Marshall Trade Looms Large Over Solid Offseason

With the draft concluded the bulk of our offseason picture has been painted. There have been a lot of positives thus far.

THE DRAFT

A few thoughts about the SoFlo Sea Mammals’ draft, which we actually gave a B+.

*Ryan Tannehill is a bit of a physical freak, and we think he’s going to be a dynamic young QB, sooner than later. It was time to spend big on a guy under center with first round talent. We did, and we think we will look smart for doing so. The ability to give wideouts that extra second to break free is invaluable. He can move the pocket, he can run, he knows the offense. Considering all of that, and the torturous Dan Marino hangover we’ve endured, was he ever NOT going to be the pick?

*Jonathan Martin will start in this league for the next ten years. Not exactly a flashy choice, but there was zero stoppage occurring on the right side of our line last year. It costs us, big time, and by many people’s estimation Martin should have been off the board long before we picked. Solid choice.

*Olivier Vernon  has loads of talent, and with the mad scientist Mike Nolan heading north to the ATL, keeping our defensive talent level up was key. Our scoring defense was stellar last season (6th in the NFL), and ignoring that side of the ball would be a mistake. It was nice to hear Mike Mayock single Vernon out as one of the few Juniors who had skills to pay the bills.

*Michael Egnew is a promising pick, though we were screaming Mohamed Sanu’s name at the television. The Rutgers wideout would have been a nice edition, and with a solid Fasano and H-back Charles Clay already in the mix we thought a wideout was called for. Still, we all saw Jimmy Graham destroy the league this season, and Egnew, dare we say, is a similar prospect.

*Lamar Miller is a home run threat, through and through. This guy was in a lot of first round mocks leading up to the draft. Reggie Bush has been fantastic, but isn’t signed beyond this season. Daniel Thomas has disappointed, though it’s early. But aside from thinking down the road, Miller was far too good to still be on the board. We identified that, and jumped up a handful of picks to grab him.  You can never have too many playmakers.

*Josh Kaddu is an extremely athletic linebacker prospect, who could be a gem in a 4-3, where the big boys up front occupy blockers and LBs shoot from a cannon. Again, at this point you’re safely into “anybody’s guess” territory, but he has some physicality to him that you just can’t teach.

*B.J. Cunningham jumps into the WR mix in the 6th round. This was good value. He had the highest NFL.com grade of any prospect snagged in the 6th. Considering how long we waited, we did well to bring him into camp.

*Kheeston Randall is a big body to throw into the mix on defense. Fell off this past season in college, but has potential. We’d also ignored the interior D-line up to that point, and he represented decent value.

*Rishard Matthews is another interesting wideout prospect. The Nevada kid was apparently impressive in his early Davie workouts. Not a speed demon, and not exactly a physical specimen, he just seems to have a knack for making plays.

*Of our undrafted free agents, we’re most interested to watch WR Jeff Fuller, a big kid (6’4″ 224lbs) with a great deal of familiarity with both Sherman and Tannehill.

OFFSEASON MOVES

*Can’t underestimate the locking down of Paul Soliai. Our run defense was fantastic. Only the Ravens and 49ers allowed fewer yards per carry than the Sea Mammals, and that was due in large part to the big man in the middle.

*To keep even greater defensive continuity we locked down Cameron Wake, who has improved his run defense and is far more than just a sack specialist. You must retain your talent. He earned this contract.

*Jamaal Westerman and Gary Guyton are defenders with some ability, but more importantly they were brought in with very low risk contracts. Guyton is an extremely athletic LB who just never clicked in New England. Again, moving to a 4-3, athletic LBs who can shoot the gaps are key.

*Legedu Naanee is a decent, low-cost signing who could rise from this, how should we say, “interesting” group of wide receivers. Which brings us to the elephant in the room, that figures to be sitting there snacking on peanuts ’til other answers emerge:

THE BRANDON MARSHALL TRADE

So far sending Marshall to Chicago has netted us TE Michael Egnew and WR BJ Cunningham, with a 3rd rounder in next year’s draft still to be used. For all we know those two players, and the player we grab with Chicago’s 2013 3rd rounder, will all be enshrined together in Canton. However, until then we’ve got to consider what this Dolphins team would look like had we not made that trade.

Jeff Ireland has locked down Paul Soliai and Cam Wake and added pieces to our #6 scoring defense. He’s found great value to plug in at RT opposite Jake Long, whose extension is apparently in the works. He’s committed to our quarterback of the future, a sky’s the limit kid. He’s added a little bit of lightning to our backfield alongside Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas. All of this could have happened with “The Beast” still in the fold.

