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Miami Dolphins going small at nose raise eyebrows of NFL experts

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DAVIE — When NFL fans think of a typical nose tackle, what comes to mind is a wide-bodied, 325-pounder like Boynton Beach native Vince Wilfork filling gaps and occupying blockers for the New England Patriots.
Dolphins coach Tony Sparano has a different image: Dallas' athletic two-time Pro Bowler Jay Ratliff, to whom Indianapolis center Jeff Saturday recently gave his vote as the best defensive lineman in the NFC.
It was the 6-foot-4, 303-pound Ratliff that Sparano and Co. had in mind when they decided to move the 6-3, 305-pound Randy Starks to nose tackle in April.
Sparano was a member of the Dallas coaching staff that put Ratliff at nose in 2007, prompting the Cowboys to trade Jason Ferguson to Miami the next year. Now, ironically, it's Starks taking over for Ferguson, who retired earlier this month.
"When we took Ratliff and started to work with him," Sparano said, "his quickness and strength, the way he converts the quickness to power at times, the guy made a lot of plays. Randy has made a bunch of plays for us, and that isn't going to stop."
Plenty of eyebrows were raised, both in South Florida and league-wide, when General Manager Jeff Ireland announced during last spring's NFL Draft that Starks, the Dolphins' most productive lineman and fourth-leading tackler in 2009, would be moving inside from his defensive end spot.
"They might have to go out on the street looking for guys if this doesn't work," NFL Network analyst Jamie Dukes said last week.
Ireland said at the time that Starks was fine with the move; when asked about it Friday, Starks replied, "I had no choice."
Asked if he could have said no, he replied, "I could have, but we want to win. You win and everybody is happy."
ESPN analyst and former Dolphin defensive lineman Mike Golic said Starks should have taken the request as a compliment.
"It's a feather in your cap, that they think enough of you to do that," Golic said. "But I remember what my brother Bob (a nose tackle for Cleveland from 1982-88) used to say: When you're a nose tackle, you're like a fire hydrant at a dog show. You've got 'em coming at you from every angle."
Guys like Wilfork and Casey Hampton of Pittsburgh aren't expected to chase quarterbacks around the backfield. Neither has exceeded three sacks in a season and both typically leave the field for smaller, quicker pass rushers on third down.
Ratliff and presumably Starks are a different breed. Ratliff had 7w sacks in 2008 and six last year and Sparano, the Cowboys' offensive line coach when Ratliff first began playing the position, used the word "chaos" to describe his effect on blocking schemes.
Early on in training camp, Starks is demonstrating the same capabilities.
"In the first two practices he's been in the backfield several times," Sparano said, "so that gives you an idea of his capabilities."
What Starks gives away in weight and girth - as Dukes put it, most nose tackles "have a big old keester" - he makes up for in strength and quickness.
"The biggest thing for a nose tackle is strength and leverage," Golic said.
Linemates such as end Kendall Langford and backup nose tackle Paul Soliaicon cede that Starks is the strongest lineman on the team.
Despite the 85-pound weight difference between Starks and New York Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins, who weighs 390, Dukes said he won't be surprised if Miami uses Starks like Ryan uses Jenkins.
And again, there's a connection: Ryan and Dolphin defensive coordinator Mike Nolan worked on the same staff in Baltimore from 2002-04.
"The Jets move guys around a lot in their base defense," Dukes said. "They keep teams guessing."
As for Starks, who played defensive tackle early in his career at Tennessee before coming to Miami as a free agent in 2008, he said he's already learned one thing: In the middle, there's nowhere to hide.
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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports...ises-eyebrows-834699.html?cxtype=rss_dolphins
 
He is going through a bit of a learning curve, but I as well feel confident in him.
 
If I've said it once I've said it 10 times. In my view, after carefully looking at about half of the Dolphins games one play at a time -- in slow motion -- Randy Starks was the best player I saw on the team, regardless of position (Jake Long was second). My only concerns moving him to nose tackle are conditioning and injury. Playing inside is more of a brutal game than outside, and I worry about him getting beaten up.

