Thursday, January 7, 2010

Tin Bits - Thursday, 1/7/2010

I'm having some technical difficulties getting my Wide Receiver Top Ten List up the way I want it, so I thought I'd share some of the news I've found interesting today in the meantime.

  • The agent for Josh Cribbs told NFL.com late Wednesday that his client will formally request a trade from the Browns.  The Browns, under Mike Holmgren even, are offering Cribbs a raise to just $1.4M a year. Another of Cribbs' player reps hinted at a trade demand earlier today. Agent J.R. Rickert confirmed it. "We’re going to formally put in a request for a trade," Rickert said. "(Cribbs) will not set foot in that facility again. If they had offered even something like $2.5 million per season we could have worked with them, but to me this offer is indefensible."
  • South Florida DE Jason Pierre-Paul will forgo his final season with the Bulls and enter the NFL Draft. JPP only played one year at USF after transferring from JUCO, but paced Jim Leavitt's annually stout defense with 6.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss, and forced a pair of fumbles.  Despite his lack of NCAA experience, Pierre-Paul is considered by many scouts to be one of, if not the best physical specimen in the draft at 6'6", 265 lbs and has been rated as high as #12 at several Draft websites.  Personally I feel that rating is actually based on how people think he will perform at the Combine.  As a USF fan, I can tell you that JPP got better as the season went on, but I'm still wary of the one-year wonder tag.


  • The Dolphins signed TE John Nalbone to a two-year futures contract.  Nalbone spent most of the season on the practice squad. With Anthony Fasano's status with the team uncertain, Nalbone could have an impact on the active roster in 2010. The Dolphins also signed S Nate Ness, WR Julius Pruitt, WR Taurus Johnson, OG Ray Feinga and RB Tristan Davis to two-year futures contracts. The signing of FB Rolly Lumbala and WR Ryan Grice-Mullen yesterday essentially adds up to all 8 practice squad spots being retained for the 2010 off-season.  The Dolphins currently have 69 players on the team with  7 on injured reserve.  TE Joey Haynos, K Dan Carpenter and WR Davone Bess are all scheduled to be ERFAs (Exclusive Rights Free Agents) this year.  QB Chad Pennington, CB Nate Jones, NT Jason Ferguson, and OLB Jason Taylor will all find their contracts coming to an end in February.  RB Ronnie Brown has an option year in his contract which will kick in if the NFL agrees to a new CBA - however, that would happen AFTER the actual 'Free Agency Sweepstakes', thus making it likely he'd miss out on a big contract anyway.  TE Anthony Fasano is also due to become an unrestricted free agent, but a lack of a new CBA will revert him to restricted status.
  • The Dolphins added WR Ryan Grice-Mullen to their squad this week.  Grice-Mullen is the 2nd former BC Lions (CFL) player to be signed this week, and third in the span of a year.  He was also a team-mate of Davone Bess at Hawaii and also got signed into the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2008 after forgoing his senior year.  He did not stick on any rosters though and spent two seasons in the CFL, including his rookie campaign being Cameron Wake's final season there.  The same can be said about new FB Rolly LumbalaIn late November, Grice-Mullen set the CFL record for longest playoff punt return when he returned a punt for 106 yards in the second half for a touchdown.  At 5'11", 185 lbs, Grice-Mullen comes into Miami as a return specialist and with the dreads it will be hard to tell him apart from Davone Bess at times in practice (Bess is #7, Grice Mullens #1 in photo).  He is significantly faster than Bess, however.  He was timed between 4.27 and 4.38 during his 2008  pro-day workouts after posting a more conservative 4.46 at the NFL Combine.



  •  The Dolphins also signed DE/OLB Brian Johnston, a free agent most recently with the KC Chiefs.
  • The South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee unveiled plans to upgrade Dolphin Stadium in order to compete for future big events, including the Super Bowl. Click HERE to see the images.  Personally, I think the image showing young waifish ladies walking down the spiral exits whilst texting is extremely irresponsible on their part!  
    • It's official!  The first staff loss/change of the way is under way.  Dolphins Outside Linebacker Coach, Jim Reid has officially been announced as the Defensive Coordinator for the Virginia Cavaliers. This article explains Reid's motivation in leaving the Dolphins.
    • Word just in that INSIDE linebacker coach, George Edwards, has also left the team to become the Defensive Coordinator for the University of Florida.

    41 comments:

    1. The Knight who says Ni!January 7, 2010 at 9:46 AM

      I doubt the trifecta would draft Jason Pierre-Paul at #12 being that he wasn't productive enough for more than one year. They are big believers in production over combine numbers.

      Tin, our 2nd round pick should be #43 right? Being that we're tied with the Bears and Jaguars all having 7-9 records, we move up to 11 in the 2nd which would be #43 and 10 in the 3rd which would be #74 and back to 12 in the 4th.

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    2. Can someone please confirm that the Jason Pierre-Paul  video is embedded above.  I cannot see it on my end, but it show up in the editor.

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    3. The Knight who says Ni!January 7, 2010 at 10:11 AM

      It's up, Tin!

