Tuesday, July 21, 2009

What Are You Waiting For?

We all know by now that Miami’s training camp practices start on the 2nd of August. There are several teams starting camp after we do, but we are the last AFC East team to get things rolling.

Team / First Practice

Buffalo / July 25th

N.E. / July 30th

N.Y. Jets / July 31st

Miami / Aug. 2nd

There’s a couple of things of interest here. First, we’ll get to see a full week of Buffalo’s failure before we turn our heads to Miami. Be prepared for an onslaught of T.O. on NFL Network and ESPN.

But the really interesting thing about these dates is linked to the signing of the rookie class.

Team / Signings

Buffalo / 2 of 8

N.E. / 8 of 12

N.Y. Jets / 3 of 3

Miami / 5 of 9

Yep, that’s right, Buffalo starts practicing in less than 4 days and they have only signed two of their draft picks, a 6th rounder and a 7th rounder, both cornerbacks. They both got 4 year deals. Meanwhile, they also drafted a cornerback in the 2nd round. Why they haven’t come to terms with their other late round picks at this juncture is beyond me, but it seems to me they’re too busy trying to book games in foreign countries or trying to find T.O. a house.

14 comments:

  1. Our signing 5 of 9 is not horrible, but I'm concerned about the ones we've yet to sign! This years draftees seem to be having more trouble establishing value than in years past, and I suspect there's at least a bit of blamed to be placed on the pending CBA battle. I know we're gonna eventually get everyone signed, but how about a poll for who's most likely to hold out? I bet a certain 3rd person speaker wins by a landslide :)

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  2. I think Omar has blocked me from posting on SS!! that little weasley prick.  Preditor looking midget! All I did was call him out for not posting anything new in weeks.  I didn't even use harsh language.  Well Screw them.  Tins fins is a much better site anyway. 

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  3. Ironically I'm having major internet issues at work today, so i can't access
    my own site, but one of the handful of site that IS working, albeit slowly,
    is the SS.

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  4. How the hell did the Pats get 12 picks?  Man, isn't it time for Bellichick to retire? 

    BTW, Tin, how about starting up a new post about our schedule, and people's predictions?

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  5. Guess you didn't watch the draft. They made a trade about every 5 minutes.
    They could have had more but they traded some away.
    I already did a preliminary blog on the schedule, check the archives (I'd
    find the link for you but I can't access the site right now). I will do
    more indepth looks starting after the pre-season, since we really don't know
    how the teams are going to look until then.

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  6. I doubt you're blocked Rockphin, it's probably technical issues. Omar isn't into that game....just Armando Salguero. I thought I was blocked once or twice too, and have also had posts dissappear, but mostly I think it was technical stuff.

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  7. The Knight who says Ni!July 21, 2009 at 12:37 PM

    The thing I'm most excited about this year is the running game. The OL should be better and more physical and with Ronnie and Ricky we're going to be tough to stop. That part of the game alone can improve this team immensely. It controls the clock, opens up the passing game especially play-action, wears down opposing defenses and keeps our defense fresh. 

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  8. Hey Knight,

    I tend to agree with you on RB this season, and I'm starting my annual struggle of extricating my blind optimism for the fins from my fantasy draft strategy.

    Obviously with an ADP of 41, RB is a 3rd or 4th Rounder in most early fantasy drafts, and the experts are split on him at best. The one argument that his detractors use that I can't find too much argument against is the fact that his touches weren't really there last year (with RW taking lots of them), and this year maybe an issue if P. White leaches some of his WC snaps.

    What's your (objective if you could) opinion on this issue?

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  9. The Knight who says Ni!July 22, 2009 at 1:17 PM

    Jahndoh, first off I don't follow the experts because the present season projection based on last year's performance is usually inaccurate. I only use the rankings for consistency but predicting a good year from a player is up to you. 

    I see no reason Ronnie can't duplicate or surpass what he was doing in 2007 before the knee injury. Would I be shocked if he rushed for 1,400 -1,500 yards and had 400-500 yards receiving and 15 combined TDs? Nope!

