Friday, January 15, 2010

2010 Draft – Tinshaker’s Top 10 by Position Projections - SAFETY

For the purposes of the Dolphins, I have focused almost exclusively on Free Safeties below as I feel between Yeremiah Bell, Tyrone Culver and Gibril Wilson, we're quite stacked at the Strong Safety position (and yes, the Dolphins really have no choice but to move Wilson to Strong Safety - perhaps working Culver exclusively at free in the offseason).

The Trifecta seems to like safeties in the 6', 200 lbs range but that doesn't mean they won't choose someone bigger if they move just as well in space and have speed and sound tackling because there's quite a few big boys in this year's draft.


54 comments:

  1. The Knight who says Ni!January 15, 2010 at 11:58 AM

    Earl Thomas could go top 15. He plays the ball better than Mays who I think ends up at LB in the NFL

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  2. Nice picks Tin.. I would have had the same list EXCEPT I would have put in Brad Phillips from Northwestern instead of Major Wright.  Phillips is slower and not big on INTs but I think he is very solid overall.. a tackling machine at that.

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  3. Knight, I'd bet you good money that Seattle drafts Taylor Mays with either
    their 6th pick or their 14th.

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  4. That's funny, Cap, I think I had Phillips pegged last year...but after I
    posted the list accidentally (I wasn't sure about it and wanted to wait but
    the blog ripped it out of my hands when I wasn't looking) the first thing I
    did was think of 2 or 3 players I wanted to put ahead of Major Wright. But
    then I thought, if something is Major Wright, how can it be Wrong?

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  5. The Knight who says Ni!January 15, 2010 at 12:35 PM

    I'm not saying Mays won't go early or before Thomas, I'm just saying I think Thomas is a better fit for us. Mays could end up being another Laron Landry who has not lived up to his hype in Washington. He plays reckless similar to Mays and gets beat because of it.

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  6. The Knight who says Ni!January 15, 2010 at 12:39 PM

    How many 6-3 230 lb. safeties can you name playing in the NFL? There aren't many. It doesn't seem to work anymore. The reason William Moore won the starting job in Atlanta is because they had no one else.  :-P

    Does Robert Johnson from Utah also play the blues?  8-)

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  7. Well since you put it like that... LOL

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  8. Come on Knight.. I admit Mays didn't have the greatest year last yr but it's not like he's uncoachable.  And one thing you can't teach is that size and speed.  Mays will be a force in the NFL and isn't as overrated and some claim him to be.

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  9. The Knight who says Ni!January 15, 2010 at 12:50 PM

    Cap, I don't think Mays ever progressed. I liked him last year and he didn't get better. Those big safeties scare me. They're not a common thing in the NFL for a reason. Teams have gone away from them.

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  10. As a former big free safety I take offense to all this putting down of big
    free safeties...hmmpph!!

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  11. Knight, well I can't reasonably argue with that one except to say that maybe they have shied away from the big safety due to speed concerns and the success of that darn Cover 2 and Zone blitzes where big safeties just weren't fast enough.  The thing with Mays is that he IS fast enough.. plenty fast enough.

    And as in stats.. no he didn't get better but I do believe he learned more and that experience is going to help him in the NFL.  If the Phins get him you'll be singing "Halleujah it's raining Mays!" in no time lol.

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  12. Or he could be saying, "Mays Day! Mays Day! Houston, we have a problem!"

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  13. BTW.. off topic but I had a feeling Butler wasn't going to come.. he is in love with Pitt.. if Whisenhunt couldn't get him then the Phins surely had an uphill battle.  Oh well.. third time's the charm right? I still think Clarence Brooks from the Ravens would be good tho.

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  14. I may not be qualified, but I am available...

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  15. I'm not qualified either but I thought I saw Sparano in Publix one time so technically I would be hired before you would.

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  16. Hey I've been to Publix too, ya know!
    And this friendship bracelet that Bill Parcells made for me pretty much says
    it all!

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  17. The Knight who says Ni!January 15, 2010 at 2:33 PM

    Tin, don't take offense. You just don't see a lot of 6-3 230 safeties in the NFL. I think it's because of the passing game being so prominent in the NFL. How many times have the Phins who have run stopping safeties, stopped a team rushing on 1st and 2nd down only to allow the 1st down on 3rd down on a pass play? A lot! What's the point in that?

    It's good to stop the run and to run the ball, but you have to stop the pass and be able to pass to win in this league. I would say most of those big safeties are at a disadvantage against most WRs. Back in the day when running the ball and stopping the run was the way to go, those safeties were in demand. Not so much anymore.

    That's why I think Earl Thomas fits today's game better and we could use a ball hawking cover safety which he is. We can stop the run well enough, we need a lot of help against the pass.

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  18. The Knight who says Ni!January 15, 2010 at 2:40 PM

    LOL @ Cap

    Regarding Mays, no I won't. I'll hope for the best and root for him but I won't be thrilled with the pick. I don't think he's what we need at safety. Earl Thomas is though.

