The official NFL thread

leafman101 said:

Everyone here should remember the name David Harris. Guy is a beast.

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He was incredible for us last year, and with Jenkins creative space for him, I suspect he'll enter the upper echelon of MLB's this season.

Alot of people took note last year......but this year, I think everyone will.

Harris is a beast. Probably the Jets best defensive player..

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I think Kerry Rhodes is right up there with Harris, in the rankings for our best defensive player.

Gholston, the Jets #1 pick, has looked awful in camp though.. He never played the 3-4 OLB position before, and he looks lost in the Jets 3-4 D ( remember, he played the 4-3 end position in college, and he is just too small to be an end in a 3-4 defense)..

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Gholston's performance thus far has been expected by many of us.........and all for reasons you'd pointed out.

He was a project pick for us........and someone we hope can bring intense preassure from the outside, and a hybrid backer for us, in the mold of a Richard Seymour.

That said though, he's got a long ways to go to learn the in's and out's of the pro game, and more specifically our 3-4 system and what it's going to take for him to be effective in it.

This season, all we're expecting from him, is to be a situational backer this year, and bring a very strong rush pressence, when we need it.......if he can do that, while picking up the finer points of the game we need him to, and make solid steps towards being a well rounded player down the road. We'll be happy.

As far as Kris Jenkins is concerned, while he has been a beast in camp, many Jets blogs said he is simply "unblockable", and he has been going up against a good center in Mangold ( the thing with Jenkins though is he has been injury prone in Carolina, but he is very talented)..

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Jenkins is the real deal.......no doubt about it. I think he's by far the single most important acquisition of the Jets offseason, and if he can stay healthy, and bring the high calibre play he's capable of.........I expect huge things from our defense this year.

That said........if he gets hurt.......we're f@cked.

That game should be a barn burner in week 1 with all the superlatives involved ( Parcells who used to be with the Jets, Pennington in Miami now, and of course, the Favre situation)

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It's especially huge for the Jets, because after you guys we have the Pats and then the Chargers.......and we can't afford to come out of the gate 0-3.



Question LN.........as a Phins fan, what are your thoughts on the Jets O-Line as a whole, with the development of Ferguson and Mangold.....the additions of Faneca and Woody......(which gives us four former first round picks on the line). and Brandon Moore making strides last year......where would you rank this O-Line overall?

i never said aikman or irvin were overrated. anyone who saw aikman play in that NFC championship game against the niners- the one they lost- could never say he was overrated. aikman was absolutely heroic in that game. a true warrior and champion. and so was irvin.

To try to answer your last question there Montana. And I will give my best effort to give you an honest opinion..... I will say this, being a Miami fan and the Dolphins taking the same free agency route in previous years that you just took- And please don't try to take this personally since we are fans of opposing teams ( and opposing "RIVAL" teams).

But let me say that Miami has been notorious for getting the good high priced free agent plugins.. In the mid 90's, in 1994, the Dolphins racked up a ton of good free agents and threw the money around to try to buy a super bowl for Marino.. Bringing in guys like Steve Emtman et al. We signed a lot of free agents that year, EXPECTATIONS WERE HIGH....

Well it blew up in our face and we went 9-7. It also ended Don Shula's reign as Miami's head coach. The fans just kicked him out of town because the expectations were so high..
(BTW, Don Shula-- the greatest coach ever, and who was a coach in Miami for an astounding 26 years, and the winningest coach in NFL history with the most wins).

The free agent route rarely works in the NFL IMO.. The dolphins have tried to plug holes via the free agent route this decade, and it just doesn't work.. I am talking from experience here, and being a fan of a team that tried to use the free agency route to try to "buy" a Superbowl..

Jimmy Johnson brought in a veteran Kevin Gogan from Dallas (and a bunch of other free agents for the team) for the Offensive line in Miami (similar to your Faneca move). And Kevin Gogan wasn't nearly the same guy he was in Dallas.. Alan Faneca, while a good run blocker, has been average at best pass blocking.. I saw a stat, and of all the pressure Roethlisberger received, Faneca's man was in on Roethlisberger the most ( maybe Blk'GldBabe can vouche for that).. One other thing to note is, Pittsburgh Steelers players who have gone free agency to other teams have busted.. The list is very long for Steeler free agents who went to other teams who did little to nothing at all ( Blk'NgldBabe can vouche for that as well).

Dave Wannstedt in Miami this decade, paid a lot to bring in free agents. And it didn't work ( it backfired). He also brought in veterans via the trade route giving up valuable 2nd round picks in the process ( which reminds me of your Kris Jenkins move giving up picks to Carolina to acquire him this summer).

I thought you GREATLY overpaid for Calvin Pace in free agency, the guy only had ONE good year last year, and it seems like he played for a contract. And you paid him $40+ million with a $20+ million signing bonus. That's NUTS IMO.. That is a potential salary cap killer in the future, as well as your other moves smothering your cap flexibility in future years.

Keep in mind, the Colts won the super bowl with all 22 starters drafted by the team, and 45 of the 48 players drafted by them. They didn't take the free agency route.

