Originally posted by ckparrothead
OK we've been through pretty much all of the preseason games that matter. The only exciting or innovative part of the 4th game is watching the coaches figure out a way to have players in the game, while minimizing the risk of injury to each player. Practice sessions are now closed as well. So pretty much, we've gotten as much meaningful looks at all the new acquisitions as we're gonna get before the season starts. So I want to give all the new major acquisitions grades...because I do that sort of thing, heh. And I love jumping up on the soapbox to tell all of you what I think (and what you should be thinking!) lol...j/k guys. I might consider tidying this up and turning it into an article. Who knows.
FREE AGENTS
Derrius Thompson: B
Comment: I know some will say he's been everything we expect and more, which is true in training camp...however I wanted this guy to show up a little better during preseason games number wise. So far he's shown that he can do everything that Oronde Gadsden did for us...eerily so. The same routes, the same unbelievable catches...everything. But he's not getting open and getting hold of the ball more than Gadsden was either. When OG went down in 2002 he was on pace for like 600 yards. So far from what I've seen in PS games, if Derrius plays all 16 games that would be about what I expect him to catch...like 3 catches a game for 40 yards. Lets see how the season games go, he could all the sudden explode...and THEN he'd get an 'A'.
Junior Seau: B+
Comment: The guy is what we hoped for...what we could have reasonably hoped for. He's still making the plays that he's made over the course of his career. He got beat by Pittman deep, which is bad...but the guy was brought here to disrupt the pass not cover the pass. And disrupting is what he's done, whether it be lining up in space by Jason Taylor confusing the offensive tackles, or whether it be shedding two blockers at the line of scrimmage to clog up runs into no gain. If the guy didn't get beat by Pittman, or had he managed to get a sack in the PS games, he'd have gotten an A.
Sammy Knight: D+
Comment: I'm sorry guys, I just have to go by what I've seen here. I know he's done SOME things in training camp. The guy has come in and he's worked hard and he's been studying, and indeed he's a student of the game. But everything I've seen in PS so far when he's distinguishing himself in front of the camera, its for all the wrong reasons. He did force a fumble against the Bucs which the Bucs quickly recovered, however the rest of the time when I see him he's taking bad angles for the tackle and he's missing tackles, I mean outright missing them (happened I believe TWICE against Atlanta, and I noted it against the Jags at least once too). The guy has got to get use to playing the safety position with so much space between him and the line of scrimmage. I'm starting to think the coaches should put in a healthy rotation at SS to keep Freeman happy, and put a little urgency in Knight's play. I really wanted it to work out here for Knight and I still think it might. But right now, after near a full preseason, I have to grade based on what I've seen not what I expect he'll correct in the future.
Terrell Buckley: C+
Comment: Until the Falcons game when he took advantage of an errant throw by Doug Johnson, TBuck had not done much to distinguish himself from Jamar Fletcher. It was reflected too, by the coaches, when they kept rotating T-Buck and Jamar at starting CB in place of Pat Surtain. The interception is what gives TBuck the + here because otherwise, I was expecting him to come in and be so good he instantly wins the #3 CB job. I'm not talking about the nickel CB job, I'm talking about the #3 CB job. Now, if either Sam or Pat goes down during the season, Jamar Fletcher is the dude that will be coming in and starting on the outside...even when we've only got 2 CBs on the field. I expected more. But in general, TBuck has been pretty solid. Not special, solid.
Jeff Zgonina: A
Comment: What a genius move. This guy can really rush the passer and he's so good he'll be cracking the rotation to the point where he's practically starting. He gets an A for the value. This is a move that flew under everyones radar and not only did the coaches instantly replace Jermain Haley with it, they've seriously upgraded the position and the passrush abilities of our DL. A DT that can force the quarterback to put the ball down, makes things soo much easier for a DE. Ogun and JT will be very very happy with Zgonina.
