Position by Position: A summation of the Phins

[erralyn]

Hi guys,

Since we are in the most boring part of the bye week right now (as one can tell by the number of posts the last few days), I figured I'd supply a post we can all amuse ourselves by arguing about. Tell me where I'm wrong, and where I'm right.

QB: Frerotte is decent enough and sufficient for our short term needs at QB. He might be able to get us to the playoffs provided the supporting cast performs. Rosenfels could be good, but at this point in his career it's clear he's never going to get a shot. Feeley is hot garbage, and I'd love to trade him to the Jets..but the only GM who'd trade for Feeley is Spielman.

RB: Wow. We're stacked here. Ronnie is showing promise and Ricky is, for the most part, a known quantity. Sammy Morris is easily the third best RB on the roster. Travis Minor, despite a promising start to his career, is just a guy.

FB: Just a guy.

TE: McMichael is one of the top 5 TEs in this league hands down. What a disappointment Lee has been, getting cut. Any thoughts on Diamond? A good preseason, but I haven't seen him since.

WR: Chambers, Booker, Welker, Boston, Gilmore. Another wow. The news that Gilmore may unseat Boston for the #4 spot is a bit disturbing, however. How the mighty have fallen. Like RB, here is another position on our team that is playoff, if not Super Bowl caliber (by this I mean the team does not need to improve this area by much if at all).

OL: I admit I'm a bit perplexed to identify which players are excelling, and which have only managed to not be exposed so far this season. Any thoughts?

Defense still to come...

LT:

 

[DolfanDaveInMI]

Let me guess what the second half is going to defense.

Defense: Eddie Moore sucks.

 

[infiltrateib]

Hi guys,

Since we are in the most boring part of the bye week right now (as one can tell by the number of posts the last few days), I figured I'd supply a post we can all amuse ourselves by arguing about. Tell me where I'm wrong, and where I'm right.

QB: Frerotte is decent enough and sufficient for our short term needs at QB. He might be able to get us to the playoffs provided the supporting cast performs. Rosenfels could be good, but at this point in his career it's clear he's never going to get a shot. Feeley is hot garbage, and I'd love to trade him to the Jets..but the only GM who'd trade for Feeley is Spielman.

RB: Wow. We're stacked here. Ronnie is showing promise and Ricky is, for the most part, a known quantity. Sammy Morris is easily the third best RB on the roster. Travis Minor, despite a promising start to his career, is just a guy.

FB: Just a guy.

TE: McMichael is one of the top 5 TEs in this league hands down. What a disappointment Lee has been, getting cut. Any thoughts on Diamond? A good preseason, but I haven't seen him since.

WR: Chambers, Booker, Welker, Boston, Gilmore. Another wow. The news that Gilmore may unseat Boston for the #4 spot is a bit disturbing, however. How the mighty have fallen. Like RB, here is another position on our team that is playoff, if not Super Bowl caliber (by this I mean the team does not need to improve this area by much if at all).

OL: I admit I'm a bit perplexed to identify which players are excelling, and which have only managed to not be exposed so far this season. Any thoughts?

Defense still to come...

LT:

I'm not as excited about the WRs. Booker is a solid #2, and Chris Chambers is an inconsistent but capable #1, and Welker is a good #3 (from what we've seen, which is limited right niow).

Boston has the size/strength combination, but hasn't played strong. He doesn't fight for the ball. He's great after the catch, but he just doesn't get those opportunities. We'd need a QB who can hit him in stride consistently, and at this point we don't have that.

In my opinion, what we're missing is a burner. Gilmore could be that guy, but we need to see consistency.

We need to lock up Randy to a big deal. He's worth it. Diamond is a horrible blocker, and Randy has really improved in that area. He's a beast..

RB should be set for years. Our concerns are now (in order, starting next year): QB, DT, S, WR, CB.

My plan for the Dolphins would look like this:

1. Lock up Randy McMichael: as I said before, he's really improved his blocking. He's a complete player. He had a run-in with trouble this offseason, but if he stays out of trouble he's a top 5 TE. He's great after the catch, he wills his way to first downs (you'll notice this quality in great players. Randy has a sixth sense for the first down marker and fights on every play like he's running from a tiger).

2. Get Saban Guys: sure, the term "Saban Guy" is overused, but he's got a specific type of player. He likes big guys, lunchpail guys, guys that buy into the system, guys that don't make mistakes. I think there are a few guys that get shipped out this offseason, like Moore/Pope (one of the two), Wade Smith, Traylor, possibly Junior Seau (to name a few), etc. I like what we're doing via the draft. I think we need to have faith in Roth, just for the fact that no other DEs are producing just yet and Roth was widely considered to be a steal at his position. Crowder is a third round pick already in the lineup, Daniels the same, and, well, we see Brown every Sunday.

Although we're the oldest defense in the NFL, which is brought up three times per telecast, the age is centered in a few players. We've got a good group of LBs, good young CBs, and a rookie DE. We need to get younger at DT and safety. I'm not sure how Bell is going to pan out. He has the physical talent, but he's not quite a pure safety yet.

3. Pick up a younger QB: drafting a first-round QB is for teams that can't win now. I honestly believe we can. With the salary cap enforcing such tight constraints, the league places a premium on coaching. And we've got one of the best in the business. By teaching techniques (assigning players to roles and styles, not just positions), Saban implements an interchangeable defensive unit that can succeed with roleplayers and not names (see: Belichick's system for an example).

I think we can win with a middle-of-the-pack young guy who Saban can coach up. Maybe Frerotte has another year in him while we do this. I think we can get a Volek or Ramsey type to run this team (Harrington is also a possibility, as is Rivers/Brees, who may run too expensive).

4. Make the Tough Cuts: I won't dwell on this for long, but Madison, Seau, and Boston could be gone. I'm admittedly unfamiliar with the exact terms of their contracts, but they're getting older (or, in Boston's case, just not really producing) and need to be replaced. Madison is still a good CB. But if he gets too expensive (I know he renegotiated his deal, so you'll need to enlighten me on the terms... I could look it up, but it's sort of tangential to my point) we need to do what we need to do.

5. Hold onto the good guys: Linehan, Houck, etc. need to stay. They are all vital for this sytem and will be scrutinized by every team with a higher-ranking vacancy this offseason (especially Linehan). This type of turnaround doesn't go unnoticed in this league (see Marvin Lewis).

 

[FinsAreLife]

i think diamond did ok against the jets...he hasnt done a whole lot but he looks like he will improve and become really good