The Steelers, in their last superbowl victory, had 18 of their 22 starters drafted by them. The Patriots, 85% of their starting 22 in a recent super bowl were drafted by the team.. See a pattern here? I just don't believe in the free agent route you guys took. I also think you screwed up your salary cap for upcoming seasons with those mega signings this offseason.. And if this is Favre's last season, which it likely is, you have a huge hole at the QB position to boot.

As far as week 1 is concerned, the pressure is all on the Jets coming to Miami.. Miami has been VERY loose this preseason playing with tremendous emotion, emotion like a college football team has.. I see them really ready in week 1. They are just playing lights out enthusiastic football out there- on both sides of the ball.

Now ANYTHING can happen in this game of football on any given Sunday.. If the NY Jets win that opener in Miami I will be surprised. Not shocked, but I will be surprised.. ANYTHING can happen. Nobody in the world thought the NY Giants would win the Super Bowl last year after the garbage start they had last season. NOBODY guessed that.. One advantage for the Jets is, after their first 3 games, you guys have an easy schedule. So that also has to be taken into account.

Back to week 1.. Keep in mind that 3 years ago under Saban's first year in Miami , in Miami's home opener, Denver came to Miami in week 1 being being 10 point favorites.. Miami was BIG underdogs in their home opener in early September in that heat and humidity... Well, Miami won the game by about 20 points in a rout shocking everyone.. To a man, Bronco players said that they were TOTALLY worn out by the middle of the 3rd quarter in their post-game interviews.. You just DON'T UNDERSTAND how suffocating that heat is in Miami at that time of year. And remember, the Miami-Jets game on Sept 7th is at 1 o'clock when it's hottest. Just like that Denver game.

While the Jets have owned Miami in recent years, keep in mind that the schedule makers had the Jets playing in Miami later in the fall, in November and December when it's A LOT cooler.. And a few night games thrown in there making it even cooler down there.

BTW, that Denver team was damn good that year.. They went on to win big games in following weeks after getting blown out in Miami in week 1. The Broncos ended up in the AFC championship game that same year when the Steelers won the superbowl..

I just think that the heat and humidity of early September is a huge advantage for Miami... I have followed every player interview on MiamiDolphins.com (in the aquavision box in there), and all the new players, from Jake Long on down stated how shocked they were practicing in that heat. Jake Long said that he was losing 7 to 8 pounds a day in practice in that heat ( and had to replenish himself every night by eating a lot). I just think that the heat at that time of year isn't something that you can get used to in one Sunday. It will be a tremendous advantage for Miami against the Jets in week 1 as Miami practices in that heat everyday.. Now if it rains, or if there is some anomaly in the weather patterns that day, it's a different story..

Regardless of all that, it should be a barnburner in Miami vs the Jets on opening day.. CBS has agreed to televise the game nationally. There are alot of superlatives involved in that game- with Parcells being an ex Jets coach, being a New Yorker himself, and now being the head honcho in Miami.. With the ex-Jet Chad Pennington being Miami's QB (and with him knowing your defense since he practiced against that Jets defense in camp this year etc), and with Pennington wanting revenge-- and his teammates playing hard for him to exact that revenge on the Jets. And of course the Favre saga. Plus it's a hell of a division rivalry.. It will be a war.. I haven't been this excited for a home opener in over a decade, I can't wait.:cheers2:


It all starts Up Front. Thank you Bill Parcells for building a real O-line in Miami.. It's been a LONG time coming. A long long Jake Long time.





And oh yeah, thanks Bill for the QB from Michigan as well. FINALLY a future QB to look forward to after the Marino years-

BTW, the last time the Jets came to Miami on opening weekend in that heat and humidity of early September, Miami beat the Jets by the tune of 52-14.

If the Jets somehow win that game in 2 weeks, let me just say that I will think they are for real ( as much as I can't stand the Jets)..

Those conditions are VERY intense if you are not used to it ( I lived in South Florida for many years to know), and especially when you are going up against a team who practices in it everyday. And a team that seems to be 10 times more physical this year, and with a ball control power offense with 2 big strong powerful backs in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown.

EDIT- Don't forget that Ricky Williams is 4-1 against the Jets . The NY Jets kicked our asses without him (not in the early September humidity mind you), but that guy makes Miami a different team.

And while I'm at it, why not some pics of Dolphins Training Camp ( I used to go to Miami training camp practices all the time when I lived down there)

Bill Parcells laying the groundwork for success


Parcells watches every practice


and watches and watches


Offensive line drills with starting center Samson Satele in a 3-point stance


#1 overall pick Left Tackle Jake Long ( #77), and fellow rookie right guard Donald Thomas (#66)


Offensive line drills


Ricky Williams to the left, Ronnie Brown to the right practice holding on to the ball-


Ricky Williams running through an arm tackle simulator


Running backs practice running through different gaps and taking handoffs


Team President Bill Parcells and GM Jeff Ireland watching practice


Backup Offensive line with Chad Henne under center


Miami's 2nd round pick and future QB learning the ropes under Pennington

So I'm in an NFL fantasy pool on yahoo that runs tomorrow night. It's a PPR league that has 1 starting QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, a TE, A kicker, and 6 D spots. Can anyone point me to a good fantasy website for the NFL?

If you are in a money league, I would suggest going to rotoworld.com, and getting the draft guide.

If not, rotoworld has some nice articles that could help you out for your draft.

cool thanks leaffan!

