Dolphins undrafted free agents thread | Page 16 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Dolphins undrafted free agents thread

I'm waiting until the OFFICIAL list comes out because players can back out of agreements and get more $$$ from other teams. The first list is NEVER correct.
 
Awsi Dooger said:
I watch or listen to plenty of coach's shows. Some are quite obscure. Within the SEC, Chad Bumphis' name came up all the time from opposing coaches, before and after they played Mississippi State. They'd talk about how many problems he caused.

That arrogant SEC analyst on CSS, Tony Bernard, he raves about Bumphis.

The first time I saw Bumphis he made a nice very aware catch in the back of the end zone, shielding the defender and dragging both feet in bounds. That type of play always impresses me because the typical receiver is clueless, and finds a way to run himself out of bounds even if he catches the ball. It's the same type of thing I noticed immediately from Tevon Austin. When players demonstrate instincts on that type of play, it transfers to the rest of their game.

I feel kind of stupid for not mentioning Bumphis yesterday in the late rounds. I was clicking between the draft and both the PGA and LPGA golf. When I returned to this site briefly and saw the name Sturgis, long after we drafted the kicker, I got briefly excited because I confused the name with Bumphis. I remember thinking, "Wow, we got the Mississippi State kid, that's great." I don't think of Sturgis as Sturgis. He's the Gator kicker. He'll always be the Gator kicker to me. Name is irrelevant.

Once I realized it wasn't Bumphis, I assumed he had been drafted anyway, by someone else. It was quite startling, and pleasing, to open this thread and see Bumphis aligned with us. Hard to believe he wasn't drafted. Although I don't think he's quite on Bess' level in terms of hands and pinball characteristics, if that makes any sense. I never was a Bess fan but I appreciated his short window smarts and toughness.
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makes perfect sense...i think bumphis has slightly better wheels but he may not be a great cross a defenders face in tight spaces guy...bess was really good at getting off coverage initially in short areas...
 
hooshoops said:
yeah they're more athletes than instincts guys...which is why jenkins may over the long haul never be a long term starter...may be a career specials and backup guy...that said ogletree doesn't have great instincts either for the position he's got outstanding physical tools and upside and the rams are betting on the upside...he plays lb more like a safety and tackles way too high
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That's the Rams' problem. I love instinctive guys. Instincts + great feet = happy Walrus.
 
fanfin said:
faster Clyde Gates that is a football player.... whats your take on Marcus Davis? I saw we just signed him today or sometime very late last night... I know is he is a height weight speed freak at 6'4 235 4.5... thats really all I know..
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davis looks great on paper and then you see him play and he dissappears so much you say no thanks...i don't think he plays smart enough for our system...and he's a headcase...i've seen a lot of him and always came away with more hype than substance
 
TheWalrus said:
That's the Rams' problem. I love instinctive guys. Instincts + great feet = happy Walrus.
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well when you get great athlete plus great instincts in a lb that's when you are cooking with gas...manti teo's instincts are great his tools are average for the position...guys like aj klein have good instincts but pretty average athletes...arthur brown has both...
 
Harry_Bagpipe said:
Isnt that one of the knocks on Jordan? Not the most instinctual player.
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i can see where that would come up...but i think it's more about asking him to be a jack of so many trades at oregon...if we do what walrus says we should and make that kid hunt the qb as much as possible i don't see it as an issue...wth reps i expect the instincts and recognition to get much better with this kid...not a concern of mine
 
The guy from Northern Iowa ran a 4.19 40...Other than speed he has good hands but the offense was meant for the option and not really passing. Could be a sleeper.
 
Terrell Sinkfield will be interesting to watch in camp and preseason. hopefully he can pick up the NFL game and be a factor... dude is fast as hell
 
Harry_Bagpipe said:
Isnt that one of the knocks on Jordan? Not the most instinctual player.
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I think he's pretty instinctive. His awareness of route combinations behind him is pretty good, especially for a recent convert to defense. His issue is that he's a jack of all trades right now but a master of none... but with the potential to be a master of a very important trade. His ability in coverage to me is just a bonus, like a safety or a corner having legit run instincts after an int. Nice to have, but not worth having over an essential skill.
 
hooshoops said:
well when you get great athlete plus great instincts in a lb that's when you are cooking with gas...manti teo's instincts are great his tools are average for the position...guys like aj klein have good instincts but pretty average athletes...arthur brown has both...
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Indeed. But those guys are rare, of course. Everybody puts the line in a different place, and for me it's probably closer to the "instinctive" line than the "superior athlete" line. When I look at later round guys who become elite players, most of the time it seems to be either, a) guys who had all the ability but faced a low level of competition or had injury/character problems, or b) guys with great instincts for the game but who weren't thought to have the athleticism.

It's rarer for me to see the great athletes "get it" upstairs. Look at Nolan Carroll, who from a tools perspective was built in a laboratory to play corner. But he doesn't know what the hell he's doing and never will. Then look at Brent Grimes, who came out 5'09 and change, 177 and running a 4.57 40.

I agree that there's a limit on how unathletic you can be. AJ Klein is a good example of that. The thing I think people forget is that both instincts and athleticism are only a means to an end. As a defender you have to be in a certain place at a certain time to make a play. What's stopping you is the recognition of where you need to be and then your physical ability to get there. If your recognition is top notch, you'll be moving in that direction sooner, meaning that physically you can be slower. If you're fast, then you can make up the ground. It's a sliding scale. You have to be athletic enough and instinctive enough in balance with each other. If you fall down too far on either scale, it doesn't matter how well you perform on the other one.
 
TheWalrus said:
If I'm coaching Jordan this year I'm forgetting about the versatility stuff and just trying to put him in Aldon Smith's role for now. Rush the passer. Let's teach him how. Every minute you spend with him on coverage is a wasted minute, imo. Maybe in the future you can take advantage of that skill set but what this team needs is 8-10 sacks from someone other than Wake, and Jordan I think has the potential to be that guy. Smith had 14.5 sacks as a rookie. That's probably setting the bar too high but unless you focus completely on pass rushing he won't get anywhere close to it.

The guy needs reps, reps and more reps. I'm calling Jason Taylor and asking him to consult. I'm putting Jordan in the locker next to Wake, putting his room in training camp close to Wake, giving him maps and diagrams to Wake's house and giving Wake like a $150,000 babysitting bonus.
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Music to my ears. The only thing missing from Jordan's potential is experience which should help him become a true 4-3 RDE. The only way to cure that is to just let him play that 1 position to gain the experience needed. He's already proven what he can do in coverage.
 
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