First, some overall themes to the plan:
Keep your own stars
Establish an identity for both sides of the ball
Follow some upward trending concepts
Don't panic
Concepts:
Offense: I think we're going to see more 4 wr sets than this past year, we have the options to do it in our 5 wrs, and versatile backs underneath. Line play is going to be crucial for this and we're going to have to hit on a pick or development of some of our depth guys. I don't want to overpay for anyone and don't want a super high pick on a lineman, but we need to keep adding some more options there.
Defense- We look best when we just man up and attack. I've mentioned this before, but our base should be cover 1 man, with Jones in the Robber role roaming the middle zone and also looking out for the flats. We have good young boundary corner options, and our nickel wasn't too bad either. We need speed in the front seven, and having more hybrid players in the backfield may be a good solution for that as it gives us more options coverage wise and still gives us players that can tackle. Raekwon will be back, but another option will be needed when we cut Timmons. There was a post from CK somewhere in here that highlighted that Dime is being used close to 50% of the time and I would like to see if our management decides to start turning in that direction as well. I'm hoping our staff looks at the film and realize that we need some pure athleticism in the middle and flat zones that killed us all year. We need to blitz more but I think the staff knows we can't rely on our lb core to cover the space left behind.
Who deserves to stay:
Jarvis Landry- slot or not, best playmaker on offense and deserves to stay on the team long term.
Anthony Fasano- Solid 2nd TE and will be cheap in a thin TE market
Sam Young- Played admirably down the stretch, keep him as the swing tackle
John Denney- As usual
Cody Parkey- Very good pickup this year and want him to stay
William Hayes- I would love to bring him back on a 2-3yr deal but he may be looking to get paid so I'm not sure
FA Targets:
Kenny Vaccaro/Eric Reid- I want another known commodity at safety to mix with TJ and Jones. Both Vaccaro and Reid can play multiple roles- Vaccaro can play strong safety and line up in the nickel, and Reid can play single high and also go sideline to sideline. Reid may be another guy who may be perceived as having baggage that we may be able to capitalize on, Ross doesn't care if his players protest. Being able to have Reid single high, with Jones in the box, and TJ as a weakside linebacker just sounds pretty intese and versatile; we could be in man or zone or blitzing and still have everything pretty covered. Three strong safeties in cover-4 just waiting for the throw sounds intriguing as well. Our corners are mostly on 1st time contracts and I would target more talent at corner in the draft; with three vets who've had to play QB of the defensive backfield leading the way for our young corners we would be pretty potent and balanced with youth and saavy/production.
Terrance West- He has always played us well, and he's versatile enough to spell Drake and not have to switch up the gameplan.
Austin Davis- Cheap solid vet in case of injury. The season is lost if Tannehill goes down regardless, next year is the time he's on the hot seat and it's a tricky decision.
Mock Draft-
1. Rashaan Evans, ILB- Potential to be a Willis type linebacker. Pairing him with Raekwon could solve our problems and give us a foundation to build on long term.
2. Mike Hughes, CB- Looks like a solid nickel option who can punt return as well.
3. Mike Gesicki, TE- rounding out the TE room would be our new mismatch, this guy is huge and gives us a threat we really haven't had in a while.
4. Tyrell Crosby, OG
4. Brian Allen, C/OG
Roster
Qb- Tannehill, Davis, Doughty
RB- Drake, West, Perry
TE- Gesicki, Fasano, Gray
WR- Landry, Stills, Parker, Grant, Carroo, Ford
OL- Tunsil, Larsen, Pouncey, Davis, Young, Asiata, Crosby, Allen, Brendel
DL- Hayes, Phillips, Suh, Wake, Godchaeux, Branch, Harris, Taylor
LB- Evans, Mcmillan, Alonso, Anthony, Hewitt, Allan, Hull
CB- Howard, Tankersley, Lippett, McCain, Hughes
S- Jones, Mcdonald, (Vaccaro/Reid), Thomas
K- Parkey
P- Who knows
Keep your own stars
Establish an identity for both sides of the ball
Follow some upward trending concepts
Don't panic
Concepts:
Offense: I think we're going to see more 4 wr sets than this past year, we have the options to do it in our 5 wrs, and versatile backs underneath. Line play is going to be crucial for this and we're going to have to hit on a pick or development of some of our depth guys. I don't want to overpay for anyone and don't want a super high pick on a lineman, but we need to keep adding some more options there.