LN...any concerns over losing some key Defensive players? I know you're pumped about the "New Beginning" WIth Tuna and the O-line etc...but with Taylor and Thomas gone now and Porter maybe out for a few games/season/career with this troublesome back ailment do you trust Charlie Anderson to pick up the slack for Porter and the others to slide in perfect for Taylor and Thomas? I know they are in their twilight years but are savvy vets who knew the system well. Just curious of your take on this.

Pffft...really good. Try the BEST.

NFL's top dynasties

NFL's top dynasties
Steelers of the 1970s are No. 1, Pats not far behind
Posted: Monday February 7, 2005 5:54PM; Updated: Tuesday February 8, 2005 8:56AM
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Pittsburgh Steelers
Lynn Swann led the Steelers past the Cowboys in Super Bowl X.
Heinz Kluetmeier/SI

Patriots 24, Eagles 21
Special from the top down
By Peter King
Credit Bill Belichick and the Pats' coaching staff for building a team with a unique hunger for success.
Patriots make their mark
By Don Banks
This year's Super Bowl proves the Pats are among history's best teams.
• Snap Judgments: Belichick to HOF
Eagles disappointment
By John Donovan
Eagles will soon look back with regret at all their blown opportunities.
• Closer Look: Screens kill Eagles
Broadcast Blog
By Richard Deitsch
Owner-cam and Sir Paul McCartney overload: A minute-by-minute account of FOX's Super Bowl broadcast.
More from SI.com
Drive-by-Drive Analysis | Report Cards
Photo Gallery: Top images from Jacksonville
Complete SI.com Super Bowl Coverage



Mike McAllister, SI.com

1. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1974-79
Four Super Bowl titles in six years was their net worth. But here's another way to look at it -- had it not been for the Steelers, the Cowboys or the Raiders of that era might have ended up among the top-five NFL dynasties. Ten Steelers, including coach Chuck Noll, eventually ended up in the Hall of Fame. "The Steelers had the best grouping of players in the history of the game," ex-49ers coach Bill Walsh said recently. "No question about it."

2. Green Bay Packers, 1961-67
Five NFL titles in seven years, including the first two Super Bowls. A larger-than-life coach in Vince Lombardi (and a larger-than-life win in the Ice Bowl, Lombardi's last game as the Packers coach at Lambeau). Twelve Hall of Famers. No wonder the Packers only lost 20 games in that seven-year span.

3. Dallas Cowboys 1992-95
Three Super Bowl wins in four years -- and yet the Cowboys will always play the what-if game. What if Jimmy Johnson had remained as coach? And what if Jerry Jones had kept his roster intact instead of seeing it raided by free agency? "I don't believe our team was anywhere near finished doing what we could have done," said QB Troy Aikman.

4. San Francisco 49ers, 1981-89
Two Super Bowl wins for Joe Montana. Then two more throwing to Jerry Rice. Montana's the only three-time Super Bowl MVP; Rice will go down as the league's greatest receiver. The 49ers, of course, were more than just those two. And don't forget the NFL's greatest backup QB, new Hall of Famer Steve Young, who led the 49ers to another Super Bowl in the mid-'90s after Montana's departure.

5. New England Patriots, 2001-04
Unlike the first four teams, the Pats are not a team that relies on stars. Just seven position players since '01 have made the Pro Bowl (compared to the '90s Cowboys with 17 Pro Bowl performers). Instead, it's the coaching of Bill Belichick and his staff that sets the Pats apart. But the dynasty talk can wait for later. "Not now, not for me," Belichick said.

6. Cleveland Browns 1946-55
In a 10-year span, Paul Brown's club won seven titles in the AAFC and the NFL. In '50, when the Browns joined the NFL, their first game was against the defending-champion Eagles. Final score? Browns 35, Eagles 10. Enough said.

7. Miami Dolphins, 1971-73
Three straight Super Bowl appearances, with wins in '72 and '73. Their title success takes a backseat to the undefeated '72 season, the NFL's only perfect mark (17-0). That clinking of champagne glasses each fall comes from Miami when the last undefeated team is finally knocked off. They've downed plenty of bubbly since '72.

8. Chicago Bears 1940-43
George Halas' team won three championships and reached the title game in the other year. The Bears' domination is epitomized in their '40 title win when they routed the Washington Redskins 73-0. That made the 37-9 title victory over the New York Giants the next year pale in comparison.

9. Dallas Cowboys 1970-78
In a nine-season span, Tom Landry's Cowboys played in five Super Bowls and won two. Jim O'Brien's field goal denied them in '70, and the Steelers' dynasty cost the Cowboys two other wins. The more impressive number came in playoff appearances -- 18 straight from '66-83.

10. Buffalo Bills, 1990-93
Can you build a dynasty without actually winning a title? If so, say hello to Marv Levy's Bills. No other team has played in four straight Super Bowls. If victories are required, may we suggest the '64-66 Bills, who reached the AFL title game all three years, winning twice.

Best NFL teams of ALL TIME


Greatest NFL teams of all time
Page 2 staff


Football season is nearly upon us, so Page 2 thought it would be a good time to stir up the debate about which team is the greatest of all time.

