SB Nation User Blog: GatorPhan

Pat White Bounces Back

GatorPhan — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:40:20 -0000

Pat White Bounces Back

Pat White carried over his success from the last play of yesterdays practice and put on an impressive showing today. He picked up a lot of material very quickly, and handled the huddle very well.

Pat White Senior Bowl Highlights

GatorPhan — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:49:32 -0000

Pat White Senior Bowl Highlights

Check out the 39 yard TD Bomb! I effing love this pick!

Dolphins Bring In Harvin for Another Look

GatorPhan — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:46:48 -0000

Look out Harvin Haters- the Dolphins have brought him in for another look.

As you can see here, he even canceled another visit to come.

Is this a smokescreen or a genuine interest? Its hard to gage, but there may be some meat to it. I know Parcells is all about gamesmanship and throwing people off of his tracks, but also consider this: the only player we drafted who wasn't worked out extensively by the FO last year was Phillip Merling, and he was still interviewed. All the other prospects were given an in depth look, even the late round picks. This regime does not tend to waste its time interviewing and working out prospects it wouldn't consider drafting.

I know there was also a no thugs, hoodlums, druggies, etc. throwdown issued when Parcells got here, but he did handle LT pretty well if I recall. Harvin is a top 10 talent and it looks like the Dolphins may not be able to pass him if he is sitting there at #25.

Outsider's Take on the Cutler Saga

GatorPhan — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:31:43 -0000

Hello everyone- I've never really posted here before, but for some reason or another I feel compelled to chime in on the events that are transpiring in Devner. As you can tell by my name i'm a huge Gators fan, and I follow the Dolphins in the NFL. That being said, I have been a lurker on this site for a while for a few reasons. I did spend several pleasant years in Colorado Springs during the Elway years, and I have a lot of fond memories of going to games to see your team, and I try to at least keep up with the news. You also have a TON of great contributers here, who write very knowledgable and informative posts about football in general.

I know 99% of the people on this site are not going to care about what I write at all, and the rest of you are only going to care insomuch as you think that I am an idiot. Either way, its the offseason, and I'm bored- so here it goes.

From a (mostly) unbiased outsiders view, I think that a lot of the fans here are looking a gift horse in the mouth with Cutler.

As a Dolphins fan, I see you guys as having been a bit spoiled. You enjoyed a relatively rare period of stability with Shanahan as your coach. Even your "lean years" for QB after your hall of famer left were not that bad- we both suffered through Brian Griese- and then you had Jake Plummer, and the man himself, Cutler. Compare that to the Dolphins who have seen a staggering 13 quarterbacks start games since Marino's last season- each one worse than the last until Pennington came along. Not to mention 5 different head coaches.

As a fan, suffering through all of this has taught me two things. #1) If you have even an above average QB, KEEP HIM unless you have a sure thing to replace him. #2) Coaches do not always know what is best for the team- even in their supposed area of expertise. Take Cam Cameron, supposed (and maybe actual) offensive genius. He fielded some very good offenses in San Diego. He even picked up after us in Baltimore and did decently. But when he was here? We had one of the most atrocious offenses on the planet. Maybe having Drew Brees as your QB, and LaDanian Tomlinson had something to do with his genius? I couldn't tell you for certain, but when he was here, he certainly couldn't make something out of nothing.

Of Course, McDaniels is famed for being the guiding hand behind the recording breaking Patriot's 2007 season, and then following it up with an 11 win season with a QB who hadn't started since highschool.

However, consider it this way. If McDaniels isn't there in 2007- how many TDs do you think Brady still throws for? Was his coaching the missing peice? Or was it having Wes Welker, Randy Moss, and Tom Brady all having been in an offense for enough time to be comfortable and establish a repoire? I personally think that was a much bigger peice of the puzzle. As for Cassel- did McDaniels do something any other coach couldn't have done- especially considering he had the mad genius Bill Belichick behind him? The guy had years learning the system, and 2 all pro wide receivers to throw to. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the 'Air Yards" statistic being tracked over at Advanced NFL Stats, but I suggest checking it out. Cassel had quite a bit of heavy lifting done for him by his receivers. 57% of his yards were YAC, the highest percentage in the NFL. That's the Pats system you say? In 2007, Brady had only 42% of his yards as YAC.

Really, I am starting to see a trend emerge for former Belichick assistants- and one that is probably immensely disappointing to their mentor. That is a trend of inflexibility. Does anyone here remember when Mangini took over the Jets? One of his most famous moves was to force a 3-4 defense onto a personnel group that was set up for a 4-3. Compare that to Belichick mentor Bill Parcells in Dallas who took several seasons to fully convert his defense until he had the proper players on the roster. I see another Eric Mangini at work here on your offense.