Brandon Marshall, despite the distractions, is one hell of a wideout. He would have made for a great safety net for a rookie quarterback. Tannehill with a #1, All Pro wideout, coupled with slot-master Bess and Brian Hartline, a solid Fasano, H-back Clay, and perhaps the best pass-catching back in the NFL in Reggie Bush? Well that sounds like a much less daunting situation than the one Ryan will currently face.

Of course, this was a move that may have been made to protect Tannehill from a diva. Perhaps the folks in Davie felt that it would be too much for a new QB to deal with the constant chirping of a brash wideout, that it would somehow impede his development. And of course, it was a move made after news of another off the field incident. Yes, these distractions are ridiculous. Yes, they get tiresome to deal with.

But on Sundays this fall, if no one emerges as a #1, and our QB is running for his life while the Cutler-to-Marshall connection lights up the league, that trade will loom large.

GO DOLPHINS, and feel free to follow us on Twitter @TheBottlenose

Will One of These Kids Be There at Pick Ten?

Firstly, we want to give our thumbs up to the Tannehill selection. Physical freak. Will be hard to defend, and will buy our WRs that extra second to shake free. Has a familiarity with this offense and OC. Do you draft a lineman based largely on upside at #8? No. You would want him to start immediately. But quarterback is another story. Few signal-callers start immediately, and this pick was made knowing that this diamond was still partly in the rough.

We think he compares with Jake Locker. Did you catch a glimpse of Locker this past season? It was in limited time but (WARNING, FANTASY TIDBIT) Jake Locker was the only player in the NFL with more fantasy points per snap than Aaron Rodgers. We didn’t trade down and gamble on “Tanny” being there later. We did what we somehow haven’t managed to do since Ronald Reagan’s first term. We pulled the trigger on a quarterback in round one.

And just 9 picks from now we’ll be on the clock once more. Some impressive names still out there. Here are a handful of guys we would love to see fall to #10.

STEPHEN HILL (WR, Georgia Tech) – A freak, freak, freak. Gigantic and fast. Had limited opportunities to showcase his ability in the Tech offense. The Dolphins WR corps has nothing resembling a #1 right now.

RUEBEN RANDLE (WR, LSU) – Another guy with #1 wideout potential. Big target who was underutilized, but could blossom quickly at the next level.

CORDY GLENN (OL, GEORGIA) – Massive tackle who could make one hell of a bookend opposite Jake Long. Still, he might not fit the Philbin mold.

JONATHAN MARTIN (OL, STANFORD) – This is a solid kid who could easily wind up being a solid RT for the next decade. Not a flashy pick, but RT was horrific for us last season.

ZACH BROWN (OLB, NORTH CAROLINA) – A physical freak (242lbs, 4.5) who can play any LB position and will disrupt backfields from day one. Would immediately make Koa Misi a full time special teamer.

COURTNEY UPSHAW (DE/OLB, ALABAMA) – Didn’t impress on the stopwatch, but he is a guy we would gladly accept in our defensive rotation. Simply put, a baller.

COBY FLEENER (TE, STANFORD) – He will be a threat downfield, and a great target for a developing quarterback. Speed, size combo. 4.52 at 247lbs? Great hands. Could be our “Gronk”.

Personally we’d prefer to see Hill, Randle or Fleener. Our receiving corps is a snoozer at the moment, all side dishes and no roast. The Brandon Marshall trade may haunt us all season if we can’t buy a first down while Cutler and The Beast are lighting it up in the Windy City. Adding pass-catching talent is a must.

See you tonight, folks. And GO DOLPHINS!

Tannehell Yes

Peyton Manning was never going to  play for Miami. Ever. The man wouldn’t even meet with our Owner, or our beloved GM Jeff Ireland. What exactly happened with Matt Flynn may never be known. Did we lowball him, assuming he’d accept because of his comfort level with Joe Philbin? Were we unsure of his ability? Or did Flynn not like seeing our #1 wideout disappear before his very eyes just before his visit? Or is the “vibe” at Seahawks headquarters that much better than in Davie? All we really know is that the Dan Marino hangover continues, while the blotches of empty seats grows wider.