William Perry
William "The Refrigerator" Perry shuffles into the end zone in Super Bowl XX.
We've compiled our list below, but we want to hear what you think. Check out our list, then see how our readers ranked their choices for the greatest NFL team of all time. And be sure to vote in the poll to crown the greatest NFL team in history.

1. 1985 Bears
It was, undeniably, cocky for the Bears to record the "Super Bowl Shuffle" video before the playoffs even started, but, to paraphrase an old saying, it ain't cocky if you can back it up.

The 1985 Bears were QBed by the punky, and effective, Jim McMahon. The running attack? Sweetness and, at times, the Fridge. Defense? Impenetrable. The Bears finished the regular season with a 15-1 record, scoring 456 points while allowing only 198.

And they blew through the playoffs, shutting out the Giants 21-0 and then the Rams 24-0 for the NFC title. After the Bears demolished the Pats 46-10 in the Super Bowl, Patriots guard Ron Wooten said, "Before the end, it kind of felt like we were the team that the Globetrotters play all the time."

2. 1972 Dolphins
The Dolphins want recognition as the greatest team of all time simply because they went through the regular season and the playoffs undefeated, ending up with a 17-0 record. We don't deny this is a great accomplishment -- a singular one, in fact. But this is, ultimately, a thin argument.

Consider, for example, that the Dolphins played one of the easiest schedules in modern NFL history -- the opposition had a combined winning percentage under .400. Unlike the 1985 Bears, the Dolphins didn't stroll through the playoffs. They beat the Steelers in the AFC title game by only four points, 21-17, and were underdogs going into the Super Bowl against the Redskins, who they defeated 14-7. Undefeated underdogs? That means you're not beaten, but you are beatable. We salute the greatness of head coach Don Shula, QB Bob Griese, Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris, Jim Kiick, Garo Yepremian, et al. But the Bears would have beaten them in a head-to-head matchup.

Paul Hornung
Paul Hornung helped power Green Bay's potent offense.
3. 1962 Packers
What a team: Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, Max McGee and Boyd Dowler, a great offensive line, the power sweep, and a defense that held opponents to less than 11 points per game.

The preseason foreshadowed what would come -- the Pack got through the six-game exhibition schedule without a loss. Then they got going for real, winning their first four regular season games by the lopsided combined total of 109-14. The Packers added six more wins before losing their 11th game to the Lions. That's 16 straight. In their Nov. 11 contest against Philly, they racked up 628 yards on offense, while holding the Eagles to only 54. That's humiliation.

In the NFL championship game against the Giants, linebacker Ray Nitschke almost single-handedly shut down Y.A. Tittle's offense, and Green Bay triumphed 16-7.

Mark Rypien
Mark Rypien threw for 292 yards and 2 TDs to earn MVP honors in Super Bowl XXVI.
4. 1991 Redskins
As ESPN contributor Eddie Epstein has noted, you can look at two stats to get a pretty good idea of just how great a team is: yards gained per pass attempt, and yards allowed per pass attempt. The 1991 'Skins topped the NFL in each category, with Mark Rypien averaging 8.5 yards per attempt, while his colleagues on Washington's defense allowed only 6 yards per attempt.

Rypien's targets? Art Monk, who caught 71 passes for 1,049 yards, and Gary Clark, who averaged almost 20 yards per catch, gaining 1,340 yards on 70 receptions. Washington was also good on the ground, with Earnest Byner and Ricky Ervins combining for 1,708 yards.

The 'Skins outscored their opponents 485-224, and they had a tough schedule. After going 14-2, they romped through the NFC playoffs, beating the Falcons 24-7 and demolishing the Lions 41-10 on their way to the Super Bowl. In the Big Game, the 'Skins beat the cursed early-1990s Bills 37-24.

5. 1999 Rams
Was there anything more exciting during the 1999 season than watching the Rams' grocery-clerk led offense? The Rams scored 526 points during their 13-3 regular season, an average of almost 33 points per game. Kurt Warner threw 41 TD passes on his way to a 109.2 QB rating, and Marshall Faulk ran for 1,381 yards (an average of 5.5 yards per carry) and caught 87 passes for another thousand yards?

Kurt Warner
Kurt Warner led a Rams offesne that averaged nearly 33 points a game in 1999.
The defense wasn't too shabby, either, allowing only 15 points per game, fourth in the NFL. In the playoffs, the Rams proved they could win high-scoring ballgames (they beat the Vikings 49-37 in the divisional playoff), low-scoring ballgames (they beat the Bucs 11-6 for the NFC title), and a rare the-hell-with-the-dip Super Bowl over the Titans 23-16.

6. 1989 49ers
Joe Montana completed more than 70 percent of his passes and threw for an average of 9½ yards for every attempted pass. That's partially because he had two great targets: wide receiver Jerry Rice, who snagged 82 passes for 1,483 yards, and wide receiver John Taylor, who caught 60 passes for 1,077 yards.

The Niners were also effective on the ground (Roger Craig rushed for 1,000-plus yards), and their pass defense was one of the best in the league. Just how good was this team? Before they faced the Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV, Terry Bradshaw made his famous prediction: "There is no way the 49ers can lose. It could be 55-3 by halftime." He wasn't far off the mark. The 49ers led by 27-3 at the half, and went on to win 55-10.

