Commentary: Training camp battles/winners | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Commentary: Training camp battles/winners

Aqua4Ever04

Aqua4Ever04

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We are less than a month away from training camp and certainly don't have all 22 starting spots cemented. There are actully quite a few posistions up for grabs and coach Saban has added tons of depth to assure that compition will be had early and often in practices. Well, I'll get to it, obviously some spots are already taken. And IMO, those would be...

Taken starting spots:
Offense
QB: Daunte Culpepper
RB: Ronnie Brown
FB: Fred Beasley
#1 WR: Chris Chambers
#2 WR: Marty Booker
LT: L.J Shelton
LG: Jeno James
C: Rex Hadnot

Defense
RE: Jason Taylor
DT: Vonnie Holliday
NT: Keith Traylor
LE: Kevin Carter
MLB: Zach Thomas
OLB: Channing Crowder
#1 CB: Will Allen

Some of you may object to those, but hear me out. Now, the exciting part, the battles that will be decided in training camp/pre-season. Here are the posistion I look at to be the most intriguing battles in the pre-season.

Open Spots:
Offense
Pos/ Who's battling/ who wins & why
#2 RB: Sammy Morris vs. Travis Minor/ Morris, he is a tough runner who can come in ang give Ronnie the break he will need. Can get tough yards and is a bruiser
RG: Bennie Anderson vs. Seth McKinney/Vernon Carey/ I threw Carey because I don't think McKinney or Anderson have a chance to do anything at guard. I like to slide Carrey into a guard spot and bump Pearson to the RT spot.
RT : Explained above
#3 WR: Derek Hagan vs. Wes Welker vs. Kelly Campbell/ I'll take Hagan for his big body and ability to go over the middle and get yards after the catch
#4 WR: Wes Welker vs. Kelly Campbell/ Wes has taken big strides as a wide reciever and I think he will continue to do so this year. He gets into defenses windows and teams can lose him. He's good for this spot

Defense:
OLB: Keith Newman vs. Sedric Hodge/ Keith Newman has really flown under the radar on our off-season pickup discussions. I like him to fill in for Jr.
#2 CB: Will Poole vs. Travis Daniels/ I like Will Poole here. Before
The 2 saftey spots: Coach Saban has said the differnce in the safety spots is very small. So the candidates are Jason Allen, Renaldo Hill, Deker Cooper, Yerimiah Bell and Tavares Tillman. I think Tillman will get cut because keepin 5 safties is highly unnecessary. That being said, I like Hill and Allen to win the 2 spots. You don't use that first pick on Allen for him to sit and Hill is the most proven of any of our safties.

For the record I like Campbell to be our new KR/PR.

So here is my 2006 starting lineup:
QB: Daunte Culpepper
RB: Ronnie Brown
FB: Fred Beasley
WR 1: Chris Chambers 2. Marty Booker 3. Derek Hagan 4. Wes Welker 5. Kelly Campbell
LT: L.J Shelton
LG: Jeno James
C: Rex Hadnot
RG: Vernon Carey
RT: Mike Pearson

RE: Jason Taylor
LE: Kevin Carter
DT: Vonnie Holliday
NT: Keith Traylor
OLB: Keith Newman
MLB: Zach Thomas
OLB: Channing Crowder
CB: Will Allen
CB: Will Poole* Nickle: Travis Daniels
S: Jason Allen
S: Renaldo Hill

BOLD = New aqcuistion
*= Back from 2005 ACL injury

Well there you have it. Those are my winners and losers and I'm sticking to it. Discuss if you will.
 
I like that, alot of people like daniels at the #2, but i am a huge fan of poole and think the guy can really be a top corner in this league. Training camp will most certainly be entertaining. Defense looks strange though, i think you need to add a 4th LB b/c of the 3-4 alignment it looks like we will be in most of the time.
 
great read man....

i think maybe daniels/ Poole could flip flop....but that's some great coverage nonetheless....
 
Lazy1 said:
I like that, alot of people like daniels at the #2, but i am a huge fan of poole and think the guy can really be a top corner in this league. Training camp will most certainly be entertaining. Defense looks strange though, i think you need to add a 4th LB b/c of the 3-4 alignment it looks like we will be in most of the time.
Click to expand...

