had a couple of guys missing on the O-line, and that changed what we were able to do. Once we got our magic 5 together, we found we could run the ball well, and I think we ran it until we couldn’t run anymore, and if there was a big play out there, we hit it, but in general, it was pretty conservative. Is it possible they were trying to keep things simple until the offense started getting it going, I think it is. When Cameron was playing, I remember Tannehill looking for him often, but those 2 could never seem to be on the same page, and with Cameron, if the ball was a little off target, he wasn’t getting it.
I think once Pouncey and Albert were out again, I think they simplified things again, because Gase knew the protection wasn’t going to be there. I think this season we might open it up more, especially if we have a solid O-line, and we’re able to get a pass catching TE that can beat a LB or S in coverage. I do agree our offense was nothing innovative or complex, but I think partly that was to help Tannehill along learning yet another system, and trying to keep him upright.
Excuses!!! I told you no more!!! LOL
LOL – Yell at Gase. I’m not sure that’s exactly how it went down, it’s just my take. 🙂
SB I feel ya on the wasn’t creative and to an extreme level earlier in the year. I also think it was a blend of things that started making it click a little more.
First, Gase definitely started altering game plan and formations to maximize success. Went with things we could do vs things he wanted to do and yes that did happen at all positions, I’d say in particular, QB.
The other part was players slowly started settling into the system, and understanding the concepts and requirements of their position in this system.
Either way he eventually, started calling to the strengths of our players which removed TE from being a real offensive weapon and more of an outlet only, help the ground game kind job. I think ultimately though, his offense if running as designed would feature and therefore require an upgrade at TE.
I say this also because if he had wanted to use TE the way he did eventually have to, he would have cut Cameron saving us like 7mil in cap, and either drafted a guy last year who was more like Sims, vs a guy like duarte, or he would have really pushed for a guy like that in FA. I think he wanted a Cameron type to pair with Sims, who is the base kind of guy in his system (run blocker, outlet guy) so he could fully open the playbook up. He wound up not having that, banging his head against a wall before having and just saying, fuck it we will go jumbo package and just grind.
I think he us going to look for a guy who gives him better options as a receiver to complete the skill set needed to run his entire offense. I think Howard will be particularly attractive to him because he offers Sims level of blocking, with better than Sims receiving. Which if course would be like martellus Bennett, a guy he utilize a lot more in Chicago than he did the TEs here. Also Howard comes from sabans system which Gase considers to prepare college players for pro responsibilities.
Not saying I would, as you said, force a round peg in a square hole, to draft Howard, but I think if he finds himself with Howard on the board in a round that makes him good value, he would consider selecting him despite other needs we might have like OC/OG, DE, LB, etc. I don’t believe first round woukd qualify, but any round after I could see that happening. I personally think I would select a different position but I think he probably weighs TE a lot heavier than most of us assume he does.
D
You don’t think Howard is gone in the 1st RD?
No, I think there will be some that are just unsure how much of a project he will be since they never fully utilized him as an offensive weapon. I think for sure some will have him high on their board but with guys like leggett and Hodges and engram, there will be players out there with a stronger résumé as a receiver and if you are drafting TE that early, you are looking for a more assured offensive weapon guy.
His blocking is undeniable, so he would be the first guy off the board as a blocjer, but again I don’t expect teams who are looking for blocking as a primary trait to be looking first round for that. He to me is an early second at best, unless he just kills it at combine.
Sounds logical. I hope he is there in the 2nd for us.
Sims strength is crossing routes, outlet plays, and versatility. Bring in one TE that only dies obe Kobe and it becomes more obvious what you are doing when they are in. You can’t disguise you plays as well. Sims gives you a guy who can do both, but his receiving ability, no his less than spectacular route running and his average separation speed make him only serviceable as a receiver that’s the primary target on plays that are more than that, crossing routes. He isn’t that guy that you can use to set up a seam play that burns a safety for a deep pass. So he is like a poor man’s version of what Gase is looking for.
Only does one thing… Wtf there was a Kobe in there lol
I thought you were talking Star Wars for a second there. lol
I also wouldn’t sleep on Evan Engram. He us a much better blocker than he is getting credit for. People see his receiving ability and just assume he was a pure passing threat guy, but go back and watch him at Ole Miss in pass pro, and run blocking for that matter and you will see he is solid there as well, not Howard good but solid.
