Answer to the most-asked draft question: No. Tavon Austin Related.

[CRAZYDOLFAN305]

Without question the player Dolphins fans ask me about the most for the coming draft is West Virginia all-purpose ankle-breaker Tavon Austin.

I suppose the reason Miami fans love this player is because he is a surge of electricity. Here now. Gone now. Lots of speed. Great vision. A one-on-one mismatch in the open field when he has the ball. He promises many dropped jaws in the stands and dropped pants by defenders.

So Miami fans want to know if the Dolphins are likely to pick Austin.

No, I do not see the Dolphins picking Tavon Austin in the coming draft -- certainly not in the first round where everyone seems to think he'll be selected.

Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland has told me he asks himself this question when he's evaluating a player that is for whatever reason not of prototypical size or weight or speed: "Does he walk on water?"

(The phrase originates from the fact Jesus Christ walked on water on the sea of Galilee. So did Peter for a couple of steps before he got tackled by a blitzing lack of faith).

The point is most people who are not the Son of God cannot walk on water. They simply aren't so incredibly great that the field tilts in their favor when they step on it. They simply aren't so amazing that one can forget that they are too short or light or slow or whatever other failing the player may have.

Most players do not walk on water.

Barry Sanders did.

Thurman Thomas did.

Darrell Green did.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/#storylink=cpy







http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/

 

[oasis]

Remember folks, Armando knows how the Dolphins judge players.

 

[CRAZYDOLFAN305]

Remember folks, Armando knows how the Dolphins judge players.

LMAO. I guess we can expect to see him in the War Room, right next to Philbin and Ireland..

 

[Spesh]

Hes not wrong.

Look at our previous drafts and look at Irelands own quotes when it comes to what he looks for when evaluating players. Shortest receiver hes drafted was 5'11, Gates. And we have spent draft picks on players who have size and hoped they would fulfill their physical potential. Patrick Turner, Koa Misi, Michael Egnew...

 

[Hamhocs]

Zach Thomas and his brother-in-law

 

[HarryBagpipe]

Hes not wrong.

Look at our previous drafts and look at Irelands own quotes when it comes to what he looks for when evaluating players. Shortest receiver hes drafted was 5'11, Gates. And we have spent draft picks on players who have size and hoped they would fulfill their physical potential. Patrick Turner, Koa Misi, Michael Egnew...

Yep. Ireland still has his parcellsians metrics chart. I believe he's extremely reluctant to deviate from it.

 

[Spesh]

Ireland, on what he’s looking for in the draft: “I’m a big firm believer of prototypical sized players. … I like big corners. Offensively, maybe looking for a little different offensive line type, maybe a little bit more athletic.”

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/s...ort-miami-might-spend-a-mid-or-lower-r/nT7YK/

Ben Violin article, so people need not flip out and begin insulting the writer in an attempt to straw man the discussion because they personally dont like what was written.

 

[CANDolphan]

FWIW - I was given similar information yesterday. Clearly there is information being leaked out of the Dolphins camp. I was excited at first, because it contradicted what it appeared Miami wanted people to think (we want receivers! Explosion! Interesting draft plan!) but now that Armando clearly got the same info... smoke screen

Proof - my post was posted about 4 hours before Armando's blog

http://www.finheaven.com/forums/sho...ick-77&p=1064645984&viewfull=1-post1064645984

 

[SnakeoilSeller]

I don't buy the thought that Ireland follows any Parcells blueprint. Parcells would never have paid a WR the money the Fins paid Wallace. And I don't think Ireland is using the Parcellian metric chart either. Ellerbe is not the typical Parcells size for a MLB. Wheeler would be border line on size. Tannehill would have never been drafted where he was because of college starts if Parcells was still running things. So I don't buy it. That does not necessarily mean that the Fins will draft Austin, I just think that Ireland has proven that he is not as close minded when it comes too building this team.

 

[ANUFan]

I guess a quick way to look at it is to ask yourself, "Are the top players in the league at their position: PROTOTYPICAL SIZE?"

Top Wide Receivers:

Calvin Johnson-Yes
Larry Fitz-Yes
Andre Johnson-Yes
Brandon Marshall-Yes
Dez Bryant-Yes
A.J. Green-Yes
Julio Jones-Yes
Roddy White-Yes
Victor Cruz-??

 

[CANDolphan]

Roddy White is 6'0 and 210 lbs that's hardly prototypical 6'2+ 220+

 

[MRojas4]

I remember reading that Ireland (Parcells) size/speed cut off for CB's was 6'0 and sub 4.50 40's.

 

[Twitches Brew]

Daniel Jeremiah was saying that out of Austin's 15 TDs, 14 still would've counted if it were two-hand touch rules. Crazy.

 

[Fins_of_Fury]

College level talent doesnt always translate well to the NFL. In the case of Tavon Austin, I do not see him being much of an Xfactor, just based on his size. He is EXTREMELY quick, but when the bigboys line up on the other side of him...I doubt his confidence and decisiveness are equal to what he showed at WVU.

 

[oasis]

I think we're all familiar with the Parcells/Ireland prototype thing. But as we all know, they occasionally DO deviate from it. While Pat White didn't work out for us, they deviated from their prototype rules in order to select a player they believed perfectly fit their offensive scheme.

The bottom line is does Philbin believe Tavon Austin is a vital cog in his offensive vision? We know he has a role in the offense for a Randall Cobb type of player. The question is whether that particular piece of the offense is viewed (by Philbin) as a necessity or luxury, and how well does Tavon Austin's skillset fit into that role as compared to other options. We know Ireland buys into Philbin's offensive vision. If Philbin is hot on what Austin specifically can do for this offense, Austin will be the pick.

Yes, Ireland's previous track record and everything we know about how he operates indicates he won't draft Austin. But he's not necessarily being left to his own devices.