Well I think it will be more of a mix between the 3-4 and 4-3. A lot of our 3-4s will probably see Jason Taylor fall back into a LB spot. Nonetheless, I like our defense however it shakes out.
 
i disagree with the RB situation...first of all Beasley will get a hand-off... 3-5 times a game, although his a blocker...he is still a pretty powerful runner...Dark horse for the second Runningback slot is believe it or not Kay-Jay...yes its Morris's job to lose but i feel he will get the same amount of carries he did last year...3 or 4 per game

the linebacker situation will be unsettle until we find out who we are getting in the Supp draft...if we do get brooks...by mid-season he starts. but if we get the other two i agree that newman starts

the 3rd slot will be split between Wes and Marcus...they have the speed to rock the slot and ofcourse we are hearing rumors about trick plays coming with marcus thats why i feel he splits the 3rd with Wes. Hagan the 4th.

the DB depth chart hasnt even really been made up yet with so much new faces in the Backfield. to say that we are going with Allen/Poole is moot right now...because last we heard Poole was a 4th option behind Allen and Daniels.. so personally i think Allen wins because of his experience...and Daniels wins becuase of the improvement showed last year and the fact that he knows his coach.

Safties...is Allen and Bell...they are fast enough to help out on run support and to cover if we man-up
 
You forgot about Donnie Spragan at LB. :) He's definitely in the mix. Right now he's your starter. He'll make this team whether he starts or not.

I don't think Carey moves to RG anymore. Certainly not for Pearson. Pearson is a LT type who isn't physical enough to play the right side. Plus he's been a walking injury bug. I think Joe Toledo is the guy we're grooming for that guard spot. Anderson and McKinney will duke it out for the starting job this year. Ideally, big boy Anderson wins. But we'll see. Most importantly, Carey hasn't seemed all that enthused about playing guard.

At CB, I think you have to pencil in Travis Daniels as opposed to Will Allen. Daniels the only guy on the roster who's proven anything in this defense. Poole is running 4th on the depth chart right now. I don't think he wins a starting job yet. I think his knee still has a little ways to go. But he should be a demon on special teams in the meantime.

I totally agree that Welker has made strides. I think many people here underrate him as a receiver. However, Nick Saban talks a lot about keeping Wes fresh for kick/punt return duties. With Kelly Campbell's speed and familiarity with Pep and the offense, he should have the inside track on the #4 job. But beyond Hagan and Welker, I don't think the final receiver spots are cut and dry. Not with Aromashodu and Vick in the mix.

I don't know if Jason Allen starts right away. He'll start. But I almost expect him not to be quite ready yet come Week One. Defensive back isn't the easiest place for a rookie to step in and start. FYI - he's on crutches right now. I think it's just precautionary, to further accelerate the healing process. But he is using them at the moment.

Obviously, I only responded to the things I disagree with. ;)
 
bojang1es187 said:
great but i think bennie and jeno could be a competition at the LG spot.
Click to expand...

Not really. Jeno was our best lineman for most of last season. He was outstanding. One knock on Anderson is quickness/agility. That's a requisite skill at the LG spot, as you do a lot of pulling. Jeno was excellent down the stretch in this regard.

I don't think he could beat out Jeno. RG is where the competition should be.
 
Good stuff Muck. I agree about Spragan. I just flat out forgot him lol. My bad, but very good points on all subjects and I can't really argue with you on any.
 
Muck said:
You forgot about Donnie Spragan at LB. :) He's definitely in the mix. Right now he's your starter. He'll make this team whether he starts or not.

I don't think Carey moves to RG anymore. Certainly not for Pearson. Pearson is a LT type who isn't physical enough to play the right side. Plus he's been a walking injury bug. I think Joe Toledo is the guy we're grooming for that guard spot. Anderson and McKinney will duke it out for the starting job this year. Ideally, big boy Anderson wins. But we'll see. Most importantly, Carey hasn't seemed all that enthused about playing guard.

At CB, I think you have to pencil in Travis Daniels as opposed to Will Allen. Daniels the only guy on the roster who's proven anything in this defense. Poole is running 4th on the depth chart right now. I don't think he wins a starting job yet. I think his knee still has a little ways to go. But he should be a demon on special teams in the meantime.

