building the oline and dline....we've done just that...we are strong at those positions now and if you think about it what was our weakest positions last year??? i know QB was horrible (Chad henne) but we could not stop the run and we could not protect the qb....both lines are set...this will make the players we got in other positions better..a good WR cant really make his OG better....but a good OG can make a WR better...our secondary improves, LB's, QB, WR and RB with what we've done....not the sexy picks we all crave but the right way to build a team...
1st step to building a CHAMPIONSHIP Team is
- Thread starter trate121
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MarinoFishHead
Pro Bowler
Couldn't agree more. What good is a wideout if your QB is getting blasted on every down? In a couple of years our line will dominate.
this is the way of doing things....lets get nasty inside....ginn is a player and wilford and hagan could be really good...they need time to let things happen and having a solid oline does just that....lets not forget june 1st cuts...im sure BP is gonna feast on some players there
phinfan33
Club Member
i also couldn't agree more,IMO as a fan of the Fins,Parcells is doing it right,building from the trenches on out.
we havent done this in years and could be the reason we havent been to the playoffs in 6 years...even when fiedler was here we had a good oline...which made fiedler an decent qb...i love it!!!
this front office did things the right way...listen we as fans love the big names...i cant tell you that i didnt dream of getting manningham, godfrey or connor last night....i cant sit here and say that my initial reaction was kendall langford??? huh!!! but after seeing this draft in its entirety i see where we are headed...we fixed our 3 most important holes-oline dline and qb and we also improved ou rb's...yes we are a bit thin at wr and cb but we cant fix everything all at once....whats the point of getting one guy per position and hoping its addressed....getting a few guys in there to compete with the guys already there will make sure that those positions are solidified....great job BP....
dabeastdabone
Seasoned Veteran
Yeah this draft was heavy in the trenches and big uglies BUT it might not of been that if we didn't have Ronnie, Ricky, Ginn (last years #9 tied up in him) as skill guys on offense. Even after addressing a 2nd in a QB (skill guy) last year they invest in another this year. On Defense we have a #1 pick invested in J. Allen and another former #1 pick in W. Allen. Y. Bell is also a defensive skill guy.
My point is I think your assessment is incorrect. We had the skill guys as the building blocks and are in fact building around them.
My point is I think your assessment is incorrect. We had the skill guys as the building blocks and are in fact building around them.
thats a very good point. our secondary meaning J allen did good with a crappy front 7 including W Allen. now we have pressure (hopefully if the front 7 performs better cuz i think we need more playmakers at LB) those 2 should have PB type of year ahead.
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Actually, I like the idea of starting in the trenches, but I have to nitpick a bit. Building an Offensive Line is a process, and I wholeheartedly support building the OL ASAP in a rebuilding effort. I also give Ireland & Co. high marks for building this offensive line exactly how they should, by putting your best lineman (Vernon Carey) at his best position (RT), drafting the dominant talent for your system as high as possible at LT (Jake Long perfectly fits our system), recognizing your strong talent on the interior in Satele (C) and bringing in a high production/high leadership/veteran free agent (Smiley) for a low amount of money. Having that solid veteran and leader next to Satele is crucial for getting the line calls right, and Smiley is an excellent pulling guard allowing us to run left behind Jake. That's 4 of the 5 line spots handled perfectly. A+ to Ireland & Co. for building our OL so well.
It's debatable how important guards are, but I like that we've identified guys who can grow with our system like Mormino and supplemented that through the draft with guys who have a lot of potential like Shawn Murphy and Donald Thomas. While I'd rather have had different developmental prospects, the ones we took all have potential and were good picks late in the draft.
So, Offensive Line, absolutely the most important thing to start the rebuilding process and we've done an excellent job. At worst we'll need 1 more starter at G next year, and those are easy to find. At best, someone steps forward and our line starts to jell together. Chemistry makes an offensive line greater than the sum of it's parts, and we're starting from ground zero with the right mix of talent, youth, veterans, leadership, and philosophy.
The flip side is that defenses work very differently than offenses do. There is no single unit that requires chemistry on defense like the offensive line. Defenses require execution of individuals doing their roles in the system. CB's, Safeties, ILB's and OLB's all need to read and react. The defensive line is really 3 different individuals working individually against the OL and tee'ing up the ball for the LB's. So, it's not needed to start building the defense with the defensive line. Any part of the defense can work, and it tends to be better when there's a mix of veterans and youth in the secondary and LB corps. So, it would have been nice to add 1 LB and 1 CB in this draft. We had the opportunity to do so, and we didn't.
Now, Yeremiah Bell has proven 2 things, 1) that he has enough talent to start, and 2) that he is going to get injured every single season. We have no talent to back him up. If he's our veteran back there, we're going to suffer greatly. What's even worse, we have no real talented veteran to back him up and we ignored the secondary completely in the draft. We have 1 decent corner, Will Allen. Lehan and all the rest are mediocre at best, and we let about 20 good CB's slip through our hands this draft. I think that will come back to haunt us down the road.
At LB we probably can make due with the conglomeration of veterns we have, so it's no longer a pressing need after acquiring Torbor, Anderson, Ayodele and not trading Jason Taylor. We also have Joey Porter who should do just fine back in the 34. So while it would have been useful to get a good young LB (like Dan Connor!), it's not neccessary.
We needed DL and we got 2 keepers and 1 potential developmental guy. I think that's probably too many, but that's the way the draft developed. I think we took Merling simply because he fell to us, then we overdrafted Langford because he's an ideal prospect for our system. I'd rather we picked up a CB instead of Merling, grabbed a TE like Jermichael Finley somewhere along the way, and it would have been very nice to snag LB Kroy Biermann, but my solace is that I think we were targeting stealing him in the 6th round and Atlanta gazumped us to him in the 5th.
