Taking the Next Step

[SF Dolphin Fan]

When thinking about what it will take for Miami to join the NFL elite, I keep going back to how New York beat New England in the Super Bowl two years ago. The Giants pressured Tom Brady all day long making it hard for the Patriots to string plays together. The pressure came from everywhere too, the defensive line, linebackers and defensive backs. Like it or not with a healthy Brady the Pats have to be considered one of the teams to beat in the AFC. Miami will need to get past teams like New England to get to the top rung. So finding pass rushers becomes the #1 need even though the Dolphins have holes in a lot of areas. I love the idea of getting a player like Raji, a nose tackle who can stop the run and get after the quarterback. That is pretty rare and would allow the Dolphins to get pressure from the inside and outside. Of course, they would have to trade up as Raji is a likely top 15 pick. If he slides a bit, though, that is one player I'd pull the trigger on. More realistically, English, Mabin and Sintum should be on the radar at #25. I'm convinced that the front office will continue to add the physical players the Dolphins need, but they definitely should look at the Giants blueprint in emphasizing pass rushers as well.

 

[Elliott 1]

Raji is not a super talent for 1 big reason. He had trouble staying academically eligible. I'm not saying he isn't going to do well. I am saying that going ga ga for this guy who has 1 good year isn't right.

If he would have declared last year, which he almost did, he was a 4-7 round prospect.

If you want to look at at a few elite NT prospects go to one of the draft sites that project next years talent like walterfootball.com and check out the talent coming out in next years draft.

Take Ndamakong Suh for example: Led his team in tackles,TFL, and sacks.
And he is a NT. If you want a NT who can do it all, look to this kid. And on some sites he isn't even the #1 prospect.

 

[Geforce]

Raji is not a super talent for 1 big reason. He had trouble staying academically eligible. I'm not saying he isn't going to do well. I am saying that going ga ga for this guy who has 1 good year isn't right.

If he would have declared last year, which he almost did, he was a 4-7 round prospect.

If you want to look at at a few elite NT prospects go to one of the draft sites that project next years talent like walterfootball.com and check out the talent coming out in next years draft.

Take Ndamakong Suh for example: Led his team in tackles,TFL, and sacks.
And he is a NT. If you want a NT who can do it all, look to this kid. And on some sites he isn't even the #1 prospect.

There is no need to try to put one player down to lift up another. If Raji was not a super talent he would not be considered a Top 15 draft pick no matter how shallow the pool for NTs is this year.

Raji being ruled academically ineligible for the 2007 season had nothing to do with grades. It had something to do with the NCAA's satisfactory progress rule.
http://www.boston.com/sports/colleg.../bc_lineman_raji_is_a_study_in_determination/

The problem was not grades; it was the NCAA's "satisfactory progress" rule, which requires student-athletes to maintain a reasonable pace toward graduation. Raji went into last summer thinking he needed to take two courses to meet that requirement. Actually, he needed three, and somehow that information slipped through the academic safety net BC has in place for its athletes.

Suh is a great talent but that is next year and just like this year with Raji, we may not be in a position to draft him either.

 

[P_lock]

Raji is not a super talent for 1 big reason. He had trouble staying academically eligible. I'm not saying he isn't going to do well. I am saying that going ga ga for this guy who has 1 good year isn't right.

If he would have declared last year, which he almost did, he was a 4-7 round prospect.

If you want to look at at a few elite NT prospects go to one of the draft sites that project next years talent like walterfootball.com and check out the talent coming out in next years draft.

Take Ndamakong Suh for example: Led his team in tackles,TFL, and sacks.
And he is a NT. If you want a NT who can do it all, look to this kid. And on some sites he isn't even the #1 prospect.

While I don't disagree about this statement entirely (hell, I'm a fan of Gerald McCoy of Oklahoma at NT), we still should probably pick up a backup NT this season for a couple reasons.
1. Ferguson's not getting younger and who knows how much longer he plays.
2. His backup, Soliai, has shown flashes, but still has some problems (especially off the field).

I'm not saying we find a permanent solution this year at NT in the draft (but it would help), but to at least pick up a solid backup that Fergie could teach a bit as it would put us in a much better position.