Of Course This Week I Have To Be Out Of Town
By Brian Miller
I swear if I had no luck I would have no luck at all. For the last week or two the news in Miami has been rather dull. Sitting at home I got the feeling like I was shucking my responsibilities to provide you with information on our beloved Miami Dolphins. Ah, vacation. Nothing like stirring up a bunch of stuff to actually write about, while of course I am out of town.
Tony Sparano, you remember him, he is the guy that Jeff Ireland and Bill Parcells hired to coach this team, well apparently he had a media breakfast this morning and spoke with the “real media” guys at the owners meetings for about an hour.
Sparano didn’t give out any breaking news items, he said that he and his staff have yet to decide if they would run a 34 or a 43 officially…free agent signings aside. He said that he likes what he sees in Ted Ginn and Derek Hagan this off-season and of course is saying all the right things about John Beck who he at least openly believes can be a good QB in this league…or something like that. Asked about Lorenzo Booker and Sparano said he “jumps off the film” while watching tape on him.
Sparano of course also has confirmed what Bill Parcells said earlier about JT, he is not being traded and is the leader of this defense. Let me go here for a second.
It makes ZERO, let me say that again…Z E R O…sense to say anything other than that. The Phins reportedly have 2 maybe 3 teams interested in JT. Here is how I think it might go down, in fact, come draft day, this could be the clue as to whether or not JT is a Phin come training camp.
If the Dolphins get stuck with pick one AND they draft Chris Long, Jason Taylor will get traded to one of those teams during the drafts first day. IF they draft Jake Long or Matt Ryan or anyone else, JT will not get traded. If they trade out of the 1st spot and do not land a replacement for JT in round 1, JT will be a Phin.
The reasoning is simple. Saying that JT is here to stay makes sense because you risk alienating him by saying otherwise and if you should be able to trade down from 1 overall, JT will be needed for this team as we will not be drafting his replacement. But if we do…well, you get the picture.
Sparano also has stated that he has Vernon Carey penciled in at LT and Drew Mormino at LG. With Justin Smiley assuming the RG position and Satele at C, there is no RT. Many believe that this could be the reason that Miami drafts Jake Long at number 1. Carey goes back to RT and we address the guard spot later.
I should note here that I tend to steer away from any talk of who will be in the starting rotation unless there is a glaring need or vacancy. Sparano talked some about the defensive front but speculation gets us nowhere and so much will change that it really is not worth writing about…so keep that in mind.
As for the first pick in the draft, it appears that the Phins are well aware that they will be making that pick. Wayne Huizenga has publicly stated that no one wants to move up for the pick because there is no clear cut number 1 overall. Not that someone may not try and move up on draft day but the likelihood is slim and looking slimmer.
One Dolphin executive told a local media reporter that the draft board is completed and that they know who will be taken at number 1 if they are unable to move down. That executive laughed when asked who that guy was.
Although most believe what Jerry Jones is saying when it comes to not trading up for Darren McFadden, nothing is out of the realm of possibility. Jones still really likes McFadden and if an offer should make him realize that he is getting the better end of that deal, he will take it.
25 days left until the draft kicks off, aside from a plethora of trade speculation and rumors, the Dolphins will likely start getting into contract talks with 3 of the top prospects in the hopes of having someone locked up before the pick is actually made.