7. 1979 Steelers
It's hard to decide which was the best of the four Steelers teams that won Super Bowls in the 1970s, but we'll take the '79 edition, when Pittsburgh's offense was most potent and the defense was still going strong.

The Steelers were the NFL's best offensive team in 1979: Terry Bradshaw threw for 3,724 yards and 26 TDs, Franco Harris averaged 4.4 yards per carry on his way to 1,186 yards on the ground, and Rocky Bleier and Sidney Thornton combined for 1,019 yards. And Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were formidable threats at WR. The Steelers went 12-4 during the regular season and beat the Rams 31-19 in the Super Bowl.

8. 1994 49ers
In 1994, Steve Young answered the critics who said he couldn't quite fill the shoes of Joe Montana. That season, Young led what may have been the greatest offense in NFL history, completing 70.3 percent of his passes for 3,969 yards and 35 TDs.

His main target, was, of course, Jerry Rice, who caught 112 passes for a league-leading 1,499 yards and 13 TDs, Ricky Watters caught 66 passes coming out of the backfield and TE Brent Jones caught 49 passes and scored nine TDs. The 49ers finished the regular season with a 13-3 record. In three playoff games, the 49ers scored 131 points -- an average of 43.7 a game, and romped to a 49-26 Super Bowl win over the Chargers. Oh, and the defense wasn't too shabby either -- it was ranked sixth in the NFL in 1994.

9. 1996 Packers
Green Bay had it all in 1996 -- the best offense and the best defense in the NFL. Brett Favre, who was named NFL MVP in 1996, completed almost 60 percent of his passes for 3,899 yards and 39 TDs. And he was ably backed up by Jim McMahon, who completed 75 percent of his four passes.

After their 13-3 regular season, the Pack didn't have too much trouble on the way to their Super Bowl victory over the Patriots in New Orleans -- Green Bay scored 100 points in three playoff games and their average margin of victory was 17-plus points.

10. 1971 Cowboys
The 1971 Cowboys boasted a fast, multifaceted offense that scored 40-plus points five times during the 14-game regular season.

With Roger Staubach (who racked up a 104.8 QB rating) sharing duties with Craig Morton for part of the season, the 'Boys could come at defenses from all angles. Duane Thomas gained almost 800 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Walt Garrison caught 40 passes coming out of the backfield. Calvin Hill played only eight games, but gained 468 yards on the ground. And wide receiver Bob Hayes averaged an incredible 26.9 yards per reception.

In the playoffs, the defense took over, holding the 49ers to a single field goal in the NFC championship game and the Dolphins to one field goal in the Super Bowl.

Also receiving votes:
# 1955 Browns
# 1974 Steelers
# 1973 Dolphins



See I even made sure to show your boys being top teams!! LOL. I can't wait for the regular season to start. You truly can't tell much about how good a team is until you're seeing all of the blitzes and stunts the opposing D co-ordinators are going to throw at your team. This NEVER happens in preseason as to not give away change in plays and such so SOME teams can't get them down on tape...muahahaha.

LeafNation said:

Hey guys, speaking of yesteryear, I found a great youtube of THE ENTIRE superbowl 13 in Miami ( Steelers vs Cowboys).. When you are bored, watch the entire broadcast here ( I watched it all last week)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30Ckc8OHbgU (that's part one, you can see the rest of the parts to the right there)

Now THAT is some nice stuff.. Jack Lambert was a beast. Same for Randy White for the cowboys. A VERY physical game... Quite a few legends in that Super Bowl .. The whole broadcast is there, right from the national anthem at the beginning, to the halftime show, all the way through to the end..

Just great to watch many decades later.. Look at those commercials and the music being played.. Funny stuff. That Steeler team of the mid to late 70's was really good ( I'm sure Blk'nGld will thank me for this).

PS- they also have all of Super bowl 10 there on youtube ( Steelers and Cowboys again, and again from Miami.. just search for "Super Bowl X") :thumbsup(22):

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blkngldbabe said:

LN...any concerns over losing some key Defensive players? I know you're pumped about the "New Beginning" WIth Tuna and the O-line etc...but with Taylor and Thomas gone now and Porter maybe out for a few games/season/career with this troublesome back ailment do you trust Charlie Anderson to pick up the slack for Porter and the others to slide in perfect for Taylor and Thomas? I know they are in their twilight years but are savvy vets who knew the system well. Just curious of your take on this.

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I don't know if they knew the system well considering Zach and Taylor really played either a 4-3, or a hybrid form of a 3-4.. Remember, we are running a true Parcells 3-4 defense now. The defense is totally different.

1. On Jason Taylor.. Not worried about losing that guy at all.. Getting a 2nd round pick from the Redskins for a 33 year old on the decline was a steal.. We got our future QB with a similar move last season by trading Chambers for a 2nd and picking Henne.

Bill Parcells doesn't like players who miss out on offseason programs.. Jason Taylor was off dancing with the stars, thinking he's Mr Celebrity, while the rest of the team was at the Dolphin complex all summer long training..

You can see Bill parcells commandments at the 2:25 point of this video.. He hates celebrity players, especially ones who skip out on offseason programs to go dancing in hollywood ( QB's or otherwise)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMfXkMX0J-w

With that said, Taylor is a good pass rusher, but he is not good against the run.. As a matter of fact, Taylor was invisible last year 90% of the time in games. Getting a 2nd for him at his age was a steal. And saving $9 million on the cap on top of it by trading him was wise.

