Barry Jackson: Dolphins Day 2, Intriguing receiver battle

[Austin Tatious]

I like Gibson. He has good rapport with Tannehill. The question is how healthy will he be at start of season. He wasn't ready for OTA's but seemed back now. But he couldn't finish practice on day 3. He has 43 days to get ready but if he's off and on again maybe he starts on PUP to get fully healthy which would also help settle the roster logjam. Injuries are a fact of life and may be one way the roster juggling works itself out all season. Hartline is not the toughest kid either as he gets nicked a lot and we are going to need this depth in case you can't rely on him deep in the season. We need to find a way to keep the roster worthy guys under our roster control, whether on the 53 or PUP as a tool.

 

[TheWalrus]

Gibson's battled tested with both Tannehill and in '12 leading the league in best 3rd down and TD completion percentages when with the mediocre Rams. At his moderate price tag, cutting one of our few proven clutch receivers is being penny-wise and pound foolish

Which is a similar thing to what people would have said about Bess. We can do better, which even the Dolphins acknowledge because they drafted a guy who was basically created in a lab to do what Brandon Gibson does. It's only a matter of time before he moves up the depth chart.

 

[Vaark]

Which is a similar thing to what people would have said about Bess. We can do better, which even the Dolphins acknowledge because they drafted a guy who was basically created in a lab to do what Brandon Gibson does. It's only a matter of time before he moves up the depth chart.

except Bess wouldn't know an end zone if he stumbled into it unlike Gibson.

We could do better than Wallace too; Gibson at least showed actual clutch abilities - I'd retain him vs betting on the come. Hell, Matt Ryan, with the Football Outsiders #9 ranked OL in pass offense still went 4-12 showing that he can't carry a team without superstars, and is 1-4 in post season going back to college, virtually disappearing in 2nd halves.. Atlanta can do better especially considering the $103mil they're paying him. I didnt see them taking a QB early although when it comes to clutchness, they sure could have done better which IMO is a vague and nebulous aspiration..

 

[So Be]

Agreed. Kick returns are such a small part of the game that it would be foolish to keep someone on the active roster just for that. Punt returns are a bigger part of the game now but still not that vital. The difference between the top punt returners and the mediocre ones can't be more than two or three yards per return, which is... what? Maybe 10 yards a game?

Find somebody who's already going to be on the active roster. As long as they catch the ball and don't fumble it doesn't make that big of a difference. One guy I'd like to see try it out is Don Jones. He is a physical freak with great speed and used to be a running back. Doesn't seem like a role he's ever had, though, and since he moved to defense his running instincts are probably not so good.

With few exceptions, the best put returner will give you 10-13 yards on average. Thigpen was at 7.8 but, had 20 fair catches which is among the most. It does not make a big difference, as long as you catch the ball.

 

[TheWalrus]

except Bess wouldn't know an end zone if he stumbled into it unlike Gibson.

We could do better than Wallace too; Gibson at least showed actual clutch abilities - I'd retain him vs betting on the come. Hell, Matt Ryan, with the Football Outsiders #9 ranked OL in pass offense still went 4-12 showing that he can't carry a team without superstars, and is 1-4 in post season going back to college, virtually disappearing in 2nd halves.. Atlanta can do better especially considering the $103mil they're paying him. I didnt see them taking a QB early although when it comes to clutchness, they sure could have done better which IMO is a vague and nebulous aspiration..

If I were the GM my plans for the future wouldn't include Wallace, either. Likewise if I was the GM of the Falcons I'd be looking at alternatives to Matt Ryan.

Sometimes you have to live with players you don't care that much for but at the end of the day are you building around a guy or are you not? In other words are you drafting wide receivers that can compliment Mike Wallace or are you looking for replacements for Mike Wallace? Are you looking at interior linemen who can compliment Mike Pouncey or are you looking to replace Mike Pouncey? I'd be looking for the latter in both cases.

The Dolphins, however, drafted Landry not to replace Wallace or Hartline, but to compliment them... which means replacing Gibson. That's Landry's best professional fit, doing what Gibson does. To do that -- to draft a replacement for a role player -- and then not actually replace him? Seems odd, to me. Look at how much press Landry is already getting. It's inevitable he'll start getting some first team reps soon. If he continues to thrive the tie will go to the young draft pick and then you're left with a one dimensional #4 WR making ~$3 million.

 

[TheWalrus]

With few exceptions, the best put returner will give you 10-13 yards on average. Thigpen was at 7.8 but, had 20 fair catches which is among the most. It does not make a big difference, as long as you catch the ball.

Do fair catches count in the average?

 

[roy_miami]

Thigpen tends to make poor decisions on the un-returnable kicks, he lets balls bounce he should have caught and catches balls sometimes he should have let bounce. And he doesn't look comfortable either, if the ball is a yard out of bounds he almost looks relieved he didn't have to catch it or make the decision. I would trust Thigpen's decision making as far as I could throw him if a trip to the SB was on the line.