RealDriscoll
Still Perfect.. and You're Not.
We are only 15 days away from the Mecca of all sports day which is the NFL Draft. I don't know whether pregnancy for a female or the 9 months between the end of the football season until the start of the next one is a longer nine months. The draft is April 22nd thru April 24th and this is a HUGE draft for our Miami Dolphins. The Miami Dolphins ended up 7-9 last season with the tougest schedule in the league that saw them face the Patriots twice, the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, the Jets twice, and both teams that were in the Super Bowl in the Saints and Colts. I can live with 7-9 with a diffulcult schedule and a transition from Chad Pennington to Chad Henne as the teams' starting Quarterback. I can live with 7-9 considering the teams' best player Ronnie Brown was once again bitten by the injury bug. I can live with 7-9 with the fact that we had two rookie Cornerback's in Sean Smith and Vontae Davis. In year three of the "Bill Parcells Era" I can no longer live with 7-9. It is time for this team to turn the corner and become a perennial playoff team ready to make a run.
It has been a very interesting off-season in South Beach. I expected the Dolphins to be very active in free agency and to my surprise they really weren't. I was baffled as to why they didn't trade their 3rd Rounder and 4th Rounder to the Arizona Cardinals for Anquan boldin and the Cardinals' 5th rounder. I think Baltimore got an absolute steal in that trade and I think Boldin makes an immediate impact. The team got better by releasing Akin Ayodele, Joey Porter, and Gibril Wilson. If you watch the games over these three players were consistenly out of place and the reason we gave up some big plays. We did a more than stellar job replacing Ayodele by signing Karlos Dansby. Dansby is one of the better free agent acquisitiong we have seen here in Miami in a long time as I would consider him an impact defensive player. We are still searching for a replacement for Gibril Wilson and finding a better option than Wilson shouldn't be diffulcult. When we released Wilson I think we were under the impression that Ryan Clark would be signing with us but he burned us but no big deal. There are some good options still in free agency with OJ Atogwe, Ken Hamlin, and the craft veteran who is Darren Sharper. Joey Porter was horrid against the run but he was the teams' most effective and productive pass rusher as he led the team with 9 sacks. We could always look at signing Jason Taylor for a brief extension which I think is ideal based off of his production and leadership qualitites that he exhibited last season. I hear the Jets have some real interest in JT which makes resigning him even more of a priority in my book. The jury is out on Cameron Wake and it seems he will get his chance but there is no question this guy showed some real pass-rushing ability in hos rookie season. The Dolphins did re-sign a great insurance policy at Quarterback in Chad Pennington and they did re-sgn Jason Ferguson who is suspended for the first 8 games of the season but I am not so sure that is a bad thing. Ferguson will be healthy for a late season push and we could really use him for this. I love the Richie Icognito signing as I think he is a far better player than Nate Garner and Donald Thomas. I like the mean streak that he plays with and think that if we can keep his act together we have a Pro-Bowl Right Guard. Having Icognito pared with Grove in the interior gives us two mean bulls to go along with our brilliant pair of Offensive Tackles in Jake Long and Vernon Carey.
The Dolphins' need at Wide Receiver, Free Safety, Nose Tackle, and Outside Linebacker are pretty obvious. Let's look at players in April's draft who can meet these needs starting with Wide Receiver. Dez Bryant; Theres a guy who carries the label as a "diva" but is he really? I think all of the things being said about Bryant are far overblown and I know for a fact that the Dolphins have real interest in Bryant. He just spent two days with the Miami Dolphins' brass that included time with Bill Parcells himself. The truth is that Arrelious Benn of Illinois, Demaryius Thomas of Georgia Tech, and Golden Tate of Notre Dame will more than likely be gone by pick #43 (our 2nd Rounder) so this rises Bryant to the Dolphins more in my opinion. Dez Bryant is the best Wide Receiver prospect since Calvin Johnson and I think he is a player in the Andre Johnson mold who makes us a better team immediatly. Not to mention he makes our young Quarterback Chad Henne a better player immediatly as well. He also makes Ted Ginn, Greg Camarillo, Brian Hartline, and Davone Bess better players as well. The Dolphins could wait until the 3rd or 4th Round range for a player like Mike Williams of Syracuse whom they recently met with. Williams was very good player at Syracuse by major character questions arrise. There is no doubt that he could be the steal of the draft but at what price? I like players such as Andre Roberts of the Citadel, Chris McGaha of Arizona State, Taylor Price of Miami Ohio, Jeremy Williams of Tulane, and Dezmon Briscoe of Kansas but I am not sold on any of these guys as a #1 receiver. A guy who carries the overrated label for me is Brandon LaFell of LSU. He has good size but his ability to disappear scares me off of him. The two sleepers in this draft for me are Carlton Mitchell of South Florida and Jacoby Ford of Clemson. Mitchell had a great combine and even better pro-day as he ran in the 4.35 range and showed off great hands. Mitchell currently holds a 3rd round grade for me and could be a good option. Jacoby Ford is the fastest player in the draft and despite being only 5"9 he is not afraid of contact like a receiver in Miami who wears #19. The injury history of Eric Decker of Minnesota scares me away from him and Damian Williams of USC is one of those Southern Cal. receivers like Mike Williams or Dwayne Jarrett who turned out to be complete bust. If the Dolphins want to answer their need at Wide Receiver they have to go in the route of Dez Bryant as he is the only guy I am confident can make big splash as a #1 receiver.
The Dolphins also have a need at Free Safety after they released Gibril Wilson.When we signed Wilson i thought it was a good move but wow what a disaster he turned out to be. The Dolphins have two young players in Tyrone Culver and Chris Clemons who could be good players but they need some time before they are ready. Eric Berry of Tennessee will be gone by the time we pick but there is a good chance that Earl Thomas of Texas is still on the board. We are working out Thomas for the 2nd time today so this confirm our interest. For my money I think Thomas is every bit the player of Berry. If we pass on Thomas in round 1 we can look at Morgan Burnett of Georgia Tech in Round 2 or Robert Johnson out of Utah in the Round 3-4 range. Burnett in Round 2 would be ideal but players such as Nate Allen of South Florida and Reshad Jones of Georgia are also on the Dolphins radar. The Dolphins are working out Major Wright of Florida this week as well. A sleeper for me is Terrell Skinner out of Maryland who converted to Free Safety from Wide Receiver and is a guy who can be had in Round 6-7. There is always the Myron Rolle debate but his forty time wasn't good and he had a year removed from football. I am not a big fan of Myron Rolle and think his heart is set on things other than football.
Nose Tackle is an interesting position for us as Tony Sprano stated this off-season that Nose was the most important piece of a 3-4 defense. They did resign Jason Ferguson but he is suspended for the first 8 games; Paul Soliai hasn't sold me that he can play every down. Dan Williams of Tennessee is a beats but I don't see how you can spend the #12 on a guy who only plays two downs. Terrence Cody's weight issues could push him into our laps at #43. With all the teams switching to a 3-4 defense I doubt Mount Cody falls that far. Jared Odrick out of Penn State is an absolute beast and reminds me Haloti Ngata and Richard Seymour. Odrick can play all 3 spots on the defensive line and could be a real option. Players who I do like Cam Thomas of North Carolina, Torrell Troup of Central Florida D'Anthony Smith of La. Tech, Linval Joseph of East Carolina, and I think Travis Ivey out Maryland could be a 7th Round stud. Boo Robinson of Wake Forest is a guy who I have been high on for awhile and he has really slid down draft boards.
That leaves us with Outside Linebacker are this position is absolutly loaded in this years' draft. The options at #12 include Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech, Jason Paul Pierre of South Florida, Brandon Graham of Michigan, Jerry Hughes of TCU, and the guy who I like the most Sergio Kindle of Texas. Morgan is absolute stud as he can rush the passer and play the run and for some reason I doubt he will be there at #12. Paul Pierre is a tremendous athlete but I tihnk he is way too raw to warrant being selected this high. Brandon Graham is among my five favorite players in this draft. Great against the run and an absolute terror as a pass rusher. If Jerry Hughes falls to #43 we HAVE to take him regardless who we take in Round 1. Sergio Kindle is absolute stud who I have as 1B on my Dolphins draft board. Kindle's pass rush to me is a thing of beauty. other players I like in this draft Eric Norwood of South Carolina, Brandon Lang of Troy, Thaddeus gibson of Ohio State, Cameron Sheffield of Troy, Antonio Coleman of Auburn, Jammie Kirlew of Indiana, Dexter davis of Arizona State, and Lindsey Witten of Connecticut. A player I love in Round 3 is Koa Misa of Utah, I think he is one of the best 3-4 Linebackers in this draft.
If I were in Jeff Ireland's shoes it would be between Sergio Kindle and Dez Bryant... I would also keep a close eye on CJ Spiller as I think this guy defines play-maker. I know one thing April 22nd cannot come soon enough
It has been a very interesting off-season in South Beach. I expected the Dolphins to be very active in free agency and to my surprise they really weren't. I was baffled as to why they didn't trade their 3rd Rounder and 4th Rounder to the Arizona Cardinals for Anquan boldin and the Cardinals' 5th rounder. I think Baltimore got an absolute steal in that trade and I think Boldin makes an immediate impact. The team got better by releasing Akin Ayodele, Joey Porter, and Gibril Wilson. If you watch the games over these three players were consistenly out of place and the reason we gave up some big plays. We did a more than stellar job replacing Ayodele by signing Karlos Dansby. Dansby is one of the better free agent acquisitiong we have seen here in Miami in a long time as I would consider him an impact defensive player. We are still searching for a replacement for Gibril Wilson and finding a better option than Wilson shouldn't be diffulcult. When we released Wilson I think we were under the impression that Ryan Clark would be signing with us but he burned us but no big deal. There are some good options still in free agency with OJ Atogwe, Ken Hamlin, and the craft veteran who is Darren Sharper. Joey Porter was horrid against the run but he was the teams' most effective and productive pass rusher as he led the team with 9 sacks. We could always look at signing Jason Taylor for a brief extension which I think is ideal based off of his production and leadership qualitites that he exhibited last season. I hear the Jets have some real interest in JT which makes resigning him even more of a priority in my book. The jury is out on Cameron Wake and it seems he will get his chance but there is no question this guy showed some real pass-rushing ability in hos rookie season. The Dolphins did re-sign a great insurance policy at Quarterback in Chad Pennington and they did re-sgn Jason Ferguson who is suspended for the first 8 games of the season but I am not so sure that is a bad thing. Ferguson will be healthy for a late season push and we could really use him for this. I love the Richie Icognito signing as I think he is a far better player than Nate Garner and Donald Thomas. I like the mean streak that he plays with and think that if we can keep his act together we have a Pro-Bowl Right Guard. Having Icognito pared with Grove in the interior gives us two mean bulls to go along with our brilliant pair of Offensive Tackles in Jake Long and Vernon Carey.
The Dolphins' need at Wide Receiver, Free Safety, Nose Tackle, and Outside Linebacker are pretty obvious. Let's look at players in April's draft who can meet these needs starting with Wide Receiver. Dez Bryant; Theres a guy who carries the label as a "diva" but is he really? I think all of the things being said about Bryant are far overblown and I know for a fact that the Dolphins have real interest in Bryant. He just spent two days with the Miami Dolphins' brass that included time with Bill Parcells himself. The truth is that Arrelious Benn of Illinois, Demaryius Thomas of Georgia Tech, and Golden Tate of Notre Dame will more than likely be gone by pick #43 (our 2nd Rounder) so this rises Bryant to the Dolphins more in my opinion. Dez Bryant is the best Wide Receiver prospect since Calvin Johnson and I think he is a player in the Andre Johnson mold who makes us a better team immediatly. Not to mention he makes our young Quarterback Chad Henne a better player immediatly as well. He also makes Ted Ginn, Greg Camarillo, Brian Hartline, and Davone Bess better players as well. The Dolphins could wait until the 3rd or 4th Round range for a player like Mike Williams of Syracuse whom they recently met with. Williams was very good player at Syracuse by major character questions arrise. There is no doubt that he could be the steal of the draft but at what price? I like players such as Andre Roberts of the Citadel, Chris McGaha of Arizona State, Taylor Price of Miami Ohio, Jeremy Williams of Tulane, and Dezmon Briscoe of Kansas but I am not sold on any of these guys as a #1 receiver. A guy who carries the overrated label for me is Brandon LaFell of LSU. He has good size but his ability to disappear scares me off of him. The two sleepers in this draft for me are Carlton Mitchell of South Florida and Jacoby Ford of Clemson. Mitchell had a great combine and even better pro-day as he ran in the 4.35 range and showed off great hands. Mitchell currently holds a 3rd round grade for me and could be a good option. Jacoby Ford is the fastest player in the draft and despite being only 5"9 he is not afraid of contact like a receiver in Miami who wears #19. The injury history of Eric Decker of Minnesota scares me away from him and Damian Williams of USC is one of those Southern Cal. receivers like Mike Williams or Dwayne Jarrett who turned out to be complete bust. If the Dolphins want to answer their need at Wide Receiver they have to go in the route of Dez Bryant as he is the only guy I am confident can make big splash as a #1 receiver.