Probably has to add some muscle mass for the pro blocking, but so does everyone co.ing out of college. Sims was kinda small when he first came out, Clay too.
I seem to remember Ken and others talking about vacationing in the Dominican Republic. Does anyone have an opinion on going there?
Stick to tourist areas.
Is it crime ridden outside of tourist areas?
I went to cabarete DR about 10 years ago
I’ve through at sod got my back
Cabarete is great for wind surfing and kite surfing
So if you want to try that – that’s your town
You fly in through Punta Cana
Punta Cana is where many people go
The beaches are beautiful
The seafood is as fresh as it gets
If I went again I would probably stay in an all inclusive
And generally I don’t like all inclusive
This would be timeshare, so it defeats the purpose. In Can Cun the only ones available are all inclusive and the want you to pay $100 per person per day. I’ll go on a cruise before I pay that. Someone figured out a scam, now they’re all doing it. Reminds me of the resort fee the casinos charge to stay here in Las Vegas.
steve — I’ve been there once, but it was ten years ago like Pig. Least then DR was the all-inclusive place. Sorta like grabbed onto what Jamaica was doing in the years before that. Never left the compound other than to and from the airport. Would carefully check out where that time-share is though……even if you don’t go to the compound kinda place (ours had barbed wire fences) there are better and worse areas.
D
Do you see Takkarist McKinley as a 4-3 OLB, 4-3 DE, or 3-4 OLB?
I personally see him as a Edge 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB
but I suppose he might be able to be a 4-3 OLB
That’s what it seems to me too, but I haven’t seen him play. He seems more like a pass rushing DE than a 4-3 OLB
What do yu guys want to waste picks on TE when we need much more help in other places.
Sims is catching 2 or 3 first downs a game and scoring TDs as well and why in rthe world do we have those other two guys?
Remember a season or two ago when Jelani Jenkins went down and we where like OH-NO now what do we do?
Well he’s back and I havent seen one single impact play by him all season…
We need to get better in other areas first I would say
BIG TIME!
I think we can get 1 starter and 1 depth guy in FA, and then draft 2 more LB’s. We have room to draft a TE.
Looking for a play making TE is one player. You have FA and the draft. Why do you think adding a TE will come at the cost of other areas?
D
I was watching Zach Cunningham v Florida and v Georgia last night
and I gotta say, I was really impressed
I might change my position to the extent that I like him better than Foster
its not just that he seemed to do a lot of things well
its that he made some clutch plays
He also seems really smart and really aggressive
Its like he diagnosis a play very quickly and then attacks
its pretty impressive
I still would rather has him Outside than inside
but I’m sure he can play wherever
I think we forget that in a 4-3 the LBs all play inside at times in a box. Sure sometimes one slides further outside, but most of the time they are all inside.
I think at the end of the day it doesn’t matter too much if that is your point
but I would call Foster or Beckwith a better example of a Mike LB than Cunningham
at the end of the day I want 2 new LBs to paid with Kiko
even knowing we will be playing 2 LBs or less from time to time
Agreed!
I also watched Duke Riley (LSU) last night v Alabama
and I cannot for the life of me figure out why is so lowly raked by most scouts
He’s awesome
maybe better than his teammate Beckwith
its off to me that Jamaal Adams is coveted (he should be) but Duke Riley is basically ignored
CBS has him as a 3rd rd pick.
WTF!!!
I think they moved him up their board within the last 24 hours
I am almost sure yesterday they had him a 5-6 round
I thought I found a gem!
Now he is a Day 2 pick
I hate you CBS
Mike
McKinley is hard to define IMO. But it seems like UCLA uses him as a pass rusher and much differently than they used players like Myles Jack and Kendricks the last few years
I don’t remember watching Mack at UCLA, but I’m wondering if its the same kind of player (probably not as good)
I can definitely see how a stud TE could change up this O. Have always thought a key value to a skills person is how it makes the D react. Right now…
Ajayi — can bring a safety in as the 8th in the box.
Landry — gets a double lots of times (especially on passing downs).
Parker — gets doubled sometimes, particularly redzone (and hopefully down the road).
And I think Stills feasted on that this year cause he almost always had single coverage.
