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Miami Defense - looking ahead

FSU Truth

FSU Truth

Toss a coin to your Witcher
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It is clearly evident that Miami’s defense is a hot mess. Linebackers who look lost, CB’s who get burnt on a regular basis, A d-line that is either aging or under achieving (outside of Suh). You have two guys in the prime of their careers (Suh and Jones) who are playing elite level football. The question, what do you do going forward. Which players do you keep and what needs to be upgraded immediately and what can wait a year? We know this won’t be a one year project, but there are some positions that can be filled that will immediately impact.

Here is the defense in its current state:

LDE
79 Shelby, Derrick CF12
78 Fede, Terrence 14/7

LDT
93 Suh, Ndamukong U/Det
00 Thomas, Robert P/NE

RDT
90 Mitchell, Earl U/Hou
97 Phillips, Jordan 15/2

RDE
50 Vernon, Olivier 12/3
98 Coples, Quinton W/NYJ

WLB
53 Jenkins, Jelani 13/4
42 Paysinger, Spencer U/NYG
46 Hewitt, Neville CF15

MLB
52 Sheppard, Kelvin SF14
49 Vigil, Zach CF15

SLB
55 Misi, Koa 10/2
58 McCain, Chris CF14

LCB
21 GRIMES, BRENT U/Atl
28 McCain, Bobby 15/5

SS
20 Jones, Reshad 10/5
32 Kovacs, Jordan P/Phi
32 Gary, Shamiel SF15

FS
35 Aikens, Walt 14/4
31 Thomas, Michael P/SF

RCB
24 McCain, Brice U/Pit
22 Taylor, Jamar 13/2
36 Lippett, Tony 15/5

N-B
24 McCain, Brice U/Pit
28 McCain, Bobby 15/5


Free Agents in 2016:
Derrick Shelby
Oliver Vernon

Questions?
What do you do with Cameron Wake going forward?
What about Brent Grimes?
Do you draft heavily on the defensive side of the ball?
What positions do you target?
What area would upgrading have the biggest impact?
 
At the start of the year my thought was to try and restucuture or release Wake and Grimes but as you state the defense is a mess.

I try to redo Wake as a situational pass rusher, not sure what to do about Grimes might have to just let it be this year depending on how FA and draft go.

Draft has to be heavy defense. We need a CB (boundary) LB (MLB) and D lineman out of this draft at min. not to mention another saftey from someplace. A shutdown corner, great MLB or pass rusher would have biggest impact. What could a great LB be behind Suh?

Try to resign Shelby.
 
The draft is very defensive strong...round one you take a crack at whatever is the best defensive player available, but the hope is you land one of the DB's and use round 2 on this deeper LB class.

I think you can keep Shelby pretty cheap and I hope Wake will restructure as a role player to finish out his career.

Grimes is the biggest question...if you move on, then you are stuck replacing 2 corners.
 
Great thread and post, FSU. I completely agree with the sentiment. The nice thing is there are some big time impact studs at the top of the draft that totally match Miami's needs. I think Jaylon can be a Kuechly or Willis type leader at linebacker and it's something we so desperately need. Now, he may not be a true Mike, but it may still be ok because of what he brings you, and we need that impact ability from that second level of the defense.

Ramsey. Wow. I know you are partial to him, but I agree. It would be great to have an Ed Reed type impact guy. Look at his length and skills. You can sic him on anybody over the top. Watkins, Marshall, end it once and for all.

Hargreaves gives is an ability to shut down one side of the field. That gives you so much power to the defense. It allows you so much flexibility to screw around elsewhere.

Joey Bosa. Have you seen this kid? Total package up front. Relentless. Strong, great motor, will chase you down. Local kid. This family owes us, lol. He and Suh working off each other could be devastating.

You give us any of those guys and I am ecstatic. They are all the type of impact guys we need and could use perfectly. I will say this. It obviously will come down to who is on the board for us. It may be one of the two db's. Impact guys like those two may be harder to get in round 2. We may be able to get a LB in round 2. Ramsey or Hargreaves. That's my pick. Whoever is left. It's a coin flip. I mean it doesn't matter. I'm happy.

