NT Ferguson 6-3 315 14th? (a seasoned leader and solid NT - if he re-signs)
NT Soliai 6-4 345 4th (getting better)
NT Merling 6-4 295 3rd (talented and will get bigger in the off-season)
DE Starks 6-3 305 7th (coming into his own)
DE Langford 6-6 295 3rd (solid with some more upside)
DE McDaniel 6-7 305 5th (versatile)
DE Dotson 6-4 290 3rd (hanging in there)
DE Alama-Francis 6-5 290 4th (talented with potential)
DE Baker 6-5 295 2nd (performed well in the preseason and a few games this year as a rookie)
Notice the accumulation of DEs this year. McDaniel, Baker and Alama-Francis. Dotson has been trying to get into the mix for two years but can't with the depth we have. So that's four guys battling for playing time behind Starks and Langford.
I bet a lot of people forgot about the signing of Ikaika Alama-Francis, a former 2nd round pick of the Lions in 2007, who suffered a pectoral injury and didn't pan out for them. Maybe he's a good fit at 3-4 DE. He's known for having a good work ethic and he was a 2nd round pick out of Hawaii for a reason. Still a young player.
Why all these DEs if Merling was still in the picture at DE? I think we're going to move him inside at NT at times and at DT like we have when we go to 4 man fronts. Maybe 15 plays at NT and 15 at DT. We use him at DT in 4 man fronts all the time. We seem to like him on the inside.
Anyone else notice this year how big Merling is in the lower body? That's what you want to anchor at NT. He needs to build up his upper body and get a little bigger and stronger, and we might have a more dynamic NT in the next year or two. Sparano is always saying Merling doesn't stay blocked for very long, he has a knack for getting off the block. Run defense has always been his strength. It looks like a perfect fit. Merling is a big guy. He's almost 6-5 and has a big frame. I could see him at 305 or 310 next season and a much different looking player. Maybe he's our next Jay Ratliff.
Merling might be a better option than some blob to take up space. It doesn't seem like the big, over-sized Dlineman is the kind of NT that we look for. Don't be surprised if we sign a no-name in FA and draft a NT prospect in the later rounds to compete. Merling might be the reason. Yet fans will yell and scream that we didn't draft some DT as a NT by the 1st or 2nd round.
(The Pats reached and drafted DT Ron Brace out of BC last year in the 2nd round and he barely played. 9 games, 8 tackles.)
Is that what we want out of 1st or 2nd round picks on the DL? There aren't many college DTs ready to play 3-4 NT in the NFL. Suh would probably be the most dynamic up and coming NT in the league. With his size, power and athletic ability. This guy is going to dominate. He'd be costly but probably worth it to trade up and get him. I doubt we do it.
As crazy as the Jets were for trading away their draft for Sanchez last year, and the Saints were for doing the same for Ricky Williams, and despite the fact I consider myself a very grounded, rational person, I am in strong support of trading up for Suh. However, the type of value we're talking about would make it nearly impossible. It would involve a lot of players, because it would be impossible to get the package value through picks alone unless we traded our 1st this year, our 1st next year, and a 2nd or 3rd round pick. We could package our 1st and 2nd and at least 3 players of mid round value. I just don't see it happening unless the Rams get desperate to avoid the 1st pick's contract.
While I'm not convinced that Merling fits the mold that Parcells likes in the middle, and I think new DC Mike Nolan will toss out the schemes that asked Merling to get bigger and play inside, it is pure speculation on my part.
Knight, you may be right about reaching for a NT in the draft, but keep in mind that last year when BJ Raji and Ron Brace entered the draft together last year I practically sold my kidneys in an attempt to convince people that Raji was the real deal and Brace was a pretender. Raji will likely be the starter heading into 2010, as will Terrance Knighton, who the Dolphins really surprised me by not picking. He was clearly the best value and the best true NT in the draft, IMO. Had we not gotten beer goggles for Pat White, we would've drafted Sean Smith with our first 2nd round pick and Terrance Knighton with our second 2nd round pick. Getting 3 defensive starters with our first 3 picks....now that would've been special. But instead we draft a 4th string QB and the rest is history.
I still think Dan Williams would be a good pick if we traded down, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone picks him early. But there are good options later on in the draft like Torrell Troup (6'2", 310 lbs) and Boo Robinson (6'1", 298 lbs).
It will be interesting to see where Miami goes with the position. Keep in mind that Buffalo now plans to switch to a 3-4 scheme (which should make Aaron Maybin very happy) so the AFC East is now the only division with an entirely 3-4 set of defenses, and thus we need to be on target with these projections more so than ever. We may also have to reach a little for front 7 defenders.
Let's start with him getting thrown into the fire in San Diego when Pennington went down. He played okay but threw a bad pick for 6 that basically sealed the deal. Okay he got a quick lesson in how important protecting the ball is.
He seemed to learn from it by not turning the ball over once in the Bills game despite being sacked 6 times and fumbling twice, but he recovered. He rebounded in that game with an unspectacular but solid performance against the Bills and got a good home win against a division rival.
The next two games with the Jets and Saints with a bye in between are at home. So he gets to settle in and not play in a hostile environment on the road for a few weeks. He along with the entire team gets to stay in Miami for a couple more weeks. The bye comes at a good time for him to get a little more up to speed. That week could be used for the entire team to work on what everyone is doing well and continue to build our identity on both sides of the ball. Special teams could use some work too.
Yes the home crowd could be tough if Henne struggles, but it's still not nearly as significant as being on the road with crowd noise and no fan support. Unless he completely implodes at home and the crowd gets on him because the feeling is that the season is lost and he's a bust. Most fans are short-term result oriented; you're great, you suck, you're great, you suck.
Then again they'll just blame Ted Ginn and Channing Crowder so he should be okay. : )
I'm excited to watch the development of Chad Henne because the trifecta is high on him and he will be given every chance to succeed. This 2008 2nd round pick has the prototype size (6-3 235), arm strength and he's a decent athlete. He reminds me of Phil Simms. Jake Long reminds me of Jumbo Elliot. So I see a Parcells stamp here. Not that he drafted them because he didn't, but he coached them and he likes those types of players. The Michigan style of football is Parcells' style. Yes I know Simms didn't play at Michigan but Jumbo, Long and Henne did.
So Henne has the physical tools. Does he have the other intangibles a QB needs?
1. Does he have the leadership (command of his troops), do they believe in him?
2. Can he read defenses and execute game plans?
3. Can he protect the ball consistently?
4. Can he handle tough, big game situations and play under pressure?
5. Can he make the players around him better?
6. Is he durable?
As we all know, there will be ups and downs with a young QB so we have to patient. At the same time Chad has to show he can do some special things. We shall see.
Let's support our young QBs and not run them out of town before they have a decent body of work to fairly evaluate them.
Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of posts lately but the truth is I have a mild case of the rabid jungle cat possum flu and have been unable to string any sentences together. My entire house-hold is sick all at once, and I spent the weekend taking care of my wife who was bed-ridden and my son, who's nose was leaking like a faucet, but still had the energy of a tornado. My wife said she owed me big time, but she made up for it because by Sunday night/Monday morning, I was sicker than the two of them combined. I called in sick for work - the first time I've done that since 2001. I'm back at work now but not 100%. Thankfully, The Knight Who Says Ni! has compiled some info on the Dolphins roster and discusses the 3rd QB rule below. Thanks again for reading and contributing to the blog, everyone. ~Tinshaker.
This is taken from an NFL rules column.
"Seventeen years ago (1991) the third-quarterback rule was instituted to enable teams to have an emergency quarterback available who was not on the 45-man game-day active roster, since many teams, for strategic purposes, only carried two quarterbacks on their game-day roster.