This article from yesterday made the point that the Patriots offense was influenced by Urban Meyer. I can tell you this is absolutely true. Belichick is a fixture in Gainesville during the offseason. Last year he joined Meyer at the basketball games, and Meyer was seen sporting Pats gear on a mission trip. I've seen UF Plays in Foxborough, and Patriots Plays in Gainesville.

From I've seen so far, don't expect any Meyer or Patriot like results from McDaniels. Truth is, there is no 'Meyer Offense' or 'Patriot Offense'. SlowWhiteGuy's comment in the article of "what works" is exactly right. Meyer and Belichick are so successful because of their flexibility. They play to the strengths of their players, and avoid their weakpoints. If you look at the Gator's offense with Chris Leak in 2006, it is totally different from the Tebow offense of 2007, which in itself is totally different from the offense of 2008. With the Patriots, they definitely didn't run the same offense with Cassel as they did with Brady. In short, they don't force a system onto players, they mold the system to fit the team they have.

To me, McDaniels making a play for Cassel demonstrates the complete opposite of this flexible philosophy. Instead of adapting his schemes to take advantage of a superior tool in Cutler, he instead fealt compelled to make a play for a guy who would have a better foundation in the offense in the short term- but is far more limited in the long term. To me, it comes across as a grab for a security blanket.

As far as calling Cutler a 'crybaby'- have any of you tried to put yourself in his shoes? I know- the NFL is a business. But I work for a business too. Say I am an in demand employee who could find work at any company in my industry. For one reason or another, my boss at my company was replaced- and his successor tried to ship me out in favor of one of his mid level managers at his old company. I can guarantee you my resume would be out to 10 different companies the next day. The business works both ways, and if I am made to feel disposable, it is only human nature that I try to go to a situation that is more stable. It is a business for your team, but its also a business for the players, and they have every right, IMO, to act as such.

And all this talk about how he is a liar, the coaching staff was trying to make nice, and spoiled old Jay just wouldn't talk? OK- Cutler is not a saint in this, but why would anyone take the word of the team at face value either? They are also pushing an agenda and are putting their own slant on the story.

At the beginning of the coaching search we got this:

“I talked to (QB) Jay Cutler, and Jay understood the conversation. I talked to him this morning. I didn’t get any negative feedback. I think he understands enough about the business of football, the game of football, that there are going to be coaching changes and changes in organizations. I didn’t sense that Jay had any negative feelings about it, and I’m sure he is very interested in who is going to be the next head coach. Obviously, he is the man around here now, so I will be talking with Jay.” (emphasis added)

And now we here "Oh, I don't remember talking to Jay". I also read a refutation of Cutler saying he didn't get any calls that said the owner doesn't talk directly to the players- he uses the GM or an assistant for that. But he clearly stated he DOES talk to him. So which is it? They are both telling their own version of the truth- I can't see how you give more credence to the teams over Cutler's though. When you hear Cutler say, " I never asked for a trade" before this, take it with a grain of salt. But if you hear the team say, "We didn't start this, he asked to be traded"- take it with the same grain of salt.

What it really boils down to is this though: back in January, TheSportsGuru wrote this article stating his desire to leave well enough alone with the offense, and fix the defense. What has changed since then? I would have been much more worried about where my hulking, yet athletic nose tackle is going to come from instead of how I need to replace my probowl QB.

Thats the end of my rant, feel free to insult me below.

Clay Matthews Blazes to a 4.57 forty yard dash.

GatorPhan — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:26:14 -0000

Clay Matthews Blazes to a 4.57 forty yard dash.

If it holds up, Clay Matthews was clocked in at a ridiculously fast (for a LB) 4.57 seconds in the forty. That is down from a mearly outstanding 4.67 seconds at the combine - and puts him just .01 seconds off of the benchmark set by top 5 pick Aaron Curry. He was also over a tenth of a second faster than oft injured teammate Brian Cushing.

Mach Harris Improves 40 Time

GatorPhan — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 03:46:23 -0000

Mach Harris Improves 40 Time

Good news for all you Mach Harris fans, he improved upon his mediocre 40 time for the combine (down to 4.5 seconds). He also showed off his quickness/change of direction in the short shuttle.

Gators Pro Day Results

GatorPhan — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:26:23 -0000

Just wanted to update my bandwagon player Harvin, as well as a few of his teammates. An interesting note- no Dolphins big wigs were present for the workout- but Percy Harvin, Louis Murphy, AND Cornelis Ingram have private workouts scheduled with the Dolphins.

Lets start with Harvin:

via i.cdn.turner.com

Gill Brandt liked what he saw.

Harvin (5-foot-11 3/4, 193 pounds) did not disappoint. He kept his running-drill numbers from the combine, but he had a 37 1/2-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot, 1-inch broad jump and did 22 (incorrectly listed as 20- GP) bench-press lifts. He looked exceptional in position drills and caught the ball well. He also showed great explosion.