Ndemdchke. He's another impact guy but maybe less of a pure need as the other guys above. No knock. I would take him. I am just saying I like how the other guys fit with what we have first.
 
Austin Tatious said:
Great thread and post, FSU. I completely agree with the sentiment. The nice thing is there are some big time impact studs at the top of the draft that totally match Miami's needs. I think Jaylon can be a Kuechly or Willis type leader at linebacker and it's something we so desperately need. Now, he may not be a true Mike, but it may still be ok because of what he brings you, and we need that impact ability from that second level of the defense.

Ramsey. Wow. I know you are partial to him, but I agree. It would be great to have an Ed Reed type impact guy. Look at his length and skills. You can sic him on anybody over the top. Watkins, Marshall, end it once and for all.

Hargreaves gives is an ability to shut down one side of the field. That gives you so much power to the defense. It allows you so much flexibility to screw around elsewhere.

Joey Bosa. Have you seen this kid? Total package up front. Relentless. Strong, great motor, will chase you down. Local kid. This family owes us, lol. He and Suh working off each other could be devastating.

You give us any of those guys and I am ecstatic. They are all the type of impact guys we need and could use perfectly. I will say this. It obviously will come down to who is on the board for us. It may be one of the two db's. Impact guys like those two may be harder to get in round 2. We may be able to get a LB in round 2. Ramsey or Hargreaves. That's my pick. Whoever is left. It's a coin flip. I mean it doesn't matter. I'm happy.

Ndemdchke. He's another impact guy but maybe less of a pure need as the other guys above. No knock. I would take him. I am just saying I like how the other guys fit with what we have first.
Click to expand...

Those are the big four I am looking at (VHIII, Ramsey, Smith and Bosa) my hope is one falls to us and we as a franchise doesn;t screw it up and draft Oakman because he tested out of this world at the combine. All three have tape that screams elite talent...

Free Agency...hard to spend money, but if they could land Berry (dream scenario) then your job gets much easier. I almost feel like Ramsey could be our tyrann mathieu...line him up all over the field and let him work.
 
Why do I get the feeling these players are going to be just out of reach, like Gurley was last year.

Honestly without losing ever game (since there are so many bad teams) not sure how we get one of these players, and unlike Hayden I don't think we lose them all.

Even if we do lose them all again lots of bad teams that will have to play better for us to get that high of a pick.
 
We need an impact player on every level. Number 1 priority to me on the defense would be a stud ILB. We need that commander in the middle of the defense to get everyone into the right play and then make impact plays behind Suh.
We need a #2 CB to pair up with Grimes. Taylor isn't it and we need to find one via FA or draft.
We need a true run stuffing NT to pair with Suh to eat up blockers. Jordan Phillips may be that eventually, but Mitchell is not that NT.
With Vernon likely leaving in FA and Wake becoming a pass rushing only DE, we'll need to get a couple of DE. Resign Shelby or Fede and look to FA and draft to find a couple more.
I don't think Michael Thomas is terrible, but he is limited. FS is another position we can definitely upgrade at. I would say Delmas, but he can't stay healthy.

Just my two cents.
 
none of you think Hewitt and Vigil will be starters someday? They look like they can do real well eventually.
 
TruePoizon said:
none of you think Hewitt and Vigil will be starters someday? They look like they can do real well eventually.
Click to expand...

I think they can be role players...good special guys and can fill in a pinch, but not as every day starters.
 
FSU Truth said:
The draft is very defensive strong...round one you take a crack at whatever is the best defensive player available, but the hope is you land one of the DB's and use round 2 on this deeper LB class.

I think you can keep Shelby pretty cheap and I hope Wake will restructure as a role player to finish out his career.

Grimes is the biggest question...if you move on, then you are stuck replacing 2 corners.
Click to expand...

Agreed on Shelby/Wake. I think he's the type of dude who would do that, cut us a deal so he can retire with us.

I'd like to replace Grimes, I'm over him honestly. but do it in FA with a mid-upper tier guy. Of course Norman isn't going to get out of Carolina, but we need a lot of new bodies in the secondary regardless. Grab 2 in FA to lessen the need in the draft.

