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UDFA Pick ups

Awsi Dooger said:
It's funny we signed Ellis McCarthy. I initially had him on my 25 favorite list in the Draft Forum. But then I decided that two lazy super talented big guys was one too many. McCarthy had even more issues than Jarvis Harrison. So I removed McCarthy and stuck with Harrison, while throwing in a kick returner named Kaelin Clay.

A.J. Francis is going to look tiny compared to the guys we have now. Since I despise Earl Mitchell I'll be rooting for McCarthy and Phillips to boom so we can phase out Mitchell and his wanderings.

j-off-her-doll summarized extremely well. There's definitely a change of philosophy in place, even though the local reporters won't pick up on it and the organization no doubt would be unwilling to concede it: There are too many high SPARQ types on the list for it to be a coincidence. Hickey a year ago was drafting guys who didn't threaten to qualify, low upside types like Tripp and Lynch. They may claim he's still in charge. I'd love to bet otherwise. Nobody shifts gears like that in 12 months. It's like a jockey running every race from the rear and suddenly changing to a front running obsession every time out of the gate.

I'll go out and say it: If the 2014 draft were held again in real time we wouldn't pick James and Landry. Those are low SPARQ types, regardless of how they fared or how popular they are. James wasn't actually low but many other options were much higher. This almost feels like finding out you were adopted. The players prior to spring 2015 were identified and chosen when a different gene hunting daddy was in charge. We didn't know about NFL DNA 12 months ago. I welcome it. Increased margin for error. If one or two talented big guys bomb out, you've got several more who didn't.
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I'm not entirely sure, but I do remember last year someone talking about Hickey bringing in a "new way" to draft. Something about a rating system. I can't remember the name, but it might have been the SPARQ rating system. I'm pretty sure it's still 95% Hickey in these drafts with small 5% input in by Philbin and Tannebum. The more and more I think about it, the Phillips pick looks like the Landry pick.. It wasn't necessarily a need last year and we took Jarvis anyway because he was great value at the pick. Phillips had a top 25-40 grade. People were even talking about us taking Phillips with the 1st pick. Maybe Hickey had him on his board.... Either way i'm even more convinced now that Hickey knows exactly what he is doing in these drafts.. I'm still upset about passing on Perryman, but who knows... Maybe we got the LB we need in UDFA with all those signings. Hickey is the man... B grade from me so far.
 
From what I understand, Mike Tannenbaum was brought in as a consultant around September 2014. I believe two of the main areas he was consulting on initially were advanced metrics and medical theories.

Having said that, I'm pretty sure that when Hickey was hired as GM, he also exhibited a spark for advanced metrics. I really get the feeling it's something Ross may actually be sold on. It may be something they are unified on in the building. I think if you go back and look at Hickey's GM introductory presser, he mentioned analytics. We also heard at the time he killed his interview with Ross. We know later Ross became enamored with Tannenbaum and his ideas. I think it's entirely possible that a coherent plan has been unfolding.

Now, in the 2014 draft, still relying on 2013 scouting, who knows, the Dolphins may not have fully implemented advanced metrics but we may have seen just the initial phase. But now that another year has passed, maybe we are seeing more implementation?

Sorry I haven't sourced any of the above, but it's 7 am and I'm not caffeinated.

By the way, for Awsi, Walrus, CK, and others who have been on top of metrics like the SPARQ business early, many many thanks. Just outstanding. Great reason to read this site because of our informed posters who have gone above and beyond many of our beat reporters who haven't said squadoosh about any of this. And, really, it's a compelling story. Just fascinating.
 
I don't know about all this analytical and metric smetric stuff.... Just feel that for the first time in a long long time our FO actually knows what our needs are how to evaluate players and most importantly, acting in a timely matter.... Right or wrong I'm thrilled with our FO and what they bring with them, a refreshingly new aspect lacking for years known as competency........
 
WR- Austin Hill signed by Seattle Seahawks
WR- Titus Davis signed by San Diego Chargers
LB- Terrance Plummer signed by Washington Redskins
 
Here's a bit of a review that I could find quickly.


1) Hickey hits interview with Ross out of the park.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2014/01/source-hickey-hit-one-out-of-the-park.html

I'm told the Hickey interview was among the longest the Dolphins have conducted during the search that has already included interviews for seven candidates. Brian Xanders had a two-day, 11-hour interview earlier this week and Hickey was not far behind him. And I'm told Hickey "hit one out of the park," with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.
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2). Hickey, in his introductory press conference emphasizes innovative methods.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2014/01/the-prepared-messages-from-ross-hickey.html

My competitive outlet is scouting, evaluating players, being innovative, looking at different things, different ways to approach team building that can be better than the other 31 teams. ...A group of passionate people that will work hard, that will use innovative methods to become a winner and as we sat there it was kind of like, yes, this fits.
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3). Tannenbaum as a consultant in August 2014:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...i-dolphins-hire-mike-tannenbaum-as-consultant

The Miami Dolphins announced Friday that Tannenbaum was hired as a consultant. The former New York Jets general manager will consult on projects involving innovation, analytics and sports science
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I am Bane said:
WR- Austin Hill signed by Seattle Seahawks
WR- Titus Davis signed by San Diego Chargers
LB- Terrance Plummer signed by Washington Redskins
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Seattle would land Austin Hill. He can play. Big WR who can high point the ball, and his COD is as good as any WR his size in the draft. Great year in 2012. Due to injury, he didn't play in 2013. With 2014 being his first year back from injury, and with him playing with an inexperienced QB, I saw Hill as a great value and very underrated. Seattle gonna Seattle.
 
Michael Liedtke is interesting, out of Illinois State. Started at Western Michigan which is a decent MAC program then transferred to Illinois State where he played left tackle. At a shade under 6'4 he knows he doesn't have the frame to be a tackle at the pro level so he's been working on training at the guard/center combo on the pre-draft training according to one of the links below. The other link seems to indicate that the metrics guys may like him.

http://www.nwherald.com/2015/02/13/...-illinois-state-grad-michael-liedtke/ah6o7u9/


http://3sigmaathlete.com
 
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cuzinvinny said:
I don't know about all this analytical and metric smetric stuff.... Just feel that for the first time in a long long time our FO actually knows what our needs are how to evaluate players and most importantly, acting in a timely matter.... Right or wrong I'm thrilled with our FO and what they bring with them, a refreshingly new aspect lacking for years known as competency........
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I feel the same vibe. Sometimes the metrics and stats do not always tell the story about the players ability to help a team win by doing the little things, and about their passion for the game and competitive spirit.
The stats are extremely important because the are the best measures, but how many times has a great player statistically flop. Conversely, many times players who are not drafted go on to have great careers.
Not an exact science to be sure. This group could be really good for us. At least right now, I am holding out hope.
This staff is confident and it is evident they have a great plan.
 
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