ckparrothead
Premium Member
The Dolphins were in a unique position heading into the draft. After addressing their needs at wide receiver (David Boston) and quarterback (<A.J. Feeley) in the offseason, the Dolphins had one major objective; draft the best available offensive lineman in the first round.
Some may say that the Dolphins gave up too much (fourth-round pick) to the Vikings just to move up one spot, but we have been told by credible sources that the Patriots were also looking to trade into the Vikings' position at No. 19 for Vernon Carey, which would have been disastrous for the Dolphins after Arkansas OT Shawn Andrews was already swept up by the Eagles, who traded up to the 16th pick to get him.
There is no question that the Dolphins would have liked to come away with more than six players -- and more than one player from the first day -- from the '04 draft, but for an organization that is built to win now, finding an upgrade at right tackle in Carey was critical. Now the Dolphins can plug Carey in at the starting right tackle spot opposite Wade Smith, who should be much improved in his second season.
The Dolphins have very good depth at the tackle positions with the offseason acquisitions of John St. Clair (Rams) and Damion McIntosh (Chargers). They have an upgrade at left guard with Jeno James and are also expecting Seth McKinney to be a solid starting center. The position that is still left up for grabs is right guard, but at least the team will have good competition at that spot between Taylor Whitley (3rd-round pick last year), Greg Jerman and St. Clair, who does have some experience playing inside. The team also improved its depth at center with its sixth-round selection of Rex Hadnot, and guard/tackle with its seventh-round selection of Tony Pape.
USC DC Will Poole may turn out to be one of the steals of the draft as a fourth-round pick. His poor workout and character concerns resulted in him dropping from possibly a late-first-round pick to a fourth-round selection, but he improved his workout time in a second workout that very few NFL officials attended after he was sick for 10 days and disappointed at his first workout.
Furthermore, his character issues date back several years to when he started out at Boston College and, from what we've been told, he more than learned his lesson and really showed a lot of maturity during his senior season at USC. The Dolphins are obviously set next season at the cornerback position with Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison as starters, but neither is getting any younger and we think Poole can give Reggie Howard a run for his money as the team's nickel cornerback next season.
Finally, while DS Tony Bua and OLB Derrick Pope will probably never be starters in the NFL, both play the game with terrific intensity, consistency, instincts and passion, which is why they are likely to make the Dolphins' roster as special teams players.
I wouldn't call this THE final vindication, but I would say that the scales should be tipped sufficiently now such that dolfans shouldn't be pissed at the trade anymore. If you hear it from enough sources, even if by some chance the Patriots wouldn't have actually moved, the possibility remained so strong that you can't possibly blame Spielman for pulling the trigger.
Some may say that the Dolphins gave up too much (fourth-round pick) to the Vikings just to move up one spot, but we have been told by credible sources that the Patriots were also looking to trade into the Vikings' position at No. 19 for Vernon Carey, which would have been disastrous for the Dolphins after Arkansas OT Shawn Andrews was already swept up by the Eagles, who traded up to the 16th pick to get him.
There is no question that the Dolphins would have liked to come away with more than six players -- and more than one player from the first day -- from the '04 draft, but for an organization that is built to win now, finding an upgrade at right tackle in Carey was critical. Now the Dolphins can plug Carey in at the starting right tackle spot opposite Wade Smith, who should be much improved in his second season.
The Dolphins have very good depth at the tackle positions with the offseason acquisitions of John St. Clair (Rams) and Damion McIntosh (Chargers). They have an upgrade at left guard with Jeno James and are also expecting Seth McKinney to be a solid starting center. The position that is still left up for grabs is right guard, but at least the team will have good competition at that spot between Taylor Whitley (3rd-round pick last year), Greg Jerman and St. Clair, who does have some experience playing inside. The team also improved its depth at center with its sixth-round selection of Rex Hadnot, and guard/tackle with its seventh-round selection of Tony Pape.
USC DC Will Poole may turn out to be one of the steals of the draft as a fourth-round pick. His poor workout and character concerns resulted in him dropping from possibly a late-first-round pick to a fourth-round selection, but he improved his workout time in a second workout that very few NFL officials attended after he was sick for 10 days and disappointed at his first workout.
Furthermore, his character issues date back several years to when he started out at Boston College and, from what we've been told, he more than learned his lesson and really showed a lot of maturity during his senior season at USC. The Dolphins are obviously set next season at the cornerback position with Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison as starters, but neither is getting any younger and we think Poole can give Reggie Howard a run for his money as the team's nickel cornerback next season.
Finally, while DS Tony Bua and OLB Derrick Pope will probably never be starters in the NFL, both play the game with terrific intensity, consistency, instincts and passion, which is why they are likely to make the Dolphins' roster as special teams players.
I wouldn't call this THE final vindication, but I would say that the scales should be tipped sufficiently now such that dolfans shouldn't be pissed at the trade anymore. If you hear it from enough sources, even if by some chance the Patriots wouldn't have actually moved, the possibility remained so strong that you can't possibly blame Spielman for pulling the trigger.