Everybody thinks they understand the NFL's "third-quarterback" rule. But do they?
The rule states that if a third quarterback is inserted before the fourth quarter, a team's first two quarterbacks cannot be used in the game at any position.
Another aspect of the rule is sometimes misunderstood. It is a coach's decision as to whether a third quarterback will be used. The active quarterbacks do not have to be injured for a team to use its third quarterback." My comment: Okay... we can activate 45 players and an emergency QB as a 46th player under certain conditions. Let's take a look. Offense: OL - 7 (2 ST) TE - 2 (1 ST) QB - 3 (White) HB - 3 (1 ST) FB - 1 (1 ST) WR - 4 (2 ST) 21 Defense: DL - 6 (2 ST) LB - 8 (4 ST) DB - 8 (4 ST) 21 Specialists: K - 1 P - 1 LS - 1 3 That's 45 players and 20 special teams players. Our emergency QB? It can be someone who played QB at some point in his football career. If we get down to 3rd and 4th QBs we're screwed anyway. Ronnie and White will take snaps in the Wildcat and spread offense if Penne and Henne went down. That's an extreme situation. But we can still run an offense. We'd see a lot more running though. We can make the emergency QB a last resort. I'd make all three of our QBs active if I could. It's the most important position and there is the Pat White factor. If we can find enough guys who can do a lot of things on game day like play special teams we can pull it off. As for the overall roster we currently have 82 players. We need to get down to 80 by training camp and another 27 players will be cut when the season starts. My early pre-season predictions are: Defense: NT Ferguson 6-3 315 13th NT Soliai 6-4 345 3rd DL Starks 6-3 305 6th DE Langford 6-6 290 2nd DE Merling 6-5 290 2nd DE McDaniel 6-7 300 4th DE Dotson 6-4 290 2nd 7 OLB Porter 6-3 250 11th OLB Taylor 6-6 250 13th OLB Roth 6-4 275 5th OLB Wake 6-3 255 1st OLB Walden 6-3 245 2nd ILB Crowder 6-2 245 5th ILB Ayodele 6-2 250 8th ILB Torbor 6-2 250 6th 8 CB W. Allen 5-10 195 9th CB Green 5-11 205 5th CB J. Allen 6-1 205 4th CB Davis 5-11 200 rookie CB Smith 6-4 215 rookie FS Wilson 6-1 205 6th SS Bell 6-0 205 7th S Culver 6-1 210 4th S Clemons 6-0 210 rookie 9 Offense: C Grove 6-4 310 6th C/G/T Berger 6-5 310 5th LG Smiley 6-3 310 6th RG Thomas 6-4 310 2nd LT Long 6-7 315 2nd RT Carey 6-5 345 6th OT Garner 6-7 320 2nd 7 TE Fasano 6-4 255 4th 1 QB Pennington 6-3 225 10th QB Henne 6-3 230 2nd QB White 6-0 195 rookie 3 RB Brown 6-0 230 5th RB Williams 5-10 225 9th RB Cobbs 5-8 205 4th FB Polite 6-0 245 5th 4 WR Ginn 5-11 185 3rd WR Bess 5-9 190 2nd WR Camarillo 6-1 190 4th WR Turner 6-5 225 rookie WR Hartline 6-2 195 rookie 5 Specialists: K Carpenter 6-2 220 2nd P Fields 6-5 235 3rd LS Denney 6-5 255 5th 3 That leaves 6 other spots available. At least one more OL and TE. A 3rd TE is very possible but I don't think it's a lock. I'm not sure how deep we really are there. Haynos, Nalbone and Bronson? Martin can make plays but he's injured at the moment (sports hernia) and he's been inconsistent in his career. Wilford as a WR/H-Back might be a 3rd TE and 6th WR. Maybe WR London or Armstrong, special teams is important for both of them. An additional OL, DL, LB or DB to fill out the remaining spots is also possible. The backup TE and WR positions will be interesting to watch. Lot's of unknowns.
