SoFlo Sports Stop

Heat Free Agency Plans: Does Another PF Make Cents?

2010-06-04T07:37:00.001-07:00

I admit that I am on record saying that I have very little confidence in Riley heading into this offseason. Last time he had this kind of money to spend, he handed Brian Grant and Eddie Jones max deals. This year, I am afraid that he is going to jettison Beasley and/or Haslem in order to add one of several big name free agent PFs on the market.

Haslem and Beasley, who collectively made $11 mill last season, combined to average 25 points and 16 rebounds at the PF spot last season. I would be hard pressed to find any free agent PFs who could put up those kind of numbers.

What the Heat really needs is a PG who is better than Chalmers or Arroyo, a C who can get them at least 10 points and 10 rebounds and a SF who can drop 20 points with some regularity.

Unfortunately for the Heat, assuming LeBron is not really interested in Miami, the biggest name free agents available are Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, and Carlos Boozer. I mention these three in particular because Riley has made it known that he wants to sign a big man.

Stoudemire is 6'9", has a long injury history, has never played defense or rebounded well, and has only averaged 20 points and 8 rebounds in Phoenix's high octane offense with Steve Nash throwing him alley oops. Chris Bosh is a frail 6'10", cannot play center, and is more of a stretch four who can shoot it out to the three point line. Carlos Boozer is 6'8", injured almost every season, and is basically the player many once thought Michael Beasley was, and still may be, capable of becoming.

All three of these guys are looking for max deals. It would be a huge mistake to get rid of Beasley and possibly Haslem, and their combined 25/16 at $11 mill, collectively, in order to pay a guy like Amare Stoudemire $15-$17 mill per year to get you 20/8 at the PF spot. I fear that this is one of Riley's grand plans for free agency, but this would not help the Heat considerably.

What the Heat needs to do with their $23-26 mill in projected cap space is the following:

(1) First, sign versatile Joe Johnson who can play PG (he averages 5 assists a game) or SF in a pinch. Joe Johnson, who can probably be signed for $10-12 mill per year, can split his time between PG and SF, something he has already done in his career.

(2) Second, the Heat needs to bring back Dorell Wright for $3-5 mill a season to play significant minutes at SF. With Joe Johnson splitting time between PG and SF, Dorell can get 20-25 minutes a night at SG & SF as a sixth man off the bench kind of like Matt Barnes in Orlando.

(3) Third, with approximately $10 million of remaining cap space, the Heat should make Luke Ridnour, a free agent from the Bucks who averaged about 11 points and 4 assists as a back up last season, their new PG for around $4 mill per year.

(4) Fourth, with the remaining $6 million or so in cap space, the Heat should either bring back Haslem or sign a solid veteran center like Brendan Haywood, who averages 10 points and 10 rebounds per game.

(5) Fifth, if I am not mistaken, the Heat should have a mid level exception of about $5.5 million to use. Thus, if they use their remaining cap space above to sign someone like Haywood, then they could use their mid level to bring back Haslem. I suspect that he can be had for 4 year deal worth around $24 million, which would work under the mid level exception.

(6) Sixth, draft a versatile big man, unless the team misses out on a PG like Luke Ridnour in free agency. There is a good possibility that Daniel Orton, a PF/C from Kentucky, Larry Sanders, a PF/C from VCU, or Kevin Seraphin, a stud PF/C from France, will be available when the Heat selects in the first round.

If the Heat fails to land a PG in free agency, however, then I think they take a long look at Dominique Jones of South Florida, a combo guard who is a slightly less athletic version of D Wade, or Eric Bledsoe, a scoring PG from Kentucky, both of whom could be on the board.

(7) Finally, complete the roster with some solid second round picks like Dwayne Collins of Miami or Trevor Booker of Clemson, and some veteran minimum contracts.

I think if Riley did something like this, then we could build a championship team in South Florida. Unfortunately, my plan only entails bringing in one big name free agent, Joe Johnson, when Riley wants two big names.

Riley wants two big names even if it makes no sense given the availability of Beasley and Haslem as a cheaper, more effective alternative at PF, and he is willing to get rid of one or both of those guys in order to create cap space to do so.

My plan:

PG: Luke Ridnour & Joe Johnson with Chalmers or Arroyo as a back up

SG: Dwyane Wade, backed up by Joe Johnson and Dorell Wright

SF: Joe Johnson, backed up by Dorell Wright

PF: Beasley and Haslem backed up by Dwayne Collins

C: Brendan Haywood backed up by Joel Anthony and either Daniel Orton, Kevin Seraphin, or Larry Sanders

I think this team could emerge as a title contender. Wade would be the superstar, Johnson would be the Scottie Pippen- a versatile and equally important ego-less superstar who deferred to Wade, Ridnour would be the best PG that team has had in 5 years, Haywood would be a Udonis Haslem like presence at Center who rebounds and plays defense, and Beasley and Haslem could continue to combine for 25 or more points and 15 or more rebounds per night (exceeding the production of an Amare Stoudemire or Carlos Boozer).

Riley's probable plan:

Surround Dwyane Wade with two superstars, if possible, and a bunch of minimum contract players.

The Celtics have four stars: Rondo, Garnett, Allen, and Pierce, a solid starting Center in Perkins, and a good sixth man in Wallace, and they are being exposed by the Lakers. If the Celtics cannot win with four great players and two good players, then how can the Heat win with three great players and a bunch of minimum contract guys?

Classless Is As Classless Does

2010-04-29T21:45:00.001-07:00

The Miami Dolphins has issues, I mean real issues, and almost none of them are on the football field.

First, the Dolphins completely fumbled the handling of Jason Taylor's offseason request for a contract extension. After failing to return phone calls from Taylor and his agent, the Dolphins pushed him off the team and into the open arms of one their division rivals.

Then, the Dolphins refused to let Taylor hold a press conference at the team headquarters to thank Miami fans for their decade of loyalty and support.

Shortly thereafter, former Dolphins great and future hall of famer, Zach Thomas came forward with more terrible stories of classless acts by the Dolphins' front office.

Sure one could argue that Taylor did not deserve to hold a press conference in Miami after signing with the Jets.

It turns out, however, fan favorite Zach Thomas was also denied such an opportunity by the Dolphins brass after the team decided to terminate his contract in 2008. Ireland and Parcells made this callous decision even after Thomas had spent 12 years as the heart and soul of the Dolphins' defense.

Such a lapse in judgment is appalling given what Zach Thomas has done for football fans in South Florida.

Worse yet, just days ago, multiple media outlets reported that Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland asked draft prospect Dez Bryant, on a team visit, whether his mom was a whore.

This question sparked outrage from football fans and non-football fans alike and raised serious questions as to the liberties NFL personnel executives can take while conducting "due diligence" regarding potential draft picks.

This brazen lack of decency and the subsequent media coverage it provoked led to public reprimands from both NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.

One would think that Jeff Ireland and the rest of the team's front office would learn from these missteps and act with more compassion in the future.

Turns out, this simply was not the case. Just yesterday, the team announced that it was assigning its 4th round draft pick, linebacker AJ Edds from Iowa, Zach Thomas' old jersey number.

This is shameful. For Dolphins fans under the age of 40, Zach Thomas is arguably the greatest player outside of Dan Marino to have ever donned aqua and orange on game day.

When Zach Thomas retired, I had little doubt that his number, 54, would be retired in the ring of honor alongside Dan Marino's number 13 and Larry Csonka's number 39.