Consider. Starks played 730 snaps last year in a rotation with Merling while Ratliff played 769, more than any other nose tackle. One dimensional guys like Casey Hampton and Vince Wilfork played 592 and 448 snaps, respectively. Now I'm of the opinion that Starks is a better player than Ratliff. He's quite a bit stronger and just as quick and athletic. He should still dominate. Hopefully he's up to it from a conditioning standpoint, because we still need him and his 7 sacks on this defense.
 
As I raised before, I think he's going through a rough patch the first couple of days of practice in pads. He's coming to find out what this position really means, with the pads on. He's a little discouraged. He's on the ground a little too much. He's getting winded and puking from the amount of exertion he puts in. He sounded really down about the whole thing when he did his interview. He's just got to know that it's going to get better. He's going to get more used to the position. I have every confidence in his ability to play the position.
 
You really have to wonder how much these "experts" know, being the fact that Starks and Jason Ferguson play at nearly the same weight. Actually, seeing Jamie Dukes being quoted, I know the answer to that question. None. Golic is right though. It's all about strength and leverage. And Starks is incredibly strong. He's quick, and will offer pass rushing that you don't see from the NT position, while being able to hold his own against the run. Jamie Dukes can talk about weight all he wants to, I've seen enough Randy Starks on tape to have very minimal concerns. I think he's going to fit great with what Nolan likes to do. Also, the article talks about massive NT's, but Mike Nolan doesn't use massive NT's. His last 2 starting NT's was Aubrayo Franklin in Baltimore and San Fran, and Ronald Fields last year. Each weigh 315 lbs. Not sure what starks weighs now, but my guess would be between 305-310, and I assume will be playing closer to 310. Same weight Ferguson has played his whole career.
 
R&R Express said:
You really have to wonder how much these "experts" know, being the fact that Starks and Jason Ferguson play at nearly the same weight. Actually, seeing Jamie Dukes being quoted, I know the answer to that question. None. Golic is right though. It's all about strength and leverage. And Starks is incredibly strong. He's quick, and will offer pass rushing that you don't see from the NT position, while being able to hold his own against the run. Jamie Dukes can talk about weight all he wants to, I've seen enough Randy Starks on tape to have very minimal concerns. I think he's going to fit great with what Nolan likes to do. Also, the article talks about massive NT's, but Mike Nolan doesn't use massive NT's. His last 2 starting NT's was Aubrayo Franklin in Baltimore and San Fran, and Ronald Fields last year. Each weigh 315 lbs. Not sure what starks weighs now, but my guess would be between 305-310, and I assume will be playing closer to 310. Same weight Ferguson has played his whole career.
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jamie dukes is also biased
 
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So by "raising eyebrows of NFL experts," Brian Biggane really means just Jaime Dukes has an issue with Starks moving to nose. The only other source in the article was Mike Golic and I did not see where he said anything critical about the move. I wish some of these writers would have spent more time in journalism school.
 
Jamie Dukes is a hot-head who usually lets his mouth run ahead of his brain. He's my least favorite NFL network analyst.
 
Dukes really likes to just go against the guy who just spoke. I'm not even sure if iy's even his real opinion sometimes.
 
I think Starks and Odrick will get much more penetration than most people are used to seeing from 3-4 lineman (Starks obviously did it last year at DE), and I think it's going to result in a lot of 2nd and 3rd and longs - where Nolan can be very creative.
 
I personally hate this move still. Because Randy Starks is easily our best 34 DE. He has proven to be extremely disruptive in that particular posistion. Seems like a square peg, round hole type move. Don't like it. Wish we'd just try to acquire a veteran nose.
 
Yessir said:
I personally hate this move still. Because Randy Starks is easily our best 34 DE. He has proven to be extremely disruptive in that particular posistion. Seems like a square peg, round hole type move. Don't like it. Wish we'd just try to acquire a veteran nose.
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So, you don't like the Ratliff comparison?
 
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