Roaming articles and blogs I see a lot of "we're 2 or 3 years away" talk and I say why?
We went 11-5 last year after a horrible 1-15 season in 2007. We did compete in half of those games and with better coaching we weren't that bad. But the injuries mounted and the coaching got worse. The writing was on the wall for all of us when Cameron handed over the reins to Capers in the last preseason game. As if he was so accomplished he could do that. Sparano would never do that.
So here we are, the trifecta runs the show. They've brought in their kind of players and they've been more active than some of us realize. The roster has been overhauled to the tune of 75%. Of the 85 players currently on our roster only 21 are from the pre-trifecta era. My guess is "at the end of this thing" (to quote Tony Sparano), there may only be 15 of those players left by the time we get down to 53. Pretty significant turnover in two years.
By the way I counted JT as part of the 21 even though that's not really accurate. That whole thing was highway robbery on our part. A 2009 2nd (#44 Pat White) and a 2010 6th (yet to be determined) for JT in 2008 who then comes back in 2009. LOL
The trifeca knows this team much better heading into the 2009 season. A good portion of the team including newly signed free agents have been involved in the off-season conditioning program. Some for two years and some currently participating for the first time as we speak. The team is bonding and there is plenty of veteran leadership and improved talent at multiple positions. Coach Sparano and his staff expect the best out of every player and they work them hard. The 2nd season, this year, they've already got their system in place and there is a core group that knows how to run it.
Let's take a look at the core players who are crucial in leading this team to a championship this year.
QB Chad Pennington - The savvy, veteran leader who is 4 years removed from his last surgery has a fire in his belly to win now. We know what Penn brings to the table. Enough said!
QB Chad Henne - The young, big, confident, strong-armed QB from Michigan who has always started wherever he's been. He has no desire to be a #2. He wants to start now! He's a good, young QB prospect who's being groomed in a good situation. John Beck recently said he's fine being the #3 QB. Henne would never say that. John Beck is now back with Cam Cameron in Baltimore.
QB Pat White - We all know what he is. He's a talented offensive player who doesn't have the size to be a traditional QB. But his unique skill-set is very intriguing. He was picked at #44 because he's a better passer than a lot of us give him credit for. Most teams had him in their top 50 as a best player available in this draft. That doesn't mean he'll pan out. But in a relatively weak draft, he was one of the more interesting prospects. The Wildcat and spread offense is where White will make his mark.
Side Note: Some teams have a 3rd QB who will never be a starter or impact player. Pat White may never be a traditional starting QB, but he can be an impact player. His running ability makes him dangerous.
I chose all 3 QBs because it's the most important position and at anytime they will be called upon to lead the offense.
RB Ronnie Brown - The sky is the limit for him. He has all the tools and he's 100% healthy and word is he's in fantastic shape. At 230 lbs. with improved strength and speed, that's bad news for Miami opponents.
RB Ricky Williams - He can still play at a high level and with an improved OL he should be a difference maker. Like Ronnie he can do a lot of things.
TE Anthony Fasano - He could have big year this season. I think he'll be a common target for the QBs this year, especially Penn who throws those 15 yard middle routes real well. He showed last year he can find the endzone. If he can step it up and be a complete TE, we have another weapon in our arsenal for both the running and passing game.
WR Ted Ginn - Could he breakout this year? I think so! His speed is lethal and hopefully this year he can take some to the house without a penalty. He has good hands, if his route running improves his speed will take over. If Ginn can double his overall TD production from last year that could be the difference in the team getting to the next level. That number is only 8, but an additional 4 TDs from one guy could make a big difference. Get him back on returns! We need his big play ability.
The O-line - The entire group getting to the next level is as important as any group on the team. If the revamped OL can open up holes for the RBs between the tackles, we're going to be that much tougher to beat. We all know that Jake Grove, Justin Smiley, Jake Long and Vernon Carey are the big horses. We can't afford to lose these guys if we want to get to the next level.