I now have little doubt that the Dolphins' brass decided to issue Thomas' number to AJ Edds in response to Thomas' criticism of the way Parcells and Ireland handled his and Jason Taylor's departure.

This dishonorable measure of revenge is one more stain on the already tarnished reputation of the Dolphins' front office.

As a diehard fan, I desperately want to see the Dolphins improve and generally have supported Ireland and Parcells in their efforts to restore a winning tradition to a once proud franchise.

These recents moves, however, have led me to remember a critical life lesson that I learned as an 8 year old on the practice fields: winning is only honorable when it is done with class.

Heat Trio Needs Room To Grow

2010-04-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

Just one year ago, all Heat fans heard about was the rigorous summer program planned for Michael Beasley, Daequan Cook, and Mario Chalmers.

Riley, the ultimate salesman, sold the promise of the Heat's youth movement. As a result of his efforts, one was almost willing to forget that the Heat made zero moves last summer while teams such as the Cavs (Shaq), the Magic (Vince Carter), the Celtics (Rasheed Wallace), and the Hawks (Jamal Crawford) all significantly strengthened their rosters.

Riley's sales pitch was seductive after Mario Chalmers' exciting rookie season, Daequan Cook's drastic second year improvement, and Michael Beasley's late season stretch of consecutive 20-10 games.

Unfortunately, this season proved what I have been saying for years: Pat Riley's teams do not allow young players enough room to grow.

Everyone will point to Dwyane Wade as a success story, but this is not fair. Despite the fact that many underestimated his pro potential, Wade came into the league NBA ready and only was given a shot to play because the Heat did not have a proven veteran at point guard that season.

More accurately, one has to look no further than Caron Butler (lost his confidence in his sophomore season and regressed), Wayne Simien (never saw any action and is out of the league), Dorell Wright (has taken years to develop and still plays scared at times), and now the three amigos (Cook, Chalmers, and Beasley) who all have failed to develop their games.

There is no room for debate. The three players on which the Heat's season hinged were all huge disappointments.

It is hard to say which of these three players was the most disappointing, but all three left the Heat with more questions than answers going into this critical offseason.

For the past few days, I have seen countless articles bashing these players for failing to rise to the occasion in the playoffs or failing to contribute more to the team this season. I think the Heat's front office and coaching staff must look inward before assigning blame to any of these players.

Riley's famous impatience and distrust of rookies, a mindset demonstrated by Riley's latest disciple Erik Spoelstra, really serves to hinder the development of raw talent.

Beasley, Chalmers, and Cook all played as though they were in fear of getting yanked at any moment for making a mistake and often looked stiff and unnatural with the ball in their hands as a consequence. Does this sound at all like Dorell Wright's first three years in the league to anyone?

Sure enough, all of these players were routinely yanked from games for extended periods of time after making mistakes that most teams would expect from young, developing players.

Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley's close friend and arguably the best NBA player under the age of 25, opened his NBA career with a 7-22 shooting performance while playing a leading role on an inaugural Thunder team.

I watched Kevin Durant's rookie season closely, and recall him having a string of nights where he hoisted 22 or more shots and made fewer than 8 of them. At the time, I really suspected that he might have been grossly overrated coming out of Texas.

The Thunder continued to give Durant free reign and starter's minutes and by his second season he had rewarded his team by averaging over 25 points and 6.5 rebounds per game on almost 48% shooting, including over 42% from behind the arc.

He followed this performance by averaging over 30 points and 7.6 rebound per game in his third season, while leading the team to its first ever playoff appearance.

Durant's team also patiently developed raw but talented players like Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, James Harden and Jeff Green.

The Heat, on the other hand, keeps its young players on a short leash, breaks them down mentally and physically until they have lost all confidence in their games, and signs aging veterans with whom to replace them every time they make a mistake.

Football guru Bill Parcells refers to aging veterans who play the same position as raw, young players as "progress stoppers." This term applies equally well in the world of basketball.

Until the Heat understands and embraces such a philosophy, it will never be a good place for young, raw talent to develop.

While some may blame Michael Beasley, Daequan Cook, or Mario Chalmers, I think their shortcomings are as much the result of a failed ideology as they are a lack of character or determination.

Dolphins' Draft Choices Safe Not Sexy

2010-04-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

The NFL Draft has not proven overly fruitful during the Parcells era. On the one hand, people can point to Jake Long and Vontae Davis as successful picks.

However, lets be real here. Jake Long was the #1 pick in the entire draft and Vontae Davis was the #1 rated corner in his draft class. These guys were expected to be good.

On the other hand, the Dolphins selected Pat White and Phillip Merling in the first 40 picks of their respective drafts and neither one of them looks like they have any future with the team.

More importantly, great teams consistently find gems in the middle and later rounds of the draft, and the Dolphins have demonstrated a tendency to swing and miss in these rounds.

In the past two years, the Phins have traded up to select OG Shawn Murphy (waived one year later) in the fourth round, taken little known TE John Nalbone (on the chopping block) in the fifth round, and selected WR Patrick Turner (who was inactive his entire rookie year) in the third round over potential stud WRs like Mike Wallace (Steelers, round 3), Louis Murphy (Raiders, round 4), and Austin Collie (Colts, round 4).

In sum, I am still waiting to be convinced that Parcells and GM Jeff Ireland are especially skilled at uncovering talent like former Phins coach Jimmy Johnson.

The Phins did nothing spectacular in this year's draft and failed to fill critical voids at FS, OLB, and NT. I know Ireland said that the team plans to move Randy Starks to NT. The fact that Starks was only asked to move after the team failed to nab at NT like Dan Williams in round one, however, is an indication that this was plan B and not plan A.

I also know that they drafted DE Koa Misi from Utah to play OLB in the second round. I have little doubt that Misi will make this transition nicely, but Misi never produced double digit sacks in the Mountain West Conference. What are the odds that he will produce enough sacks in the NFL to make Phin fans forget about Jason Taylor?

Despite the Phins critical need at FS, they failed to land Morgan Burnett, their target, in the third round when he was selected by the Packers just two spots before the Phins' pick.

The Phins did trade two picks to move up and draft safety Reshad Jones from Georgia in the fifth round, although he is probably better suited to replace Yeremiah Bell at SS in one or two seasons than he is to start as a FS in his rookie year. This is also a curious move given that the Phins could have coughed up these two picks to move up two spots in round three and secure the rights to FS Morgan Burnett.

I do think that Jared Odrick (pictured above) was a solid value pick at the bottom of round one. I have few doubts that he will be an upgrade over Phillip Merling at DE in a 3-4 front, and also a future leader of the Dolphins' defense.

I also thought AJ Edds, a LB from Iowa, was one of the more underrated backers in this draft. While I applaud the Phins decision to select him in the fourth round, I am puzzled why the team drafted two ILBs, Edds and Spitler, and traded for another, Tim Dobbins, when they already had Dansby, Crowder, and Torbor on their roster. One has to think Crowder or Torbor will be playing elsewhere next season.

I would have preferred to see them take Ricky Sapp, a highly athletic OLB prospect from Clemson, who slid all the way to the Eagles in the fifth round. Sapp was expected by many to be taken in the first three rounds and would have helped provide more depth at OLB, a position that is much more in need of talent than ILB.

The Dolphins also selected Nolan Carroll, an injured CB from Maryland, in the fifth round ahead of a NT, Cam Thomas, who many believed was worthy of a third or fourth round grade.

The Phins had a chance to scout Cam Thomas at the Senior Bowl so it is hard to argue with their decision not to draft him; however, from the outside looking in it seemed like an odd decision given that Thomas could have challenged Paul Soliai to become a better player and allowed Starks to remain at DE, where he was an absolute beast last year.

The Chargers, a 3-4 team, pounced on Cam Thomas with the very next pick, which only made me more convinced that the Dolphins made a mistake.

Even with my criticisms, I think this was by far the Dolphins' best draft under Parcells. I would not be surprised to see every single player drafted make the team. There were no "what the hell were they thinking?" moments in this draft.

Each player chosen except one was a captain of their respective college team, comes with very little risk, and represents excellent value for where he was chosen in the draft.

While I would have preferred if the team had added another OLB or FS in the first few rounds, I am convinced that the team took no major risks and made no major mistakes in this draft. In short, this draft was solid not sexy.

With Brandon Marshall on offense and thirteen (that's right, 13!) linebackers to choose from on defense, there is no question the Phins should be significantly improved next season. The only question is how much the Patriots and the Jets will also improve.

Last Minute Thoughts On The Draft

2010-04-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

With the NFL Draft just hours away, here are a few of my last minute thoughts:

(1) Ben Roethlisberger should be traded to the Browns or the Raiders. Pittsburgh is one of the oldest and best run franchises in the NFL. I really applaud the Rooney family for recognizing that a problem-making turd like Santonio Holmes had no business donning a Steelers uniform. I also believe that they now recognize that Ben Roethlisberger is equally damaging to the Steelers brand.

A trade to the Raiders or Browns would make a ton of sense for Pittsburgh. If they acquired either team's pick during the draft, they could likely use that pick to draft Roethlisberger's replacement in Jimmy Clausen and then use their 18th pick in the draft to acquire a lineman, like Mike Iupati, to protect Clausen or a wide receiver, like Golden Tate (Clausen's college teammate), to replace Santonio Holmes.

This trade would make sense for Cleveland. Big Ben played his college ball at Miami of Ohio and is a local legend of sorts. They are desperate for help at he QB position. As a matter of fact, they are so desperate that they signed the one of the five worst starting QBs in the league last year, Jake Delhomme, to upgrade their QB position this offseason- enough said.

This trade would also make a ton of sense for the Raiders. The NFL is concerned about Big Ben tarnishing the league's reputation. There is a no way a guy in a Raiders uniform can do anything to harm the league's image. The Raiders are a running punch line as it is, and nobody expects anything from a player once they suit up for the Raiders (see Randy Moss circa 2006).

Not to mention, the Raiders' QB situation is arguably even worse than the Browns'. As bad as Jake Delhomme may be at this point in his career, he is no JaMarcus Russell. I hate to say it, but I actually believe Big Ben would improve the Raiders dramatically.

(2) The Dolphins will desperately attempt to trade down. Over a month ago, I first previewed the Dolphins' draft needs. Although they have since acquired a prime time WR, they still have more holes to plug than Jenna Jameson in her big screen debut. They are extremely thin at FS, OLB, & NT. Usually teams can only expect to find starters at such premium positions in the first three rounds. Knowing that 50% of players chosen in these rounds will fail to live up to expectations, the Dolphins are in trouble when one considers that they only have two picks in the first three rounds.

Given this dilemma, they desperately need to trade back in the opening round. Hopefully, they can partner with a team like Philadelphia that has two second round picks and has shown the bravado to make such moves in the past. If they are able to trade back in round one, then they will have plenty of solid options at OLB in Brandon Graham, Jerry Hughes, and Sergio Kindle. With their next two picks they would have plenty of options at NT and FS.

(3) Ronnie Brown and/or Justin Smiley will be shopped heavily. It is not that the Dolphins do not like both of these players, it is just that they play positions with adequate depth and have demonstrated a fragility for which Parcells does not approve. Ronnie, coming off an injury and DUI, is probably worth no more than a second round pick, and Justin, coming off his second injury in two years, is probably not worth more than a late fourth or fifth round pick. Both of these players when healthy, however, have pro bowl potential. While I would be shocked to see both of them traded on draft day, I would not be the least bit surprised to see one of them traded. I imagine a team like Seattle or Philly could use a stud RB like Ronnie Brown and just might be willing to cough up a second round pick to get him. Also, teams like San Francisco or Pittsburgh that miss out on Mike Iupati in round one may be tempted to trade for a veteran lineman like Smiley later in the draft.

Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right

2010-04-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

I decided to wait a few days to fully digest the impact of Jason Taylor's defection. In the first 24 to 48 hours, if you had asked me for my impression, then I would have told you that JT deserves to go down in history alongside Benedict Arnold and Johnny Walker Lindh as one of America's most infamous traitors.

As the facts slowly begin to leak out, it is clear that the Dolphins were just as blameworthy in this mess as Jason Taylor. Few would dispute that Jason Taylor is one of greatest players to ever suit up for the Phins and one of the top defensive players in the history of the NFL.

It's hard to imagine a scenario where Peyton Manning, Ray Lewis, or Troy Polamalu are summarily traded, cut, or even denied a final one year deal with their respective teams. Many Phins fans would put Jason Taylor in that same untouchable, heart of the team, hero of the city category.

To Parcells and his cronies that simply is not the case. It all started during Parcells first year running the team when JT famously decided to skip Parcells' voluntary (if you hope to stay on the team) conditioning program to promote his celebrity on "Dancing With The Stars." Parcells in turn purportedly snubbed JT, refusing to shake his hand when they first crossed paths in the Dolphins' practice facility.

All of this drama culminated in a fateful decision to trade JT to the Skins for a second round pick. After the Skins realized that a 33 year old JT does not equal a 30 year old JT, they summarily jettisoned him after just one season.

The Phins, for their part, gave JT a second chance, and probably what they suspected was a final one year $1.1 million contract to come back to Miami at age 34.

Even with a return to familiar surroundings and a more rush friendly 3-4 defense, Taylor managed just 7 sacks and 42 tackles last season. As much as he has meant to the Phins, there was no doubt in my mind that he had little gas left in his tank and would probably retire at seasons' end or sign a final one year deal to return as a mere rotational player.

The real shocker came when JT decided to continue playing and the Phins, despite having no veteran OLBs on their roster, refused to give him a one year deal even for his bargain basement $1.1 million 2009 salary.

Hell, the Phins even brought back oft-injured QB Chad Pennington, who is equally long in the tooth, on a virtually identical deal. Moreover, they renewed the contract of Jason Ferguson who is the same exact age as JT, plays a position with the same lack of depth, is coming off a major knee injury, and is facing an 8 game suspension upon his return. What gives?

I know. I get the distinction. Chad Pennington and Jason Ferfuson have been with Parcells and Co. longer than Jason Taylor. What this means, however, is that Parcells and Co. view themselves as an organization whose loyalties have nothing to do with the history of the franchise that they happen to be running.

If anyone deserved a one year deal to return and play out his final year in a Phins uniform, it was JT not Chad Pennington or Jason Ferguson.

Despite Parcells' failure to show JT any respect, however, this in no way excused JT from signing with the JETS! If JT had beef with Parcells, then he should have kept that between the two of them instead of turning his back on a fan base that has been nothing but loyal to him for more than a decade.

There are 31 other teams in the National Football League (30 if you exclude the Patriots), where Phins fans would have preferred to see JT sign. Even if he joined the San Diego Chargers, another AFC team, it would have been ten times better than signing with the JETS.

Now Phins fans will have to watch JT lining up opposite Jake Long and Chad Henne at least two times next season. I cannot imagine the emotions that Phins fans will experience the first time they witness JT coming home to Miami in a JETS uniform.

While it is clear that Parcells showed no respect to JT this offseason, I sincerely believe JT deserves no respect from Phins fans when he suits up as a member of the JETS. After all, haven't we heard all our lives that two wrongs don't make a right?

Winning Is Priceless, Brandon Marshall Is Not

2010-04-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

This past week, the Dolphin's took by far their biggest gamble of the Parcells Era by trading two second round picks to the Broncos for pro bowl wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

Honestly, I had to read about four different press releases from credible news sources before I believed my eyes. This moves runs counter to everything for which Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano stand.

They do NOT like "diva" (big ego) receivers, they do NOT think that receivers should be among the highest paid players on a team, they do NOT believe in trading away high draft picks, they do NOT believe in spending tens of millions of dollars in the offseason to improve a team, and they do NOT believe in bringing players into their locker room who have a reputation for putting themselves ahead of the team (see Terrell Owens).

Some might see the Dolphins' latest moves, making Dansby and Marshall the two highest paid NFL players at their respective positions, as acts of desperation, and they are right. Let's face it, the Phins regressed a little last season and were, as of two months ago, nowhere close to catching up with the Patriots and quickly falling behind the Jets.

After watching their brash talking arch rivals in New York go on an acquisition spree (Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes, LaDainian Tomlinson, and possibly Jason Taylor), the Phins had to do something to stay relevant.

Trading for Brandon Marshall was just what the doctor ordered. I wrote, just a few weeks ago, that the Phins would be foolish to give Michael Crabtree money (nearly $20 million guaranteed) to a first round pick with a 50-50 bust rate when they could get a proven force like Brandon Marshall for $24 million in guaranteed money.

Consequently, I can do nothing but praise the Phins for this latest move. It makes sense on so many levels. It is no secret that the Dolphins are perhaps only behind the Raiders and the Lions when it comes to swinging and missing in the NFL draft.

Jamar Fletcher, Eddie Moore, Matt Roth, Jason Allen, Ted Ginn, John Beck, Phillip Merling, Pat White, and Patrick Turner are all among the dozens of disappointments the Dolphins have selected at the top of the draft. Notice these picks even include a few questionable selections by Parcells and Co.

When one considers this history of draft misfortune, it is hard to argue that the Dolphins were foolish for coughing up two second round picks to land one of the top five receivers in the NFL and fill arguably the teams biggest void.

Speaking of draft misfortunes, the Phins managed to dupe the 49ers into trading a 5th round pick in this year's draft for Ted Ginn, Jr. It is amusing to read the quotes from 49ers brass touting Ted Ginn as "loaded with potential" and "possessing the speed needed to open up a vertical offense." No matter how evolved the human race becomes, there are always some among us who are destined to repeat others' mistakes.

While many local sports writers described the Phins' divestiture of Ginn a as a direct consequence of the Marshall acquisition, I think just the opposite is true. The Phins made a bold move to acquire Brandon Marshall because they feared that Dez Bryant could be the next Ted Ginn.

In other words, for those Phins fans who are wondering what the Dolphins have to show for the three years and millions of dollars invested in Ted Ginn, the answer is the willingness of the Dolphins front office to finally pay whatever it takes to acquire a proven talent like Brandon Marshall.

Could Dorell Wright's Balls Keep Him On The Heat's Court?

2010-03-31T10:31:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago, I wrote about Dorell Wright's knuckle-headed decision to drive his Bentley around South Beach with a suspended license. Turns out he wasn't stupid, he was drunk, though some might fail to see a difference.

Now, in the same month that Wright was suspended two games for these actions, several sexually explicit photos have been broadcast to the Twitter universe by a vindictive groupie.

At least now millions of basketball ball fans will understand why a guy who is 6'9" is referred to as the team's "small forward."

All joking aside, if driving while intoxicated is dumb, "sexting" a groupie a photograph that contains both a celebrity's face and penis is even dumber.

What all of this means for Dorell Wright's future is unclear, especially considering he is a free agent after this season. At least one very respected local journalist, Ira Winderman, now thinks that Wright has blown any shot at receiving a long term deal from the Heat.

Not too long ago, many would have argued that the Heat had no shot at re-signing Dorell Wright anyways. If the Heat is able to sign Amar'e Stoudemire or Chris Bosh this offseason, as planned, then the team will have almost no remaining cap space to sign free agents.

In all likelihood, the Heat will use its mid-level exception (approximately $5-6 mill) to re-sign team captain Udonis Haslem, starting center Jermaine O'Neal, or a veteran point guard such as Luke Ridnour. Thus, the Heat will have to fill its void at small forward with a player willing to accept a veteran's minimum contract (approximately $2-3 mill).

At some point this season, Dorell Wright's play finally won him the trust of teammates and coaches and earned him steady minutes as a versatile guard/forward. Given his steady improvement, Dorell attracted a lot of interest at the February trade deadline from teams like Memphis.

I had little doubt, prior to March, that a team such as Memphis would offer Dorell a contract starting at around $4-5 million, making his return to the Heat a virtual impossibility.

The past four weeks, however, have done so much damage to Dorell's stock that he just might be pricing himself into the Heat's offseason plans. The fact that he is D Wade's closest friend on the team will only increase the odds that this possibility becomes a reality.

Dolphins' Brass Narrow Minded About Wide Receiver

2010-03-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that Bill Parcells and Company abhor wide receivers with diva personalities. Because of this intolerance, the Tuna is well known for never selecting wide receivers in the first round of the NFL Draft.

As a Dolphins fan, no matter how badly I would like to see the team add a prime time receiver through the draft, I cannot fault the team for passing on the likes of Dez Bryant or Arrelious Benn in the first round.

History is known to repeat itself, and a detailed analysis of drafts over the past decade (see links below) reveals that nearly 50% of all wide receivers taken in the first round have been demoralizing busts.

Dolphins fans know this risk and the resulting heartache all too well after watching Ted Ginn embarrass the franchise every time he suits up for a game. After three years in the league, Ted Ginn is only half as productive as 5'9" Davone Bess who went undrafted in 2007, the year the Dolphins made Ginn the ninth overall pick in the draft.

Given the high bust rate, why should the Dolphins, a team with so many holes to fill, roll the dice on a wide out? After missing on Ted Ginn, Jason Allen, Eddie Moore, Pat White, Samson Satele, Matt Roth, and so many others, this team cannot afford to waste high draft picks on players who fail to become impact starters.

The problem is that Bill Parcels has some seriously flawed logic when it comes to drafting wide outs beyond the first round. Just because first round wide outs are busts, does not mean that it makes sense to look for impact wide outs in later rounds.

While the bust rate is almost 50% for first round wide outs, this rate gets progressively higher with each subsequent round. If you think the odds of finding a star wide out in the first round are daunting, just wait until you're throwing darts in the dark in rounds 5 or 6.

Sure the league always features wide outs like Miles Austin and Marques Colston who were not high draft picks. Here is the problem: each year approximately 3 of the 6 wide outs taken in the top 50 picks will be success stories, and approximately 3 or 4 of the 20 plus wide outs taken in the next 200 or so remaining picks will be success stories.

Some evaluators will observe that just as many starters are plucked from later rounds as from the first two rounds, and conclude that their team might as well draft a wide out late in the draft. Savvier people will realize that this is wrong, since the odds of finding a starter at the top of the draft are about 50% (3 out of 6), whereas the odds of finding a starter late in the draft are merely 15 or 20% (approx. 3 or 4 out of 20+).

In other words, drafting a guy in the middle to late rounds and expecting him to become the next Miles Austin or Marques Colston is about as wise as spending your retirement savings at the Hialeah Racetrack.

If the Dolphins are keen on finally getting some weapons for Chad Henne so they can stop relying on a gimmicky offense to put points on the board, then they need to go after a sure thing.

There were only two sure things available at wide out this offseason, Anquan Boldin and Brandon Marshall, and one of them is already off the market.

If the Dolphins were smart, they would gladly cough up their first round pick to secure the rights to Brandon Marshall. Sure, he won't come cheaply. As a matter of fact, he will likely command a contract at least as big as Boldin's four year $28 million deal.

To put this in perspective, however, Dolphins' latest bust in resident Tedd Ginn signed a five year $20 million deal as the teams' first round pick in 2007. Two years later, the Oakland Raiders selected bust in the making Darius Heyward Bey (just a few spots above where the Dolphins will select in the draft) and handed him a six year $38 million contract to become the team's feature wide out.

If you were standing in Bill Parcells' shoes, what would you rather do: (a) sacrifice a first round pick for the right to sign Brandon Marshall, a 26 year old pro bowl wide out, for $30-$40 million; or (b) use your first round pick for the right to hand a 21 year old, like Dez Bryant, with a 50% chance of being a complete bust, a contract for $25-$35 million?

In my mind, this is not even a question. In Bill Parcells' mind, unfortunately, the draft is where he plans to find his next Miles Austin.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=kluck/receivers/070425
http://www.blueandsilverreport.com/2010/02/19/cowboys-draft-10-bust-factors-for-wide-receivers/

Does Miami Ruin Athletes' Marriages & Christian Values?

2010-03-12T17:07:00.000-08:00

Lately, "the Miami lifestyle" has come under fire for ruining marriages and tempting Christian athletes to stray from their values.

For starters, Shaunie O'Neal, the soon to be ex-wife of Shaq, blames her three year stay in Miami for her divorce. Shaunie recently told Essence magazine:

"Miami is a great city. It just wasn't a great city for our marriage. I know they say L.A. has its groupies, but Miami has a different mentality....Girls are practically sitting in their bra and panties in the arena....Apparently we didn't have a strong enough foundation for Shaq to withstand that type of temptation."

Wow. Are Miami women that much worse than women in L.A.? After all, isn't L.A. the land of famed crazed and silicon filled aspiring models and actresses?

One can only imagine that many of these women were also looking for a certain 7 foot, 320 pound meal ticket. Perhaps Miami was merely the destination where Shaq was caught red handed.

Well, Shaunie can certainly provide a valid perspective of a player's wife, but what about the athletes themselves?

According to John Salmons, the one University Miami star currently doing big things in the NBA, living in Miami for a few years nearly cost him his strong Christian faith. In a recent interview with The Journal Times of Milwaukee, Salmons had the following to say about his time at The U:

"In Miami, it's tough for a guy to continue his faith. I wanted to live a Christian lifestyle and I wanted to live the Miami lifestyle. There's some guilt that comes with that."

Salmons said that if not for some timely advice and guidance from the wife of the basketball team's chaplain, he might not have made it out of Miami with his Christian values in tact:

"The one thing [she] told me, and I'll never forget it, was, ‘If you can make it in Miami, you can make it in the NBA,' [and] I always took it as a challenge."

There is no question that the story of what might have been for John Salmons is the story of what now is for Dwyane Wade.

As a rookie, D Wade came to Miami as a devout Christian and happily married family man who was the face of restraint and responsibility. Six years later, Wade finds himself in divorce court accused of humoring one too many groupies, neglecting his children, and infecting his wife with an STD.

It is hard to believe that Miami's reputation as a hedonistic party spot with beautiful women would deter professional athletes from signing with South Florida's professional sports teams. In all likelihood, this is probably one of the best recruiting pitches used to lure free agents.

One has to account, however, for the possibility that at least a minority of pro athletes who are devoutly religious or happily married may begin to avoid South Florida for all of its temptations.

Playoffs? Don't Talk About Playoffs! Are You Kidding Me?

2010-03-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

It seems like yesterday, Bud Selig and the Players' Union made the unprecedented move of admonishing the Florida Marlins for their commitment to spend less on payroll than they receive from revenue sharing.

Amazingly, just a few weeks later, Jeffrey Loria issued the following statement: "We're working off an 87-win season and I expect us to make the playoffs. I thought we should have [made the playoffs] last year. I was disappointed at the end of the season. That's all I'll say about that."

Good thing Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez is not Jim Mora, Sr. (see link below). Apparently, overachieving one season only raises Loria's expectations for the next season.

Conspiracy theorists, myself included, might suggest that Loria's bold mandate is only aimed to deflect recent and intense criticism for putting 4 to 6 minor league caliber players each year on a big league roster in order to fatten his wallet.

Truth be told, the Marlins have made the playoffs with one of the league's lowest payrolls before. Hell, they even won the World Series in 2003 with a payroll less than half as large as the Yankees'. After they did so, Loria famously went on TV mid celebration and screamed: "Buy your tickets now...there will be no fire sale cause we're going to repeat baby!"

In his defense, just one year later he did throw down over $10 million a year, which in Marlins' currency is like $20-25 million a year elsewhere, to sign Carlos Delgado.

Of course, after the team struggled, Delgado and the richest contract to which the Marlins had ever agreed were shipped off in a cost cutting move to trim the team's payroll to under $15 million, less than 20% of the league average of $78 million, before the 2006 season.

Amazingly, in 2006, with the lowest payroll in baseball, new skipper Joe Girardi nearly did the impossible and just missed making the playoffs with a team many projected to be the worst in baseball. Unfortunately, Loria canned Girardi after just one year because he clearly had no potential as a manager (insert sarcasm here).

Since Gonzalez took the helm in 2007, expectations have only grown larger while the payroll has remained the same- embarrassingly low.

Loria is like a parrot when it comes to talking payroll. We always hear the same things: "We don't have fans, we don't have a stadium, we don't have the ticket sales, etc."

In many respects, these arguments are true. What he is not telling the media, however, is that he is a first class con artist.

In 2006, when the Marlins nearly made the playoffs without spending more than $14.9 million, Loria received $31 million under MLB's revenue sharing agreement, making the Marlins the league's most successful team, financially speaking, with $43 million in profits.

Despite these huge payoffs, Loria held the city of Miami hostage by threatening to move the Marlins, forcing taxpayers to cough up several hundred million dollars to build Loria a new stadium in which the team will be even more profitable.

Jeffrey Loria is the Bialystock of MLB. The 2006 Marlins' season might as well have been made into a Broadway musical.

So how did Loria choose to spend his league leading $43 million in profits? He used all his funds from revenue sharing to help build a more competitive team, right? Wrong again!

Prior to the 2008 season, Loria traded away Miguel Cabrera, one of the best young power hitters in baseball, to avoid paying Cabrera more than the bargain salary he was making.

In 2003, the year Cabrera led the Marlins to a championship, he earned a modest $300K and three years later in 2006 he made just $472K. You would think Loria bought him at Filene's Basement.

Sure enough, with Cameron Maybin's inconsistent bat and inability to crack the majors, two years later the Marlins have nothing to show for giving away Cabrera and have struggled to recapture any of their 2003 magic.

Heading into this season, the team's projected clean up hitter is Jorge Cantu. I love Jorge Cantu, but who are we kidding? In 2009, Cantu hit 16 home runs and he has a career slugging percentage of just .456.

What is truly amazing is how talented Hanley Ramirez must be to have batted .342 with 106 RBIs in 2009 when pitchers knew that if they wanted to pitch around Hanley, then the only person they had to worry about facing was the big bad Jorge Cantu.

Is there any hope for the 2010 Marlins? It is early this Spring, but there is one man who has shown promise thus far.

Mike Stanton, the 20 year old Marlins prospect ranked 3rd best in the minor leagues by Baseball America, could be the next Miguel Cabrera. He is still young and somewhat raw, but so was Cabrera when he got the call.

Stanton is big and powerful at over 6'5" and 230 lbs. In fact, he was even recruited to play football at USC before signing with the Marlins as their second round draft pick in 2007.

While it is early, there is no question that he has promise. In his first five games this Spring, Stanton has homered twice, driven in five runs, and batted .333. Even more promising, his two homers came off of major league pitchers.

If he keeps this up, there is no question that offensively many of the Marlins' problems could be solved. Then all the team will have to worry about is finding some consistency from its young pitchers.

Despite the ownership problems, as always, the future is looking bright for the Marlins in South Florida.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-eavMSBnk

Dorell Wright: Coming To A Sidewalk Near You

2010-03-12T08:32:00.001-08:00

You may have already heard, Dorell Wright, circa 3 AM on Thursday, joined the list of recent Heat players with car troubles (see Carlos Arroyo link below).

The only thing more surprising than Dorell Wright's DUI arrest was the fact that his license had already been suspended. This can only mean one thing: his license will now be fully revoked.

What does this mean to Heat fans?

First, Dorell will now either be moving to one of several vacant condo buildings across from American Airlines Arena or you will soon be seeing him riding a bicycle over MacArthur Causeway to practices and home games.

Second, one has to wonder what implications this has for the 2010 offseason. If Dorell cannot drive a car in the state of Florida for the next year or two, then will he really want to resign with the Heat?

I did a little legal research, and it turns out that DMVs in all states share records, thus Dorell likely cannot run (or should I say drive) from his crimes.

What this does not rule out, however, is that he may now be tempted to sign with a team in a city with excellent public transportation or housing options near its arena (think the Knicks or Wizards).

In all seriousness, it is a shame to see Dorell Wright's mugshot in the morning paper. He has been nothing but a high character guy, to the best of my knowledge, since arriving in Miami. It is no question that he is Dwyane Wade's close friend and a popular guy in the Heat's locker room.

If we can draw any conclusions from this latest arrest, then it is that Dorell Wright suffers from bad judgment at times just like the rest of us. I mean, how could an NBA role player who barely made $1 million a year under his rookie contract justify buying a $250,000 Bentley?

http://www.wptv.com/content/breakingnews/story/miami-heat-player-arrested-carlos-arroyo-wptv/XQneQz6Kkki4ZHfZXt30sg.cspx

Will Latwan Anderson Buy Shannon A Reprieve?

2010-03-11T20:58:00.000-08:00

"It's a challenge...I'm not going to say it's not difficult," Randy Shannon recently said in response to a reporter's question regarding his inability to receive a contract extension from University of Miami.

Coach Randy Shannon has been a polarizing figure at best since taking over the Hurricanes football program 3 years ago.

Randy Shannon was supposed to be a recruiting beast. After all, in perhaps the most football rich county and state in the nation, how could the first and only prominent black head coach fail to recruit some of the best local talent?

Shannon was reputed to be a players' coach: young, easy to relate to, and paternalistic. On many accounts, Randy Shannon has been a major success. The "U" has posted one of the nation's best academic progress rates, 7th out of 119 BCS schools, under Shannon's leadership.

In sum, Randy Shannon has cleaned up the reputation of The U, he has gotten his kids to attend class, get an education, and graduate. He has done an outstanding job turning boys into men.

On the football field, however, his results have been less admirable. In the three years that Shannon's been at the helm, the Hurricanes are 21-17 and 0-2 in bowl games- not exactly the level of achievement for which Donna Shalala had hoped.

Success in college football is not complicated. As Bill Clinton would say, it's about recruiting, stupid. Year after year, the best programs (i.e., USC or UF) land the best recruits.

Shannon's first year started with a bang. He recruited the best high school talent in the nation led by Jacory Harris and almost a half dozen teammates from Miami Northwestern High School.

Since then, Shannon's has done nothing but struggle recruiting top prospects from Bryce Brown (the #1 RB who chose Tennessee) to Patrick Johnson (the #1 CB who chose LSU) to Kayvon Webster (Defensive player of the year in Miami-Dade who chose USF).

This past year was going to be the year Miami went from good to great. With Urban Meyer's mysterious health issues and indefinite leave of absence, with Jim Leavitt's termination for hitting a player at USF, and with complete confusion in Tallahassee in the wake of Bobby Bowden's "resignation," the recruiting winds would never blow stronger at Shannon's back.

Amazingly, Florida, despite Meyer's uncertain status, recruited one of the best classes in the past two decades, and even FSU cashed in on far more blue chip recruits than expected. Miami, however, failed to land any of the half dozen or so 5 star recruits that strongly considered playing at The U...that is except one.

With a last minute change of heart, Latwan Anderson switched his commitment from West Virginia to The U, making himself The U's lone 5 star recruit in its 2010 class.

Unfortunately, Latwan is a defensive back and not an offensive lineman or defensive end, positions of greater need. While it remains to be seen what impact Latwan will have on The U going into next season, at least his recruitment offers some glimmer of hope that Shannon can still recruit.

Whether this small victory will buy Shannon more time to succeed or help him net a contract extension remains to be seen.

Miami Heat: No Front Office For Old Men

2010-03-11T18:14:00.001-08:00

I often notice that very few articles are written about Pat Riley's inability to manage the Miami Heat as a front office executive.

His ability to recognize talent is definitely in question. His best move to date is drafting Dwyane Wade with the 5th overall pick in the 2003 draft.

It is well documented, however, that Pat Riley stepped down as the Miami Heat coach after he felt the team came up short with the 5th pick in the Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh sweepstakes.

As a matter of fact, he is purported to have broken a chair in his office when he didn't get one of the top three picks. Not only did Riley perceive the draft as being three players deep, but he also failed to see the potential in Dwayne Wade.

Rumor has it, Randy Pfund had to lock Riley in a room on draft day and tirelessly attempt to sell him on the merits of drafting the undersized combo guard.

In 2004, after watching new coach Stan Van Gundy overachieve with a promising young core of Wade, Odom, and Caron Butler, Riley blew up the team and pushed Van Gundy aside so that Riley could return to the sidelines.

While few would fault Riley for trading Odom and Butler for Shaq, a trade which resulted in a championship, one can only wonder what would have come of the Heat had they held onto their horses.

Imagine Wade at SG, Odom at PF, Butler at SF, and Jordan Farmar at PG (Farmar was taken with the draft pick that the Heat traded to the Lakers in the Shaq trade).

All the Heat would have been missing was a serviceable center and they would have been a younger, better version of the 2008 Celtics.

Like I said, I am willing to forgive Riley since this trade resulted in the Heat's first ever championship.

My bigger gripe, however, is that he thought it was a good idea to give an aging, increasingly lazy 34 year old Shaq a four year $100 million dollar extension.

It was apparent to all watching the finals, just ask Dan Patrick, that Wade not Shaq was the Heat's future, so why mortgage the franchise's future to resign Shaq at $20 million a year until he is 38?

Not surprisingly, just one year later, Riley realized what a stupid move it was to extend Shaq and desperately sought to dump his contract. That bad contract, and the bad contracts the Heat has traded it for, caused the Heat to fall from grace faster than any championship team in modern history.

All in all, the Shaq extension has to rank neck and neck with the time Riley gave max contracts to Brian Grant and Eddie Jones as one of the worst personnel moves in Heat history.

While he clearly is not adept at evaluating players on his roster, Riley has also shown that he is not able to skillfully identify free agent bargains either. Once able to pluck cheap free agent point guards off the street and turn them into starters, Riley has burned through nearly a dozen point guard projects in the past five years, and none of them has been a major success.

In addition to his talent acquisition shortcomings, Pat Riley's old school "defense wins championships" mentality has proven outdated. While in Riley's heyday top defenders practically wore ski masks to games, the NBA in the 21st century has banned all hand checking in a move to feature more explosive offenses and become more fan friendly.

It is clear from looking at every team that is currently a legitimate title contender (Lakers, Cavs, Nuggets, Magic, etc.) that any serious team must be able to score over 100 points every single night with ease and consistency.

Last, but certainly not least, the Miami Heat under Riley's stewardship has proven that it is a destination where young talent goes to die. Look at all the promising young players who the Heat has brought in only to turn into under-confidant, inconsistent players.

Look no further than Dorell Wright, Dequan Cook, Earl Barron, Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, Wayne Simien, Rasual Butler, etc. Need I go on?

As Rasual Butler demonstrated when he lit up the Heat for over 30 points the other night, all any of these young guys have needed are starter's minutes and some patience.

I am almost certain that Beasley will soon demonstrate that he can be an All Star in this league given a longer leash and 40 minutes a night. Unfortunately, I have a sick feeling that, like Caron Butler, this will be for another team.

Riley's lack of trust in young players and lack of commitment to giving them meaningful quality minutes has seriously undermined these players' development and handicapped this team.

No current championship contending team has gotten where it is today without trusting in and developing young talent. The Lakers patiently waited on the likes of Bynum, Farmar, and Vujacic.

The Celtics developed Rondo, Perkins, Big Baby, and Leon Powe (when he was with the team). The Cavs developed JJ Hickson, Anderson Verajao, Delonte West (despite his bi-polar disorder), and Daniel Gibson. The spurs created Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and have been excellent with Dejuan Blair.

Most of these players were super raw and not all that highly touted coming into the league. I could go on with plenty of other examples.

In addition to famously being ranked one of the coaches NBA players would least like to play for in Sports Illustrated, Riley has got to be one of the GMs players would least trust to build a solid team from scratch.

With that said, I would not be surprised if Wade bolts in free agency this summer. Why would he have any faith in Riley?

Moreover, even if Riley signs Amare or Chris Bosh in the offseason, the Heat will have zero cap space to sign the likes of Dorell Wright, Jermaine O'Neal, or a point guard like Luke Ridnour.

Thus, even if the Heat's 2010 free agency dreams come true (i.e., the team signs Wade and Bosh), the Heat will still be a severely flawed team with no real PG, SF, or C. Perhaps the mid level exception (approximately $5.5 million) can be used to resign Jermaine O'Neal or Udonis Haslem, but that would still leave the Heat without a reliable PG or SF.

As a die hard Heat fan, I really think that Riley, like Jordan when he was an under-performing Wizards executive, has to go. I know Mickey idolizes him and isn't likely to jettison him anytime soon, but I feel strongly that the Heat will not win a championship until Riley steps aside, hires a real GM, and cuts the puppet strings off of Spo's back.

Miami Dolphins Draft Preview

2010-03-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year where Dolphins fans start scouring internet, looking for hope in the form of a mock draft that fills all the team's needs. I will do my best to outline the teams needs and potential draft targets heading into this critical 2010 offseason.

Two years into the Parcells, Sparano, & Ireland project, the trifecta has left much to be desired. This regime has proven that they are highly ineffective at upgrading the Dolphin's roster through free agency, but much hope rests on the broad shoulders of Karlos Dansby to reverse that trend.

Dansby, of course, was signed by the Dolphins this offseason to the richest contract ever for an NFL inside linebacker. It remains to be seen how Sparano and Nolan will utilize Dansby, who can also rush the passer, but he most likely will be replacing Akin Ayodele at MLB.

It goes without saying that Dolphans will be hoping and praying that Dansby's signing improves the team more than the signing of other notable free agents under the trifecta: Ernest Wilford, Eric Green, and Gibril Wilson. Amazingly, two of these three players (Wilford and Green) never even suited up as a starter for a single game after receiving hefty signing bonuses.

Green, in particular, never even made it to the regular season. He was swiftly jettisoned, along with his guaranteed bonus, after several abysmal outings in the preseason. These days Green can be found in a courtroom defending against a whole other kind of deep ball; In January of 2009, Green was served with a civil suit for forcibly sodomizing a member of our trans-gender community (see the link below)....but I digress.

With the signing of Karlos Dansby, MLB is no longer an area of need for the Dolphins. With the release of Gibril Wilson and Joey Porter (good riddance), the suspension of Jason Furgeson, and the lackluster performance of the Dolphins' 2009 receiving corps, the team has gaping holes at FS, OLB, NT, and WR. In sum, this team has more holes to fill than Jenna Jameson in her big screen debut!

First Round Options
While Renaldo McClain, an ILB from Alabama, was the player nearly everyone predicted the Dolphin's would draft with the #12 pick, this seems to be out of the question with the aforementioned Dansby acquisition. Instead, look for the Dolphins to select one of following five players with their first round pick:

Dan Williams, NT, Tennessee, 6'2" 327 lbs, 5.2 40 yd dash
I would not be surprised if the Dolphin's took Williams at #12, given their need at NT, the lack of free agent NTs available, and the team's familiarity with Williams after coaching him at this year's Senior Bowl. Williams compares favorably to B.J. Raji who was drafted #9 overall last year by the Green Bay packers.

Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State, 6'2" 220 lbs, 4.6 (projected) 40 yd dash
The team could only hope to find a WR with Dez Bryant's size and talent available with the 12th pick in this year's draft. This is the exactly the physical receiver for which Chad Henne has been publicly lobbying. Only problem, however, is Dez Bryant has done his best to create the perception among many that he is this year's ultimate diva at wide out. To further the matter, Dez Bryant skipped working out with his Oklahoma State teammates at their recent pro day, and now is facing rumors that he had to be constantly reminded to attend class and football practice. You can rest assured that none of this will sit well with The Tuna. In sum, Dez Bryant likely will not be wearing Aqua and Orange next year.

Earl Thomas, CB/S, Texas, 5'10", 208 lbs, 4.4 40 yd dash
There is no question in my mind that Earl Thomas would be a top 10 pick, and still might be, if not for Eric Berry stealing much of his thunder. Add one inch to Thomas' height, and his numbers and measurements would mirror Berry's with one notable exception- Thomas had 8 interceptions this past year far exceeding Berry. He very well could be the sort of instinctive ball hawk that this team is looking for at FS. Only problem is that his height is far from ideal and leaves scouts to wonder how he will avoid injuries in the NFL with his physical style of play unless he switches from FS to CB. Even still, if we pass on Dan Williams, I say there is a good chance we take Earl Thomas.

Sergio Kindle, OLB, Texas, 6'3", 250 lbs, 4.7 40 yd dash
Mike Mayock of the NFL Network has predicted that Sergio Kindle will be the Dolphin's first round pick. When Mike Mayock speaks, people listen. Sergio is an incredibly gifted athlete who can and did play OLB at times in college. He had an impressive 22 tackles for a loss in his senior year, despite only amassing 5 sacks. The real trouble I have with this selection is Kindle's history of off the field issues. He has had purported alcohol troubles, leading to more than one run in with the police. Moreover, Kindle's own high school coach is rumored to have said he hopes Kindle does not end up in a place with a big party scene like Miami. This cannot bode well with the Dolphins' "character counts" front office.

Brandon Graham, OLB, Michigan, 6'1", 265 lbs, 4.7 yd dash
There is no question that Brandon Graham is not expected to be taken #12, and many people have him going in the late first or even early second round. This amazes me, however, when you consider that this guy has the speed of Sergio Kindle (4.7 40) despite weighing 15 lbs more. Also, Graham is the sort of guy who will lead a locker room and raise the level of play of those around him. While there are questions about his height and short arms, I think this guy will be every bit as good as Lamar Woodley is as a 3-4 OLB and possibly an even better locker room presence. If the Dolphins are going to select an OLB in the first round, I sure hope Graham is their man.

Second/ Third Round Options
Obviously the Dolphins will only be able to fill one hole in the first round, barring a Ronnie Brown trade. Therefore, look for them to fill at least one or two more holes in rounds 2 and 3. The players to keep an eye on are as follows:

NT: Second round options will likely include Mount Cody from Alabama or Cam Thomas from UNC. Either of these players would make excellent additions to the Dolphins and can likely contribute in their rookie seasons. If the Dolphins don't take Dan Williams in round one, and miss out on Cody and Thomas in round two, look for them to reach for Torell Troup from UCF or Linval Joseph from East Carolina in round three. Since neither of these two players are well known, I am attaching a link to their bios below. One late round possibility is Jeff Ownens of Georgia, who is undersized but could be a Casey Hampton style NT and is from Ft. Lauderdale.

OLB: If the Dolphins pass on Graham and Kindle in round one, they will have at least a half dozen good options between their second and third round picks, and that is assuming Jerry Hughes is already off the board: (a) Ricky Sapp of Clemson; (b) Eric Norwood of South Carolina; (c) Thaddeus Gibson of Ohio State; (d) Koa Misi of Utah; (e) Jason Worilds of VA Tech; and (f) Jermaine Cunningham of Florida. One late round sleeper to keep an eye on is Adrian Tracy of William & Mary (link below). Nobody is singing his praises, but he dominated the small school level and has the size and speed to make it as an NFL OLB.

FS: If the Dolphins pass on Earl Thomas in round one, look for them to draft one of the following free safeties in rounds two or three: (a) Nate Allen of South Florida (this is the best case scenario); (b) Morgan Burnett of GA Tech; or (c) Major Wright of Florida. One late round sleeper to keep an eye on is Robert Johnson of Utah (link below).

WR: Finally, if the Dolphins do indeed decide to pass on Dez Bryant in round one, they will have plenty of options to upgrade their receiving corps in rounds two and three. Expect them to draft one of the following big, physical receivers: (a) Demaryuis Thomas (could be gone) of GA Tech; (b) Arrelious Benn of Illinois; (c) Damian Williams of USC; (d) Brandon LaFell of LSU; (e) Carlton Mitchell of USF; (f) Jeremy Williams of Tulane; or (g) Eric Decker of Minnesota (could slip due to injury).

This concludes my 2010 Miami Dolphins draft preview. I am anxious to see how the draft unfolds. As always, the Dolphins are just three good players away from being a complete team.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/01/28/2010-01-28_nfl_player_city_sued_by_transgender.html

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/probe.php?genpos=DT&draftyear=2010&sortby=tsxpos&order=ASC&startspot=10

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=73137&draftyear=2010&genpos=OLB

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=69270&draftyear=2010&genpos=FS

Gator's Offense Scheme On The Defensive?

2010-03-11T12:50:00.000-08:00

According to numerous sources (see link below), Tim Tebow scored the lowest score on the Wonderlic test of all the top draft eligible QBs at the combine. This test determines how much a football player understands about the game (Xs and Os).

This is certainly newsworthy because it means not only did Urban Meyer fail to correct Tim Tebow's loopy, long delivery in Tebow's FOUR years at Gainesville, but he also apparently failed to impart any Xs and Os football knowledge either.

I've heard Joe Theismann (a total jerk off), in recent weeks, announcing that no star high school QB is likely to sign with the Gators in the future after watching this Tebow ordeal. I have to admit that he has a point.

As a matter of fact, not only is he spot on with his criticism of Urban Meyer's failure to prepare Tebow for the next level, but this logic also applies to just about any top offensive prospect. If you look at past UF wide receivers, their NFL bust rate is well above average (some might guess upwards of 90%, depending upon whether Percy Harvin is WR).

Further, if you look at past QBs (Tim Tebow soon to be included), Florida's NFL bust rate is nearly 100%. Florida's most successful NFL QB to date is Jessie Palmer, who had more success picking up a couple dozen fame-crazed skanks on The Bachelor than he did picking up any NFL offenses.

While defense is defense, a college's offensive scheme can seriously handicap a top prospect if it fails to prepare him for the next level. It has got to be just about every single year that two or three of the nation's best college quarterbacks are downgraded by scouts for playing in a spread offense.

Even worse, many of these quarterbacks never successfully make the transition from spread offense to taking snaps under center (see Pat White/ Brian Brohm). Similarly, many top WRs struggle to transition from a spread offense, with only a few simple routes run, to a complex pro style offense that demands mastery of many complex routes (see Taylor Jacobs/ Jabar Gaffney).

Thus, if a high school player is really serious about going to the NFL, they are far better served going to a school with a pro style offense (i.e., Alabama, USC, LSU, Georgia, etc.). Hell, look no further than ND this year.

The Charlie Weis's experiment was a complete flop, yet Golden Tate (a 5'10" WR) is expected to be a first round pick this year, and Jimmy Clausen, who never won big games as a starter, is expected to be a top 10 pick and possibly the first QB taken in this April's draft.

The reason Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate are considered such safe picks is that both of them played in a pro style offense and scouts have few questions about how their games will translate to the next level.

One would think coaches are smart, way smarter than Joe Theismann, and if Joe can connect the dots, you have to think some of these coaches (think Nick Saban) will be saying the same things to top offensive recruits in years to come. If Tim Tebow flops at the NFL level, as many pundits expect him to do, this counter-recruiting pitch will be that much more effective.

http://www.realgmfootball.com/src_wiretap_archives/16222/20100311/bradford_has_highest_wonderlic_score_for_qbs_tebow_lowest/