Brian Griese: D
Comment: Lets be honest, has he shown us anything so far that would lead us to believe that Jay Fiedler can go down and our offense wouldn't miss a beat? Not in my opinion. You can see the glaring differences between Jay running the offense and Brian running the offense...4 points. Jay gets the TD. Brian gets a FG. Until Atlanta he had plenty of opportunity to put the 2nd teamers (and a lot of the first teamers) in the endzone against sub-par teams, and he failed. In Atlanta, he put us in the endzone thanks to Robert Edwards carrying the entire offense all the way down the field with the help of some stellar blocking. How many completions did Brian need in that drive, 2? Anyway obviously the guy is on a learning curve and will get better but this is a guy everyone and I mean EVERYONE heralded as a great move for Miami. People said about us that we have the best "team quarterback" in the league. People expected BG to put up a decent challenge for the start. Well I got news for ya, not only did he never even sniff Jay's backside for the start, for the first part of TC and PS he had Sage Rosenfels with his nose crammed squarely up Griese's butt lookin for the primary backup position. And now, with Griese going down with toe injury, Sage has a real shot to put Griese away on the depth chart all the way down to #3. Its a real possibility. Griese gets a D instead of an F because he's still better than Lucas. He gets a D instead of a C because he got injured...and it was something stupid too where he just stubbed his toe on the field. That was his M.O. in Denver, stupid things happening to him.
Marco Battaglia: D-
Comment: I'm sorry I am sure the guy has problems in his personal life but it just looks like we picked up a turd here with no real potential that will take up a roster space. Padless wonderboy over here was brought in to be our 3rd TE. He's been since beaten by a rookie 5th rounder who was drafted primarily to be a blocker...ie a 3rd TE. The only reason he doesn't get a full F is because he probably will make the team at the very least. But if his position on the depth chart was of any importance whatsoever you could be sure the Phins would have sent him his walking papers and replaced him the first day he missed camp while pondering retirement. Retire big fella, you don't have it anymore. Actually I'm not sure you ever did. Then again, collect your paycheck...he's probably gettin like 600k from the team just to sit on the bench and be friends with Howard Stern.
ROOKIES
Eddie Moore: C
Comment: He'll be a solid linebacker. The foot injury is not even close to related to anything he suffered in college, it was just a really bad luck break. He probably would have challenged Morlon Greenwood for the start by the end of the year. If I give him a C instead of a B, its because 4 picks ahead of Eddie Moore, Pisa Tinoisamoa was selected by the St Louis Rams. Everybody and their sister knew the Rams coveted Boss Bailey (ie an OLB) and were thinking of drafting him in Round 1. They sensed Boss was falling on the draft charts, so too was Pisa...so they went elsewhere in Round 1. And when Boss Bailey was selected at the top of Round 2, everyone and their sister knew the Rams would go with Pisa Tinoisamoa. The Phins knew it, and the Phins knew they wanted a fast OLB. Instead of trying to trade up to get Pisa, they sulked about their inability to trade up to get Harris or Steinback, and 'settled' for Eddie Moore. I know Eddie could be good, but you don't just 'settle' for Ian Gold instead of Derrick Brooks when all you need to do is jump 4 picks to get him. Eddie Moore is on IR, and Pisa T has already won the starting job and has looked like a force to be reckoned with according to reports. Nuff said.
Wade Smith: A
Comment: This guy is going to be our future at LT, and we managed to get the guy in the 3rd round! How does that happen? His feet are so quick for an OLman it boggles the mind. He's making savvy moves out there and Dixons absence was just what the doctor ordered to show the coaches what he will be for us. He's actually so good he's forcing the coaches to ponder the idea of him being good enough to start, while shifting Dixon back over to LG. That shouldn't happen. His strength issues were supposed to be of such concern that the guy could not play in year 1 much at all. Our problems on OL so far this preseason...in pass and run blocking, have not had their sources in Wade Smith and considering his rookie 3rd round status...thats impressive...that HE'S looking good while veterans like Todd Perry, Todd Wade, and Jamie Nails are out there sucking it up.
