2016 Miami Dolphins thread

[Daniel]

20 minutes ago, Hi, I'm VALUE! said:

So much this.  And here I came on to talk about the draft tonight and hope springing eternal.  

Miami's 1st round pick in mocks has been all over the place.  Eli Apple, Jack Conklin, Ezekial Elliot, Myles Jack - all of which would be fine picks IMO so long as they can step in and make a difference NOW.

I get the feeling that if Elliot makes it back to #8 (passing the Cowboys and Jaguars), that Miami has some kind of tacit agreement with Cleveland to swap picks so they can take Elliot.  There's been so much smoke all off-season about the Dolphins bringing in another running back that I can't see them not going for Elliot if he's available, and they're not going to be able to wait for him to come to them (along with the Cowboys, both the Giants and Bears could have the strong interest, and there is a way in which this draft breaks where Jacksonville picks Elliot despite all logic).

After the first two picks, this is shaping up to be a wild draft.

I know CB is a position of need, and while I'm not really that much of an expert, team secondaries in the NFL strike me as being akin to MLB bullpens.  Virtually everyone's sucks, almost everyone's complaining about theirs, and they're performance is pretty volatile.  There's that, and it seems that cornerbacks taken in the first round, especially those taken by the Dolphins, turn out to pretty underwhelming pros.  

At this point, I'd rather the Dolphins start swinging for the fences.  I fully expect them to suck for the foreseeable future.  Might as well make draft day entertaining. 

[nmigliore]

I'd be mildly surprised if the Phins didn't trade up for Elliot, but if the Chargers surprise by taking Ramsey, I bet he's a Cowboy.

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

Miami takes Laremy Tunsil.  

Interesting.

I wonder if they kick JuWann James inside to right guard trying to get the best five linemen on the field.

[Daniel]

13 minutes ago, Hi, I'm VALUE! said:

Miami takes Laremy Tunsil.  

Interesting.

I wonder if they kick JuWann James inside to right guard trying to get the best five linemen on the field.

I figure you HAVE to do that. 

And I was hoping that at least the draft was interesting, and I got my wish.  Tunsil is arguably the best player in the draft, and we got him at 13 after trading down for two starters. 

I'd be curious what his Wonderlic score was.  Wonderlic is pretty well correlated with IQ which is also correlated with things like impulse control and future time orientation.  So hopefully there's a score that indicates that Tunsil is aware that however much he wants to smoke weed, that it will cost him a lot of money to do it for the next five to ten years.  We'll see.

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

There's rumors flying all around that Miami will either cut Albert or move Tunsil to guard.

While I can understand the appeal of cutting Albert (frees up 8 million in cap space, Albert is oft-injured) I think we should endeavor to keep Albert in town at least for one more year, even if he ends up at right guard.  Pass rushers come from both sides now, so having one of Albert or Tunsil at one tackle and the other at the other tackle may allow Tannehill the time he needs to show us if he's going to take a step forward.  Plus, between JuWann James, Kraig Urbik, Billty Turner, Dallas Thomas, and Bushrod, you most likely can fill the two guard spots at an upgraded level (remember James graded out as an RT because he was a much better run blocker).  ANd with Tunsil on deck, if Albert is injured again Miami can shift Tunsil and James around and hopefully not lose a beat.

I would love to see Miami come in with the Offensive Line depth chart looking like this:

Center: Pouncey
LT: All other names
LG: All Other Names
RT: All other names
RG: All other names

...and let the players all try all positions, and let the best four guys start alongside Pouncey.  That might solve the OL problems they've been having.

[Daniel]

36 minutes ago, Hi, I'm VALUE! said:

There's rumors flying all around that Miami will either cut Albert or move Tunsil to guard.

While I can understand the appeal of cutting Albert (frees up 8 million in cap space, Albert is oft-injured) I think we should endeavor to keep Albert in town at least for one more year, even if he ends up at right guard.  Pass rushers come from both sides now, so having one of Albert or Tunsil at one tackle and the other at the other tackle may allow Tannehill the time he needs to show us if he's going to take a step forward.  Plus, between JuWann James, Kraig Urbik, Billty Turner, Dallas Thomas, and Bushrod, you most likely can fill the two guard spots at an upgraded level (remember James graded out as an RT because he was a much better run blocker).  ANd with Tunsil on deck, if Albert is injured again Miami can shift Tunsil and James around and hopefully not lose a beat.

