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Preliminary Dolphins IDP Report


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"Ball of Confusion"

People movin out, people movin in....

Why? because the DL bein thin...

 

 

And the band played on.

So, round and around and around we go.

Where the Phins are headed, nobody knows.

 

Oh, great GoogaMooga, can't you hear me talking to you.

Just a ball of confusion.

Oh yeah, that's what the Phins are today.

Woo, hey, hey.

 

Sorry bout that, but what a freakin mess Miami's D looks like right now. Safety Sammy Knight, CB Surtain, gone. CB Will Poole, ACL, out for the season. The old and decrepid section: The DL. DT Tim Bowens, last year early season starter looks done with back problems. DT Larry Chester looks fini with a knee. Both are as old as the hills. So.... Miami goes out and get the fossilised DT from NE, Keith Traylor. As a Jets fan, I'm licking my chops. Miami may be forced into a 3-4 at this point.

 

The D backfield is a mess. The probable starters have ONE interception between them last year! I'll do my best here, but this is, if i say so my self, a ball of confusion.

 

Linebackers

In the 4-3:

SLB: Donnie Spragan, Stanford, 6'3", 240 lbs., 28 years old, signed from Denver as a UFA this year. Last years totals: 45 Tackles, 22 assists, 1 sack, no INT's, 5 passes defensed. Spragan is a solid, if unspectacular LB. Playing the SLB makes him less of a FF value.

MLB: Zach Thomas- no bio required, he's an undersized MLB, but has been a consistant FF producer for years. If healthy all year, and regardless of what sceme the Dolphins use, he can be counted on for 90 tackles, 50 assists, and sporadic INT's, sacks and passes defensed. He is the only sure fire IDP fantasy stud on this team.

WLB: Junior Seau- At the age of 36, he has lost most of his skills, but may still be a good 4th LB in FF. A word of caution: After the Dolphins first OTA, Seau said in a press conference that he would play the inside in both the 3-4 and the 4-3. That would mean he is Z. Thomas' back up in the 4-3. I have no clue who else might start if Seau does not. I can't imagine Crrowder on the outside, but.....

 

In the 3-4, Crowder should be a part of the game plan all of the time. What is far from clear, is how often Miami will run the 3-4. Based on Seau's comments, it would seem he will start his NFL career at OLB in this defensive set, and will often get the chance to participate in the pass rush.

 

Defensive Lineman

THE DEFENSIVE ENDS- This is the only position the Phins appear to be set at, but how any of these DE's will perform in the 3-4 remains to be seen.

LDE: Vonnie Holiday- 6'5", 290 lbs, 29 years old, N.C. Holiday's two years in KC were injury filled and very disappointing. He hopes to rebound this year. Rookie Matt Roth is breathing down his neck. It's now or never for Holiday. I don't think he is a FF force, whether the Fins play a 4-3 or a 3-4. David Bowens remains and offers good depth.

RDE: Jason Taylor- 6'6", 260 lbs, 30 years old. Taylor is about the only Miami DL worthy of being an IDP starter. I would expect a close repeat of last year's numbers, 40 tackles, 27 assists, 9.5 sacks and 9 passes defensed. Taylor may well be a part of the 3-4, but is being looked at as a stand up DE..... he just might play the OLB position when Zach Thomas makes a play call to switch to the 3-4 at the line.

DT's: I'll lump them all together. Both of opening day's starters from a year ago may end up being done in the NFL. Larry Chester has a knee, and Tim Bowens has serious back problems. Miami signed the 35 year old Kieth Traylor from NE as an UFA. Kevin Carter, although a DE his whole career, may be a starting DT for Miami. I forgot to mention another fossil on the Miami D line, 35 year old Jeff Zgonina. He has for the past two years filled in as a regular starter on the Miami D line, as a DT, but ONLY due to injuries. So, the starting DT's in the Miami 4-3 are both 35 years old, Zgonina and Pats cast off, Kieth Traylor. I don't know if either one can play NT in a 3-4. Again Miami will try to convert a career DE to DT, Kevin Carter. These three will most likely play in a rotation. All this makes Zach Thomas and Tebucky Jones look that much better, as they will lead the team in tacles by a wide margin.

 

Safeties

SS: Tebucky Jones comes to the Dolphins from N.O. as an FA, after having a career year in 2004, numbers-wise. He should again put up some impressive numbers, if he can stay healthy tackling all the ball carries that easilly get past the middle of the Miami defensive line. He comes into a defense that looks alot like the porous run D the Saints had last year. 80 tackles and 40 assists is not out of the question.

FS: Traveres Tillman looks like the starter. The last two years for Carolina, he was a part ime player, whether due to injury or under-performing. Yeremia Bell, a second year player (6'1",200lbs, 26 years old) out of Eastern Kentucky may actually win the starting job. He barely got on the field last year.

RCB: Sam Madison- Finally, a position that appears to be locked up. Unfortunately, he is not a FF force.

LCB: Will Poole just went down for the season with a knee. Take yer pick: Saban drafted his old college player, Travis Daniels out of LSU. McQuarters is supposed to come in for a visit on June 2, and while Saban has denied it, they are still in the Ty Law race. If another CB gets the ax, like Rhonde Barber, he could be in the mix too.

 

Summary

How does one sumarize this mess? And that is exactly what it is. Press conferences with Seau and Z. Thomas indicate Miami will use the 3-4 a lot, attempting to duplicate the system N.E. has seemed to perfect. Howver, do they have the personnel for that? No. But they don't hve the personnel for a 4-3 either. Great depth at DE. They have 4 of em. They barely have 2 servicable DT's though. This is a team that should be watched from an IDP perspective though. They will spend a LOT of time on the field. This report is a temporary one, until we get a Miami homer to take it over. With so much up in the air, we really do need a homer for the Fins.

Edited by Rovers
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I added some info on the DT situation. Miami has two 35 year old DT's in the Pat's cast off, Kieth Traylor, career backup Jeff Zgonina (who has started the last 2 years in Miami due to injuries) and newly converted DE to DT Kevin Carter. I really don't think any of them can play NT in a 3-4, so what the Miami D will look like once the season satrts is still a mystery. I figure this all means that Zach Thomas and Tubucky Jones will be near the top of the NFL in tackles. Bump both of them up in your rankings.

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The problem here for fantasy players is that the only two players of note heading into the season - Taylor and Thomas - are unsuited due to their size to play in the 3-4 sets that the team plans on using. 3-4 DE's and 3-4 ILB's tend to be oversized to help compensate for the general reduction in the overall size that the defense suffers when substituting an extra LB for a DL. Those guys may not be 3-down players for the Dolphins. I'd expect that to be especially true with Thomas, who has had injury problems and whose ostensible replacement - Crowder - is now on the roster.

Edited by redman
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  • 2 weeks later...

Miami may just have the worst defense in the NFL this year. They are trying both Holiday and Carter out as NT's! From the Sporting News:

 

DL Vonnie Holliday was working at nose tackle last week during the team's minicamp, which is pretty odd but indicative of what the Dolphins will have to do this season. At roughly 285 pounds, Holliday has played some defensive tackle during his career, but primarily in pass-rush situations when he can attack. The idea of him lining up as a nose tackle in a 3-4 scheme seems a bit of a lark for the coaches, even in passing situations. However, the Dolphins will have to look at every option as they deal with the retirement of Tim Bowens, the slow recovery of Larry Chester and the age of Keith Traylor.

 

It looks like Chester is done, and will most likely get released or follow Bowens, and retire. Jason Taylor now shows up as the ROLB in Our Lads depth charts, with Spragan at LOLB, Seau at RILB and Zach Thomas at LILB. How desperate is Miami? They may actually use a second round pick in the supplemental draft for USC DT Manuel Wright. Traylor is still 35, he hasn't gotten any younger since my initial report.

 

The Phins still need a starting CB, and just don't have the bodies to play a 3-4 OR a 4-3 right now. Not to mention that the linebackers are not well suited for a 3-4 scheme. Add in the fact that career backup Tillman Trevares will start at FS, and this defense looks like a nightmare. They are desperate to sign Law, but have no cap room to do it. I'd hate to be a Dolphins fan this year, it's gonna get ugly.

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