What does Flores know about Raekwon Davis that we don't? | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

What does Flores know about Raekwon Davis that we don't?

We average fans can only see the mocks and watch the games, and I doubt many of us have watched enough games to base our feelings on players on anything but mocks and predraft ratings. The reason we hear the words “coaches know more than us...” is that the coach’s have scouts working for them, who’s job has them finding out details that the rest of us will never know. Maybe a player is perfect for everything they want, and has a love for football and clicks with the coaches, and he’s the number 5 rated guy on most draft boards, but 1-4 like to party a little more and like to borrow money from friends and never pay it back, etc. maybe just maybe the coaches won’t draft any of those guys and want to draft number 5 before someone else. And then we fans see it as a reach, but the coaches see it as a steal.
 
Lovethefish said:
Well with regards to Center1 - I think there is a fair consensus and it’s just my opinion that it was Ruiz.

Beyond this, I mean this a fan forum no?
So basically it’s just my opinion which is worth absolutely ZILCH/ NADA. We are just shooting the sh-t and I would’ve attacked the board differently.
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You have to take into consideration scheme fits as well. Multiple other things. Also, Boyer has proven himself in the nfl. If Boyer tells me that player FS3 is better than FS1 that some tv personality ranked, I’m going to go with Boyer on this.
I understand where you’re coming from though. For months the internet and tv have been shoving player rankings in our face and we’ve been groomed to see them that way. Draft comes along and it didn’t quite fall the way they were ranked.
As I said in another post. Centers aren’t premium like OTs. C is an important role no doubt. But Tackles are harder to come by. I loved Ruiz, in fact I’m annoyed this is the second draft in a row that New Orleans has taken the best C right before us. Well last year we traded them our second which they used for McCoy.
 
Wildbill3 said:
We average fans can only see the mocks and watch the games, and I doubt many of us have watched enough games to base our feelings on players on anything but mocks and predraft ratings. The reason we hear the words “coaches know more than us...” is that the coach’s have scouts working for them, who’s job has them finding out details that the rest of us will never know. Maybe a player is perfect for everything they want, and has a love for football and clicks with the coaches, and he’s the number 5 rated guy on most draft boards, but 1-4 like to party a little more and like to borrow money from friends and never pay it back, etc. maybe just maybe the coaches won’t draft any of those guys and want to draft number 5 before someone else. And then we fans see it as a reach, but the coaches see it as a steal.
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I agree - and again most of this is just for fun and speculation- my point was and remains- I would’ve preferred a draft class that looked like : Ruiz, Swift, Dlpit and then interior OL such as Driscoll Peart Jones Charles Bredeson.
 
j-off-her-doll said:
Good way to put it, CK. Think it was Renner that said he would have been a Top 10 pick 20 years ago, because he's so good at eating up blockers and stuffing the run.

For most D's, the value of that has fallen off considerably, but for a team that wants to play 6 or 7 DB's 90% of the time, you need to counterbalance the size you're yielding in the back 7. His ability to eat up blockers should also be helpful on stunts and blitzes, so while I don't see much upside for him as a Pass Rusher (especially compared to guys like Jordan Elliott), he projects to contribute to the team's pass rush.

After Brown, Davis is probably the hardest DT to move off his spot in the class. For this reason, I see him as a pretty safe projection. Take Kinlaw, who a lot of people wanted, as a point of contrast. While he obviously shows more burst through the line, and despite weighing about 15 lbs more than Davis, he has a ton of plays (a ton!) where OL either drive him 10 yards off the ball or bury him in the dirt. That's a problem, especially for teams like Miami and NE. I try to make my boards specific to Miami and what they're doing, but I think I'm still leaning too far toward general NFL trends and not enough toward what Miami needs/wants from its players.
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I fall in the same trap with the type of players/skills i look for and prefer in positions vs what Miami coaches might.....the Kindley pick being a perfect example.
 
Part of Flores excitement may have been they were not expecting to go defense there. I think JK probably woulda been the pick had he not gone right before us. Flo as a defensive minded guy may have been pleasantly surprised to get some defensive help there
 
From what I've read, it sounds like Davis has some maturity issues. Needs to grow up a bit. Maybe those with more knowledge can chime in on that.

The talent is pretty obvious and I'm sure Flores feels he can get the best out of him. As others have said, it's more than just the stat sheet in terms of what he does.
 