I would love to see Miami come in with the Offensive Line depth chart looking like this:

Center: Pouncey
LT: All other names
LG: All Other Names
RT: All other names
RG: All other names

...and let the players all try all positions, and let the best four guys start alongside Pouncey.  That might solve the OL problems they've been having.

There's no reason to cut Albert for this season.  He's actually a good lineman when he plays and the team doesn't need the cap space so far as I can tell.  And evidently, Tunsil can play at every position on the O-line. 

['7']

Barring something crazy and unforseen the Dolphins got a Pro Bowler/All Pro at his position for the next decade. I was hoping he'd keep slipping or the Jets would try to jump up to grab him but alas it wasnt to be. You cant not like this pick. He has zero negatives to his game. 

[Daniel]

8 minutes ago, '7' said:

Barring something crazy and unforseen the Dolphins got a Pro Bowler/All Pro at his position for the next decade. I was hoping he'd keep slipping or the Jets would try to jump up to grab him but alas it wasnt to be. You cant not like this pick. He has zero negatives to his game. 

If it works out, it might also be a sign that the rain cloud that seems to follow the Dolphins everywhere might be breaking up.  They got completely burned by the extracurricular stuff with Dion Jordan (although he may still yet come back and be a productive player who can at least be trotted out to match up against Gronkowski if he can't do anything else).   A lot of people commented that this is a pick the Dolphins don't make if Philbin is still the head coach. 

[MadDog2020]

We're not cutting Albert, that's laughable. This pick creates options on the O-line. Albert can kick inside if need be.

[MadDog2020]

Barring something crazy and unforseen the Dolphins got a Pro Bowler/All Pro at his position for the next decade. I was hoping he'd keep slipping or the Jets would try to jump up to grab him but alas it wasnt to be. You cant not like this pick. He has zero negatives to his game. 

Jets tried to trade up for him: http://m.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-trade-laremy-tunsil-nfl-draft-article-1.2618611?cid=bitly&utm_content=buffer47eec&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=mmehta+twitter

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

Day 2 should be an interesting day for Miami.

Miami picks at 42 and 73, and the pick at 42 is interesting.

I would imagine Myles Jack is in play if he makes it there, and it may make sense to trade up to get there if they like Jack enough (Miami claims that they are not concerned about Jack's medicals).  I can also see RB Derrick Henry,RB Kenneth Dixon, CB Mackensie Alexander, EDGE Noah Spence, and EDGE Kevin Dodd all being in play at 42.  On 73, I'd love for Miami to speculate on Jack or Jaylon Smith if either is sitll on the board, or maybe LB Su’a Cravens or G Christian Westerman.

1 minute ago, MadDog2020 said:

We're not cutting Albert, that's laughable. This pick creates options on the O-line. Albert can kick inside if need be.

This.

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

For the lulz:

[MadDog2020]

For the lulz:

Lmfao

[MadDog2020]

Really good read here: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15425255/root-laremy-tunsil-miami-dolphins-handled-bong-video-twitter-instagram-grown-nfl-draft-2016

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

Miami did a lot of moving in this draft.

Miami swapped 2nd rounders with Baltimore, giving up tomorrow's 4th.

They also moved up to Minnesota's spot by trading their 6th rounder and next year's 3rd and 4th (!!!).  

The players they got today are as follows:

Pick 38: CB Xavien Howard - another big corner who's good on the press but who's overall man coverage technique needs help and who is prone to PI penalties.
Pick 73: RB Kenyan Drake - scatback/special teamer who will spell Ajayi when needed
Pick 86: WR Leonte Carroo - NFL-sized WR with sure hands and who needs to improve his route-running.

I think all they have left now is a 5th rounder tomorrow, which is kinda depressing but not unlike the Tannenbaum of old.  I'm also shocked that Miami took another receiver when they have more pressing needs at LB and perhaps CB - Kyler Fackrell in particular could have been a player to fill a position of need for Miami.

[MadDog2020]

LOVE that Carroo pick. Love it. Plus he's a local kid from Edison. Played his HS ball at Bosco.

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

Chris Culliver was recently released by the Washington Redskins, most likely due to medicals.

I'm not sure what state he's in - he tore both ACL and MCL in November - but as talent goes, he's got potential, is still only 27, and was likely playing through knee issues all last year.  Maybe he'll accept a 2 year deal with year 1 being a low-salary redshirt year and year 2 being a prove-it incentive-based deal?  He's not particularly big (6', 199 lbs per Rotoworld), but he's had experience in successful defensive alignments with San Francisco and could be a valuable depth piece at the worst.