And let's not forget we drafted 2 superior defensive ends who can stop the run in Kendall Langford and Philip Merling ( in the 3rd and 2nd rounds respectively).. In college, Langford ws so dominant, that he allowed only 0.26 yards per rush when ball carriers ran in his area.. Rushers averaged only a quarter yard running to him on over 250 carries. That;s crazy.. And so far, Langford is showing the same dominance out there. His body and frame is perfectly fit for a 3-4 end.

And Philip Merling, who was regarded as a top 15 pick in the draft, was also regarded as the best run stopper in the draft, PERIOD.. And he has shown that in camp.

2. On Zach Thomas.. For a rebuilding team, there is no point in keeping that guy around..

Also keep in mind that Parcells likes BIG linebackers for his 3-4 defense.. Just look at his history. He likes bigger lineman to swallow up O-lineman with only 3 down lineman in that 3-4 alignment.. The very first thing Ireland and Parcells said when they arrived is that we are going to get a lot bigger. Zach Thomas wasn't part of the plan, just didn't fit into our scheme.. While Zach is good in a 4-3 defense, as the 2 defensive tackles eat up O-lineman creating a lot of room for Zach to make plays, Parcells and Ireland didn't see him suited for the 3-4 that they wanted to implement.

Plus, it also had to do with bringing in a new culture. Zach, as much as I loved him, was part of the losing culture.. Parcells is looking for other "young' leaders in the draft..

Something also needs to be said regarding payback to Jerry Jones.. Jerry Jones helped us a lot by giving us a great mind in GM Jeff Ireland. As well as our coach Tony Sparano..

We also got a lot of ex Dallas players this offseason ( Ferguson for only a 6th round pick etc etc). I think Parcells threw Jerry Jones a bone as everyone knew Zach Thomas grew up a cowboy fan being from Texas. And that he was going to go there. I think it may have been one of those underhanded deals by releasing him and letting him go to Dallas for a season or two before he retires.

3. On Porter.. Okay, now THAT is definitely a concern .. A BIG coincern... They are talking about maybe moving Reggie Torbor inside to replace Akin Ayodele (another former cowboy), and moving Ayodele to the outside linebacker spot to replace Porter.. Ayodele played outside linebacker early in his career before he went to Dallas, and he excelled at it.. However, it's been a long time..

It's really too bad w/Porter.. He was in Miami all summer training hard for the upcoming year.. He didn't go to California to his family except for one weekend he took off.. He has been really working hard with the team all offseason to have a great season this year. Then this back thing flares up.. urgh

OLB is an area where we have little to no depth. We've even put Merling there over the past week as he has very good agility for his size... So there will have to be shuffling around there.. We are deep at the defensive line position.. And it was all by design because Parcells went into this draft to get bigger and stronger rebuilding the lines first (on both sides of the ball)...

Most importantly, he built the lines to run the ball, and to stop the run.. He got the players to do that. Last season we were horrible in stopping the run, and that has been fixed.. Getting that premier pass rusher( like a Demarcus Ware for instance) will have to wait until the next draft. No one can totally rebuild a team in one offseason... But I like the progress of building the lines first (and the players drafted were great picks), then bringing in linebackers etc in next year.. We did bring in a lot of cheap free agent linebackers to hold the fort until the draft next year. But are still short in that premier pass rusher.. And losing Porter for any amount of time definitely hurts the defense.

But I am very happy with what I have seen with the new D-line.. They are getting tremendous push, more than I have seen in the last couple of years.. baby steps baby steps.

The one strength I see as far as depth is concerned on defense is the secondary, at the safety position in particular. We have good depth there with Bell, Allen, Crocker, Hill and a couple more guys we brought in.. Last season, the lack of depth there killed us.. As soon as bell went down, we had no one back there and opposing QB's abused that spot all season last year attacking the safety spot.. Our backup last season was horrible.. We got some good reinforcements there now.

So to sum it up.. The defensive line has good depth with Jason Ferguson, Reggie Starks, Vonnie Holliday, Kendall Langford, Philip Merling, Paul Soliai, Rod Wright.

Inside linebacker has average depth with Torbor behind Crowder and Ayodele, and a couple others (like Anderson you mentioned) who can fill in.

Outside linebacker lacks depth ( as shown before). Look for Parcells and Ireland to hit this area hard in next year's draft ( he drafted a lot of them in Dallas if you remember).

Corner - Average depth.. BTW, Will Allen is probably the most underrated corner in the game.. Saw a stat of passes thrown to him last season, and he was top 5 in the league with percentage of incomplete passes thrown his way ( not many people know that).

Safeties - Playing lights out fantastic football and good depth here. We brought in a lot of safeties- also for special teams help.... Yeremiah Bell is a fantastic player. And if he can overcome his injury woes of last season, this guy is on the cusp of a Pro Bowl ( as many NFL observers have said and written about). And Jason Allen at the other safety spot, who was #1 pick a couple years ago, is finally showing his draft status.. He was great during the last 6 games of last season, and it has carried over to this year thus far.. Crocker has been a big surprise signing and is giving Allen a run for his money.. So good depth there.

Remember, we were one of the worst teams in stopping the run last year... Parcells brought in the horses up front on the D-line to bring us from one of the worst, to average in that part of the game... Parcells vision was to MAKE SURE we can stop the run on defense, and that we can run the ball on offense.. he is going back to the basics.. All the sexy positions and sexy picks in the draft for skill position players will have to wait in future years.. baby steps baby steps ..

And lastly, we are in excellent cap shape.. Miami is presently $17 million under the cap and we have positioned ourselves to be extremely flexible next offseason (when more comes off the books) .. I think only one other team is in our ballpark capwise. Parcells is building this house the right way IMO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGw3soM07Yw

Heh. Gotta love him..

No BS.

zack thomas isn't a big loss but let's be reasonable about taylor. that's a classic case of "my team" bias right there. taylor might end up falling off this season (it wouldn't surprise me given his age, new surroundings, new system), but you can't minimize his contributions just like that. at the end of the day the dolphins lost one of, if not the premier pass rusher, regardless of his age, and regardless of what he did this past off season. the guy has only failed to register double digit sack numbers once in the psat seven or eight years and had 11 last year. that's a big loss.

blkngldbabe said:

Pffft...really good. Try the BEST.

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Meh.. SI ? You mean the same mag that picked Miami and Carolina to go to the super bowl in 2006 ? heh

'Hey, the Steelers have my respect. I respect their history.. Totally....

But by the same token, up until about 4 years ago, the Miami Dolphins were the winningest franchise in all of professional sports since the AFL merger, with the highest winning percentage.. That's a 35 year span being the winningest team in sports. No small shakes..

And come to think of it, just a couple winning seasons puts us on top again for that distinction.

msun30 said:

zack thomas isn't a big loss but let's be reasonable about taylor. that's a classic case of "my team" bias right there. taylor might end up falling off this season (it wouldn't surprise me given his age, new surroundings, new system), but you can't minimize his contributions just like that. at the end of the day the dolphins lost one of, if not the premier pass rusher, regardless of his age, and regardless of what he did this past off season. the guy has only failed to register double digit sack numbers once in the psat seven or eight years and had 11 last year. that's a big loss.

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Well he's a good player ( or WAS a damn good player).. No one denies that.. But 2nd round picks aren't handed out like candy for 33 year old players on the decline.. Hell, he will be 34 when the season starts.. A 2nd round pick for a 34 yr old D-lineman ? That's a Steal.

Remember, Randy Moss was traded for a 4th.

Adding 2nd round picks is pure gold for rebuilding teams. A 2nd round pick in the NFL is nothing like a 2nd round pick is in the NHL.. There are a lot more difference makers in 2nd rounds for football... NFL drafts are very deep drafts and a 2nd for a declining player is no small shakes at all.

Trading Taylor for a 2nd is like trading McCabe for a first.

The thing with Taylor though, is he just isn't good against the run. He is tremendously undersized, reports had him down to 240 at times, and he just gets pushed off the ball too easily at times by big tackles. he gets pushed around at the point of attack.. The guy looked listless last season in a lot of ways. Looked disinterested.

Sure, he got 11 sacks last season.. But consider how many stunts were designed to get him free last season.. Miami's coach even mentioned this, he said in pressers that he had to design plays and stunts to open up Taylor because Taylor just was not getting it done on his own anymore..... .. Defensive calls were designed to get him free on most of his sacks. Sacks that a lot of NFL players can make because of the design and other players doing the grunt work..

What's funny is, when I saw the D institute those plays trying to get Taylor free to the QB, it burned us more than helped us-- with long pass completions and long runs against those defensive stunts.. Too bad they don't list those ugly defensive statistics along with the 11 plays where he got sacks designed for him.

While he got by on his tremendous quickness and speed to get around the edge, that was lost last season.. He looked slow. And the first thing that goes when you get older is your speed. Once you lose it it's very hard to get back entering your mid 30's as a professional football player. The guy will be 34 when the season starts.. That's getting up there for a D-lineman who relies purely on speed...

He also disappeared in the biggest games over his career when he was in his prime. I always thought that he was weak mentally when under a lot of pressure.. You could just see it in his demeanor during important games.. He'd wilt.... Sure, he pumped up his stats when games didn't mean anything, like when we were 1-6 a couple years ago and went into Chicago who was undefeated.. Just blind siding that team who took us lightly (and really, who wouldn't take a 1-6 team lightly when you're undefeated?).. But when the games really mattered, he was invisible.. Whether it be late in the season playoff clinching games, or playoff games themselves, he was just missing in action in big games that actually meant something..

Don't get me wrong, he was a freak of an athlete at one time.. Terrific quickness. But dammit the guy was missing in action when we really needed him to step up in big games that were important in a season.. Totally invisible. And the guy had plenty of help around him as we had some talented defenses. We had quite a few pro bowlers going to Hawaii on that defense,

Also keep in mind that we will be running a TRUE 3-4.. Taylor primarily had his success as a 4-3 end.. Two TOTALLY different positions. While Taylor did jump around as a rover in a hybrid defense on a few occasions, I'm not sure Parcells wanted to have a guy, at 34 years old, start to learn the position of a fulltime OLB.

