rayfinkle5
Starter
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2006
- Messages
- 507
- Reaction score
- 15
Let me start by saying the following is being fueled by the daily posting of threads which have little to no value. Larry Fitzgerald is not going to be a Dolphin. Neither is Anquan Boldin, Chad Johnson or PacMan Jones. So why have a thread dedicated to such nonsense? My favorite thread to date is titled, "Michael Turner/Calvin Pace/Javon Walker/Jason Taylor". This thread, created by someone that just joined the site and is making his first post, included four claims: 1. Michael Turner had a trip planned to Davie and was expected to sign a contract during his visit, 2. Calvin Pace was visiting with the Dolphins and would be signed by the end of the weekend, 3. Javon Walker had scheduled a visit to the Dolphin’s facility and there was a "very realistic chance" Walker could "jump on board", and 4. Minnesota offered a 2nd and 3rd round pick for the services of Jason Taylor.
Believable? To many here, yes. All because this person got his information from "a source close to the team". At the time I questioned the post…now you all know why. It is my feeling that we need to evolve into a different period of the off-season. I hate to burst everyone’s bubble but the free agency period is coming to an end and the big name that everyone is looking for isn’t a free agent anymore. Likewise, we aren’t trading for Anquan Boldin or Chad Johnson. At least not until draft day and even then the chances are close to nil. The best I can do for you ladies and gentlemen is to agree there is a chance Jason Taylor gets dealt. But that too won’t happen until draft day. So what do we do during this period of time which takes us deep into April? I say we have discussions. Enough of the "PTI said this" and "a source claims that". Instead, how about an "I feel this" or an "I think that". I believe that proves to be more valuable.
I will even lead the way with a discussion on TE’s. It is my belief that the weakest position on our roster currently is TE. It is also my belief that for this team the TE position is the second most important position on our roster, behind QB. My reasoning is no matter how you slice it our QB this year is going to be young. Personally I think John Beck is the answer. Others don’t and feel we need to draft a QB number one. Regardless, whoever is taking snaps for the Fins this year is going to have little NFL experience and the greatest safety net for a young QB is a solid TE. David Martin, in my opinion, does not qualify as a "solid TE". So here is the discussion. How should we remedy this situation? Wait for a TE to get cut? Draft a TE? Trade for a TE? My opinion is…
Trade for a TE. Joe Klopfenstein to be exact. He is 25 years old, 6'5" and weighs in around 260 pounds. He had an excellent career at Colorado and the Rams took him in the 2nd round of the '06 draft. When Linehan became the coach of the Rams he brought in McMichael and Klopfenstein went from being a rookie with promise to a young backup. Even more recently the Rams signed former first round pick Anthony Becht to a two year contract thus making the TE position even more crowded in St. Louis. The common response from people here is to say that because he is a backup there he will be no better than a backup here. I disagree. Linehan is a huge fan of McMichael and couldn’t pass him up once the Dolphins released him. His signing had little to do with the ability of Klopfenstein. As for the signing of Becht, I am not sure what that says. All I know is this guy was a stud in Colorado and has excellent size and athletic ability. At the ’06 combine he ran the 40 in 4.63 and benched 225 pounds 27 times. He followed that up with a 40 time of 4.56 at his pro day.
With McMichael penciled in the #1 slot and Becht recently signing a two-year deal I think Klopfenstein can be had for a late round selection. He is talented but the Rams don’t seem to have plans for him. His output last year was abysmal, catching only two balls for 37 yards and a TD. I know this is not the type of production anyone wants to see of a player being traded for but I think this guy’s talent far surpasses his numbers. And I refuse to say he is a "Parcels type player" but he does compare nicely in height and weight to Jason Witten who is 6’5" and weighs 260 pounds. Let the discussion begin….
Believable? To many here, yes. All because this person got his information from "a source close to the team". At the time I questioned the post…now you all know why. It is my feeling that we need to evolve into a different period of the off-season. I hate to burst everyone’s bubble but the free agency period is coming to an end and the big name that everyone is looking for isn’t a free agent anymore. Likewise, we aren’t trading for Anquan Boldin or Chad Johnson. At least not until draft day and even then the chances are close to nil. The best I can do for you ladies and gentlemen is to agree there is a chance Jason Taylor gets dealt. But that too won’t happen until draft day. So what do we do during this period of time which takes us deep into April? I say we have discussions. Enough of the "PTI said this" and "a source claims that". Instead, how about an "I feel this" or an "I think that". I believe that proves to be more valuable.
I will even lead the way with a discussion on TE’s. It is my belief that the weakest position on our roster currently is TE. It is also my belief that for this team the TE position is the second most important position on our roster, behind QB. My reasoning is no matter how you slice it our QB this year is going to be young. Personally I think John Beck is the answer. Others don’t and feel we need to draft a QB number one. Regardless, whoever is taking snaps for the Fins this year is going to have little NFL experience and the greatest safety net for a young QB is a solid TE. David Martin, in my opinion, does not qualify as a "solid TE". So here is the discussion. How should we remedy this situation? Wait for a TE to get cut? Draft a TE? Trade for a TE? My opinion is…
Trade for a TE. Joe Klopfenstein to be exact. He is 25 years old, 6'5" and weighs in around 260 pounds. He had an excellent career at Colorado and the Rams took him in the 2nd round of the '06 draft. When Linehan became the coach of the Rams he brought in McMichael and Klopfenstein went from being a rookie with promise to a young backup. Even more recently the Rams signed former first round pick Anthony Becht to a two year contract thus making the TE position even more crowded in St. Louis. The common response from people here is to say that because he is a backup there he will be no better than a backup here. I disagree. Linehan is a huge fan of McMichael and couldn’t pass him up once the Dolphins released him. His signing had little to do with the ability of Klopfenstein. As for the signing of Becht, I am not sure what that says. All I know is this guy was a stud in Colorado and has excellent size and athletic ability. At the ’06 combine he ran the 40 in 4.63 and benched 225 pounds 27 times. He followed that up with a 40 time of 4.56 at his pro day.
With McMichael penciled in the #1 slot and Becht recently signing a two-year deal I think Klopfenstein can be had for a late round selection. He is talented but the Rams don’t seem to have plans for him. His output last year was abysmal, catching only two balls for 37 yards and a TD. I know this is not the type of production anyone wants to see of a player being traded for but I think this guy’s talent far surpasses his numbers. And I refuse to say he is a "Parcels type player" but he does compare nicely in height and weight to Jason Witten who is 6’5" and weighs 260 pounds. Let the discussion begin….
.....Seriously though, I think that Martin is not the answer and we'll draft a TE. Unless we can steal one from the Cowboys of course