We need to find a RG or get Donald Thomas healthy. It sounds like Joe Bergerwill be the 6th man. He is the backup center which is the QB of the OL, and he can also play guard and tackle. Ike Ndukwe is probably the 7th man on game day because he can play every position. Unless he wins the RG spot. So we need to find a starting RG if Thomas can't go and Ndukwe doesn't win the job, and a pure backup tackle. Brandon Frye and Andy Alleman are probably the other leading candidates at RG. Is the rookie Andrew Gardner the best pure backup tackle? Can Shawn Murphy play? Will someone else step up?
NT Jason Ferguson - The big man in the middle needs to stay healthy. We need at least one more guy to step up and plays some snaps to keep Fergy fresh throughout the season and playoffs. You can't run an effective 3-4 without good NT play.
OLBs Jason Taylor and Joey Porter - Both of these guys off the edge is key to our pass rush and our defensive scheme. Without the edge rushers the 3-4 does not work. Matt Roth and Cameron Wake might bring something extra to the table this year, but we can't expect them to match what JT and JP can do. If they do, the defense goes to the next level.
ILB Channing Crowder - It's time for Channing to take it to another level. He was groomed under Zach Thomas for 3 years. He's the 'Mike' LB who calls the defense. Now that he has a year under his belt in the new 3-4 defense, it's time for him to make more impact plays. Last year he got the defense set and was solid making a lot of tackles. How about a couple of sacks and turnovers Channing! That said he's our best ILB and we all saw last year how our defense dropped without him in the lineup.
CB Will Allen - The quiet, underrated corner who has started every year he's been in the league just got an extension and he'll be with us for a few more years. Allen is a solid overall NFL corner who brings leadership and experience to a group that is suddenly quite young. His value may go unseen at times but he's more important than many of us may think.
SS Yeremiah Bell - The veteran safety with only a few years of actual playing experience under his belt is coming off his best season. He's not the ball hawk we wish he was but he can hit and tackle and does a decent job in coverage. He's a defensive leader and another key component to the 3-4 defense. Look for more attacking the line of scrimmage from Bell this year.
FS Gibril Wilson - He's an immediate upgrade at the other safety spot. He's bigger, faster and more of an impact player than Renaldo Hill. In our 3-4 defense the safeties are actually interchangeable. It's not always FS and SS. They're more left and right. Wilson can do a lot of the same things Bell can do. But he is more of a ball hawk.
I know I left out a lot of players to highlight but these are the players and groups I think are key to a championship run. I'm not sure we can get there without them.
For example our DEs. Well I view them as a group more than individually. We have some depth and I'm not sure anyone of them is key to the season. They're all big and strong and they do the dirty work inside without much fanfare. If any of them get to the next level as in pro bowl level, our defense goes to the next level.
Another group might be the young rookie additions to the secondary; Vontae Davis, Sean Smith and Chris Clemons. I'm glad we have them but can we rely on them to lead the way? Probably not. Can we expect production? Absolutely! But they're rookies who will have a learning curve. We need at least one of them to really make an impact. Again, if that happens the defense goes to the next level.
Some of you might say another player who should be on the list is Davone Bess. He's a fan favorite. But I still believe Bess is a situational player and not a stud. He does a nice job in the short passing game because he has the ability to make the first guy miss. He's part of our ball control offense. I don't see big play ability from him though. He's like Wes Welker and can he even get to that level? Maybe. If he does, our offense goes to the next level.
Who knows, maybe one of the other WRs has a big year. Brandon London, Patrick Turner, Brian Hartline or Greg Camarillo. I view these guys as a group too. They all need to produce. If one of them really stands out and has a big season, our offense goes to the next level.
I don't mean to underrate Camarillo, but he's only 6 months removed from knee surgery. I'm not sure how much impact he can make, especially the first half of the season. Anthony Armstrong is another guy but it's going to be tough for him to make this team. You know Turner and Hartline are in the long-term plans. Ginn is the most explosive player on the team. Then you have Bess, Camarillo and London. There is a minimum of 5 spots and a maximum of 6 spots on the roster for WRs.
Tony Sparano said there will be some tough decisions with the WR group this year and that's a good thing to have. Camarillo might start the year out on the PUP for the first 6 weeks which might make one of those decisions easier and buy us some time to evaluate the roster and WR position as a whole. It might help Camarillo as well.
All this next level stuff is what will make us a championship team. We still have some questions that need to be answered. The difference this year is I think we have more players who can answer those questions. There is no question we have more talent and depth. Just how good is it though?
(Tinshaker) The following video is a bit old but too good not to share. For some reason, they didn't edit off the first 18 seconds of black screen. For some reason, neither did I, so don't freak out. I just thought it would be a fitting way to close out the subject of 'Why Not Us' since we are so far removed from the mid-2000s era Dolphins. If you asked 'why not us' back then, it was a legitimate laughing fit you heard in response. We are no longer the joke of the league, we are a contender, so Why Not Us?
Thanks to all the readers/commenters who are obviously getting excited about the football again. The comments have been blowing up lately and really adding depth to the site.
I'll be the first to admit, I am not a gambler, and I have next to no knowledge of sports betting. I remember when I was living in London, I would walk by one of those betting shops and look in through the window wall in complete befuddlement. They have one on every block, a bit like Starbucks here in the U.S. But one thing I can surmise is that the current just released odds have the chances of Miami winning the Superbowl at 45 to 1. After just watching the Kentucky Derby, I know that Mine That Bird was 50 to 1 and made some people rich. So one can safely assume that the same would be true for anyone who bet on Miami if they actually pulled it off. If anyone has any understanding of how this works, let me know in the comments. I would assume the odds will change frequently during the year.
Did you see the gadgets that Stephen Ross is going to be providing to premium ticket holders this season? They're basically a smart-phone in a large clunky casing. I have to say, that, having attended many a sporting event in luxury boxes, that these will sit piled up in a corner, perhaps behind the chaffing dishes. Anyone who may be interested in using these, probably already has a device on their person. I understand this one will be all streamlined to Dolphins action, but if you're actually at the game, how fast do you think the updates will be? Faster than real-time? This one gets a big 'whatever' from me, but I won't be attending any games at Landshark (shudder) stadium anytime soon anyway.
I actually had my first taste of Landshark beer this past weekend, and to be honest it still didn't make me think 'Go Fins!' I was at the local Raley's and they had tons of that stuff yet the Corona was all sold out. To be honest, I prefer a good Stout, Porter or ESB, but even Corona would have been a better sponsor than Landshark, because at least Corona implies victory and high standards. Landshark the word makes me think of either 'loan-shark' or a serial stalker.
In the lead up to training camp, The Knight will hopefully continue to introduce us to the 2009 roster with his position breakdowns, and I will continue to profile players who are a lock to be on the roster. I think we've done all the New Dolphins I can at this time, since the only ones left might not even make the roster. So we'll move on to recap some of our second year players, starting with Jake Long. He is currently, in my mind, the player with the longest Dolphin career ahead of him, as well as being the highest paid one, so who better to start with. This profile will be massive, just like him so keep checking back for it.
Another foray into the roster by The Knight Who Says Ni!Today we're looking at the Offensive Line. Please note this was written BEFORE the news of the Donald Thomas injury sparked widespread panic (is that band still together?) so I have added notes in ORANGE, whereas the Knight's words are in AQUA.
"The Phins OL"
Think about what we have at tackle on the offensive line. Jake Long at 6-7 315 with the build of a very large TE and Vernon Carey at 6-5 330+ of natural size. Both guys have proved to be durable, especially Carey at the NFL level over 5 years.