Add in a TE who scares a D coordinator…..either the guy covering is getting help or someone else is not.
D,
I hear ya on those points and understand things weren’t going to be top 3 in Gase’s first year, but I look at what Gase said he wanted to do all offseason vs what he actually did to start the season. He said has going to build an offense around the strength of our players and for the first 5 games we saw the opposite of that.
He kept asking the team to do things they were able to do with the personnel we had. Even the players had to come to him and be like, “look, this is what we feel more comfortable doing” and he adjusted. That’s when things turned around for us. He still tried to force the ball downfield too much and I felt we should have been using the TE’s and WR’s to open that up with quick striking passes, then move on to the big hitters. Even using more 2 TE sets to run and pass out of because that’s one area where Tannehill is at his best.
Now we did do some stuff here and there, but it wasn’t consistent. It would work and we’d move away from it. A lot of that attributed to our slow starts. We didn’t do much to get the QB or the offense into a rhythm. I see a lot of teams do that, so I’m not just signaling out Gase. I’m just saying it’s an area I expected us to be better at and a place we can definitely improve.
I guess I look at the roster and saw too much potential that was wasted over the course of the season. I’m sure Gase would say the same thing.
I think it was a learning curve for Gase himself and learning his team. Hopefully he’ll have a better idea on what we do well and what we don’t heading into 2017.
Obligatory daily Mock
22: R1P22
LB ZACH CUNNINGHAM
VANDERBILT
54: R2P22
LB TAKKARIST MCKINLEY
UCLA
98: R3P34
TE DAVID NJOKU
MIAMI (FL)
167: R5P22
OT JON HECK
NORTH CAROLINA
177: R5P32
C JAY GUILLERMO
CLEMSON
185: R5P40
EDGE DARIUS ENGLISH
SOUTH CAROLINA
207: R6P22
G ISAAC ASIATA
UTAH
243: R7P22
LB BEN BOULWARE
CLEMSON
Nice to know someone is interested in our OL coach, but is that right they can stop a team from letting a position coach to interview to be a coordinator? I always thought the position only had to be a higher-up one that would be a promotion.
————–
“Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the Dolphins have blocked the Rams’ request to interview offensive line coach Chris Foerster for their offensive coordinator opening. Teams may block assistants from interviewing with other teams for positions other than head coach.”
I believe the rule changed a couple of years ago.
I think you’re allowed to block any coach going to the Rams. Fuck ’em! lol
Time for the Dolphins to lock up Reshad Jones with a new contract. He’s one of the difference makers on this team, we need that. Make him a reasonable offer and let him play out his career as a Miami Dolphin
I don’t think he’s underpaid – he’s the 10th highest paid safety in the league.
I didn’t say he’s underpaid, but contract expires after next season, so give him a raise and an extension, say 4 YR $34M
I’d rather have him on our team even at $9 per than not have him, and that’s really what it comes down to
They might but they don’t have too. This is also a guy who was suspended for 4 games a couple of years ago and missed 11 games this year and we won 8 without him.
Don’t get me wrong Jones is a really good player, but we need to upgrade in other areas so I’m not sure he’d be my top priority this offseason to give a raise/extension to.
I don’t see it that way Tim. He’s a playmaker, and one of the only guys on the damn team that can actually tackle. Why not keep him here? We always say we need playmakers, and guys that can tackle, and he’s BOTH! We didn’t win because he wasn’t there, our defense sucked, and once Reshad and Isa were gone, I don’t recall any of our safeties making tackles or making big plays. I’d like to see him here for the next 4 years, and I’d like to find another S that’s a little bigger than Isa if possible.
Yeah but why do we have to do that this offseason, he’s under contract and is already paid well? Hey if they do it I’m not going to complain about it but I just don’t see it as a top priority. We have other players who are FAs we have to deal with outside of adding new upgrades.
I also don’t have an issue with Isa’s size at 6-1 200.
Reshad wants a new contract, and the Dolphins said they take care of their own, so they should do that. I think he’s earned a new contract. Injuries happen, but he will be back healthy for next season. I’d prefer that he didn’t hold out as well. It’s a game of chicken that we can only lose at.
What if every player wanted a raise? If Reshad was severely underpaid I’d get it. But he’s not.