Do the Fins already have the next Miles Austin/Victor Cruz? | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Do the Fins already have the next Miles Austin/Victor Cruz?

Zounds said:
The Philbin/Sherman offense is going to spread tha ball around at everyone. Even if we had Brandon Marshall, I doubt he would have 80-90 catches. It may even be one of the reasons we traded him. So no, I dont think we have a Victor Cruz or a Miles Austin on our team. Our WRs will not be in the top tier statistically.
Click to expand...

In a WCO they throw to the open WR. The reason Jerry Rice had so many catches it because he got open so much AND had great hands.

On another note, Jerry Rice was known for his brutal off season work outs that would make others throw up and quit after 2 days. He was never good enough, there was always room for improvement with him.

Does anyone remember hearing about Brandon Marshall staying after practice and working out with the jugs machine? Or running extra routes?
 
Good question. Well let's look we currently have 7 WR's under contract.

Bess, Davone WR 5-10 190
Gates, Clyde WR 5-11 197
Hartline, Brian WR 6-2 195
Hogan, Chris WR 6-1 220
Moore, Marlon WR 6-0 190
Pruitt, Julius WR 6-2 206
Wallace, Roberto WR 6-4 225

Now knowing what we know about Austin's background. Played at small school Monmouth University, Austin caught 150 passes for 2,867 yards and 33 touchdowns. He is the school record-holder in receiving yards. Austin set a Monmouth single-season record for touchdown catches with 12.[4] He ran 4.47 second 40 yard dash and jumped 40.5 inches in the vertical leap at the 2006 NFL combine.

So now who's on this current roster have to similar attributes ?

Austin Candidates!
Roberto Wallace- Is two Inches Taller Than Miles, Ran a 4.4, but can't find is vertical leap numbers. He's college career did not match Miles output. No where near it.
Pruitt, Julius - Similar Height, Pruitt did workout for Green Bay Packers on March 3 where he ran a 4.42 in the 40-yard dash, posted a 31 1/2-inch vertical.
Hartline, Brian- Similar Height, he did run a Pro Day 40 Time: of 4.49 and no where near Austin's vertical.
Hogan, Chris- Similar Height, he ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash, blew away the competition in the other speed drills and bench-pressed 225 pounds 28 times.

Victor Cruz
Massachusetts WR Victor Cruz participated in the Boston College Pro Day and measured a height of 5115, 208 pounds. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds, the short shuttle in 4.29 seconds and the 3-cone drill in 7.02 seconds. He measured a 41.5-inch vertical jump, a 10-foot-5 broad jump and completed 13 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press.

I think Clyde Gates might be the only one similar to a Victor Cruz.

Davone Bess, and Marlon Moore don't have the kind of attributes Cruz displayed during his pro day.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
LikeUntoGod said:
In a WCO they throw to the open WR. The reason Jerry Rice had so many catches it because he got open so much AND had great hands.
Click to expand...

They throw to the open WR in any offense. Thats not what defines a WCO.

Even in a WCO, there is still a primary receiver. If Philbin/Sherman want to spread tha ball around like they say the do, chances are there won't be one WR with 90 catches.
 
fgrocker said:
Since the trade of Marshall, the FO has been adamant that each move has been thoroughly planned and executed. That we can't see the big picture yet, but it's slowly coming to fruition.

This leaves me to wonder: do they plan to make WR a top priority in the draft? I don't believe we'll use the #8 on a receiver, but Green Bay made a hobby out of using 2nd round picks on receiver (Jennings, Nelson, Cobb).

Or perhaps, could we have a pro-bowl WR already on the team? We've heard over the last couple years how talented Wallace, Pruitt, and Moore are and how well they practice. Could it be time one of them steps up big for the Fins, ala Austin or Cruz? Both guys went from practice/preseason stars to pro-bowlers in a very short time.
Click to expand...


To be honest I feel like this post was a disappointing ruse. I was expecting to hear the name of someone I've never heard of. I do not remember anyone saying how talented Wallace, Pruitt and Moore was. And considering the fact that they I still believe that Phillip Livas had more upside then they have.

Last season only 2 passes were caught by a WR not named Marshall, Bess or Hartline. And Gates caught both of them.
 
Let's hope Gates can be turned into a nice player.

Hoops, who do you like at receiver I the 2nd and 3rd round? No love for McNutt? Why not others love the guy. I think a guy like Joe Adams would be a nice fit if he's around in the 3rd or 4th round. 2nd round guys might be streeter or Randle if he drops.
 
fgrocker said:
Since the trade of Marshall, the FO has been adamant that each move has been thoroughly planned and executed. That we can't see the big picture yet, but it's slowly coming to fruition.

