Maybe Saban's Biggest Oversight | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Maybe Saban's Biggest Oversight

PHINATIC13

PHINATIC13

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First off I think Coach Saban is doing a very good job thus far.I'm just a little puzzled by Saban not drafting a QB.I know hindsight is 20/20 but we all knew our QB sitiuation wasn't great to start with. I know myself(and many others) had picked a QB when we all were doing our mock drafts(mine sucked).It's seems obvious now that we are going to draft a QB in next years draft.He brought in Gus for insurance in my opinion as back up(and to help teach the O) to AJ who just can't seem to help himself(win the job).I can only conclude that Nick must have thought AJ was going to be the guy(or Gus)but now I believe he wishes he would've drafted a QB.Anyway here's what I'm getting at,were losing a year that the rookie QB could have learned the Offense and been ready to play next season.I know it's easy to say this now,but are any of us totally surprised at this?Even if they thought all along that Gus would start he can't be thought as the long term answer.We had chances to draft David Greene(85th overall to SEA.) in the 2nd rd. instead of Matt Roth(46th overall) and we could of drafted Kyle Orton(106th overall to CHI) in the 4th rd. instead of Travis Daniels(104th overall). Now I'm not saying these guys are the answer but I think we should've pulled the trigger on one of them. Well just throwing this out there what do you guys think? Am I off base on this?
 
I dont even want to IMAGINE our CB situation without Travis Daniels.
 
There wasn't any QB's that Saban thought had value when it was Miami's turn to pick. That's the reason we didn't draft a QB. Hindsight is 20/20.
 
QP and no upgrades on the OL are his grosses oversites and the most obvious posititions of need.
 
he also probably thoguht that next years draft is heavy with LT's and QBs.

rome wasn't built in a day.
 
I think he said he was going to draft Corey Webster who went 3 spots ahead of Roth. When he lost out on Webster he knew that we needed a CB, so Orton got passed up for Daniels. I think he is going to be super aggressive in the off season to get an up grade at QB. The Pack cut JT O'sullivan he is a guy w/ some skill, prolly an upgrade over Feeley at this point.
 
death7star said:
he also probably thoguht that next years draft is heavy with LT's and QBs.

rome wasn't built in a day.
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Very true, anyone remember Belichick's first 2 years with the Patriots weren't pretty.
 
Saban needed this first year to evaluate the players that were already here and decide for himself who could play and who couldn't. As frustrating as this is to dolfan who suffered through the play of bums like AJ and Seth last season, Saban would have been doing himself a disservice by not evaluating these players for himself.
 
byroan said:
There wasn't any QB's that Saban thought had value when it was Miami's turn to pick. That's the reason we didn't draft a QB. Hindsight is 20/20.
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Excellent point. Once Smith was off the board, drafting a QB was a moot point. If you were here over the off season and throughout the draft, you read the posts that cited the statistics of how QBs taken in late rounds fare..(yes, we know about the rare exceptions). Taking RBs in high rounds is just as risky but Brown was the BPA after Smith was taken. Saban did the right thing considering.

The next best thing he could have done was to trade up with SF and take Smith. With all the rebuilding we need to do, that would have been a waste of potentially two high first round draft picks.
 
Funny you mention AJ and Seth as they're probably the next guys from the last regime to have to go don't you think? Many are surprised they lasted this long to be honest.
 
I agree that if he wasnt goning with Feeley he shouldve drafted a QB. Frye instead of Roth wouldve been my choice but he couldve got others later on. His biggest mistake was not going after at least one beast on the offensive line. At best we will have 5 serviceable linemen. We are really going to have go after some players next year to fill out that offensive line. You need at least two monsters to have a good offensive line. My take on Saban right now is he's a typical defensive minded coach getting his first crack at head coach. His first priority is the defense. Once he feels he has the defense the way he wants he'll concentrate on offense. Hopefully that doesnt take too long
 
canesfins13 said:
QP and no upgrades on the OL are his grosses oversites and the most obvious posititions of need.
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"Areas for improvement" would be more appropriate a term than "oversight". Nick Saban has given us no indication whatsoever that he is the type of fellow that would commit a careless, narrow-minded act of oversight. He inherited a ship with a bunch of holes in the hull, and he plugged the ones he thought would get the ship floating at first. To boot, he was asked to fix this boat with an incomplete set of tools (i.e. limited draft picks).

Yes, those other two or three holes needed addressing too, but he addressed them in a different way. Instead of plugging with new OL and a new QB draftees, he brought in a new coach that he wanted for long term direction anyhow, and brought in a short term fix at QB that best suited the system and the new OC's plans. The way I see it, Saban made a list of "holes", another list of "best players available" by position, then reconciled the two. Whatever was left over would be handled in the best manner possible, whether by coaching or a free agent pick up. It's called ballance, patience and foresight. It's also called good leadership for this organization, which is something its been starving for for several years.
 
csabe said:
Very true, anyone remember Belichick's first 2 years with the Patriots weren't pretty.
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Really? Didn't he win a Super Bowl his second year there.
 
Drafting for need in the draft can only lead to marginal results. Drafting for Best Player Available (BPA) is a much better method of restocking the team via the draft. After the draft, the team then addresses its needs via free agency acquisitions.

In this case, Nick did the right thing by drafting for BPA in Ronnie Brown. I'm not so sure about later rounds, though. I would say that Nick made an error when it came to addressing the QB need via free agency when Gus Ferrotte was brought on board, and overestimating A.J. Feeley's football acumen. The jury's still out on Hudson Houck's OL makeover.

Hopefully Nick can correct such deficiencies on the Dolphins next year via the draft or free agency. It's kinda too late at this juncture now. As someone pointed out earlier in this thread, New England's first season under Bellichek led nowhere, and look how it has been truly a model franchise for the past four years! This is what I optimistically hope the Dolphins will be within in 4 years, a model SB-winning football franchise.

Enjoy.
 
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