These two former 1st round picks are good friends, well paid and motivated. Jake Long (#1 in 08) has said I want to see us become one of, if not the best OL in the league. I'm sure Carey (#19 in 04) shares that goal. They both work hard and want to be the best. We're in good shape on the corners of our O-line.
That brings us to the interior OL. Jake Grove, Justin Smiley and Donald Thomas are the projected starters (with the injury, it would be unlikely that Thomas holds on the starting job. He will have to re-earn that). The question with them is durability. They were all hurt last year. They are all studs physically.
C Jake Grove 6-4 305 - tough and strong who plays with a mean streak - 05 2nd round pick.
LG Justin Smiley 6-3 310 - tough and strong who plays with a mean streak - 04 2nd round pick.
RG Donald Thomas 6-4 310 - physically gifted (known as 'heavy', as in hard to move) with little experience but good enough to win the starting job last year early on in training camp - 08 6th round pick. (Once he gets his strength back and is lifting weights he will push to start again, probably around week 5)
LT Jake Long 6-7 315 - an elite young lineman who is huge, tough and strong who plays with a mean streak - 08 1st round pick (1st overall).
RT Vernon Carey 6-5 335 - a natural big man who is competitive, durable and reliable - 04 1st round pick.
Our depth will work itself out. We still need a few guys to step up and stand out. My picks are Berger, Ndukwe and Alleman. They all have position flexibility and NFL experience.
OL Joe Berger 6-5 310 - a big, strong guy who can play every position but is probably better suited at guard or at RT - the perfect 6th man. (with Alleman's sore back, Berger took the snaps at Center. I believe he will end up competing with Alleman for the backup interior job)
OL Ikechuku Ndukwe 6-4 325 - like Berger he can play every position but is probably better suited at guard or at RT (backed up at LT for us last year) - former 6th man and maybe now a 7th man. (I asked the Knight about this, but don't recall if I got an answer. Perhaps he meant at 'this time' last year, as he obviously started at RG for most of the year)
C/G Andy Alleman 6-4 310 - versatile player who played well for the Phins last year - should lock down a roster spot.
The Phins will probably keep 9 O-linemen on their 53 man roster and 7 or 8 will dress for games. The 9th spot on the OL will probably be between tackles Nate Garner, rookie 6th rounder Andrew Gardner and Brandon Frye 6-4 305. Frye played guard for us last year. 08 4th round pick Shawn Murphy is on the outside looking in at the moment.
OT Nate Garner 6-7 320 - a big man with some upside - needs to step up his game this year.
OT Andrew Gardner 6-6 305 - good college career and consistent starter and leader at Georgia Tech - very durable during his career until a recent shoulder injury, but he played through a lot of it in 08 showing toughness and leadership.
G/T Brandon Frye 6-4 305 - must have shown something to stick around through the OG merry-go-round we went through last year - position flexibility helps him.
OG Shawn Murphy 6-4 315 - needs to really stand out and step up his play to make this team - could he be a sleeper in his 2nd season?
All of these potential 9th guys can be put on the practice squad. The guy who can play LT gets the nod in my opinion.
There are some other rookie free agents competing but I view them as long shots at the moment. I think we're pretty close to 8 guys already. There is probably only one 53 man spot open and maybe two practice squad spots. So that's what the bottom of the OL roster is fighting for unless one of them shocks everyone. I'm all for that. LOL
(We might as well give them a mention - SirVincent Rogers (no relation to Knight, apparently), JD Quinn, and Mark Lewis. Rogers is a tackle that has also played tight-end. Lewis and Quinn are interior guys)
We're in better shape now than we were last year, but we still need some work on overall talent. We have a new O-line coach in Dave DeGuglielmo (a Sparano guy), and Sparano is going to be involved as well because he's an O-line guy. I'm excited about the prospect of our OL this year.
Name a time when we had this much blue chip talent? Mid 80s through mid 90s? Not this physical though.
