http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/news/story?id=3339368 Fire up that Columbus to South Beach pipleline? If the phins go D then its a mistake not to select Chris Long. Look at all the subterfuge pulled off by Cameron last yr; I say Parcells is capable of the same if not better.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (blackadder @ Apr 10 2008, 12:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Fire up that Columbus to South Beach pipleline?</div> It's lit. Make sure you pass that thing to the rest of the DWO when you are done with it, and let them take a puff because Chris Long will not go after Gholston. Smokescreen....indeed.
I wouldnt call it a smoke screen, because, who are you screening? no team can get ahead of them without their consent....I would call it leverage against the other top players in the draft....I think Parcells has a list of players he likes at the top, I suspect that list includes both Longs, Gholston, Dorsey, Harvey and maybe Ryan or McFadden and he wants to gather a database of contract demands....I doubt money would be a major issue in choosing, but Im betting it could break some ties....
If the Dolphins pick a defensive player, other than Chris Long, I think I might be sicker than when I heard we drafted a punt returner with the 9th overall with Amobe Okoye still on the board. (No, I'm still not sold on Ginn, though I would love it if proved me wrong about him.)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Return of the Raider @ Apr 10 2008, 11:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (blackadder @ Apr 10 2008, 12:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Fire up that Columbus to South Beach pipleline?</div> It's lit. Make sure you pass that thing to the rest of the DWO when you are done with it, and let them take a puff because Chris Long will not go after Gholston. Smokescreen....indeed. </div> Let me call Ricky W & then run up to the grocery store for Doritos & Twinkies.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheBeef @ Apr 10 2008, 11:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I wouldnt call it a smoke screen, because, who are you screening? no team can get ahead of them without their consent....I would call it leverage against the other top players in the draft....I think Parcells has a list of players he likes at the top, I suspect that list includes both Longs, Gholston, Dorsey, Harvey and maybe Ryan or McFadden and he wants to gather a database of contract demands....I doubt money would be a major issue in choosing, but Im betting it could break some ties....</div> Perhaps smokescreen was the wrong term... thats what I get for posting at work in a spare moment. Maybe, Red Herring, Smoke and mirrors, or even leverage might be a better term.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DolfanDale @ Apr 10 2008, 08:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If the Dolphins pick a defensive player, other than Chris Long, I think I might be sicker than when I heard we drafted a punt returner with the 9th overall with Amobe Okoye still on the board. (No, I'm still not sold on Ginn, though I would love it if proved me wrong about him.)</div> At least, it wasn't Dramaquinn last year. I'm not sold on Ginn either. Though, if Tuna does w/ Jake, it could be as Beef suggests the Phins O gets better by the line get a great young nucleus. But, I doubt it. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Offensive line is considered the biggest need for the Dolphins, who went 1-15 last year. But Parcells has been reluctant to use high picks on offensive linemen in the past.</div> http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?sectio...&id=3339892 Didn't Saban who is friends w/ Belichick who is a Parcells disciple jerk around Braylon Edwards who also played collegiately in Ann Arbor?
A plausible smokescreen scenario Jake Long has begun "negotiations" with Miami, but why this early? I think the motive here is to drive down the price on any player they take at No. 1. If I were Jeff Ireland, I wouldn't show the world I'm putting my eggs all in one basket here. Doing this drives the price up on Jake Long. I am still extremely confident Chris Long will be the pick here. Parcells loves defense and getting pressure on the quarterback. Heck, he passed up on two of the best left tackle prospects of all time in 1997 in Orlando Pace (arguably the best ever at his position) and Walter Jones. So, why would he take Jake Long this time around when he isn't in the same galaxy as those two players as prospects? Lawrence Taylor, DeMarcus Ware, Chris Long... The piece fits what Parcells hs done with every team he has been with. This is the same guy that drafted Bobby Carpenter just because his dad played fullback for him with the Giants. Yeah, Howie was a pretty good football player from what I've heard.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (blackadder @ Apr 16 2008, 01:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'> A plausible smokescreen scenario Jake Long has begun "negotiations" with Miami, but why this early? I think the motive here is to drive down the price on any player they take at No. 1. If I were Jeff Ireland, I wouldn't show the world I'm putting my eggs all in one basket here. Doing this drives the price up on Jake Long. I am still extremely confident Chris Long will be the pick here. Parcells loves defense and getting pressure on the quarterback. Heck, he passed up on two of the best left tackle prospects of all time in 1997 in Orlando Pace (arguably the best ever at his position) and Walter Jones. So, why would he take Jake Long this time around when he isn't in the same galaxy as those two players as prospects? Lawrence Taylor, DeMarcus Ware, Chris Long... The piece fits what Parcells hs done with every team he has been with. This is the same guy that drafted Bobby Carpenter just because his dad played fullback for him with the Giants. Yeah, Howie was a pretty good football player from what I've heard.</div> The last time he picked #1 for a team, he picked a quarterback. At least he selected Bledsoe and not Rick Mirer! Some would argue that they both suck, but at least Bledsoe got a starting job on every team he went to. I'm guessing that there was external pressure on him not to go defense that year. The lesson I think we can learn from this as fans, is that the position you draft in has more influence over who you select vs. what you really *want* to select. Teams may feel that if there is a franchise QB sitting there at #1, then the must take it if they don't already have one. Has Miami really seen enough playing time from John Beck to believe that he is the real deal? Perhaps they just don't want to have to make that decision right now. I understand that.
I believe that Jake Long is the best run blocking tackle prospect in the past 2 decades....he does not have the athletic ability that typical left tackle prospects possess, but hes more physical....very few if any of the great left tackles of the past few decades put up the strength numbers that Long did at the combine....my question on Long is simply this: Can he handle the elite edge rushers on the left side? If he can, hes becomes an amazing weapon because your typical edge rusher is weak against runs directed right at him and Jake Long is the kind of road grader you could run left behind all day long....most teams prefer to run right because their right tackles are better run blockers, this could be a significant advantage to the offense that uses Long on the left, as long as he can also handle the speed rushers....if he cant handle it, he will have to play the right side, but he will be an elite right tackle in my opinion.... Parcells wants to run the ball and play outstanding defense....the strength of the Dolphins roster at this point is at the RB position....Ronnie Brown played in 7 games last season and had almost 1000 from scrimmage....he was on pace for the 4th most yards from scrimmage in the history of the league and that was behind an average offensive line....running left behind Long and right behind Carey is recipe for big time success running the football....Ricky Williams is still amazingly talented, but can't be counted on....when his head is in the game, hes an elite back though....together, they make a nice tandem....both are big, physical runners, but both have breakaway ability, both have good hands, both are good blockers, both are 3 down backs, which could allow this team to wear defenses out over the course of a game and put their own defense in addvantages situations....i believe this is consistant with what Bill Parcells considers to be the formula for success....
