Ya, I was in total denial until recently. I think we all have to admit, there is a good chance the Dolphins will enter next season without either player.
I think the Jets may fade next year but both the Bills and the Patriots are poised to improve greatly. Losing these two defenders is going to make things even more difficult. The road to the playoffs is through the Pats next year.
There may actually be a realistic opportunity for the Dolphins to trade down and pick up a few extra picks. I really didn't think there would be an opportunity this year, but things are shaping right up.
The LT situation is developing a huge gap between the top three guys who may be NFL ready and the other candidates that probably aren't. The Bears are desperate to bolster their OL. They are probably looking to draft an NFL ready LT. Solder,Costanzo, and Smith are probably it. Sherrod and especially Carimi are looking like RT or OG prospects. Any way, the rush for OT's will probably begin in the mid rounds and all the top candidates could easily be gone by 29, and after that it is almost another whole round before Pinkston is ranked. If the Bears trade up to 15, they could get the pick of the litter. If the Dolphins were generous chart wise, I could see a deal like this:
Dolphins send the #15 , John Jerry,and Lex Hilliard(carries more value in this deal than many think) for their #29,2nd,3rd,and 4th. Bears don't have many FA's this year and their roster is pretty solid. After they sign a DT and WR in free agency, this deal would have them looking great. Dolphins draft some fast RB's with great hands and move Carey to LG.
Dolphins trade Brian Hartline, Phillip Merling and Tyrone Culver to the Chief's for their 2012 2nd.
Dolphins cut Crowder and for re-signings see the roster.
Dolphins trade Tim Dobbins and Benny Sapp to the Redskins who are probably losing both Carlos Rogers and Phillip Buchanon to FA, as well as an ILB and Fletcher is ancient, great! but old guys can break down quick. 5th rounder
Dolphins acquire in FA: Michael Bush RB..........Mathias Kiwanuka OLB.......Takeo Spikes ILB...............Shaun Rogers DT...........Alan Branch DT/DE.....Marshall Yanda OG.........Mystery QB......Laurent Robinson WR
Seems like a lot of FA's but with Pennington,Ronnie,Ricky,Merling,Hartline,Dobbins,Crowder, and others off the books it really shouldn't be a problem. None of the FA's are top tier except maybe Yanda. Bush has never really been a starter and Kiwanuka was more or less a role player for the Giants.
Draft:
1st..................Gabe Carimi..................RT.................Excellent run blocker
2nd.................Colin Kaepernick............QB.................Warrior
3rd..................DeMarco Murray.............RB/WR/KR.......Perfect compliment to Bush
3rd..................DJ Williams..................FB/TE/H-Back/RB/WR..{offensive weapon}
4th..................Kenrick Ellis..................NT.................Shot in the dark??
4th..................Andre Smith..................TE..................Best blocking TE in this class
5th..................Taiwan Jones.................RB.................Explosive(when on the field)
5th..................Tori Gurley.....................WR................Simply never drops a pass
6th..................Mike Person...................OL..................Played OT, could be converted to C/OG
7th..................Marc Scheichl.................OLB................Div 2 all time sack leader with 46.
Rookie FA's......William Powell................KR/RB.............NCAA's leading KR in 2010 with a 34 yd average
......................TJ Yates........................QB...................??????
......................Ben Lamaak...................C....................Could be that diamond in the rough
......................Curt Porter.....................OT..................Would compete with Marten for backup LT
Draft prospect positions were based on info from nfldraftscout.com
Roster:
QB........................?,Kaepernick,Henne..............Yates(PS)
RB..........................Bush,Murray,Jones,Sheets......Powell(PS)
FB..........................Polite,DJ Williams
WR.........................Marshall,Bess,Robinson,Wallace,Gurley,Foster
TE..........................Fasano,Andre Smith,Michey Schuler
OT.........................Long,Carimi,Kopa,Garner
C/OG......................Incognito,Carey,Yanda,Feinga,Berger,Person
DT.........................ShaunRogers,Kenrick Ellis,Chris Baker
DE.........................Langford,Starks,Odrick,Branch,Ryan Baker,Robert Rose
ILB........................Dansby,Spikes,Edds,Mike Rivera, Spitler
OLB.......................Wake,Misi,Kiwanuka,Moses,Scheichl
S...........................Bell,Clemons,Amaya,Jones
CB.........................Davis,Smith,Allen,Carroll,Ness
Feilds,Carpenter,Denney
I think the Jets may fade next year but both the Bills and the Patriots are poised to improve greatly. Losing these two defenders is going to make things even more difficult. The road to the playoffs is through the Pats next year.