Taylor Whitley: D
Comment: Once again he saves an F cuz he'll make the team. But he's done nothing so far except prove he's very very far away from any chance at starting. Oh yeah, did I also mention he has nearly been leap-frogged by his undrafted teammate Billy Yates? I think about Taylor Whitley and I think about Billy Yates and for some reason I don't want the coaches cutting Yates in favor of Whitley...cuz I know they will just be doing it because of the 3rd round investment we put in him. With that pick in the draft we could have had Chris Simms, Justin Fargas, Julian Battle, or Dave Ragone...and I'm not just pointing those names out because they're getting rave reviews in TC so far. Anytime I gave a review of the draft, those 4 guys are the guys I have said that I would rather have drafted instead of Taylor Whitley, ever since the draft in April. Simms and Fargas have looked exceptionally good.
Donald Lee: B
Comment: Lately he's had a few drops and thats not good but in general the guy has looked as athletic in the passing game as Randy McMichael. And as far as his blocking, its everything we expected. He's got a long ways to go learning to run routes because he didn't get much of a chance in college, but eventually he could develop into something...and R-Mac better watch out cuz Lee could eventually be a better all-around TE. Thats somethin else considering this dude was drafted in Round 5 to be our 3rd TE blocking specialist.
JR Tolver: A
Comment: In 2 years he will make a name for himself. So far he's looked fantastic. In mini-camp he was our most impressive performer...the newcomer Dave Wannstedt gave his vote for wanting to see in pads the most. Since he put on the pads he hasn't disappeared either. He's making plays being physical and he's staying on his feet exceptionally well after the catch which was supposed to be his weakness coming out of the draft. He's a route running technician and that will help him make an impact early on whereas Chambers is taking a while. The last time we drafted a WR in round 5, he looked lost out there and ended up not making the team...fortunately for us Sam Simmons has since made a meteoric rise.
Corey Jenkins: A
Comment: I really don't know if this dude was gonna be drafted. If he was, it wasn't at linebacker. But he seems to have a gift for the position. He's breaking up passes, he's around the ball, great in coverage, and his instincts look good. He's also Crashing into everything that looks like it MIGHT have the ball and that will change eventually. But this is a QB who got converted to S for two games, that the coaches drafted at LB and he's actually looking good enough to have a defined role in nickel situations...playing on the field. It looks all the more impressive when you consider the fact that the Phins coveted this dude months before they drafted. Someone must have gotten a Tarot reading about him. I dunno. They coveted him, had him here to vist a number of times, and eventually traded two 7th round picks to get him.
Yeremiah Bell: C
Comment: Who is, and more important...where is he? I don't see him much. Most people think he'll be redshirted this year on the PUP or IR list, but unless I'm seriously mistaken that is not even possible. He's out there playing in preseason games. Kinda hard to get away with putting him on IR or PUP when he's playing games. He'll be cut. He'll clear waivers. He might end up on the psquad. But this was all expected. He was drafted knowing full well he wont realize whatever potential he has in Year 1. At least he's not being outperformed by the Terrance Leftwich's and Cedric Donaldsons of the team...I dont think
Tim Provost: D
Comment: Also on the 'where are they' file. I wonder if the coaches really were expecting him to make the team. I hope not. He won't. I don't even know if he'll be placed on the psquad. Some people claimed he was underrated and graded this as a nice pick. He's yet to unseat a guy in Greg Jerman, who is acting like a turn-style in pass protection. To me, that merits a D. He's drafted, the least he can do is beat Jerman.
Davern Williams: F
Comment: I know he was a 7th round pick but still the guy never would have made the team then he got himself injured. All he had to do to assure himself a spot on the Phins was beat Dario Romero...not exactly Warren Sapp here. He couldn't accomplish this. Johnny Thomas outperformed him too. The two guys above MIGHT be in our future plans, but I severely doubt Davern ends up in our plans ever again.