And if you think it's some sort of "my team" bias on my part, you can feel free to PM me and I can send you a link to a Dolphins board before the trade was made.. And you will clearly see my opinion, in numerous posts about it, and that I was TOTALLY for trading the guy for a 2nd, or even 3rd round pick.. The timestamp of my posts shows that... And heck, with the sig there, to one of my domains, there is no doubt it is indeed me. .. It's not "my team" bias. We needed to rebuild and change the core of the team.. And get value (2nd round picks) for the old (losing) core while we could as they were declining in play anyway.

Keep in mind though that Crazy Al is holding the reigns in Oakland. That guy has been off of his nut for a while and has spelled trouble for the team for almost a decade. Guy needs to swallow the pride and let his FO deal in football dealings and stick to ownership.

SI is the first one that came up. Meh. To say they were good is like saying Crosby is average at best IMO. Just like as much as I can't stand the Patsies, they have the new modern day Dynasty. No matter who you ask, if they know ball MOST would agree that the 70's Steelers were far better than good. How many Hall of famers do the early 70's Dolphins have? They were GREAT teams...so why couldn't it be possible that the Steelers had one of the alltime greats?

Ahhhh , Now I see where you are coming from.. Sorry i missed it earlier.

You took offense when I said the Steelers of the late 70's were just "really good",.. Well hell, forgive me for not saying they were really "great".... That's what I meant.. better ?

If anything, I was admiring that team in the post there... I mean, I went out of my way to post a video of a game that featured a Steelers super bowl victory in the 70's... They were excellent.. Although I hated Bradshaw

:cheers2:

blkngldbabe said:

You truly can't tell much about how good a team is until you're seeing all of the blitzes and stunts the opposing D co-ordinators are going to throw at your team. This NEVER happens in preseason as to not give away change in plays and such so SOME teams can't get them down on tape.

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While some of that is true, teams also practice their blitzes...I have seen plenty of blitz packages from Tampa, Jacksonville and KC, often sending 6.. Plenty of stunts and twists thrown.. We have also blitzed quite a bit.. Now, of course co-ordinators won't throw the whole playbook out there, but it is good for an O-line to practice having 6 guys coming at them on a regular basis in games, and seeing how the rookies handle it, albeit "preseason" games..

To be honest, I look at how the starters look in the first 20 minutes of each game. And see how the bubble guys perform for the rest. But I am mainly concerned with the "push" the starting defensive line and starting offensive line are showing against the other teams' starting lines.... And Miami has had their way with all 3 teams as far as basic "push" is concerned.. And that really is a big improvement over last year in and of itself. Especially when you consider Jacksonville has VERY physical lines on both sides of the ball..

In the preseason game against Jax last year, Jacksonville threw us around like rag dolls on both sides of the line.. This year, we pushed them around physically, on both sides of the ball.. I'll take the noticeable improvement the new guys are showing, preseason game or not., Hell, we were 1-15 last season, I'll take it

But blkngldbabe, since you're here. Some Steeler questions about your current team..

I read an article a little while ago talking about 3-4 ends. And it was amazing to me how the correlation of size = yards gained per run..

For instance, Your defensive end Keisel , is undersized for a 3-4 end at 280 pounds, he's one of the lightest in the league.. And he gave up a whopping 8 yards per rush with runs to his side. There was another light 3-4 defensive end in the NFL who was also in the top 2 for most yards given up to a side (can't remember his name at the moment).

It's just incredible how the larger the 3-4 ends were (in about the 300 to 310 pound range), the better they were against the run.. So , I wanted to ask you if you still have this guy Keisel, or have you replaced him with a larger 3-4 end?? BTW, I will try to find the article again.. I remember this article well and will try to find it again.. It had all the 3-4 right ends and left ends listed, and yards per carry average ran to their side all season long.. It was pretty informative and a good breakdown..

secondly, how has Mendenhall looked ? Saw a couple highlights of him in preaseason, but sometimes that doesn't tell the whole story.. I loved him in college.. And finally, how is the replacement for Faneca looking on the O-line ?

blkngldbabe said:

5. 1999 Rams
Was there anything more exciting during the 1999 season than watching the Rams' grocery-clerk led offense? The Rams scored 526 points during their 13-3 regular season, an average of almost 33 points per game. Kurt Warner threw 41 TD passes on his way to a 109.2 QB rating, and Marshall Faulk ran for 1,381 yards (an average of 5.5 yards per carry) and caught 87 passes for another thousand yards?

Kurt Warner
Kurt Warner led a Rams offense that averaged nearly 33 points a game in 1999.
The defense wasn't too shabby, either, allowing only 15 points per game, fourth in the NFL. In the playoffs, the Rams proved they could win high-scoring ballgames (they beat the Vikings 49-37 in the divisional playoff), low-scoring ballgames (they beat the Bucs 11-6 for the NFC title), and a rare the-hell-with-the-dip Super Bowl over the Titans 23-16.

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That was a great team to watch and also one of the best Super Bowl's I've seen. Great finish.

yeah the Greatest Show on Turf was awesome.

Warner-Faulk-Holt-Bruce-Hakim

No sane person picks the 1999 Rams as a top 5 team of all time. The 70s Steelers, 80s 49ers, 90s Cowboys, Bears of 85 would have crushed that group of panty waists.

Kurt Warner vs the Steel Curtain, where is that laugh emoticon