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  19. The Knight who says Ni!January 15, 2010 at 5:42 PM

    To me there are 3 types of safeties and very few have all three criteria.

    1. The ball hawk who always seems to find the ball and makes enough big plays to overcome getting beat from time to time which happens. (Ed Reed and Darren Sharper)
    2. The big hitter, the guy who dislodges the ball from the ball carrier and changes games that way. (Steve Atwater)
    3. The smart guy who plays the scheme well and is always where he's suppose to be, and it's not always about superior talent as it is doing your job. (Glenn Blackwood)

    You guys like that last one? LOL

    Sean Taylor is the last great Safety who had all three in my opinion. RIP

    I remember watching him when he played for UM and thought, this guy is always wherever the ball is. How does he cover that much ground and make so many big plays? He took that to the pros. He was a great talent at Safety. Very sad story.

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  20. The Knight who says Ni!January 15, 2010 at 5:52 PM

    Ooops! Add Troy Polamula with Sean Taylor.  :-E

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  21. The Knight who says Ni!January 15, 2010 at 6:04 PM

    Tin, what do you feel about Chris Clemons' potential and what you've seen from him? How do you compare him to this year's class?

    I've seen an aggressive player who's a little overwhelmed at the moment. Not a bad thing for a rookie. These guys are usually better after they have a year under their belts. Conditioning from college to the NFL, scheme and chemistry.

    6-0 208 and a sub 4.4 guy who's aggressive and looks for contact has the makings of a good safety in my book. He has to find his game.

    Could the Dolphins run with 5 safeties and 5 corners? Bell, Wilson, Clemons, Culver, rookie, Davis, Smith, W. Allen, Jones and ? Sorry i think Jason Allen is out. Sparano wants position potential and J. Allen can't seem to lock one down.

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  22. Caught that Ireland interview and Jason Allen was mentioned.  He basically said he is great in his role, but his draft position (contract) doesn't match it.   Jason Allen is a goner.

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  23. Mays is fast but this year he wanted to be converted to SS, Thats basically what he did and Im wondering why(maybe just likes to hit people)? We need a ball hawk and he's never been that.

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  24. Knight I totally agree. Taylor was a horrible tragedy.

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  25. I'm not al lover of those guys they say can play both positions.  That sometime means in NFL talk that they can't do either well enough to be a starter,  I would hope we can find a guy that can cover the field as a center fielder does as in baseball.

    We may have someone on the team that can actually do that at this time.  It's a little hard to tell when the safties are making tackles the line backers should be making.  Therefore causing them to be out of position and not able stay back on the deep passes as they were this whole year.

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  26. IFF AVAILABLE,I'd PERSONALLY take BERRY @ 12 IFFF McCLAIN's gone!!
    Otherwise,I'd like to trade down for anyone else Spikes/ILBs , Cody/NTs , LaFell/Bryant/WRs, Thomas/Safties...

    GO CHARGERS!! :)

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  27. TEST!!  Can't find my avatar..

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  28. Tin,

    Just curious if the 3rd round grade you gave Robert Johnson was based on other draft boards or just a personal ranking.  I haven't seen his name mentioned anywhere else to date.  I'm hoping he somehow stays off the radar and slips to the fifth round or later.  I'd be thrilled if the Fins could pick him up.  The coaches and players on Utah all rave about him.  Great centerfielder, film room junkie, excellent ball skills, solid tackler, and like Knight said, he is a blues legend.

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  29. The Knight who says Ni!January 17, 2010 at 8:41 AM

    I saw this on the Miami Herald. I don't know much about this ProFootball Focus group, but what are they smoking?

    "Ammunition for Joey Porter critics: ProFootballFocus ranked Porter's 2009 performance 62nd among 68 outside linebackers in a 3-4 defense, behind former Dolphin Matt Roth of Cleveland (seventh) and Jason Taylor (eighth). Porter's name drew a roll of the eyes from a Dolphins executive, and his future here remains in doubt."

    Really? Matt Roth was the 7th best OLB in the NFL in 2009? LMFAO! Oh please! Joey Porter 62? Yeah okay. Sorry, Roth has never been that good and just because he had a few good games for Cleveland doesn't mean he's all of a sudden borderline pro bowl. I watched all the Dolphins games this year and JT was not that much better than Porter from what I saw, though he was better. Roth better than JT? LMFAO!

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  30. I think we can put Ed Reed on that short list as well.

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  31. drg, you are right about Johnson's 'centerfielder' attributes. He is not
    afraid to go up for the ball or to break up the pass. Obviously the
    Dolphins are aware of him since they recruited Sean Smith last year.
    I think he goes in the 3rd round because of the number of safeties likely to
    be chosen ahead of him. I still think Mays goes 1st round, and four or five
    safeties go before Johnson. Of course, defensive backs get a huge push from
    the workouts/combine due to speed/hips being so important so it's hard to
    project.

