Gotcha - all Fin moves are "UPGRADES" ala Shelton. okiedokie! I guess that makes Culpepper a 'weakened' spot, since, with Shelton protecting his blind side, he won't be playing by October. Don't forget Allen, as a oft-injured, lengthy holdout rookie. I'm sure he'll be heads & shoulders better than whoever held the spot last season. Same with the change from Williams to Morris, right? FYI, Grammatica has a much better post-season % than AV ever will....I guess that means the position is 'improved', no? All kidding aside, i like what the Fins have done, but by no means can we tell if the team will have a better record or not than last year.
That link for Capers was from 1995. Take a look at his recent history instead of resting on the laurels of seasons that are 12 years in the past. Give me a break with that non-sense. Wait, let me get a link from Mangini as an intern so I can prove his worth. Come up with some real evidence.
Jason Allen is not a gamble at all. He had a hip injury at the beginning of the year and shown no problems in coming back from injury. If my knowlege serves me right he had the 2nd fastest 40 in the combine. When the Dolphins worked Jason Allen out and had him take a physical the doctors saw no problems with Allen. The Dolphins wouldn't have taken a chance on him if they felt that he would not be able to perform.
The best O-line coach in the game is coaching L.J. Shelton now. Correct me if i'm wrong but didn't Houck take an offensive line that was complete garbage one season and turned it into one of the best that season? He did also help build the offensive line for the Dallas Cowboys in the 90s. L.J. will be fine. You're right there is no way we can tell what our record is going to be but through FA and the draft we have gotten younger, bigger, and faster which will help contribute to a winning record.
Any first round pick that missed his senior season due to an injury is a gamble. I don't care if he runs as fast as Deion Sanders, because speed doesn't make a player good. Instincts and practice are key, especially rookies, and he is already two weeks behind. You even mention him as "taking a chance", which means he is a gamble. His upside is obviously very high, but he is a gamble.
A coach can't change the fact that the technique and ability just isn't there. Shelton is not good and never will be.
You can't argue with results. As coordinator Capers has been one of the best. Jacksonville and Pittsburgh were top notch Defenses when he was calling the shots. The Texans i don't know what went wrong there, part of it is Casserly as a crappy GM IMO. Be Honest if you got Capers as a D coordinator you would be thrilled.
If we got Capers as a DC ten years ago I would be thrilled, but in the present day I would be pretty upset.
Coaches can change technique through repetition. If you've ever played highschool football when you first start out you're technique isn't anywhere near perfect but as you go through drills and the coaches drill you it technique changes gradually. I'll be the first to admit that Shelton has not been the player everyone thought he has been but with Houck coaching him he's only going to get better. Coaching really does go along way, look at the Pats who don't have all of the most talented guys but can shut down offenses that rewrite the record books. Look at the Lions who have had top 10 picks for god knows how long and consistently underachieve.
You would be upset with a guy that has had 2 head coaching jobs and over 20 years of coaching experience calling you're defense? Ok when Bill Bellichek came over from the Browns after getting canned were the Jets fan's upset when they pronounced him DC? Capers wouldn't have gotten two head coaching job unless he was a superb coordinator. That's exactly why Eric Mangini got the Jets job so you know what i'm talking about.
Maybe somewhat, but Madison was no spring chicken anymore. Until Allen gets a chance to play, and prove himself, I'm certainly not not going to automatically call him a downgrade without any proof one way or the other...
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight!?!?!?!..... Getting Capers was huge, and I could care less what you think!!!.... Anyone who knows anything about football, knows that Capers is a very productive Defensive Coordinator. I wouldn't underestimate our defense this year....
NE tanked that game. They wanted no part of Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs. NE opted to play the worst 12-4 team I've ever seen the 2005 Jacksonville Jaguars. New England - 13-3 New York Jets 7-9 Miami Dolphins 7-9 Buffalo Bills 4-12
You think Capers is a downgrade from what we had before? Um let's see Capers has had two head coaching jobs, two DC coordinator jobs in which his defenses ranked 1st and 9th in the NFL and over 20 years of experience. Malarkey may not have made Buffalo an offensive juggernaut but he did make Pittsburgh's offense extremely productive while he has there. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit2001.htm They were 7th and 8th in scoring two out of the three years that he was there. Say what you want about him as a "Head Coach" but as a coordinator he's had success. Those seem like upgrades to me.
7-9? that makes no sense. We went 9-7 in last year in the first year of "rebuilding mode". The only way i see doing that bad is injuries derailing our season. Do you honestly think NE is going 13-3? NE is good but they aren't the Pats of 01, 03, or 04. This is a different team, a less experienced NE team.
1. You're not catching anyone by surprise this season. 2. Daunte is coming off a serious injury. He STUNK before the injury. 3. No Ricky Williams. Ronnie Brown has never carried the load by himself. In college he split carries with Cadillac. Big ? here. If he goes down Miami will truly become 'Daunte's team' just like the 2005 Vikes. They are weaker but their schedule is incredibly easy.
He was also very productive before the injury. He threw 39 TDs and 11 ints with over 4000 yds passing without Moss most of the season. All signs show that Culpepper is going to be ready to go soon. He's doing alot more than alot of other people could do after the injury. Ronnie is an enigma i'll give you that because he hasn't carried the load in sometime, that's where OC Mike Mularkey comes in. He's going use the power run but he's also known for using balance in his offenses. Ronnie's not going to have carry the load of the entire offense for the entire season. You will see the other backs get utilized as well. Ronnie is going to be the feature back but don't count the other guys out just yet.
Norv Turner was an HC twice, too, and he was an awful OC. Most of this thread is fan bias. Refusing to call Madison to Allen a downgrade but immediately calling Shelton and other players upgrades is bias. It's okay, we all have it for our own teams. I like Miami's team more than most of this board, but I can't put them ahead of NE. Pats-11-5 Miami-10-6 Jets-6-10 Bills-5-11 The division is pretty bad this year though.
