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Adam gase acknowledges dolphins' safety tandem didn't work as well as expected

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The grimace on Adam Gase’s face said everything the Miami Dolphins head coaches’ words didn’t.

Gase was asked Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting about the safety tandem of Reshad Jones and T.J. McDonald, who played together for the final eight games of the 2017 season, and Gase looked as if he’d eaten something bad before begrudgingly saying that the safety pairing in the back-end of Miami’s secondary is a work in progress.

“I don’t think it really turned out as well as we thought [based on] what we saw in training camp,” Gase said, referring to McDonald’s return from his eight game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Gase’s discomfort with how Jones and McDonald played together hinted that changes could be coming to that unit. The Dolphins will explore playing McDonald more in the box, possibly including a move to a linebacker role similar to how the Los Angeles Rams use Mark Barron or the Arizona Cardinalsuse Deone Bucannon. It’s a role McDonald, who is 6 foot 2, 225 pounds, is familiar with considering he played significant snaps in the box as a sudo-linebacker during his final season with the Rams in 2016.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-sp-dolphins-tj-mcdonald-20180327-story.html
 
I love Derwin James, and think he is the most unique talent in the draft. That being said I don't understand why his name ever gets brought up with us. Our problem is we already have 2 SS and no FS...... adding a 3rd SS does us no good.
 
We need a ball hawking center fielder. Here is hoping Minkah some how drops to 11. Besides him there arent many centerfilders in this draft that I like.
 
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McDonald is more of a hybrid OLB, Draft FSU's Derwin James and your got a potential Pro Bowl free safety , speed at the linebacker position and someone to cover the tight end , the team just got a lot faster and harder hitting too.
 
Two safeties who are best utilized as in the box guys? Not working out that well? Who would've thought!

Let's just trade for Earl Thomas and be done with it.
 
I guess the experiment failed to materialize into what they originally hoped. But at least Miami recognizes this and seem to be willing to address the short coming in the draft. They summoned a FS type to Headquarters as part of the alloted visits, so it does seem they are looking to address the issue.
 
Don't forget about one j-off's favorites- DeShon Elliot

While James/Fitzpatrick would be nice we may have later options too
 
ButchFragrance said:
I love Derwin James, and think he is the most unique talent in the draft. That being said I don't understand why his name ever gets brought up with us. Our problem is we already have 2 SS and no FS...... adding a 3rd SS does us no good.
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Because he's not an in the box SS in terms of athletic ability, he doesn't have stiff hips nor does have bad range.
 
Smith/Edmunds are priority 1 outside of a fallen QB, but if all of those options are gone then Fitzpatrick/James has to be the pick.

How do people feel about T.J. at LB? Otherwise, I wonder what we can fetch for him via trade.
 
Very interesting bit of information from Gase that certainly has me rethinking their draft strategy.

If they move TJ to a hybrid LB role then that lessens the need for a LB at #11 and I would think they have to go FS in the draft even more so than before.

The problem there is that this is not a good safety draft as I see it, particularly at #11. Even the second round might be a stretch for guys like Watts, Whitehead and Elliott.

Minkah is a dream that I can’t imagine happening and James IMO is not a safety let alone a FS and think he will end up at LB in the pros.
 
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