    Could he end up only rushing for 1,000 -1,200, 300-350 receiving and finish with just 9 combined TDs? Sure! There are a lot of factors to account for. I say Ronnie at the least, will be somewhere between the two scenarios I listed.

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  10. I'll go one step further than that and say Ronnie will rush for more than
    1100 yards and in 2010 the media will be questioning whether or not he's an
    'elite' back and if he should be resigned or traded (if he's extended).
    They love to compare everyone as if they are competing in a track and field
    event, rather than a team sport. They like to point out that he's not as
    prolific as Adrian Peterson, but fail to notice there's less than a handful
    of these 1500+ yd rushers in the league. So what makes them think getting
    rid of Ronnie would get us a Steven Jackson in return?
    In any event, I'm no fantasy-expert but don't you get to have 2 active RBs?
    You could put one of the 'elite' guys as your first pick and Ronnie as your
    second so if you don't get your first pick you'll still have Ronnie. The
    only good thing I did last year in my only attempt at fantasy was to draft
    steve slaton. No one else saw that coming, including the experts, so who's
    to say which running backs will blow up in 2009?

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  11. The Knight who says Ni!July 22, 2009 at 1:46 PM

    I agree 100%, Tin. Part of doing well in fantasy leagues is picking some sleepers and career years from guys. Some guys do it year in and year out and those are the guys who go early. I'm in a keeper league, we keep 4 at any position every year so we start our draft with the 41st best player available and go from there. All the elite players are protected so it's up to the owners to find the new gems.

    For instance in 2006 I drafted Frank Gore in the 6th round and he rushed for 1,695 yards, caught 61 passes for 485 yards but only scored 9 combined TDs 8/1. Very good year, still not elite for fantasy. But that was great value for me and he's become a protected player. This might be the last year I do protect him.

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  12. You do need to play 2 RBs Tin, but I don't draft RBs as 1s and 2s...I (and the vast majority of fantasy owners out there) tend to draft RBs with my first 2 picks. This is where the dilemna for me begins. If Ronnie is 41 ADP (average draft position), then in most 10 team leagues he's going in the 4th round. To pick him as one of my 2 top backs would mean taking him 2 rounds early. I might adjust my strategy however and get a top RB in the first and then a top QB in the 2nd if I think RB deserves a 3rd rounder......the danger would be him going BEFORE I pick in that round and then I'm short one starting RB....If I take 2 RBs before the 3rd though...I'd pretty much have to be drafting QB or WR in the next two rounds.

    Anyway...Fantasy strategy aside, I'm curious if you guys think his TOUCHES will be more or less than last year, and what effect P. White will have in that area!

    Obviously I have my own opinions, but I value yours (plural).

    Cheers fellas.

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  13. I expect him to average 16 carries a game. Some games he will get 20+, some
    he will only get 12. I think the whole point of the Dolphins strategy is to
    have a different strategy every week. :)

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  14. The Knight who says Ni!July 22, 2009 at 4:37 PM

    I expect Ronnie to get between 275-300 rushes this year and between 35-50 receptions. On average that would be 330 touches for a 20.625 average per game. That's a good amount without grinding him into the ground.

    Ricky should get about the same as he did last year and I don't think Pat White will take away carries from Ronnie but add to the team total in rushing. We ran the ball 448 times last year for an average of 28 per game. I know Sparano would like to add 5-6 more carries per game and that would be in the neighborhood of 88 more rushes for the season. So that's where I see White adding not taking away at the same time Ronnie gets even more carries.

    Jahndoh, to me Ronnie is one of those guys you take a chance on because I think he has a monster season in him. Maybe a couple of them before his career is over which isn't going to be for another 5-6 years at the least in my opinion.

    After that great season LT had in 2006 with 31 TD, did anyone think he'd come close to that the next year? I didn't and he didn't come close, especially in TDs. In fact his numbers have steadily gone down since 2006 as he enters his 9th season. All those touches are catching up with him. Ronnie still has a lot left in the tank heading into his 5th season. His best seasons are ahead of him.

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