Rankings the AFC East WR corps | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Rankings the AFC East WR corps

DKphin

DKphin

Active Roster
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Messages
14,535
Reaction score
6,353
Location
Pattaya, Thailand
You guessed it, he ranked us last. But would you expect any thing different from ESPN. I do not get all the doom and gloom when it comes to our WRs. In this offense, I think we are going to be fine.


miagif-1.jpg
4. Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins could presently have the worst group of wide receivers in the NFL. Davone Bess and Brian Hartline top Miami’s depth chart. That is frightening.

Bess is a prototypical slot receiver with excellent short-area quickness. He is good after the catch and can thrive with a strong supporting cast on the outside, but he is by no means a feature receiver. Bess is dependable, but not much of a factor near the goal line. Hartline can stretch the field, but he too doesn’t excel in the red zone. To me, Hartline is a borderline starter in any situation. He also will not be able to be the focal point of the passing attack. In what is sure to be a run-first offense in Miami, Bess and Hartline also offer very little as blockers.

The only other notable veteran here is Legedu Naanee, who was unspectacular for the Panthers in 2011. Naanee does have some ability and his blocking will endear him to this coaching staff in their run-first offense. Maybe this change of scenery and opportunity for playing time pays off for Naanee. Clyde Gates, a fourth-round pick from a year ago, will get ample opportunity to step up in his second season. Gates has rare long speed but caught only two passes in his rookie season. A full offseason could help quite a bit, but he has a long way to go in terms of learning the nuances of the position.

The Dolphins used late-round picks to add B.J. Cunningham and Rishard Matthews to this equation. In a deep receiver draft, the Dolphins made excellent value picks here, as both youngsters have intriguing size and movement skills. But counting on late-round rookies to kick start a passing game is far from a wise wager. The Dolphins need to improve at wide receiver in a big way, especially if they plan on maturing Ryan Tannehill as an NFL quarterback properly.
Click to expand...
http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/42318/rankings-the-afc-east-wr-corps
 
No suprise. I'm worried about our receivers until I look back at 2008 and realize we went 11-5 with Ted Ginn as our leading receiver
 
James Walker has nothing ever good to say about the Miami, so its pointless even talking about his articles.
 
Until proven otherwise I don't disagree with the ranking. On paper this WR corp looks like crap and not one of our WRs have proven anything. Bess is an excellent slot receiver with good hands but he has a 10 ypc career average and doesn't score much at all. Hartline scores even less than Bess, he's been the #2 reciever for two years now and has been way less than adequate. Naanee is a journeyman, he's had Phillip Rivers and Cam Newton throwing him the ball and still has nothing to show for it...I highly doubt he'll do anything here with Matt Moore or Tannehill throwing to him...I actually don't think he even makes the team. Gates I have high hopes for but he got very little run last year and his route running needs major improvement, he needs to be able to run more than just the 9 route.

As for the rookies, I like Rishard Matthews better than B.J. Cunningham but their both fighting uphill battles to make the team even as poor as this unit is as a whole.
 
He, nor anyone else knows how good or bad the teams receivers will be. I see no issues as far as wide outs accept we don't have a big name. Who cares. There are enough players that can catch the ball. Like I said before. "I would rather have 5 players catch every ball thrown their way than BM dropping three".
 
datruth55 said:
Until proven otherwise I don't disagree with the ranking. On paper this WR corp looks like crap and not one of our WRs have proven anything. Bess is an excellent slot receiver with good hands but he has a 10 ypc career average and doesn't score much at all. Hartline scores even less than Bess, he's been the #2 reciever for two years now and has been way less than adequate. Naanee is a journeyman, he's had Phillip Rivers and Cam Newton throwing him the ball and still has nothing to show for it...I highly doubt he'll do anything here with Matt Moore or Tannehill throwing to him...I actually don't think he even makes the team. Gates I have high hopes for but he got very little run last year and his route running needs major improvement, he needs to be able to run more than just the 9 route.

As for the rookies, I like Rishard Matthews better than B.J. Cunningham but their both fighting uphill battles to make the team even as poor as this unit is as a whole.
Click to expand...

I don't have a problem with it either. The fact that we're moving to a West Coast style of offense implemented by a coach who had a communal group of receivers doesn't mean that we aren't lacking. I don't see a Jennings here, or perhaps even a Jordy Nelson. The only thing the scheme might do is to mitigate the deficiency somewhat.

That being said, if Clyde Gates or someone like Pruitt, Wallace or Moore step up, we may be in much better shape than the author gives us credit for. But that's anything but a sure thing.
 
Hard to argue. Every other other team has a legit WR in their arsenal. We have a bunch of question marks. It doesn't mean we cant have success but we def have the "worst" WR's right now as a whole.
 
foozool13 said:
Hard to argue. Every other other team has a legit WR in their arsenal. We have a bunch of question marks. It doesn't mean we cant have success but we def have the "worst" WR's right now as a whole.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

Ranking our wideouts last isnt some high insult that came out of nowhere. The Patriots have Wes Welker and a group of solid veterans. The Jets have Santonio Holmes who is a playmaker when hes not losing his mind. Even the Bills have talent with Steve Johnson.

I know everyone is foaming at the mouth about how SOVIET MIAMI NEEDS ONLY SCHEME, but that wasnt the question. It was who has the most talent. And Miami is clearly lacking at that department at the moment.
 
Nothing New from the Media

"Who is going to be the Dolphins slot WR? a undrafted rookie from Hawaii?"

"Who is going to rush the passer with the departure of Joey Porter? Can an undrafted player from the CFL really get to the QB and play the run?"

