Plugging Up Holes

Poor Channing Crowder. Poor Akin Ayodele. Poor Reggie Torbor. Poor rest of the inside linebackers that fans barely ever think of. Truth is, the outside linebackers in a 3-4 defense get all the press, glamour, and accolades (there is a sack leader stat, but no official run-stuffer stat in the NFL). The inside guys? We just complain about them when they're doing something negative and don't even notice when they do something positive. In a 4-3 defense, the middle linebacker can be the center of attention, but in a 3-4, there's two guys on the inside, and it all gets watered down.

Everyone noticed Zach Thomas when he covered the whole middle of the field, but the same can't be said for Crowder and Ayodele when they're splitting that duty.

Heading into training camp in August, these are the players that will be competing for a roster spot:

JD Folsom, # 59.
Folsom is 6'3", 230lbs. Guess what position he played at Weber State. Nope, he played Matt Roth's role in 2008, lining up on the LOS on the strong side with a hand on the ground. The more I look at this draft pick the more confused I am. He's another Mormon player who took 2 years off from football so he comes in as a 25 year old rookie. The Dolphins passed on some incredible football players to take Folsom (Nick Reed, Mike Mickens, Rashad Jennings, Trevor Canfield, Zack Follett, Lydon Murtha, etc). What is it that they see in him? The media hasn't even noticed him, so far, so invisible.

Orion Martin, # 48.
Now this is where things start getting interesting. Martin was a defensive end at Virginia Tech, is listed as a defensive end on the official roster, and is a pass-rush specialist. Yet the Dolphins have been using him almost exclusively on the inside according to local media. It was my initial roster that had Martin on the outside and Tearrius George on the inside. Then the media and other fans made me second guess myself. I'm leaning back to my original leanings with George on the inside and Martin on the outside. Its very possible the reporters mixed up the two since they're number 48 and 49 and are similar sized bodies. Either way, Martin's past accomplishments have all been from the outside, so the potential move inside would be a huge leap.


William Kershaw, # 58.
Kershaw was picked up mid-season as a free agent addition to our practice squad but was signed to the 53 man roster for the last couple of weeks of 2008. He has the most experience of the 'bottom 3' after signing with Kansas City in 2006 and spending time here and there for the Chiefs, Texans, Eagles, Saints and now the Dolphins. Is his journeyman past a red-flag?



Reggie Torbor, # 53.
Earlier today, Omar Kelly and I agreed that Torbor was well overpaid for what production we got from him in 2008. In fact, most people won't remember this, but there was a time early on that the coaches weren't confident enough in Torbor to give him more snaps. Crowder and Ayodele were left to play alot more snaps than they would've liked to lack of depth at ILB. Torbor has failed to impress in OTAs so far, and may have been a reach to begin with. He had a good run to the Super Bowl, and cashed in on it, but as one reader mentioned in reference to the offensive line, you want starter quality guys being your 1st backup. I'm not sure Torbor is starter quality.

Akin Ayodele, # 51.
Picking up from what I just said about starter-quality, there is no doubt in my mind that Ayodele would be an excellent backup. I think he is starter-quality for a few snaps a game. I would not wet myself if the guy in front of him got injured and he had to step in. Now that said, I was very disappointed in two aspects of Ayodele's game in 2008, enough so to want to replace him as the starter. First, his aggressiveness. There were too many plays where I saw the stutter-step. These linebackers need to be able to flow to the ball, and change direction if they need to, not wait until they know where the ball is going before making that first step. I guess it comes down to trusting your gut. The second one is the biggest problem, in my mind. His stamina. This is where not trusting in Torbor came into play a lot. Ayodele seemed to get 'gassed' a lot either on long drives or towards the end of the half/game. I feel that's where his lack of ability to get past the line on 3rd down blitzes came into play - he just didn't have it left in the tank. No real excuse for this since he was in the trifecta's training program for longer than most. I hope he has made some improvements in these areas or I will be calling for his head again in January.

Channing Crowder, # 52
Crowder is one of those guys who doesn't stand out a lot, doesn't make a lot of Sportscenter, and doesn't make a whole lot of sense when he speaks. But he is a consistent tackler and is one of the few 'long-time' Dolphins, if such a statement can be made, for a reason. He understands the game. He may not be a very gifted athlete or get a lot of credit for being a 'student of the game' but I guarantee he looked up to Zach Thomas and has tried to soak up as much of Thomas' habits as possible, which includes extensive film study. In his first year at the helm of the defense he racked up 113 tackles in 13 starts. His goal in 2009 should be to make it 16 starts, and to increase his production as far as turnovers/forced fumbles go. No one's expecting Crowder to turn into a ball-hawk, but he should be able to at least get the ball on the ground once a game. With a year under his belt, he should be able to relax more on the play-calling and focus more on those kinds of things.

So those are the 6 guys in the middle of the defense heading into training camp. While I do think Tearrius George is better-suited to the inside, I will hold off on discussing him until tomorrow when we look at the outside linebackers.