I think the OL draft was by design and it deserves high marks and praise. I think the DL draft was more a matter of what was available at our draft spots, and while not necessarily a bad thing, I think missing out on all of the good prospects at CB is going to haunt us down the line. And next year if a value 34 DE falls to us, we'll draft another position because we're set at DE. Frankly, I'd rather one of those guys had been a NT at least.
It's debatable how important guards are, but I like that we've identified guys who can grow with our system like Mormino and supplemented that through the draft with guys who have a lot of potential like Shawn Murphy and Donald Thomas. While I'd rather have had different developmental prospects, the ones we took all have potential and were good picks late in the draft.
So, Offensive Line, absolutely the most important thing to start the rebuilding process and we've done an excellent job. At worst we'll need 1 more starter at G next year, and those are easy to find. At best, someone steps forward and our line starts to jell together. Chemistry makes an offensive line greater than the sum of it's parts, and we're starting from ground zero with the right mix of talent, youth, veterans, leadership, and philosophy.
The flip side is that defenses work very differently than offenses do. There is no single unit that requires chemistry on defense like the offensive line. Defenses require execution of individuals doing their roles in the system. CB's, Safeties, ILB's and OLB's all need to read and react. The defensive line is really 3 different individuals working individually against the OL and tee'ing up the ball for the LB's. So, it's not needed to start building the defense with the defensive line. Any part of the defense can work, and it tends to be better when there's a mix of veterans and youth in the secondary and LB corps. So, it would have been nice to add 1 LB and 1 CB in this draft. We had the opportunity to do so, and we didn't.
Now, Yeremiah Bell has proven 2 things, 1) that he has enough talent to start, and 2) that he is going to get injured every single season. We have no talent to back him up. If he's our veteran back there, we're going to suffer greatly. What's even worse, we have no real talented veteran to back him up and we ignored the secondary completely in the draft. We have 1 decent corner, Will Allen. Lehan and all the rest are mediocre at best, and we let about 20 good CB's slip through our hands this draft. I think that will come back to haunt us down the road.
At LB we probably can make due with the conglomeration of veterns we have, so it's no longer a pressing need after acquiring Torbor, Anderson, Ayodele and not trading Jason Taylor. We also have Joey Porter who should do just fine back in the 34. So while it would have been useful to get a good young LB (like Dan Connor!), it's not neccessary.
We needed DL and we got 2 keepers and 1 potential developmental guy. I think that's probably too many, but that's the way the draft developed. I think we took Merling simply because he fell to us, then we overdrafted Langford because he's an ideal prospect for our system. I'd rather we picked up a CB instead of Merling, grabbed a TE like Jermichael Finley somewhere along the way, and it would have been very nice to snag LB Kroy Biermann, but my solace is that I think we were targeting stealing him in the 6th round and Atlanta gazumped us to him in the 5th.
I think the OL draft was by design and it deserves high marks and praise. I think the DL draft was more a matter of what was available at our draft spots, and while not necessarily a bad thing, I think missing out on all of the good prospects at CB is going to haunt us down the line. And next year if a value 34 DE falls to us, we'll draft another position because we're set at DE. Frankly, I'd rather one of those guys had been a NT at least.
this is not only the best drafts we've had in years,it was the smartest too
Ozzy rules!!
Ozzy rules!!
Both lines aren't set. We'll be grabbing more next year, and early.
I was enjoying the second day, watching golf on other channels then clicking back to ESPN while emphasizing, "no little twerps." Last thing I wanted was a forced pick at DB or WR, simply because we failed to address those positions earlier.
That always bombs for us. I can't count how many times we've tried to steal a WR from someplace like San Diego St in the late rounds and they never pan out, other than a few cute plays in preseason.
You know darn well someone like Spielman would have put a quota on the draft, finding at least one or two balancing twerps to appease the position coaches and fans.
Parcells plugged along with the uglies, hard running backs and one downfield thrower. I was impressed.
Next year the skill positions get a boost. No way he's content there.
I was enjoying the second day, watching golf on other channels then clicking back to ESPN while emphasizing, "no little twerps." Last thing I wanted was a forced pick at DB or WR, simply because we failed to address those positions earlier.
That always bombs for us. I can't count how many times we've tried to steal a WR from someplace like San Diego St in the late rounds and they never pan out, other than a few cute plays in preseason.
You know darn well someone like Spielman would have put a quota on the draft, finding at least one or two balancing twerps to appease the position coaches and fans.
Parcells plugged along with the uglies, hard running backs and one downfield thrower. I was impressed.
Next year the skill positions get a boost. No way he's content there.
I think next year is the year we draft more DB/WRs. Great draft this year though. I haven't felt this good about a Dolphins draft in a long time.
miamiron
Active Roster
You sure did hit the nail on it's head.The picks are not sexy but they do start the foundation to a big,strong,young team.
Although all team needs have not been filled it sure would be impossible to accomplish everything we need in ONE draft.
I'm sure there will be trades in the near future for maybe a Cb and Wr.If not then next years draft should shore up those positions.
I am very happy with the direction this team is going
BIG,STRONG,NASTY SMASH MOUTH FOOTBALL
.For the first time in a while I have optimisim and being
a Miami Dolphin fan will be fun again.:kick:
DolFan74
It's 5 0'Clock Somewhere.
Great Thread and Great Draft and maybe some of the FA signings we can move forward sooner than later.