"With Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams gone, the Dolphins running game is a huge question mark, Reggie Bush can never be a full time producing Running Back"

"The Dolphins with the retirement of Jason Ferguson have a huge hole at DT with nobody to step in, Paul Solia has proven he can not take over the opening"

"Matt Moore is a career backup who can not challenge Henne or step in and produce if Henne goes down "

"Jimmy Wilson is a nice story but may not even make the roster let alone see the field"

Its easy to throw out negative predictions before they step on the field....
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Can't dispute that right now... Obviously, guys can rise during the season, but right now, the WR corps here is a complete unknown. The other teams have some established guys.

I think the Dolphins will definitely have a more efficient passing offense than the Jets, but their WR corps is better on paper.
 
datruth55 said:
Until proven otherwise I don't disagree with the ranking. On paper this WR corp looks like crap and not one of our WRs have proven anything. Bess is an excellent slot receiver with good hands but he has a 10 ypc career average and doesn't score much at all. Hartline scores even less than Bess, he's been the #2 reciever for two years now and has been way less than adequate. Naanee is a journeyman, he's had Phillip Rivers and Cam Newton throwing him the ball and still has nothing to show for it...I highly doubt he'll do anything here with Matt Moore or Tannehill throwing to him...I actually don't think he even makes the team. Gates I have high hopes for but he got very little run last year and his route running needs major improvement, he needs to be able to run more than just the 9 route.

As for the rookies, I like Rishard Matthews better than B.J. Cunningham but their both fighting uphill battles to make the team even as poor as this unit is as a whole.
Click to expand...
I agree. But, I think you have to factor in the tight ends which figure to be used prominently in this offense. Michael Egnew could be one of the most productive rookies in this entire draft class. I do like the fact that young players will be given a chance. This could be good or bad. Maybe someone emerges as a player teams have to take into account. I think Gates and perhaps Wallace have the best chance to be that type of player. Moving forward this does appear to be an area that the Dolphins can improve in.
 
foozool13 said:
Hard to argue. Every other other team has a legit WR in their arsenal. We have a bunch of question marks. It doesn't mean we cant have success but we def have the "worst" WR's right now as a whole.
Click to expand...

What does ligit mean? Look up legitimate in the dictionary. Every single team in the NFL has a question mark as of this very moment. Who is to say that we don't have the BEST receivers in the AFC east once we have seen them play a game?

Spesh said:
Thank you.

Ranking our wideouts last isnt some high insult that came out of nowhere. The Patriots have Wes Welker and a group of solid veterans. The Jets have Santonio Holmes who is a playmaker when hes not losing his mind. Even the Bills have talent with Steve Johnson.

I know everyone is foaming at the mouth about how SOVIET MIAMI NEEDS ONLY SCHEME, but that wasnt the question. It was who has the most talent. And Miami is clearly lacking at that department at the moment.
Click to expand...

Talent? One day someone is washing dishes. They then get a chance on American Idol. Then they are successes and instant millionaires.
Lets say you are right. Get all the stats from each team in the division and do a spread sheet on catches, drops and yards and lets see who really has the least talented receivers. Then use the sheet for toilet paper as it means nothing. No one knows what talent resides or does not reside on this Dolphin team. You cannot make any judgements of predictions YET.
We have the OTA's, traning camp and the pre-season to see what we have. Its a bit early to be grading players. You are grading players on past performance. And that is a mistake.
 
El Calebra said:
Talent? One day someone is washing dishes. They then get a chance on American Idol. Then they are successes and instant millionaires.
Lets say you are right. Get all the stats from each team in the division and do a spread sheet on catches, drops and yards and lets see who really has the least talented receivers. Then use the sheet for toilet paper as it means nothing. No one knows what talent resides or does not reside on this Dolphin team. You cannot make any judgements of predictions YET.
We have the OTA's, traning camp and the pre-season to see what we have. Its a bit early to be grading players. You are grading players on past performance. And that is a mistake.
Click to expand...

Yup, people can come out of nowhere and become all pro's. You know, like Wes Welker, the Patriots pro-bowl receiver. An established player who is widely considered to be one of the best in the game. Oh, and Holmes, who spends his offseason washing the car he won as Superbowl MVP.
Player who have performed at high levels for years on end. But wait! Those dont count because....ugh...they just dont. The only thing that counts is, well, i guess, the fact that one of our young players who up until now have a proven track record of "adequate" can turn into the next Jerry Rice. I mean, it happens all the time though i cant remember it ever happening before it just does!

When you have a division with established high level talent, you CAN make predictions. Why? Because they have a history of consistent performance over the length of years. Again, this isnt some gross insult to the Dolphins. We didnt just "luck" into a 6-10 record. We know exactly the type of players Brian Hartline, Devone Bess, and Legedu Naanee are. They have shown it for years. And we know exactly the type of players Holmes, Welker, Stevie Johnson, and others are.
This isnt some out of the blue slap down of Miami. We have some young talent on this team. Sadly for this ranking, the other teams in the division have some established talent on their teams.
 
SkapePhin said:
Can't dispute that right now... Obviously, guys can rise during the season, but right now, the WR corps here is a complete unknown. The other teams have some established guys.

I think the Dolphins will definitely have a more efficient passing offense than the Jets, but their WR corps is better on paper.
Click to expand...

This.

The only way to become established is to play. It's May so obviously that isn't going to be possible until the season starts. I don't find what Walker said to be wrong. The Dolphins WRs are unknowns right now. If the organization really thought they needed to severely upgrade the unit, I'd assume they would've shown their hand in doing so.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom