Our 2012 Draft Class Talent vs. The Rest of The League | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Our 2012 Draft Class Talent vs. The Rest of The League

rayfinkle5

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I’ve been reading a lot lately about our lack of performance on offense and I am wondering who is more to blame, our scouts and GM or our coaches? Looking at the 2012 draft class and how some players have performed on other teams as compared to our draft picks reveals our picks are underperforming in my opinion. Did we pick worse talent or are we doing a worse job of coaching up our guys? Take a look at the following stats…

QB’s:
Tannehill (8): 2559 yards, 57.9% completions, 7 TD/12 INT, 72.3 QB rating
Weeden (22): 2820 yards, 57% completions, 13 TD/15 INT, 72.3 QB rating
Wilson (75): 2344 yards, 63.4% completions, 19 TD/8 INT, 95.2 QB rating
Foles (88): 793 yards, 60.9% completions, 2 TD/3 INT, 73.3 QB rating

We currently rank 23[SUP]rd[/SUP] in the NFL in passing and Tannehill ranks near the bottom of all QB's in QB rating. I am a fan of Tannehill and I believe he was the right pick but how can we expect him to carry this offense unless he has a legitimate threat at WR to throw to? We had plenty of opportunities to sign, trade for or draft a #1 WR last offseason and failed to do so. I put this deficiency on Ireland. Didn't he claim during a Hard Knocks episode that our receiving core would look far different on opening day? What happened with that?

RB’s:
Miller (97): 27 carries, 145 yards (5.4 ypc), 1 TD
Turbin (106): 45 carries, 182 yards (4.0 ypc), 0 TD
Rainey (159): 21 carries, 79 yards (3.8 ypc), 2 TD
Ballard (170): 127 carries, 468 yards (3.7 ypc), 1 TD
Morris (173): 230 carries, 1106 yards (4.8 ypc), 6 TD
Brown (229): 75 carries, 488 yards (6.5 ypc), 4 TD’s

The RB position blows me away! I could not be more confident in Lamar Miller's ability and believe he is more talented then all of the RB’s drafted behind him (including Morris and Brown). Why aren’t we using him more? The responses I hear most frequently are his lack in ability to pass protect and that he is struggling to learn the offense. Really? How are other teams able to get their 6[SUP]th[/SUP] and 7[SUP]th[/SUP] round selections up to speed and find productive ways to use them? Certainly, being drafted 2-3 rounds behind our guy suggests these players had deficiencies of their own entering the draft. We currently rank 17[SUP]th[/SUP] in the NFL in rushing which isn't horrible but, it isn’t productive enough to keep a talent like Miller on the bench. Once considered the #2 RB in the draft behind Richardson, Miller sits on a shiny 5.4 yards per carry average while D. Thomas continues to get ample opportunity to prove he's only worth a 3.5 yard gain (one of the lowest ypc averages in the league). I think the coaches get the blame on this one. Quit talking about how excited you are about Miller's ability. Instead, coach him up and insert him in the lineup!

TE’s:
Fleener (34): 22 catches, 248 yards, 1 TD
Allen (64): 36 catches, 435 yards, 2 TD
Egnew (78) 0 catches, 0 yards, 0 TD’s

I understand that Fleener and Allen were both drafted ahead of Egnew but as the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] TE selected in the draft is it too much to expect that we get a guy we could at least activate during the year? As one of the weakest teams at the TE position and the 24[SUP]th[/SUP] ranked receiving team you would think a 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] round TE talent would be able to contribute in some way. I blame everyone for this one, including (and especially) Egnew himself.

 
Yea it's all kinda sad.
Tannehill was a project/gamble, we knew that; it's just a shame he hasn't played as well as guys picked way behind him like Wilson, who was also a risk.

Just as a rule I give any TEs, WRs, and DBs (not picked in 1st rd) two nfl seasons to get it together; the game is really different at those positions.

The RB bit bothers me the most - i just don't get how we pick Miller where we did (for his talent) and then not play him.
 
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I’ve been reading a lot lately about our lack of performance on offense and I am wondering who is more to blame, our scouts and GM or our coaches? Looking at the 2012 draft class and how some players have performed on other teams as compared to our draft picks reveals our picks are underperforming in my opinion. Did we pick worse talent or are we doing a worse job of coaching up our guys? Take a look at the following stats…
The GM and our coaches. The GM for drafting the players he did and the coaches for not finding roles for the players to excel in.
 
Is this another bash Ireland, Philbin fire them all Thread? Geez!
 
Yea it's all pretty sad.
Tannehill was a project/gamble, we knew that; it's just a shame he hasn't played as well as guys picked way behind him like Wilson, who was also a risk.