I think that Davis is coming here primarily to stuff the run. He's a very big man (6'7" 313 lbs, huge 81" wingspan, huge hands) and he comes into the D-line rotation with Wilkins and Godchaux with Ogbah and Lawson now setting the edge. Flores wants opposing teams to be forced to throw the ball against our expected good athletic, competitive CBs (Byron Jones, Xavien Howard, Noah Igbinoghene, etc). Remember Flores spent 3 years in the Patriots organization as a scout before getting the opportunity to get into coaching and he was probably a pretty good scout because he got promoted and Belichick is not an easy guy to please. Note, in the Patriots organization he was definitely taught by Belichick to evaluate players to fit specific needs (as was our Assistant GM, Marvin Allen). My hunch is that Raekwon Davis fits a specific need for Miami and Flores knows it. Coach Flo wasn't just hamming it up for the camera, that he really liked the pick - he genuinely wanted this player.
Yes, I'm concerned that Pachyderm (such a massive Alabama fan) doesn't rate Davis as a DT, but I expect that Miami knows precisely what they are doing. He's coming here primarily to stuff the run - he takes up a lot of space and he tackles well.
 
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mmikel30 said:
Say what you feel man ,,,it was a **** pick but not as bad as the Robert Hunt pick
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I wouldn’t put it that Way, but I do agree that those two players were not players I would of chosen..hope to hell I’m wrong.

Its weird, with Hunt I just don’t see it, maybe at guard..This player just has me perplexed, so it might be one of those where I have blind spot on..

with Davis, I don’t see enough quick twitch in his body to get me excited about the 2nd round value.
 
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j-off-her-doll said:
Good way to put it, CK. Think it was Renner that said he would have been a Top 10 pick 20 years ago, because he's so good at eating up blockers and stuffing the run.

For most D's, the value of that has fallen off considerably, but for a team that wants to play 6 or 7 DB's 90% of the time, you need to counterbalance the size you're yielding in the back 7. His ability to eat up blockers should also be helpful on stunts and blitzes, so while I don't see much upside for him as a Pass Rusher (especially compared to guys like Jordan Elliott), he projects to contribute to the team's pass rush.

After Brown, Davis is probably the hardest DT to move off his spot in the class. For this reason, I see him as a pretty safe projection. Take Kinlaw, who a lot of people wanted, as a point of contrast. While he obviously shows more burst through the line, and despite weighing about 15 lbs more than Davis, he has a ton of plays (a ton!) where OL either drive him 10 yards off the ball or bury him in the dirt. That's a problem, especially for teams like Miami and NE. I try to make my boards specific to Miami and what they're doing, but I think I'm still leaning too far toward general NFL trends and not enough toward what Miami needs/wants from its players.
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Yeah I can see that role, eating up double teams, holding his ground, I wish he had more batted balls, but like you I don’t see pass rush explosiveness..

you think he was worth that slot in the draft J ?
 
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I was fine with the Hunt pick, especially if he can play OT.

Davis surprised me too.

I would have gone S(Chinn) at that spot and addressed DL at the top of R 3.

Davis might well have been there at 70 as well as several other DT prospects.
 
Two things bothered me about him.

One, his play seemed to decline over his time at Alabama.
Two, he seems too tall for a NT.

We will see how he does. He does anchor well and has good lateral movement. He should be a force against the run and we need that. Not sure he will be a three down player.
 
I would feel better about Davis if he had not played at Alabama.

Bama is known for getting the most out of their players and that most of their guys are maxed out by the time the enter the NFL.

I can't think of too many Saban coached guys who blossomed at the next level, he is getting the best of the best recruits and then he is coaching the crap out of them.

It is unlikely that Miami can find a way to get more out of Davis than the Bama coaching staff did.

But maybe they think Bama was using him incorrectly and they see him doing well in a specific role they have in mind?

I sure hope so.
 
jimthefin said:
I would feel better about Davis if he had not played at Alabama.

Bama is known for getting the most out of their players and that most of their guys are maxed out by the time the enter the NFL.

I can't think of too many Saban coached guys who blossomed at the next level, he is getting the best of the best recruits and then he is coaching the crap out of them.

It is unlikely that Miami can find a way to get more out of Davis than the Bama coaching staff did.

But maybe they think Bama was using him incorrectly and they see him doing well in a specific role they have in mind?

I sure hope so.
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Julio Jones has played pretty well in the NFL.
 
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