Dolphin's priorities via Armando | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Dolphin's priorities via Armando

j-off-her-doll

Super Donator
Club Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2009
Messages
22,262
Reaction score
21,599
Location
Dream Songs
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/

So where are the Dolphins in their priority lists as the new league year looms March 5?

Ask Gary Horton at Scouts Inc. at ESPN.com and he believes Miami's priorities are 1. WR, 2. FS, 3. NT. Then he adds the team also needs help at OLB, ILB and OG.

Ask Salguero at, well, right here on this blog and I happen to disagree with Horton.
 
I disagree about the ILBs, I can't bear to watch another season with Ayodele starting
 
With the exception of OG being last I wouldn't put these in any order.... which is why I'd take the BPA approach come draft day.
 
ILB,OLB,FS,WR,& TE in that order are my list of needs.

Bottom line, our entire linbacking corp needs to be upgraded. I know there are those that think that we need to take a NT high but I think that Soliai played well this past season when Ferg went down and he is improving.

Wilson needs to go but I am not conviced that Clemons is the answer. Grab a mid rd FS for depth in any case.
 
ILB has to be a prioity #1. We cant have the secondary have more takes than the LB core again. Here is a list of our starting DB's tackels and starting LB's.

Starting DB's
Bell-114, Wilson-93, Davis-51, Smith-39, W.Allen-22 total = 319 tackles

Starting LB's
Ayodele-71, Crowder-52, Porter-41, Taylor-42 total = 206 tackles

The LB core has to have the bigger number of tackles not the DB's. It should be the other way around. The LB's need to have the most tackels on the team. Bell was the leading tackeler and Wilson was right behind him(love him or hate him he did tackle)

LB has to be the first hole that we have to fill either via FA or the draft. I do not see us trading for a LB. The FO covets our picks way to much for that. If we land Dansby in FA and draft McClain in the first round, we have already have a way better defence than last year.

Dansby tackles from last year = 109 tackles. Thats way more than any LB that was on our squad last year.
 
My 2-cents...

ILB, seriously ...
NT, the bedrock of the 3-4 defense. It's a must.
FS, a ball-hawking FS make Davis and Smith improve by leaps and bounds in year 2
OLB, a run stuffing, QB head hunting maniac is exactly what we need.
& WR. in a team full of Numbers 2's, a number 1 changes everything.
 
For as much crap as Armando gets (and deserves) for his attitude, he's been around Dolphins football a long time and he knows what he's talking about.

I agree with him.

There's a "must have" elephant in the room at OLB. It's not some thing where it would be nice if we upgraded...it's a thing where you're like, "Wait, we're out of sugar?"

I may be high on the idea of shifting Merling out but that's not something you count on. Quentin Moses isn't something you count on. Charlie Anderson isn't something you count on. I am one of the few who thinks that Cameron Wake IS something you count on...but good to note, that's a risky thing to say.

With Jason Taylor being an unrestricted free agent and Miami having just as much (or as little) crack at him as any other team in the league...yeah, OLB is at a must have priority level.

From there we can nitpick about where we could use upgrades, etc...but I think Armando says the right thing, that the OLB position stands above the rest purely for lack of bodies.
 
WR is the number 1 glaring weakness, we must do something about that. after that id say OLB, ILB, NT, FS. Although I could see them going with crowder and ayodele again.
 
I see it as OLB, ILB, NT, WR and FS.

If you gow with Mando's must have's, needs, and wants I would save the following;

Must Haves - OLB, ILB. Miami's LB crew in 2009 might have been the slowest in the NFL. I understand Crowder and Ayodele are under contract and on the roster, but that doesn't make them good. They are both a liability in coverage and neither can get pressure on the QB or consistently make plays at or behind the LOS so IMO that is a must have. I agree that good OLBs and pressure on the QB will make any secondary better and Miami does not have that, so that is a must have as well.

Needs - NT, WR. I would like to see Ferguson come back for another year but Miami must get a NT to groom behind him a Soliai. WR Henne needs a young WR to develop with him. I would like to see Boldin brought in to lead the young group and maybe draft someone like Demarius Thomas to groom behind him to take over.

Wants - FS, offensive playmaker. I know Wilson was bad, but I feel part of that was how horrible the LBs were and Wilson trying to make up for some of that and finding himself out of position. With that being said Wilson is a SS playing FS with a different mentality. SS plays moving forward and FS must protect backwards. It will be interesting to see what they do. On offense be it by RB, TE or WR they need someone that can make plays. Spiller would be great here and if they can address needs in free agency he could be a consideration in round one.
 
WR is the number 1 glaring weakness, we must do something about that. after that id say OLB, ILB, NT, FS. Although I could see them going with crowder and ayodele again.

The problem with this line of reasoning is it assumes we're just carrying over every other position from 2009 to 2010. We're not. The two starting OLBs from 2009 are no longer with the team. Porter will be cut soon, while Taylor is an unrestricted free agent.

So therefore, I do fundamentally disagree that a WR position that holds Bess, Hartline, Camarillo and Ginn (yes, Ginn)...is a bigger weakness than 3-4 OLB position that holds Cameron Wake, Quentin Moses, Charlie Anderson and Erik Walden.

Seriously. Think about that for a moment. The OLB position contains only Cameron Wake, Quentin Moses, Charlie Anderson and Erik Walden.
 
Back
Top Bottom