The Dolphins also have a need at Free Safety after they released Gibril Wilson.When we signed Wilson i thought it was a good move but wow what a disaster he turned out to be. The Dolphins have two young players in Tyrone Culver and Chris Clemons who could be good players but they need some time before they are ready. Eric Berry of Tennessee will be gone by the time we pick but there is a good chance that Earl Thomas of Texas is still on the board. We are working out Thomas for the 2nd time today so this confirm our interest. For my money I think Thomas is every bit the player of Berry. If we pass on Thomas in round 1 we can look at Morgan Burnett of Georgia Tech in Round 2 or Robert Johnson out of Utah in the Round 3-4 range. Burnett in Round 2 would be ideal but players such as Nate Allen of South Florida and Reshad Jones of Georgia are also on the Dolphins radar. The Dolphins are working out Major Wright of Florida this week as well. A sleeper for me is Terrell Skinner out of Maryland who converted to Free Safety from Wide Receiver and is a guy who can be had in Round 6-7. There is always the Myron Rolle debate but his forty time wasn't good and he had a year removed from football. I am not a big fan of Myron Rolle and think his heart is set on things other than football.
Nose Tackle is an interesting position for us as Tony Sprano stated this off-season that Nose was the most important piece of a 3-4 defense. They did resign Jason Ferguson but he is suspended for the first 8 games; Paul Soliai hasn't sold me that he can play every down. Dan Williams of Tennessee is a beats but I don't see how you can spend the #12 on a guy who only plays two downs. Terrence Cody's weight issues could push him into our laps at #43. With all the teams switching to a 3-4 defense I doubt Mount Cody falls that far. Jared Odrick out of Penn State is an absolute beast and reminds me Haloti Ngata and Richard Seymour. Odrick can play all 3 spots on the defensive line and could be a real option. Players who I do like Cam Thomas of North Carolina, Torrell Troup of Central Florida D'Anthony Smith of La. Tech, Linval Joseph of East Carolina, and I think Travis Ivey out Maryland could be a 7th Round stud. Boo Robinson of Wake Forest is a guy who I have been high on for awhile and he has really slid down draft boards.
That leaves us with Outside Linebacker are this position is absolutly loaded in this years' draft. The options at #12 include Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech, Jason Paul Pierre of South Florida, Brandon Graham of Michigan, Jerry Hughes of TCU, and the guy who I like the most Sergio Kindle of Texas. Morgan is absolute stud as he can rush the passer and play the run and for some reason I doubt he will be there at #12. Paul Pierre is a tremendous athlete but I tihnk he is way too raw to warrant being selected this high. Brandon Graham is among my five favorite players in this draft. Great against the run and an absolute terror as a pass rusher. If Jerry Hughes falls to #43 we HAVE to take him regardless who we take in Round 1. Sergio Kindle is absolute stud who I have as 1B on my Dolphins draft board. Kindle's pass rush to me is a thing of beauty. other players I like in this draft Eric Norwood of South Carolina, Brandon Lang of Troy, Thaddeus gibson of Ohio State, Cameron Sheffield of Troy, Antonio Coleman of Auburn, Jammie Kirlew of Indiana, Dexter davis of Arizona State, and Lindsey Witten of Connecticut. A player I love in Round 3 is Koa Misa of Utah, I think he is one of the best 3-4 Linebackers in this draft.
If I were in Jeff Ireland's shoes it would be between Sergio Kindle and Dez Bryant... I would also keep a close eye on CJ Spiller as I think this guy defines play-maker. I know one thing April 22nd cannot come soon enough