There may actually be a realistic opportunity for the Dolphins to trade down and pick up a few extra picks. I really didn't think there would be an opportunity this year, but things are shaping right up.
The LT situation is developing a huge gap between the top three guys who may be NFL ready and the other candidates that probably aren't. The Bears are desperate to bolster their OL. They are probably looking to draft an NFL ready LT. Solder,Costanzo, and Smith are probably it. Sherrod and especially Carimi are looking like RT or OG prospects. Any way, the rush for OT's will probably begin in the mid rounds and all the top candidates could easily be gone by 29, and after that it is almost another whole round before Pinkston is ranked. If the Bears trade up to 15, they could get the pick of the litter. If the Dolphins were generous chart wise, I could see a deal like this:
Dolphins send the #15 , John Jerry,and Lex Hilliard(carries more value in this deal than many think) for their #29,2nd,3rd,and 4th. Bears don't have many FA's this year and their roster is pretty solid. After they sign a DT and WR in free agency, this deal would have them looking great. Dolphins draft some fast RB's with great hands and move Carey to LG.
Dolphins trade Brian Hartline, Phillip Merling and Tyrone Culver to the Chief's for their 2012 2nd.
Dolphins cut Crowder and for re-signings see the roster.
Dolphins trade Tim Dobbins and Benny Sapp to the Redskins who are probably losing both Carlos Rogers and Phillip Buchanon to FA, as well as an ILB and Fletcher is ancient, great! but old guys can break down quick. 5th rounder
Dolphins acquire in FA: Michael Bush RB..........Mathias Kiwanuka OLB.......Takeo Spikes ILB...............Shaun Rogers DT...........Alan Branch DT/DE.....Marshall Yanda OG.........Mystery QB......Laurent Robinson WR
Seems like a lot of FA's but with Pennington,Ronnie,Ricky,Merling,Hartline,Dobbins,Crowder, and others off the books it really shouldn't be a problem. None of the FA's are top tier except maybe Yanda. Bush has never really been a starter and Kiwanuka was more or less a role player for the Giants.
Draft:
1st..................Gabe Carimi..................RT.................Excellent run blocker
2nd.................Colin Kaepernick............QB.................Warrior
3rd..................DeMarco Murray.............RB/WR/KR.......Perfect compliment to Bush
3rd..................DJ Williams..................FB/TE/H-Back/RB/WR..{offensive weapon}
4th..................Kenrick Ellis..................NT.................Shot in the dark??
4th..................Andre Smith..................TE..................Best blocking TE in this class
5th..................Taiwan Jones.................RB.................Explosive(when on the field)
5th..................Tori Gurley.....................WR................Simply never drops a pass
6th..................Mike Person...................OL..................Played OT, could be converted to C/OG
7th..................Marc Scheichl.................OLB................Div 2 all time sack leader with 46.
Rookie FA's......William Powell................KR/RB.............NCAA's leading KR in 2010 with a 34 yd average
......................TJ Yates........................QB...................??????
......................Ben Lamaak...................C....................Could be that diamond in the rough
......................Curt Porter.....................OT..................Would compete with Marten for backup LT
Draft prospect positions were based on info from nfldraftscout.com
Roster:
QB........................?,Kaepernick,Henne..............Yates(PS)
RB..........................Bush,Murray,Jones,Sheets......Powell(PS)
FB..........................Polite,DJ Williams
WR.........................Marshall,Bess,Robinson,Wallace,Gurley,Foster
TE..........................Fasano,Andre Smith,Michey Schuler
OT.........................Long,Carimi,Kopa,Garner
C/OG......................Incognito,Carey,Yanda,Feinga,Berger,Person
DT.........................ShaunRogers,Kenrick Ellis,Chris Baker
DE.........................Langford,Starks,Odrick,Branch,Ryan Baker,Robert Rose
ILB........................Dansby,Spikes,Edds,Mike Rivera, Spitler
OLB.......................Wake,Misi,Kiwanuka,Moses,Scheichl
S...........................Bell,Clemons,Amaya,Jones
CB.........................Davis,Smith,Allen,Carroll,Ness
Feilds,Carpenter,Denney