This leaves me to wonder: do they plan to make WR a top priority in the draft? I don't believe we'll use the #8 on a receiver, but Green Bay made a hobby out of using 2nd round picks on receiver (Jennings, Nelson, Cobb).

Or perhaps, could we have a pro-bowl WR already on the team? We've heard over the last couple years how talented Wallace, Pruitt, and Moore are and how well they practice. Could it be time one of them steps up big for the Fins, ala Austin or Cruz? Both guys went from practice/preseason stars to pro-bowlers in a very short time.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. I don't see that kind of talent on our roster. But I agree with several posters here that the WCO can do with more of the #2 WRs types. The guys that are maybe quick, rather than fast and run very good routes and have good hands. WW has made a career doing just that. He'd be a #3 WR in other offenses (see his tenure here). I've never felt the GB WRs were great or elite, well since Sharpe retired. Driver has been a very successful WR in that system, I'm not so sure he'd have been that good in a vertical offense. Jennings, Nelson...good WRs, not Marshall type #1 WRs. I also agree that Hartline and Bess will benefit from this system. I don't think either will be Drivers or Jennings though.

The Marshall trade was necessary, and as you said, likely won't hurt as much as some think. It did however affect the perception of whatever it is that Philbin and Ireland are trying to accomplish during this offseason. Obviously, it's hurt Ireland much more than Philbin to this point....

As to Wallace, Moore and Pruitt, I don't know that they are as good in route running as they need to be in the WCO... That would have shown thru over the course of the last two seasons because we've/Sparano has been searching for a replacement for Hartline since both got here...
 
No, they don't.  And the reason is because the previous coaching staff was inept at developing young players.  Moore, Wallace, Pruitt would all be contributing by now had they been on the depth chart on many other rosters simply because other coaching staffs know how to bring along young guys.  This is probably the biggest failure of the Sparano regime - they had raw, young talent, but it has never been made ready to contribute.  Sadly, these guys are still just as raw and useless as the day they were signed.  Maybe things change with Philbin's staff.
 
Oh, and regarding TEs, it's likely that we'll see some secondary FA or lower round draft pick TE that excels in this offense...Look at the GB TEs (since Sharpe left and until Finley arrived) and they've been good, but replacable. One guy leaves and another fills in...David Martin, Bubba Franks, Donald Lee...guys that didn't exactly set the world afire elsewhere, but were successful in GB...

Fasano can be the #1 guy successfully. I don't think he gets enough credit for being a decent TE. Not a burner like Gonzo or Graham, but competent enough that he has been decent in the passing game when given the chance...
 
Wallace obviously has the most potential. Wallace could even be considered for a position change. He is also a stud special teams player.
 
Zounds said:
They throw to the open WR in any offense. Thats not what defines a WCO.

Even in a WCO, there is still a primary receiver. If Philbin/Sherman want to spread tha ball around like they say the do, chances are there won't be one WR with 90 catches.
Click to expand...

Wrong, in the "Brandon Marshall" offense they throw to him wither he is open or not.
 
I wouldn't draft a WR with the 8th pick unless Blackmon was there...and we all know he won't drop that far. If we drop down to around #15 and Floyd is there, I would take him, or we could take BPA there, and take a guy like Sanu or Hill with our second rounder, and hopefully have another 2nd rounder for trading down.
 
TheWalrus said:
From the 2nd round, which is also where Jennings and Jordy Nelson came from.

How many times in four years -- other than the boneheaded Marshall trade -- has Ireland invested anything more than a 3rd round pick on a receiver?

Oh, that's right.
Click to expand...

And? It doesn't mean that's how he'll draft forever
 
BenchFiedler said:
fgrocker!!! Don't say stuff like that in here.. You will get crushed by "Negative and Pessimistic fans"

My concern is that - Who can beat, get seperation from Revis/Cromartie (Jets), McGEE and Florence (Bills) and Kyke Arrington/McCourty (Pats) on a regular basis twice a year???

When we had a guy like Marshall, the defense had to double team, roll a safety on his side and account for him all the time on the field which opened up Reggie Bush and the running game.. I'm not sure Hartline, Roberto Wallace, and Bess scares them that much....
Click to expand...
I think the whole point of the WCO is to beat the backup cbs to death. Let them cover your top 2 receivers we will just burn them with our #3 and #4 receivers. Then throw in a big fast TE and you have mismatches galore. I don't really like using only 1 or 2 receivers mostly, unless you have Jerry Rice and John Taylor.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom