Lamar Miller

[Valravn]

Excerpted from http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/

Lamar Miller made another nifty play, taking a screen from Pat Devlin for a
score. Miller often stands out when he gets the ball, and it's clear coaches
will need to carve out a role for him as a rookie.

I'm looking forward to good things from Miller - he may very well be the
steal of the draft.
Others have said that this draft will ultimately be judged by whether or not
Tannehill becomes the franchise QB the Dolphins have so sorely lacked. I
like many of the picks, Miller and Martin should both prove to be upper tier
players, both at bargain rates in terms of draft position and consequently
resulting salaries under the new CBA. I have High hopes for Vernon and
maybe Egnew. If those four work out as well as they could, this would be a
successful draft even if Tannehill never becomes more than Henne II.

That said, with fingers firmly crossed, I'd love to see Tannehill to become
the guy and see no reason why he couldn’t if properly handled. If he does,
this draft could be epic.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah hope springs eternal, aqua colored preseason shades, etc.

Now, I'll invite the idiot trolls. I see 9-7 as the low end of what this
team should do this year. Maybe 11-5 if they can catch Houston off-guard
with the new look and finally steal one.
(This could turn out to be a freakishly light schedule again and while the
Raiders don’t suck, they have to travel across country to play in the midday
sun.)

I'll go even one further. My fearless (entirely unfounded) forecast has the
Dolphins and the Bill's battling for second place in the AFCE and maybe a
wildcard spot with the Jets imploding and pulling up the rear.

Valravn

As usual, I read a lot more than post - I hate to type.

[J Lunis]

I will not disagree, but I would like to add a little. I'm also
interested in players already on the team. Gates, for example. Blazing
speed. If he can learn the NFL game, he could be dangerous. Thomas -
with Henning gone, I hope we see more than Thomas running in the A-gap.
By game 3-4 every D knew they didn't have to worry about him in a
sweep or off-tackle, thus, often he was in traffic before he could get
to LOS. And if he is healthy, even better. Wilson - if he gets a
safety spot, he could be a QBs nightmare. Clay - in the WCO he should
thrive. And if Jerry or whoever become solid at RG, the OL could be on
of the better ones in the NFL.
Downside? Already seeing some mysterious injuries. A new scheme on
both sides of the ball. No proven quality WRs. (Yes, I know Philbin
doesn't believe in the importance of top WRs. Easy to say when he was
with a team that had good WRs and an all-pro QB).

[Valravn]

"J Lunis" wrote in message news:jq7m0c$6dp$1...@dont-email.me...

Of those you mentioned, I too like Wilson's upside and expect bigger things
from Clay
(unless one of the dozens of other new TE prospects steps up so much that
his touches are limited).

For all his speed, Gates doesn’t seem to be figuring out the game yet.
Maybe one day, maybe not.

Valravn

[J Lunis]

That, plus Miami has 1-2 other speedsters, so his speed advantage won't
be unique this year. I picked Gates because he has a year's experience,
isn't afraid of contact, and showed some nice moves. As long as Miami
gets at least ONE speed guy, I'll take it.

[euph...@mindspring.com]

On May 31, 9:26 am, J Lunis <luni...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 5/31/2012 9:52 AM, Valravn wrote:
>
>
>

> > "J Lunis" wrote in messagenews:jq7m0c$6dp$1...@dont-email.me...

>
> > On 5/31/2012 12:01 AM, Valravn wrote:

> >> Excerpted fromhttp://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/

> gets at least ONE speed guy, I'll take it.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -


I will try to hold off on revealing just how overly optimistic I am
until we see some or all of these prospects in at least the
meaningless exhibition games of August. I can easily imagine all
sorts of things about Tannehill, Miller and The others. I was intigued
by the Miller pick as soon as I read about him the day he was
drafted. Terrific prospect.

I doubt anyone imagines the sort of weirdness that this season may
bring: It's not like there aren't huge surprises each and every year.
Once things happen, then they seem logical. Before that they are
nonsense. The sort of nonsense I am hoping for is way over due.
With my head in the clouds, I will hope that the Patriots finally hit
the wall, that Rex Ryan and that whole Jets Circus blows up like a
fireworks factory. I will hope that Philbin turns out to be just the
sort of level-headed and unassuming guy that the Dolphins clearly need
and that somehow Ireland has pulled out a minor miracle with his 2012
choices.

It has simply been way too long since the Dolphins really mattered.

[J Lunis]

For perspective, Valravn started out with his opinion of some rookies he
thinks 'should' (he was careful not to be blindly optimistic) do well.
I think most of us like the same people he does, although I know little
about Egnew. My response was to name a few already in Miami who
'should' do well.
I think both of us know reality rarely matches hope so I expect tweaks
to the list by end of August. Nonetheless, Miller and Martin, IMO,
garner the most realistic optimism of the rookies and I still expect
good years from Wilson, Clay, and Thomas. Not 'imagination.' There is
some evidence to justify the optimism. OTOH, if you or someone else
starts a thread on players who may disappoint (e.g., Clemons), I'll add
my opinion to that as well.
Not mentioned, but in my mind, three obvious changes I think could be
important in 2012. 1) Sparano/Henning are gone. That, by itself,
should add 7-10 points to each game. I am almost giddy with
anticipation of quick slants, check-offs, and an up-tempo O like a REAL
NFL O has. Does that guarantee high-scoring? Nope, but their absence
HAS to help. 2) Colombo is gone - nuf said. 3) A faster start by the
D. I have no exhibit A to justify this but I expect a better pass rush
in the 1st few games than the nonexistent type we saw last year, and I
doubt Dansby will start the season in the condition we saw early last
year.
I agree, the world looks different in pads and 11-on-11. I also expect
some bumps the 1st few games as everyone learns a new system. But there
is no PW this year. No Wilford. No fear of the 3-point fist-pump.
And, I hope, no addiction to dropping TD passes. We will see when the
'real' football starts. I expect, not surprisingly, some names quickly
removed from the roster and some new faces over the summer. But for
now, I see little that looks worse than last year.

[bob]

WR looks worse to me.

[J Lunis]

I can convince myself that isn't true. BM probably had more crucial
drops/penalties than big plays. The key isn't the big ER, it is
catches/YAC per team. How will that turn out? Dunno. Certainly, Miami
needs 1-2 guys who can draw a double-team and I don't see that, so in
that case, I agree.

[Valravn]

"J Lunis" wrote in message news:jqatde$iuv$1...@dont-email.me...

I don’t think you need the 1-2 guys to draw double teams at WR in the new
offense. You need to create mismatches. If Hartline and Bess catch
everything thrown their way, and Gates can stretch the coverage (whether
thrown to or not) that leaves Bush, Clay, Miller, Fasano, and or Egnew
covered by a LB. That should work. Well. Especially with the time to
throw that this OL should provide now that Columbo is gone and Long is
healthy.

Valravn

Valravn

[euphemism]

It has been stated and restated by the various pundits and players that
the new offense will not feature any receiver and the intent is to steer
clear of some sort of pass count prima donna WR like Brandon or, more
famously, Randy Moss.

My read on this is that this offense would have been wholly toxic to
Brandon Marshall and he was definitely a guy who would have been thought
of as a double team sort of threat.

I think that whatever is going on with Bush may be related to his
possible dissatisfaction with the new scheme. He went on record talking
about how he intended to be the pass rushing leader at the end of the
year. The write ups I've seen say that just can't happen in the new
offense. I would have expected he'd be thrilled with more pass catching
and less power running touches - but who knows?

The party line seems to be that they have plenty of guys who should be
able to fill out the receiving corp they believe will suit this scheme.
To me, the bigger question is whether they have the QB to act as the
director of all of this action. The doubts regarding Tannehill are well
known. Moore was only adequate and Garrard was at best a streaky sort
of player when he was last healthy.

Obviously quite a few things need to work out for this all to come
together as Philbin hopes. I would call these issues about equal in most
respects.

[J Lunis]

I will concede an alpha-WR requiring double-team isn't critical but it
seems to me most WCO's have 1-2 guys who demand attention (e.g., Welker)
and defenders in that area always seem to 'lean' towards him. And for
an O that spread the ball 'equally' to all WR's, GB had 3 guys clearly
more equal than the others. To be fair, there are a few reasons for
that, but one must conclude those 3 were apparently able to get open
(and attention) a lot.
You are right about mismatches and right that Miami appears to have some
explosive guys. I maintain 1-3 of these guys need to be the more equal
of the rest - demanding coverage by the D's best (I'll avoid
'double-team') - to get mismatches elsewhere. True, if all WR's can
create mismatches anywhere my, argument is in vain, but I know of no
team with 6-8 WRs who can create mismatches on their own.

[Valravn]

"J Lunis" wrote in message news:jqfgph$81l$1...@dont-email.me...

I like Welker a lot. Always have. I don't think he falls into the category
of being able to create mismatches on his own. He can be completely
contained, but for other teams having to worry about, Moss, or later,
Gronkowski/Hernandez. Frankly, I see Bess as a little faster Welker who has
only lacked the opportunity to catch passes from Brady.

I think the mismatches are created by the gameplan and the matchups inherent
in the opposing defensive scheme/personnel.
My fantasy football experience tells me there are a couple of teams that had
excellent QB numbers and mediocre at best WR numbers week in and week out.
The first two that come to mind are GB and NO. Also Denver in the "We're
all surprised Kyle Orton is such a great QB post Brandon Marshall" period.
It was great to have any of those QB's on your fantasy team, as for those
WR's, not so much. After the Vincent Jackson holdout and Antonio Gates
injury, San Diego as well. On any given week one of the WR's may have blown
up for big numbers or scores, but don't count on it the next week. Hell,
there were single weeks when Legeduu Nanee looked liked the next coming, or
Vincent Brown, only to fall off the map for production in the following
weeks while the Rivers led Pass offense kept rolling along.

Who has been the super alpha receiver on those teams, (Vincent Jackson
excluded)?

I think on any given week maybe Hartline gets disrespected and overachieves.
In the following week, he is perceived as the guy to key on, and the ball
goes to TE's or RB's out of the backfield. In subsequent weeks, defenses
scheme to shut down Bush/Miller/Clay. I think that Bess has already shown
he can be a consistent week in and out contributor (until he was ignored in
favor forcing the ball to Brandon Marshall last year). That leave maybe one
or two more guys to emerge out of the Marlon Moore, BJ Cunningham, Jeff
Fuller, Julius Pruitt, Roberto Wallace, Antonio Gates crowd.

As you've already pointed out, Gates speed alone should give him a leg up to
get on the field.

Finally, as pointed out elsewhere by Euphemism, all of this depends on QB
play that we have not yet seen from the crowd behind center in Miami today.
The key to making the whole thing go seems to be mostly mental. A smart QB
making good pre-snap reads with a quick release and accurate short game is
required. Can any of the guy's on the roster at QB pull this off? I'm
inclined to think, that like all things, this is not a black and white
question, but rather one where the answer will be a continuum defining a
range of success. Ultimately we all want a young QB to step in and steer
this ship well for a decade plus. That may be Tannehill, it may not. If
not, do I think the Dolphins can have "make the playoffs" kind of success
with one or more of the crowd currently in place while they continue to hunt
for the "QB of the next two decades"? Yes.

Valravn

[Valravn]

"Valravn" wrote in message news:mCMyr.17847$4P3....@newsfe08.iad...

P.S. I think Bush/Miller/Clay could serve in the role of Alpha receiving
threat in this offense with Gates providing an adequate "keep 'em honest"
deep threat.

[J Lunis]

I think you are exactly correct on the 'contimuum' thing. WCO's may not
have an alpha WR like Fitzgerald but all seem to have 1-2 wr's who
consistently lead the team in receptions - alpha for their team. I do,
however, think every wr is a mismatch against someone - the job of the
oc is to exploit them. And you are right, gameplan and qb play are
critical. OTOH, often the speed guy requires the attention of two dbs.
Not necessarily a double-team, but there is often a 2nd guy
responsible to keep an eye on him.

[Jimmy July]

On 5/30/2012 9:01 PM, Valravn wrote:

>
> Now, I'll invite the idiot trolls.

Oh, HEY, that's obviously MY cue.

> I see 9-7 as the low end of what this
> team should do this year. Maybe 11-5 if they can catch Houston off-guard
> with the new look and finally steal one.

6-10 wont shock me. That's the low end. 9-7 would please me.

[IYM]

Sorry - OT but every time I hear the name "Lamar" I remember the kid
throwing the javelin designed for limp-wristed throwing in "Revenge of
the Nerds"... :)

[euph...@mindspring.com]

Really? That seems rather obscure...

What I think of when I hear "Lamar" is a Dolphin player carrying
tacklers on his back and into the endzone. I believe I'm thinking of
Lamar Smith and his ironman performance in a playoff game against
Seattle(?).

[Deadmeat]

Indy. The last time the Dolphins won a playoff game.

[tgowan]

On Jun 7, 12:38 pm, "euphem...@mindspring.com"

Lamar got so beat up for his trouble in that game, he could barely
walk the following week.

Terry Gowan

[rt]

Yep, we stunk it up against the Raiders 0-27. Wannstedt finally found
his stride. We were so bad that game, 200 yards from Lamar wouldn't
have been enough as we would have turned it over before scoring.

Lamar's TD was the second coolest/loudest thing I ever saw in person
at JRS. #1 was the 4th and 5, 3:09 remaining in Q4, down by 3, TD
bomb, #13 to Fryar, wrapping up a 473 yd/ 5 TD day by Marino in his
first game back after the Achilles tear. ...when the sportswriters
were calling for Dan to hang it up and to ride the Scott Mitchell
express....

But I digress.

Here is a TERRIBLE, but funny, youtube link to the final minutes of
our last playoff victory. Lamar's final gallop starts around 4:50,
but there is enough funny stuff to make the entire video NEARLY
watchable...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlouq33WUrg

rt

[Jimmy July]

Really! Lamar Smith was pretty awesome. Sammy Smith cost a first round
pick and did NOTHING. Lamar Smith carried the team for a year and cost
pocket change.