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  32. Knight, I like Clemons, always have, but like you said, he did look
    overwhelmed at times. Still, he didn't look nearly as bad as Gibril
    Wilson. But I still think Jason Allen is the best 'centerfielder' on the
    team, so what do I know?

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  33. Yeah, definitely hard to project this early.  Two other Utah guys to keep an eye on.  Sylvester Stevenson (OLB) and David Reed (WR).  Stevenson is a 4 year starter that is always around the ball and making plays.  Reed should be a good return man in the NFL and has good hands and speed.  Either one of those guys in the late rounds would be a good pickup.

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  34. This is unwatchable.  The yets in the AFC championship game?  As if their fans weren't insufferable enough...

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  35. Probably the worst team to ever reach the AFC Championship game. They won tonight because the opposing kicker seemed to be obviously drunk. Apart from that, they only reached the playoffs because their final two opponents rested their starters and played without any balls...

    Anyway, somehow they got into this game even if I/we don't like it. So let's root for Payton Manning to just do what he always seems to do (win games)...

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  36. NOWWWW the COLTS STARTERS can prove that the SWEPTS
    shouldn't have had an extended season to begin with!!!  

    IFFF the COLTS lose,it serves'em right!!

    HATE TO, but GOTTA give the airplanes SOME CREDIT,
    they've become a pretty damn good team the last couple weeks!!
    But AGAIN they shouldn't have had the extra couple of weeks to get better to begin with!!

    STUPIDAZZZ KAEDING!!

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  37. The Knight who says Ni!January 18, 2010 at 6:08 AM

    Ed Reed is on it. He's listed under #1.

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  38. The worst part was watching Rex Ryan frantically yelling to 'go for it' on
    the 4th down, yet having to be told afterwards that they should run down the
    playclock and take a time out. He doesn't know what he's doing and
    definitely doesn't deserve to be there.
    2nd worst part, Sanchez acting like a 5 year old after the knee to run out
    the clock at the end. Newsflash, bozo, you don't jump up and down and wave
    your arms to the AWAY crowd! I bet all the Jets fans in San Diego
    appreciated it...lol.
    So, needless to say, we are all rooting for the Colts next week?

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  39. The Knight who says Ni!January 18, 2010 at 7:40 AM

    I want the Colts to not just beat the Jets but to beat them badly. I can't handle another week of the media lovefest with the Jets.

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  40. There's no way the Jets and Dirty Sanchez will be able to survive against
    Manning. They cannot trade off quick scores and their blitz will be
    nullified by Indy's read and react offense. Sanchez went 12 for 23 for 100
    yards and 1 TD 1 INT against the Chargers, and that was his best game in 3
    months LOL. Here's to the Jets getting 'trampled' by the Colts.

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  41. The Knight who says Ni!January 18, 2010 at 8:28 AM

    Cheers!

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  42. Right, but in my opinion he has all three. He has all three of those criteria down pat. He is by far the best FS in the game. Has been for awhile.

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  43. Tin,
    I love how all the media is taughting the "Taco" for being SOOOOO good. it makes me laugh every time. As you pointed out, the guy was 12/23 for 100 yds 1 TD and 1 INT. Yeah those numbers scream probowl. What a F'n joke.

    As for the Colts, they will beat down the Wets. I'm thinking 35-13.  I hope Jabba Rex has another crying fit. I mean how lucky can one shit team be? 5 missed FGs, by opposing teams, in two games, that is unreal.

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  44. The only credit I can give to the Wets, is the credit for Jabba increasing the bottom line of Dunkin Doughnuts. I mean gotten better? If by that you mean gotten LUCKY, ok I'll agree with that. This is the same team we swept and they got two end of season games that were meaningless, to back into the playoffs. Then played a beat up Cin team, where Ocho drops an easy TD. and the K misses 2 FGs. The Wets should have lost that game. Then they go to SD and the K misses 3 FGs, and the usually good SD WRs drop a bunch of passes. The Wets should have lost that game as well. They don't look any better, the are getting LUCKY breaks. If I didn't know any better, I would say the SD K got payed off. If he makes any one of those three FGs, I think SD wins. I can't give credit to a team, who are just lucky, not good. This week the Wets will get exposed, for what they really are, a mediocre team that has been unbelievabky lucky.

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  45. Wait till they start in their new stadium and there's no wind anymore.
    There goes homefield advantage.

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  46. One other note, during the game, Vincent Jackson got that penalty and
    everyone in the media called him an idiot, yet all I could think was, the
    Dolphins should get this guy, he hates Ryan just as much as we do...

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  47. Tin,
    That will probably benefit the Taco. I mean you saw how terrible he was in the cold and wind. But you are right, it won't hurt the visiting teams either.

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  48. LMAO, yeah that was great. I'd love to see him in aqua and orange. Was it just me or were the usually stellar SD WRs pretty bad yesterday?

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  49. I actually only watched the 4th quarter due to a prior engagement, but to me
    the biggest surprise was on the onside kick, when one Jets player touched
    the ball twice, and not a single Charger got within a yard of it. Perfect
    kick too....

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