The SoFlo Sea Mammals had the 22nd ranked offense in football last season, and over 20% of it was shipped to the Windy City for two 3rd rounders. This is an offensive unit that could be facing a wildly anemic season, leaving our solid defense on the field for far too long, and keeping us far from the playoff hunt. Matt Moore with Brandon Marshall had a decent rating, but threw for 192 yards per game, putting him in the bottom three starting QBs in the league. There is a small but proud faction of Dolfans who believe Moore can be “the guy” moving forward. We respectfully aren’t buying, and we don’t think the bulk of Dolphin Nation is either.

So here we are, the #6 scoring defense in football, and an offense that kind of sucked, and looks primed to suck a little harder this upcoming season. Is someone like Michael Floyd going to be the guy to turn this all around? We had a perennial All Pro at wideout already, and we were still puttering up and down the field. The truth is, you generally go as far as your quarterback will take you. We’ve been shopping at the bargain bin for too long at the worst position to do so.

Is Ryan Timothy Tannehill a sure thing? No. He’s not as experienced at the position as you’d like, having started out at wide receiver at Texas A&M. But he is a hugely intriguing quarterback prospect. That’s understating it. He’s a physical freak. Drafting him could put the Sea Mammals at the forefront of a dual threat quarterback movement that will include Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III and Jake Locker.  What’s more, our new offensive coordinator Mike Sherman knows Ryan like the back of his hand. Though injecting a rookie quarterback into an offense can be a clunky process, we think it would be excellent to begin with that head start. No football man on Earth knows more about Tannehill’s weaknesses and strengths than Sherman.

When’s the last time someone electric was under center for the Dolphins? My God it’s been for ages. Is there a chance of misfiring? Of course. But if he’s available Tannehill absolutely presents the opportunity to catch lightning in a bottle. Not to mention if there’s one position where you take a chance on hitting the jackpot it’s at quarterback. We would accept an anemic offense for now, so long as this phenomenal talent was being groomed. We would accept the time it takes to get a kid ready for live action in this league.

But are we honestly going to go into battle with a vast sea of empty seats, Ross parading B-list celebrities up and down the sidelines, and no end in sight for the Marino hangover that’s haunted us for so long?

–

GO DOLPHINS, and feel free to follow us on Twitter @TheBottlenose

Tags: Dolphins, Miami, Ryan tannehill, tannehill

Manning Mania Has Makings of Mirage

This isn’t the surefire Hall of Famer. This isn’t the Super Bowl MVP. This isn’t the same Peyton.

If the Colts, with a fan base flush with Manning jerseys, are willing to yank the plug on him it speaks volumes. That’s even without hearing reports saying he’s not there yet, and having trouble making all the throws. It’s a backwards-looking direction, and such choices are rarely winning moves.

Agonizing for our SoFlo Sea Mammals, who have, along with all of us of course, endured a horrific post-Marino hangover. The idea of snagging a few stellar bonus years out of Peyton is alluring. This was the #5 scoring defense in football. The cupboard on offense is far from bare as well. If we could lock in a maestro for this offense, we would immediately be a playoff contender.

But there are of course a few directions to go in the search for that maestro. If the Dolphins’ “spidey sense” is tingling about RGIII, few would blame them for betting the house on him. Perhaps another rookie has caught our eye, one that should be available when our pick rolls around, or lower if we trade down?

Then of course there’s Matty “Bang Bang” Flynn. We believe he will be the next starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins. We’ve been way too quiet about him. If you’re Joe Philbin, heading into your first ever job as a Head Coach in the National Football League, your worst nightmare is a quarterback who can’t run your offense. What a happy coincidence that you’ve had a several season head start in prepping Flynn to run that offense. Couple that with his performances in live action, and it makes far too much sense. We love him. We think he’s smart. We think he’s got swagger. He may not be the prototype 6’4″ poster boy, but we believe he would put this team in the end zone. And of course there’s the bonus of being able to use our 1st rounder at another need position (DE/OLB or RT perhaps).

Or of course we could try option 3, whipping a few more good years out of the old horse Peyton. We could grab a QB in the 2nd or 3rd to groom behind him. We would of course be curious to see if he had anything left in the tank. However, misfiring on this would set the franchise back a few years. Ask yourself, does Philbin have that luxury in his first ever stint as an HC?

We don’t think he does. We hope, and indeed we think, that the Sea Mammals will make the hit-the-ground-running choice. There are rookies, and the learning curve that almost always needs to be navigated. There’s a stud veteran who’s now failing physically and turning 36. Then there’s a 26-year old with very little wear on his arm, who knows the offense like the back of his hand and has already excelled (granted, a small sample size) against live, NFL action.