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    4. Knight, I have seen it at 44 in several places but you're probably right. In
      the third round the Washington pick is taken out because they used it in the
      Supplemental Draft, thus why we jump to 73.

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    5. ok, now that is much much better, of course it isnt NLC's but that picture is much better then the girl getting humped by a dolphin.  LOL

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    6. Assuming we don't trade down, my vote is for McClain from Alabama with the 12th pick.  He's got the ideal size for an ILB & he's been coached by a defensive genius who DEFINITELY does not take any sh#t.  Saban may be a complete lunatic but he still makes me laugh. Too much of a dictator & control freak (ala Richard Nixon) for the pros but he's clearly one of, if not the best Coach in college.  Another national championship for Saban appears imminent.  My biggest complaint with Saban were the two poor draft picks (aside from Ronnie) but I did like some of the veteran players he brought in like Vonnie, Will Allen, & Goodman.  Never thought I'd say this but I Renaldo Hill was much better than Gibril Wilson.  WOW did we miss on that or what???  BTW--I also said I wanted Matt Birk instead of Grove b/c of health reasons.  Birk may be older than Grove but he started every game for the Ravens this year.  I can live with the Grove signing but we definitely overpaid by a LOT there.  Sorry to digress....

      Dez Bryant was extremely impressive last season & if he were a Junior then instead of being a Sophmore he would've been the 2nd WR taken after Crabtree.  I thought Nicks would be the 2nd best of last year's class & I still stand behind that.  However, my concern with Dez is that when you get suspended for a season there are HUGE red flags about his character.  Maybe it's much to do about nothing BUT usually when there's smoke there's fire.  Sorry Dez.

      I think making a trade for Cribbs makes a lot of sense.  He's a bigger version of everything Pat White should've been.  With Cribbs the return skills, the receiving skills, the speed, & the wildcat option he could become a HUGE weapon for us. Maybe they take Ginn off our hands (he's a Cleveland kid afterall) with a 2nd or 3rd.  If we trade for Cribbs then I'd have to side with trading out of the 12th spot to pick up another player since we DEFINITELY need ILB's, a beast to be the heir apparent to Ferguson (assuming we re-sign him), a legitimate TE, a true FS, etc...

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    7. Meant to say ..."two poor DRAFTS!!!"...Not picks.

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    8. I wish it were just TWO bad picks!!!  Like Manny Wright & Joe Toldeo.  LMAO!

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    9. Rob,

      I can't see your avatar too clearly.  Is that Napolean Dynamite or Carrot Top with that cheerleader????

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    10. Bryant didn't get suspended by the team, he was banned by the NCAA. There
      is a difference.
      I would think trading for Cribbs would actually make you want to keep the
      12th pick that much more...you're not going to get a starter quality ILB
      outside the 1st round this year. There just aren't any great ones after
      McClain and Spikes.
      The Ginn/Cribbs trade makes sense for both teams, as they'd need a return
      guy and their WRs struggled last year. But I doubt they'd want to trade
      Cribbs to save some money and replace him with a more expensive player...

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    11. no because the pictures are smaller when you hit reply!!!!!

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    12. You *can *post pictures in the actual comment so people can click on them to
      see them at full size. You can also post videos in the comments (at least
      you used to be able to before they upgraded the software, haven't tried it
      recently)

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    13. The Knight who says Ni!January 7, 2010 at 12:00 PM

      Good pickup.

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    14. The Knight who says Ni!January 7, 2010 at 12:04 PM

      How come when I click on an avatar to view it bigger it's just the shadow of a head. We used to be able to view them.

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    15. The Knight who says Ni!January 7, 2010 at 12:05 PM

      You didn't know they were hugging?  ;)

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    16. The Knight who says Ni!January 7, 2010 at 12:11 PM

      Orlando McClain is leading the polls.

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    17. I'm not wanting to see them any larger, but my question is, what happened to the avi's we had....I had about 10 of them stored, and now they are all gone... :'(

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    18. LOL I wish I could 'fix' the poll, but the best I could do is end it early
      and scrap everyone's votes....

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    19. no clue. Find your true identity and stick to it!

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    20. OK, well if you insist.

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    21. They way I see it with McClain is Saban owes one. Karma needs to man up and pay us back for the void that was temporarily filled by Cam Cameron (WTF! Karma?).

      Anyway, in all seriousness, I guess Denver is the biggest threat to swipe RM before we have the chance to... is that about right? Wonder what the chances are there. What's the ILB situation look like with teh teams before us on the board?

      Also, what about FA ILB this year. I think Barrett Rudd is available, but he's probably going to be one of those guys affected by the lack of a new CBA. Tin, any idea what we'd have to give up in order to sign someone of his caliber?

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    22. Nice! Would be even better if we could "fix" the actually draft though.

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    23. Did a little searching and the chance RM is there at 12 looks fairly decent. Let's hope he bombs tonight and Texas scores 50.