Defense- We look best when we just man up and attack. I've mentioned this before, but our base should be cover 1 man, with Jones in the Robber role roaming the middle zone and also looking out for the flats. We have good young boundary corner options, and our nickel wasn't too bad either. We need speed in the front seven, and having more hybrid players in the backfield may be a good solution for that as it gives us more options coverage wise and still gives us players that can tackle. Raekwon will be back, but another option will be needed when we cut Timmons. There was a post from CK somewhere in here that highlighted that Dime is being used close to 50% of the time and I would like to see if our management decides to start turning in that direction as well. I'm hoping our staff looks at the film and realize that we need some pure athleticism in the middle and flat zones that killed us all year. We need to blitz more but I think the staff knows we can't rely on our lb core to cover the space left behind.
Who deserves to stay:
Jarvis Landry- slot or not, best playmaker on offense and deserves to stay on the team long term.
Anthony Fasano- Solid 2nd TE and will be cheap in a thin TE market
Sam Young- Played admirably down the stretch, keep him as the swing tackle
John Denney- As usual
Cody Parkey- Very good pickup this year and want him to stay
William Hayes- I would love to bring him back on a 2-3yr deal but he may be looking to get paid so I'm not sure
FA Targets:
Kenny Vaccaro/Eric Reid- I want another known commodity at safety to mix with TJ and Jones. Both Vaccaro and Reid can play multiple roles- Vaccaro can play strong safety and line up in the nickel, and Reid can play single high and also go sideline to sideline. Reid may be another guy who may be perceived as having baggage that we may be able to capitalize on, Ross doesn't care if his players protest. Being able to have Reid single high, with Jones in the box, and TJ as a weakside linebacker just sounds pretty intese and versatile; we could be in man or zone or blitzing and still have everything pretty covered. Three strong safeties in cover-4 just waiting for the throw sounds intriguing as well. Our corners are mostly on 1st time contracts and I would target more talent at corner in the draft; with three vets who've had to play QB of the defensive backfield leading the way for our young corners we would be pretty potent and balanced with youth and saavy/production.
Terrance West- He has always played us well, and he's versatile enough to spell Drake and not have to switch up the gameplan.
Austin Davis- Cheap solid vet in case of injury. The season is lost if Tannehill goes down regardless, next year is the time he's on the hot seat and it's a tricky decision.
Mock Draft-
1. Rashaan Evans, ILB- Potential to be a Willis type linebacker. Pairing him with Raekwon could solve our problems and give us a foundation to build on long term.
2. Mike Hughes, CB- Looks like a solid nickel option who can punt return as well.
3. Mike Gesicki, TE- rounding out the TE room would be our new mismatch, this guy is huge and gives us a threat we really haven't had in a while.
4. Tyrell Crosby, OG
4. Brian Allen, C/OG
Roster
Qb- Tannehill, Davis, Doughty
RB- Drake, West, Perry
TE- Gesicki, Fasano, Gray
WR- Landry, Stills, Parker, Grant, Carroo, Ford
OL- Tunsil, Larsen, Pouncey, Davis, Young, Asiata, Crosby, Allen, Brendel
DL- Hayes, Phillips, Suh, Wake, Godchaeux, Branch, Harris, Taylor
LB- Evans, Mcmillan, Alonso, Anthony, Hewitt, Allan, Hull
CB- Howard, Tankersley, Lippett, McCain, Hughes
S- Jones, Mcdonald, (Vaccaro/Reid), Thomas
K- Parkey
P- Who knows
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