Of course it ain’t our call, but at the stroke of midnight on March 13th we’d be throwing a boatload of sand dollars in Matt Flynn’s direction.

GO DOLPHINS, and feel free to follow us on Twitter @thebottlenose

Tags: Dolphins, Flynn, Manning, matt flynn, Miami, Peyton, Peyton Manning, RGIII

Philbin + Flynn = Win?

He’s helped to create an absolute powerhouse offense in Green Bay, and Joe Philbin is on everyone’s list of potential head coaches. If Stephen Ross doesn’t land one of the “celebrity” coaches floating out there in the cosmos, his attention may turn to the coordinators who have earned their shots. Philbin has certainly earned his.

There’s an interesting asterisk next to Philbin’s name, and that’s a backup quarterback and soon to be free agent named Matt Flynn. Flynn has done everything asked of him while backing up Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau. He’s only started one game, and performed very well in icy Foxboro. Teams may be gun shy after the Kevin Kolb semi-disaster in Arizona. However, unlike any quarterback in the upcoming draft, there is tape of Matt Flynn facing NFL defenses, and NFL speed.

If we zero in on Philbin this offseason, the very first question we’d ask him is whether or not Matt Flynn is the real deal. Philbin has worked with the kid for years. If anyone would know, he would. And if his answer is “Yes”, then perhaps we could drag Matt Flynn down to South Beach once free agency opens. Our second half resurgence may have pushed us out of the elite QB draft area.  Bringing in Flynn would certainly open up the top of the draft to other positions of need.

Here’s an interview with Philbin.

Is Flynn the next Schaub? Or the next Kolb? AP Photo/Mike Roemer

 

Fist-Pumping into the Sunset

That’s all folks. The plug was finally pulled on the Tony Sparano era today, after an interesting four year stint.

Tony came to town as the somewhat under-qualified puppet of Bill Parcells. Immediately the Dolphins showed life, winning the AFC East under the leadership of Chad “Efficient But Gets Injured a Lot, Like a Hell of a Lot” Pennington. However, the regime will ultimately be judged by the choice of Chad Henne as the quarterback of the future. Chad showed flashes in his time under center, but never assumed the role of the “franchise quarterback” that some had hoped. Two sub-.500 seasons followed. This season Henne hit the turf, but the mediocre football has continued.

The debasing of Tony Sparano happened quickly. Bill Parcells, the puppetmaster, yanked the cord on his “golden parachute” and disappeared. Then, already blowing in the breeze, Tony received another kick to the “Sparanads” when Owner Stephen Ross, GM Jeff Ireland riding shotgun, tried to replace him with Jim Harbaugh before firing him. Sparano had earned the lack of confidence from the top brass. The team had largely thrown in the towel by the end of the 2010 season. In our opinion Ross’ mistake wasn’t trying to replace Tony, it was not going with his gut and relieving Sparano of his duties last winter.

It was clear from the start in 2011 that something was missing with these SoFlo Sea Mammals. The 2010 collapse had continued into this season. Though the Dolphins, aided by a weak part of the schedule, staged a mini-comeback from a winless start, it was too little too late. The pink slip was handed down.

Sparano spent a great bulk of his head coaching career not taking chances. He was notorious for avoiding the jugular, and will always be, at least in our minds, synonymous with the kicking game. Tony is by all accounts a good guy. He played his cards too close to the vest, in a division with a pair of riverboat gamblers. That may have cost him a few games. But ultimately what cost coach Sparano his job is failing at the ultimate task, one that remains for the next person handed the reins of  our beloved franchise:

Finding a gunslinger who can recapture the imagination of this city.

–GO DOLPHINS, and feel free to follow us on Twitter @thebottlenose

The Fibbing Fin: Dolphins to Wear Helmet Sticker in Honor of Freaking Insane Season

DAVIE, FL –

The Miami Dolphins have decided to wear a helmet sticker for the rest of the year, to honor the most absurd season in team history.

“We thought it was the right thing to do,” Coach Tony Sparano said. “Everyone’s thinking it. Might as well own up to it.”

The Dolphins started out a dismal 0-7 before suddenly blowing teams out of the water, winning 4 out of 5, with the lone loss by a single digit to the NFC East leading Cowboys in Dallas.

Analysts expect Miami to beat the Eagles by 75, before losing to Buffalo by 1 and the Patriots by 58, then rounding out the season with a 91-14 trouncing of the New York Jets.

BS NEWSWIRE