      Here's the breakdown of the teams drafting before us:



      St. Louis- Bigger fish to fry
      Lions- see above
      TB- Currently have Barrett Rudd as a RFA
      Washingotn_ See Detriot
      KC Chiefs- Offensive OL
      Seahawks- Have Lofa
      Cleveland- Have D'Qwell Jackson coming back 
      Raiders- Who knows whar they'll do? Seriously?
      Bills- Have Paul P., need OL 
      Jags- Drafting Tebow
      Denver- Have DJ Williams ('04 1st rounder) and Andra Davis

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    24. "NFL.com's Jason La Canfora suggests that Ruud will ask for Bart Scott money
      (six years, $48M)"
      He's not a UFA so we will have to outbid other teams unless TB re-signs him
      before free agency which they probably will. The last thing we want to do
      is get into a bidding war in the NFL.

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    25. The Raiders have what's his face at MLB, he's one of the top 3 players on
      the team....what's his name again? lol
      St. Louis - Bigger fish to fry - Suh or a QB
      Lions- see above - Suh or OKung
      TB - Currently have Barrett Rudd as a RFA - any position BUT MLB
      Washington - See Detroit - QB or RB
      KC Chiefs - Offensive OL - so, they want someone really REALLY
      offensive? lol
      Seahawks - Have Lofa - WR or QB
      Cleveland - Have D'Qwell Jackson coming back - QB, DB, or DL
      Raiders - Who knows whar they'll do? Seriously? - Spiller, Jacoby, or
      someone who was rated as 6th round.
      Bills - Have Paul P., need OL - QB or OL
      Jags - Drafting Tebow - Tebow or Spikes
      Denver - Have DJ Williams ('04 1st rounder)and Andra Davis - WR, TE or
      RB
      Miami - ILB, NT, or Tebow....

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    26. The Knight who says Ni!January 7, 2010 at 4:58 PM

      Tin, know anything about the WR from Tulane Jeremy Williams? He might be a good fit for us at 6-0 205 4.5 speed. He can return kicks, has been productive as a WR and he can play in the Wildcat.

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    27. The Knight who says Ni!January 7, 2010 at 5:28 PM

      Tin, I see you have our preliminary draft order. I believe we have three 6th round picks from the trade of Ndukwe and Alleman to KC which was rumored to be a 6th round pick for both. We also have our own 6th and the one from the JT deal to WAS last year. Unless we swapped last year's 7th at the end of the draft for Ndukwe and Alleman. Which would have us with one 7th and two 6ths.

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    28. Miami looks in good shape to draft for their needs.  They have a number of ways they can go.  Tin as I look down your list, of guesses, wouldn't it be interesting if CJ where there when the Phins pick.  But I'm hoping they go after a ILB or NT.  Then add 3 more LBs to fill in for all our starters. :)

      My Daughter had an interesting take on JP this evening.  Based on what she saw last year when JP had a hamstring at the start of the training camp, she feels he is a good for the locker room, and a bigger leader than what we know.  Maybe some day I'll explane why she feels that way.

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    29. Knight, we traded one of our 2009 7th's for a 2010 7th.
      The posted picks are the only confirmed ones, but we do have one more from
      the ndukwe trade, which has never been confirmed.

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    30. I know of him, and that he was a solid fantasy WR last year because someone
      in my league had him. But other than a handful of plays in a postgame wrap
      I haven't seen him play. Preliminary WR list coming out soon.

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    31. I'm sitting here watching McLain of bama and I don't think I've seen him covering a TE or Back coming out of the backfield.  What I have been seeing is Texas having a real problem running the ball, and McLain has been a big reason for that, along with there DL.

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    32. The Knight who says Ni!January 8, 2010 at 5:30 AM

      I know we traded a 2009 7th to KC for a 2010 7th. I made a boo boo.  :)

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    33. The Knight who says Ni!January 8, 2010 at 5:31 AM

      McClain was in coverage a lot. They never throw his way. Florida didn't either.

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    34. Bama didn't have to cover a TE because Texas didn't have one in the game as
      far as I could tell. McClain had a good game, not a lot of big plays, but
      he rarely made a mistake, and he showed good stamina as he was blitzing and
      covering downfield late in the 4th quarter.
      Still, Texas' offense was an easy mark for Bama. Disappointing BCS title
      game. Bama's running game just dominated the Longhorns.

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    35. He did have a near INT at one point and I think he had another deflection...

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    36. I'm not saying he didn't do it I just said I didn't see it.  He did  knock down a pass, and he covered the field really well.  With our needs I made him my pick your pole.

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    37. The Knight who says Ni!January 8, 2010 at 4:37 PM

      Agreed. Just because everyone wanted to see McClain have 10 tackles, 2 sacks, a FF and a pick for 6, doesn't mean the guy didn't play a good game. I know you're not saying that, but he was solid and did so much with communication and getting the defense set, he's a quality player. He could be another Cornelius Bennett, a bit overrated but very good. That's almost an oxymoron. LOL

      Alabama has a good DL. #57 played a great game. Does that mean McClain failed? Of course not. it's stupid.

      McClain will be a leader of some team's defense for a decade and be a 5 time pro bowler at the least.

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