Wilson does have better talent around him, and eventually his lack of height will catch up to him, while Tannehill will get better talent to help him...unlike coaching staffs, this coaching staff wants to succeed with the pass, not shy away from it.
 
Wilson does have better talent around him, and eventually his lack of height will catch up to him, while Tannehill will get better talent to help him...unlike coaching staffs, this coaching staff wants to succeed with the pass, not shy away from it.

I'm not so sure that it will. Wilson seems to have learned from Drew Brees on how to manipulate the pocket to find that necessary passing window needed to complete passes.
 
I'm pleased with this draft. I must admit that I didn't expect Egnew to be invisible, but other than that I'm pleased with the draft. Vernon has shown flashes. Miller has looked good, so as long as he learns to block and stays healthy, he's a good pick. Decent draft overall.

Tannehill has exceeded my and most analysts' expectations. He shows all of the high ceiling we expected and less of the flaws ... you couldn't really ask more of a kid with 19 collegiate starts at QB, a weak OL and a very bad WR corps. His accuracy is very very good and more consistent mechanics than expected. I expected a lot of tunnel-vision picks, but that hasn't been a big problem. Few of his picks were innacurate throws or bad decisions, which is really rare. Most were batted passe or WR's who gifted defenders the ball. If he had better red zone targets I think his TD's would go up dramatically.

The other players are important, no doubt, but its Tannehill that makes or breaks this draft class. Thus far, I'm pleasantly surprised and thing we may have found our QB for the next decade and a half.
 
I do think Vernon, Martin, and Tanny make this a solid draft at this point. the invisible skill players is frustrating, but hopefully they come around (i suspect miller and egnew will...soon).
 
Tannehill's stats are terrible but no doubt he is the Franchise QB. RB wise Miller is behind Bush and Thomas but if reggie walks Miller will get his carries and potentially be our starter. Fleener and Allen's stats are not outrageous. Fasano and Clay have been solid. I am a little disappointed Egnew hasn't even been active. It's funny the positions we drafted have decent veteran guys hitting FA. Long, Bush, and Fasano.
 
Is this another bash Ireland, Philbin fire them all Thread? Geez!

Where do you get that? I'm just looking at other rookie talent impacting their teams and trying to figure out why our recent draft picks aren't having a similar impact. Did we draft our guys too high or are we not coaching them up as well? Perhaps there is another reason. I never mentioned firing anyone and I am quite happy with our current regime... at least the coaches anyway. And although I am not a huge supporter of Ireland I do think this draft class was one of our best in recent memory.
 
I think we all wish we'd gotten more production from this year's draft class, but even saying that, this was still Ireland's best. Vernon's a player and Martin's held his own. I'd easily take Tannehill over Weeden and Foles. On potential, the Miller pick can be put up against any of those except for Morris in that Shanny offense. Egnew is just a disaster. Hilton or Givens instead of wasting that pick on Egnew would have made a big difference.
 
Olivier Vernon looks to me like another run stopping OLB which isn't all that valuable in this league. Another backup who "can play in this league" but isn't really a play maker. Kheeston Randall looks like a solid backup but doesn't look like he has any more potential than that.

Michael Egnew is a total question mark. As is Rishard Matthews.

We will see on Jonathan Martin.

B.J. Cunningham and Josh Kaddu are already on the outs.

The class is going to come back to Ryan Tannehill. If he's successful it's a successful draft. If not, it's potentially a disastrous draft.
 
Wilson does have better talent around him, and eventually his lack of height will catch up to him, while Tannehill will get better talent to help him...unlike coaching staffs, this coaching staff wants to succeed with the pass, not shy away from it.

Really? Because the guy has shown that its practically a non-issue and it's not something like lack of arm strength or mobility that truly limits what he can do.

I don't see how anyone could look at Drew Brees and think that a guy who is playing successful QB in the NFL will fail eventually because of height.
 
Wilson does have better talent around him, and eventually his lack of height will catch up to him, while Tannehill will get better talent to help him...unlike coaching staffs, this coaching staff wants to succeed with the pass, not shy away from it.

I call BS. If he is finding passing lanes now he will continue to find them. He is a baller. Get over it.
 
Olivier Vernon looks to me like another run stopping OLB which isn't all that valuable in this league. Another backup who "can play in this league" but isn't really a play maker. Kheeston Randall looks like a solid backup but doesn't look like he has any more potential than that.

Michael Egnew is a total question mark. As is Rishard Matthews.

We will see on Jonathan Martin.

B.J. Cunningham and Josh Kaddu are already on the outs.

The class is going to come back to Ryan Tannehill. If he's successful it's a successful draft. If not, it's potentially a disastrous draft.

CK, anything to add about Miller and why they aren't using him much?
 
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