An NFC Scout was also highly complimentary- and believes the UF wide receiver drought is up. Per the PBP Inside UF Blog ((here). :

Here is what one NFC scout had to say: "I thought he did excellent. Percy and all of these guys run a lot of good, polished routes that will carry over to the NFL. Percy, he’s got good hands. You see it on tape, though. I didn’t need to come here to see that."

Louis Murphy :

via www.sun-sentinel.com

Scouts like Murphy as well, who looked very good running routes. The same NFC scout said:

All these guys are very polished," an NFC scout said. "These guys (Harvin, Murphy, CI) are excellent prospects."

Like Harvin, he stood on his combine 40 yard dash.

You can read a Q & A from the Gainesville sun here.

Cornelius Ingram:

via www.gatorcountry.com

Cornelius Ingram looked very good catching the ball. He drew "oohs and ahhs" with one spectacular catch.

Mike Mayock has him as his 3rd rated TE and had this to say:

"It was good to see him in person," Mayock said. "Obviously, with the knee injury there wasn't any senior tape on him. He ran about what I expected (in the 40), around 4.7. He's not a 4.6 or a 4.55 guy, but he's very fluid.

"And what I like best about him is the athletic ability to get in and out of the breaks and use his hands to catch the ball naturally.

"I was very impressed."

Overall, he showed why he had both football AND basketball scholarship offers from Florida

Per Gil Brandt:

Another player who opened eyes Wednesday was tight end Cornelius Ingram. After sitting out this past season because of a knee injury, Ingram is healthy again and showing it on the field. He ran 4.72 and 4.69 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had a 9-foot, 6-inch broad jump and was sharp in position drills.

Right now, he could go as high as the 3rd round, with only 5 months recovery from a torn ACL. Ingram is a true class act of a player and he is someone I will be rooting hard for in this draft.

Interesting Note In Malcolm Jenkins Interview

GatorPhan — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:43:18 -0000

I had to take a long drive today at work, and I got to hear an interview with draft prospect Malcolm Jenkins. Most of it was your average boring, generic interview fodder. You know:

Interviewer: "Do you love football?"

Interviewee: "Durhhh, no I just want the money."

But at the end, there was one interesting bit where they grilled him.

Most people know that the question with Jenkins is whether he clan play corner in the NFL, or whether he will have to move to safety. He went through some various teams - New Orleans thinks he could be both, Denver sees him as a pure corner, etc.

Of course by now you know the interesting team is the Dolphins. He said that the Dolphins told him he could NOT play corner in this league, and he would have to move to safety. This was interesting to me on two levels-

1.) we probably wouldn't take Jenkins even if he fell to us at 25. After signing Gibril Wilson and re-upping Bell it makes absolutely no sense to draft a safety in the 1st round.

2.) you can examine some of Jenkins traits, and apply those to some other corner prospects to see how the Dolphins may be looking at them. Jenkins came in at 6'-0 1/8", 204 lbs, and ran a 4.55 forty yard dash. There are also some who say he didn't look very fluid or natural in his position drills (Deon Sanders is said to have remarked "He's killing himself.").

Do you guys think this says anything about any other corner prospects in the draft?

I'm specifically thinking of Sean Smith- who seems to me like a taller Malcolm Jenkins. 6'-4", 214 lbs, 4.53 forty.

Scouting report (via CBSSports.com)

Negatives: Might be seen as a corner/safety "tweener." … Stiff in the upper body. … Does not play with the physicality scouts would like given his size. … Is slow to adjust when backpedaling if a receiver cuts his route short or goes to the skinny post. … Catch-and-drag tackler whose height is a disadvantage when trying to bring down ballcarriers with a low center of gravity. … Inconsistent using his hands at the line of scrimmage. … Gets stuck on blocks. … Takes poor angles to make tackles in space or when attacking a screen. … Just a little more than two years of experience on defense. … Cocky and talks trash.

I know a lot of people here are on the Sean Smith bandwagon- any of you guys having second thoughts, or do you still think the Phins see him as a CB?

The Onion's Take on the T.O. Signing

GatorPhan — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:11:00 -0000

The Onion's Take on the T.O. Signing

Hilariously NSFW- don't forget to check out their career highlights either.

The Cutler vs Denver Drama Gets Funnier- Belichick's Assistants Continue To Embarass Selves

GatorPhan — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:41:42 -0000

The Cutler vs Denver Drama Gets Funnier- Belichick's Assistants Continue To Embarass Selves

Not really Dolphins related- but I figured we would all like to take a chance and laugh at the guy who used to coach against us. Like him or not- Cutler is a stud and true franchise QB. Maybe if McDaniels stayed in NE he'd want Cassel to start over Brady too since he "raised him up from the ground" and all.

Yet another Belichick disciple who is crashing a burning.