I kind of felt similar about Matt Slauson, who was a competent guard before Chicago released him, but there's already two teams lined up to pay this man, so he may be out of Miami's price range.  

[MadDog2020]

Cam Wake signed a two-year extension that lowers his cap number this year and guarantees him $10 million. Good job by the FO here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2016/05/cameron-wakes-gets-extension-from-miami-dolphins.html

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

This is truly the dead time for NFL news, and the Dolphins are no exception.

Aside from the coaches talking up Miami's players (particularly Wake, Ajayi, Stills, Maxwell, and the rookie 3DRB who's name I can't remember right now), the only notable Dolphin line of news is that Reshad Jones wants a new contract with 10/11 million annually, which would make him one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL (currently that is the 10.8 million franchise tag for Eric Berry).  He's willing to skip the whole offseason in order to get what he wants.  He's already the highest paid SS in the NFL, but he wants to be paid FS money.

I mean, it's not like he hasn't been good for a long time.  I just don't think this is the year for it, the cap is probably up against it this year.

[Daniel]

24 minutes ago, Hi, I'm VALUE! said:

This is truly the dead time for NFL news, and the Dolphins are no exception.

Aside from the coaches talking up Miami's players (particularly Wake, Ajayi, Stills, Maxwell, and the rookie 3DRB who's name I can't remember right now), the only notable Dolphin line of news is that Reshad Jones wants a new contract with 10/11 million annually, which would make him one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL (currently that is the 10.8 million franchise tag for Eric Berry).  He's willing to skip the whole offseason in order to get what he wants.  He's already the highest paid SS in the NFL, but he wants to be paid FS money.

I mean, it's not like he hasn't been good for a long time.  I just don't think this is the year for it, the cap is probably up against it this year.

The other thing to mention is Dion Jordan's application for reinstatement.  It should be granted, and I think the Dolphins would be well served to give him another chance.  The money isn't an issue, and he's still a freak athletically, so maybe he really could be something like the comeback player of the year. 

Color me cautiously optimistic about the season.  Two things that have killed the team in the past three years, poor coaching and a bad offensive line seem to be much improved, although with the coaching you won't know until the season starts.  I think Vernon will not be as missed as some people think, and Mario Williams will at least want to impress for the sake of earning more money down the road.  Not to mention that we should be getting a game against the Patriots sans Brady.

Of course, it'll ultimately come down to Tannehill. 

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

Reshad Jones' holdout lasted 1 day.  He was back in minicamp on Day 2.

Also, I hope Jordan has something in the tank - if he's a useful pass rusher, now you have Suh, Jordan, and Williams on the line for passing downs and you're probably not blocking all 3.  

[Hi, I'm VALUE!]

It's still minicamp, and there's still plenty of practice to be had, but it concerns me that through OTAs and minicamp neither Laremy Tunsil nor Jerome Bushrod could distinguish themselves from Dallas Thomas and Billy Turner at the guard spots.

I understand both are still learning their positions (and in Tunsil's case, as a rookie he gets a little more leash IMO) but if Thomas and Turner win the starting guard positions, they better be MILES better than they were last year, or the same line problems the Dolphins had will happen again, and probably worse since Ajayi is probably a drop-off from Miller in terms of talent.

[Daniel]

14 minutes ago, Hi, I'm VALUE! said:

It's still minicamp, and there's still plenty of practice to be had, but it concerns me that through OTAs and minicamp neither Laremy Tunsil nor Jerome Bushrod could distinguish themselves from Dallas Thomas and Billy Turner at the guard spots.

I understand both are still learning their positions (and in Tunsil's case, as a rookie he gets a little more leash IMO) but if Thomas and Turner win the starting guard positions, they better be MILES better than they were last year, or the same line problems the Dolphins had will happen again, and probably worse since Ajayi is probably a drop-off from Miller in terms of talent.

Not that worried about Tunsil.  I think I might have read something somewhere that rookies, especially when it's a new position like it is for Tunsil, tend to get put on the second team at the start of the offseason workouts. 

The key upgrade I think we have, or better have, is at head coach. 

[MadDog2020]

Who cares about minicamp? Now you're just worrying about sh!t for the sake of worrying.

Also: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000674332/article/tom-bradys-appeals-petition-denied-remains-suspended[emoji23][emoji23]


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[MadDog2020]

Fins signed Arian Foster... I give him three practices before the inevitable season ending injury.


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