I totally agree that Welker has made strides. I think many people here underrate him as a receiver. However, Nick Saban talks a lot about keeping Wes fresh for kick/punt return duties. With Kelly Campbell's speed and familiarity with Pep and the offense, he should have the inside track on the #4 job. But beyond Hagan and Welker, I don't think the final receiver spots are cut and dry. Not with Aromashodu and Vick in the mix.

I don't know if Allen starts right away. He'll start. But I almost expect him not to be quite ready yet come Week One. Defensive back isn't the easiest place for a rookie to step in and start. FYI - he's on crutches right now. I think it's just precautionary, to further accelerate the healing process. But he is using them at the moment.

Obviously, I only responded to the things I disagree with. ;)
Click to expand...

Very good reply Muck, and is very accurate to what we know is happening as of last mini camp and the injury situation. I think Campbell will surprise a lot of phin fans who didn't follow him in Minny..the guy's a keeper and will give hagen a run for the money for #3...only reason I see Hagan getting it, is because of the 3rd rd pick...other than that Kelly is a clear favorite. I wished W. Poole was 100%, I think he'd be the starter opposite Allen or Daniels, but until the knee is 100 he may be the nickel to start the season.
 
Lazy1 said:
I like that, alot of people like daniels at the #2, but i am a huge fan of poole and think the guy can really be a top corner in this league. Training camp will most certainly be entertaining. Defense looks strange though, i think you need to add a 4th LB b/c of the 3-4 alignment it looks like we will be in most of the time.
Click to expand...

I think the OLB opposite Jason Taylor will be a rotation of Keith Newman and David Bowens in passing rushing situations, Donnie Spragan in seemingly obvious running downs and Sederick Hodge as the zone blitz cover guy / pass rusher.
 
Muck said:
You forgot about Donnie Spragan at LB. :) He's definitely in the mix. Right now he's your starter. He'll make this team whether he starts or not.

I don't think Carey moves to RG anymore. Certainly not for Pearson. Pearson is a LT type who isn't physical enough to play the right side. Plus he's been a walking injury bug. I think Joe Toledo is the guy we're grooming for that guard spot. Anderson and McKinney will duke it out for the starting job this year. Ideally, big boy Anderson wins. But we'll see. Most importantly, Carey hasn't seemed all that enthused about playing guard.

At CB, I think you have to pencil in Travis Daniels as opposed to Will Allen. Daniels the only guy on the roster who's proven anything in this defense. Poole is running 4th on the depth chart right now. I don't think he wins a starting job yet. I think his knee still has a little ways to go. But he should be a demon on special teams in the meantime.

I totally agree that Welker has made strides. I think many people here underrate him as a receiver. However, Nick Saban talks a lot about keeping Wes fresh for kick/punt return duties. With Kelly Campbell's speed and familiarity with Pep and the offense, he should have the inside track on the #4 job. But beyond Hagan and Welker, I don't think the final receiver spots are cut and dry. Not with Aromashodu and Vick in the mix.

I don't know if Jason Allen starts right away. He'll start. But I almost expect him not to be quite ready yet come Week One. Defensive back isn't the easiest place for a rookie to step in and start. FYI - he's on crutches right now. I think it's just precautionary, to further accelerate the healing process. But he is using them at the moment.

Obviously, I only responded to the things I disagree with. ;)
Click to expand...

Jason Allen is on crutches now??? I didn't know that!
 
Kelly Campbell is the 3rd best reciever on this team. Hagan will be good but he is a rookie. Campbell is faster than any reciever on our team and is a real deep threat. Sorry but he is better than welker or hagan right now.
 
endorPHINS72 said:
Jason Allen is on crutches now??? I didn't know that!
Click to expand...

Hm...neither did I. Thats kinda unsettling, our first round pick who had been plagued by injury questions is on crutches. Maybe it actually is just something to speed along his recovery, but then if thats the case, is he not as far along as we thought originally?
 
Sorry, I don't see Aromashodu not making the roster. Saban blew a draft pick on him and is going to give him a season to show something, even if he isn't the best WR out there. In the Campbell vs Aromatherapy sweepstakes, assuming there isn't a 6th reciever slot, if it's even close the therapist is going to get the nod.
 
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