Stephen Ross and friends, get your checkbooks out.
Can it really be done?? I think so. A huge front loaded contract offer may keep the Chargers from matching, but the amounts would have to resemble a Pete Carroll like deal.
Is he worth it? I think so. Guys this big,strong and fast are almost nonexistent; and he is brilliant as well. He scored something in the 30's on his wonderlic, which for a center is pedestrian but for a WR it's very high.
Going this way will cost a lot more than just his deal. It means signing an extra
high priced FA. It means bringing back veterans Taylor,Ferguson and Pennington.
Draft picks are much cheaper.So this is the look I came up with.
Acquire FA's Vincent Jackson,NT Ryan Pickett,Ben Watson and S John Wendling.Wendling was just cut by Buffalo. Wendling is a special teams ace who wasn't given a chance to start or play much at all because of their great depth at the position.Pickett will have to be overpaid, I don't see much choice.
Re-sign: Jason Taylor,Jason Ferguson, and Chad Pennington
Trade Tyler Thigpen,Phillip Merling, and a 6th to the Rams for their 2nd.Looks like Leonard Little is gone for sure now that the tampering is being done successfully. Bulger's locker is empty and Boller isn't being asked back. Rams probably still draft a youngster and still pursue Vick, but Thigpen could be a great choice for a #2.
I know opinions on these guys vary widely. Some want Thigpen to have a legit shot at beating out Henne and others see Thiggy as another AJ Feely,a wasted draft pick. I flat don't know but with keeping Pennington he becomes expendable. Merling is good, but there just isn't room on the roster for all our up and comers at the DE position. We can't get anything for McDaniel or Baker or Illama-Francis or Dotson, so I say, get what we can for Merling and give Baker and Illama-Francis a shot. I think,given a year or two Illama-Francis may surprise. He was a 2nd round pick.
Trade Gibril Wilson and Paul Soliai to KC for their 3rd. Mike Brown is 33 and an extreme injury risk, and the Chiefs played a 3-4 last year without a traditional NT. Soliai is an amazing athlete but I just think the Dolphins need to get a little smarter as a team. Soliai ran 5.10 forty at 350 lbs but he also got a 9 on his wonderlic. Gibril just really let us down at crucial moments last year, but he actually graded out very high. He will return to SS and quite probably earn his money in KC, but he is anethema in Miami.
Trade Channing Crowder and Patrick Turner for a 2011 pick. I don't think Crowder would be happy and productive if moved and or demoted so, ya know, movin on. Turner becomes obsolete with the acquisition of the star.
Dolphins trade down in the 2nd and acquire a 4th.
Dolphins trade their two 6ths and a 7th to move up into the 5th and get Moats.
Draft:
2nd...........Sergio Kindle...............ILB...*IQ* *HC*
2nd...........Jon Asamoah...............OG..4yr starter at RG *IQ* *HC*
3rd............Akwasi Owusu-Ansah...FS/CB/PR/KR Probably the #2FS,dime,PR
4th............Joe Pawelek............ILB...Genius,too small, too slow,so was Zach
4th............Blair White..............WR..Genius,an absolute steal here.
5th............Arthur Moats...........OLB...Nolan's new Dumervil
7th............Abe Koroma.............NT..Character issues but a nice P.S. guy.
Roster:
QB...........................Henne,Penny,White
RB...........................Ronnie,Ricky,Cobbs,Sheets
FB...........................Polite,Hilliard
WR..........................Jackson,Hartline,White,Bess,Ginn
TE...........................Fasano,Watson,Haynos
OT..........................Long,Carey,Garner,Gardner
C/OG.......................Grove,Smiley,Asamoah,Berger,Thomas
DT..........................Pickett,Ferguson
DE..........................Starks,Langford,McDaniel,Baker,Illama-Francis
ILB.........................Pawelek,Kindle,Torbor,Anderson
OLB........................Taylor,Wake,Moses,Moats,Johnston(LS)
S...........................Bell,Clemons,Owusu-Ansah,Culver,Wendling
CB.........................W.Allen,Davis,Smith,J.Allen[With W.Allen the nickel in the rotation.]
K..........................Carpenter
P..........................Fields
Have you seen our drafts since Parcells took over? I'd say he's doing a pretty good job at it... Nobody is giving up two high draft picks for Jackson, get over it.