Then like you guys, those are my top picks, Jaylon or a cb. I'd try to get as much decent depth as we can in free agency in our lb's.

Defintely need to grab an OL we need/can in FA to get as much elite defensive talent as possible in the draft
 
oh and if we could somehow someway get Eric Berry in FA, that would be HUGE. Him and a top level guard would make it a success.
 
Eric Berry would be solid. We definitely need to add talent. I honestly can't remember the last time the LB'S made a int or game changing turnover. We need hard hitting,good tackling, covering backers. We need a secondary that can hit ,cover and make plays. Lots to fix. We are not completely bare, but we need more play makers.
 
FSU Truth said:
It is clearly evident that Miami’s defense is a hot mess. Linebackers who look lost, CB’s who get burnt on a regular basis, A d-line that is either aging or under achieving (outside of Suh). You have two guys in the prime of their careers (Suh and Jones) who are playing elite level football. The question, what do you do going forward. Which players do you keep and what needs to be upgraded immediately and what can wait a year? We know this won’t be a one year project, but there are some positions that can be filled that will immediately impact.

Here is the defense in its current state:

LDE
79 Shelby, Derrick CF12
78 Fede, Terrence 14/7

LDT
93 Suh, Ndamukong U/Det
00 Thomas, Robert P/NE

RDT
90 Mitchell, Earl U/Hou
97 Phillips, Jordan 15/2

RDE
50 Vernon, Olivier 12/3
98 Coples, Quinton W/NYJ

WLB
53 Jenkins, Jelani 13/4
42 Paysinger, Spencer U/NYG
46 Hewitt, Neville CF15

MLB
52 Sheppard, Kelvin SF14
49 Vigil, Zach CF15

SLB
55 Misi, Koa 10/2
58 McCain, Chris CF14

LCB
21 GRIMES, BRENT U/Atl
28 McCain, Bobby 15/5

SS
20 Jones, Reshad 10/5
32 Kovacs, Jordan P/Phi
32 Gary, Shamiel SF15

FS
35 Aikens, Walt 14/4
31 Thomas, Michael P/SF

RCB
24 McCain, Brice U/Pit
22 Taylor, Jamar 13/2
36 Lippett, Tony 15/5

N-B
24 McCain, Brice U/Pit
28 McCain, Bobby 15/5


Free Agents in 2016:
Derrick Shelby
Oliver Vernon

Questions?
What do you do with Cameron Wake going forward?
What about Brent Grimes?
Do you draft heavily on the defensive side of the ball?
What positions do you target?
What area would upgrading have the biggest impact?
Click to expand...


DE: I'd try to resign Olivier Vernon, restructure Wake as a situational pass rusher, and I'd try to restructure Coples and leave him at DE - I think he can be solid at DE.

DT: Suh, Phillips has shown some promise, and ditch Mitchell and draft his replacement if possible

WLB: I like Jelani - Just need better depth

MLB: Huge Need - Absolutely a priority

SLB: Misi is dinged up a lot. Not sure of his salary but an upgrade here wouldn't hurt my feelings

LCB: Grimes is on the downhill swing, but may need to keep him simply because might not be able to fix both CB positions in one offseason...possible restructure deal? If we are able to replace go for it.

SS: We are set with Jones - Guy has probably been the best player on D all season

FS: Huge Need - and not Delmas - Gotta get this position fixed

RCB: Huge Need - Gotta get this fixed

For me the position priorities go MLB, CB, FS, DE, DT....All providing it can go as I talked about above.

Good Thread! A solid draft and the right FA pick-ups a lot could be done to overhaul this defense.
 
Are we forgetting about offense? We have so many holes to fill on this team its depressing. I think we need to start looking to draft Alberts replacement on top of 1-2 G's. It just instantly ruins our team without a good LT. And I would also be looking for a TE b/c im not sure Cameron is worth re-signing.

Priorities in order: LB, G, CB, FS, LT/TE/DT (this is assuming we resign Vernon/Wake as well as Lamar Miller).
 
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