Rocky Landing

It's an interesting group. The way I see it, the WRs that make it onto the 53 will all have to occupy different roles. For the bottom of the roster guys, that means avoiding redundancy, and having a significant role on special teams. If Samuel makes the roster, it will be for purely financial reasons, IMO. If he doesn't, I think Moore is a likely replacement for Samuel's role. His hands are reliable, and I did actually see him make a couple decent downfield blocks in the Bucs game-- not spectacular, but not bad for a guy his size. KJ would be the other player for that role, but while he is a fan/locker-room favorite, I think Moore is just more reliable. Wilkerson, and Shavers both had really good games this last week. Shaver's spectacular catch notwithstanding, Wilkerson looked to be the more consistent player to my eyes. And I think Shenault is getting serious consideration for the K/PR role. That might inspire McD/Beane to carry six WRs this season. It might also make the path for Shavers or Wilkerson to make the roster significantly steeper.

Certainly, his numbers benefitted from Josh Allen's arm, and talent, and absolutely from the relationship, and chemistry they had developed in the first few years he was in Buffalo. But regardless, Diggs was elite, inarguably. Route running, separation, hands, footwork, YAC, extending plays, a legendary clutch mindset-- he had it all. But the bigger question is: would you let him date your sister?

This seems like the year we might carry six WRs on the strength of Shavers, and Shenault's ST abilities.

If I ate a Snickers in bed, my wife would turn into Ndamukong Suh, and stomp my head into the pillow.

I suspect that Chris Tabor is going to have a fair amount of influence on the bottom end of this roster. And with the new kickoff rules, that might include getting to choose who he wants as P/KR. Judging by today's performances only, Shanault really looked like the best option, so far. Regarding the #3 TE competition, it really didn't look like either Davidson, or Hawes had a particularly good showing as tight ends. But Davidson did have at least one good play on special teams. I wouldn't put Hawes ahead of him just yet. I would also put Hancock down for having a decent rookie showing for his first game.

He became an underdog.

Nostradamus over here...

I wish I could agree with this sentiment, but I don't. Beyond Rapp, I don't know how someone wouldn't classify this unit as thin. Taylor Rapp-- solid to very good starter Damar Hamlin-- average (at best) starter Cole Bishop-- fingers crossed Darrick Forrest-- below average starter with a long injury history Cam Lewis-- solid backup with versatility Jordan Hancock-- fifth-round rookie Te'Cory Couch-- practice squad hopeful Wande Evans-- practice squad hopeful

It may also illustrate how poor their practice habits are, as was reported last season.

Miami has a culture problem.

Chernobyl is exceptional. It's not 100% accurate-- there are characters that are a conglomeration of several real-life individuals, and some of the events have been altered editorially to make the story coherent. But the basics are accurate, and it's grim. Very, very grim. But very good series, and worth the time investment.

Can't believe you don't have GoT in there...

In fairness to Cook, I believe he is capable of being a three down back, and I believe his blocking deficiencies are overstated. Truth is, I don't think we really know how well Cook can block or how well he'd perform as a three down back. Because we have Ty Johnson who is a better third down running back.

No, I mean this as a compliment toward McDaniel. It's especially impressive considering how much Grier has ignored their O-line. Grier, and McDaniel-- at least from the outside-- often don't seem to be on the same page.

I suppose you guys are referring to me. But, I'll just reiterate what I said earlier. He has things he does well, and I'll add that McDaniel put together an offensive scheme that plays well to his strengths-- quick release, accuracy, and timing especially. But, he also has some glaring deficiencies. If he gets flushed from the pocket, and has to scramble, he has a hard time keeping his eyes downfield. He has trouble extending a broken play. And yes, he has trouble staying on the field. These things are important. I'm not alone here. A quick search has him ranked in the bottom half of starting QBs. That's not a hot take.

I do actually watch a fair amount of their games. Jets, and Patriots* too. We do have a difference of opinion here, but I don't actually think we're that far apart. The team being lost without Tua, and Miami having a culture problem aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, one could make the argument that the former is a symptom of the latter.

He's walking around in street clothes watching all his teammates play football. What would you expect his body language to look like???

The Dolphins are better with Tua than they are with whomever is their backup. That's true of every team in the league. So, Tua's better than... Skyler Thompson. So what? But, ten times better? No, I don't think that's accurate. I looked it up. Tua's career win percentage is 64%. The Dolphins win percentage over that time without Tua was 35%. That's less than 2x better with Tua. Even that might sound like a lot, but name a team in the NFL that doesn't suffer when their starting QB goes down? Personally, I think Tua is very good at certain things-- accuracy, fast release, timing throws; and abysmal at other things-- extending plays, operating under pressure, working out of the pocket, and yes, staying on the field. But none of this has much to do with the perceived culture problem in Miami. I haven't heard anybody talking up Tua's leadership abilities, and I haven't heard any description of Miami's poor practice habits, or lack of accountability, or lack of respect towards McDaniel only occurring when Tua was injured. And he sure as hell didn't look to be inspiring his team in that last playoff loss to KC. They played like they had their bus idling in the parking lot.

Well.. you have a much higher opinion of Tua Tagovailoa than I do.

I just don't see any circumstance in which week one would be considered "our biggest game of the year," especially vs. a non-divisional opponent.

This is not a "preseason narrative." The reports of low accountability, lazy practices, poor work ethics, a lack of respect towards the coaching staff were coming out in the middle of last season. Several players were fined multiple times for being late to meetings, including Tyreek Hill. McDaniel acknowledged towards the end of the season that the fines weren't as effective as he'd hoped they'd be. Imagine such reports coming out of Buffalo under McDermott? Miami has a culture problem.

"Week one is a liar."

Meatloaf is the Tyrell Shavers of entrees.