New Dolphins Career

[burnum]

Draft Preview:

The Miami Dolphins have the following picks this year:
Rd/Pick
1 (30)
2 (34)
2 (62)
3 (72)
3 (94)
4 (123)
5 (136)
plus 5 picks in Rd. 6/7

The clear cut best player in this draft is QB Trent Stanton. He has a Tom Brady comparison and according to my GM has 95 POT in a balanced philosophy. He'll be a star but he'll go early. He's a superior player to my QB John Scotland so it would be easy go just trade up and get him and trade Scotland for multiple high picks but I won't do that simply because it's totally unrealistic. No NFL team would ever trade away their 23 year old franchise QB who already has won them a Superbowl. It would be a good move in this game but I won't do it because it's not realistic at all. Let's just hope Drew Stanton doesn't land in my division...
Aside from Stanton, there's also QB Taylor Tannenbaum, who also has all the tools to become a franchise QB. So for a team that needs a franchise QB and has a high pick in round 1 this could be a good year (looking at those loud-mouth green Jersey boys...). There are also some nice RBs in the class but I'll have to spend a high pick to get one of them. There are also some nice WRs with scouted 90 POT but I'm probably set at WR. I don't have a real pressing need but I could use a man coverage CB, a good all around SS, a pass rushing OLB and a versatile MLB. Unfortunately, the draft isn't really deep at those positions at all.
After the FA signings I don't have a lot of cap room, so if I should decide to trade up it surely won't be into the top picks. I probably won't pick any higher than mid first round but maybe I just let the draft develop and pick the best player on the board at #30...

[ramz43]

Have your ever tried the 3-3-5 Mustang? That is my favorite playbook of all. 3 lineman, 3 lb and 3 corners and 2 safetys but when your playing you can change them to cb if you want. There are a lot of blitz plays but you keep the 5 cb to cover the WR, Te.

[burnum]

2012 Draft Recap:

Alright, the draft is in the books and I'll give you a brief summary what went down. The Titans selected Maximus Johnson #1 overall, he's a big physical WR but he also has a high bust risk in my opinion. Charles Harrison (a very good DT) went #2 to the Panthers and then my personal worst case scenario came true when the Jets picked QB Trent Stanton at #3. Stanton is a future star, there's nothing not to like about him. Now my divisional rivals have Stanton (Jets), Brady (Pats) and Brees (Bills, signed in free agency) at the QB position. It will become really hard to even make it to the playoffs as the Bills & Jets will be much improved and NE is always in contention with Brandy and Belichick.

Let's come to my own draft: I kept sitting back at #30 and used the selection to pick the best player left on my board, which was Miami FS Roscoe Utley. He'll probably have to move to SS in my defense because we already have a Pro Bowl starter at FS in Sanrick Raines but both safeties are interchangeble in my defensive scheme (I don't use an in-the-box safety).
In round 2 I traded down from #34 to receive an additional 1st rounder next year. I traded up to get RB Cletis Parker in the middle of round 2. He'll be the speed back in a shared backfield (with Andre Granderson as the power back). Kenton Kasom has 1 year left on his contract but didn't live up to my expectations. I'm looking to get something for him before the season.
I used my two picks in round 3 to get some more depth in the trenches with Penn State DE Marshall Sullivan and Eastern Michigan OT Jonathan Boone. Boone played RT in college but will likely move to guard because he struggles against speed rushers on the edge.
I traded out of round 4 to acquire more picks for next year. In round 5 we selected Ohio LB Daniel Coyle, who fits the bill as a pass rushing OLB.
We had 5 selections in round 6 & 7 and took a chance on some players who I believe might turn out to be sleepers. Those players are CB Markieff Bridges (Penn St.), MLB Darrell Wells (Samford), OG Kemba Conway (Valparaiso), TE Shevin Taylor (Elon) and speedy WR Cory Shields (North Carolina A&T).
We also picked up 5 undrafted free agents: Jaime Potter (K,Texas), Hugh Erickson (DE/OLB, New Mexico St.), Cashmere O'Neill (G/C, San Diego St.), Rocky Nash (RB, Mt. Union) & Phil Page (WR, West Virginia), who probably won't see much action as a receiver but could be a good return specialist (had a Devin Hester comparison). The kicker we picked up will get a fair shot to win the training camp competition against Dan Carpenter.


Training Camp Roundup:
Josh Johnson was resigned to a 1 yr contract and will continue to run the wildcat & option plays.

RB Kenton Kasom (83)was traded to the Redskins for 2nd & 7th round picks next year. In the right system he might blossom but it simply didn't work out in my offense.

OLB Shawne Merriman (91) was traded to the Baltimore Ravens for next year's 1st & 7th round picks. This saves me some cap-room this season but puts a big 8 mil. salary cap penalty on next season's payroll.

OLB/DE Tony Bake (81) was traded to the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2014 3rd rounder. Don't like feeding an divisional rival but his contract would expire after the season and I don't have the cap space to resign him anyway. 3rd rounder for a young & healthy borderline starter seems fair.

RB Adrian Peterson was cut by the Vikings and his OVR is down to 83. I checked his stats and found out only had one 1000 yard season since the game started (2009) and has been injury plagued since. He INJ rating is down to 45. However, I decided to take a flyer on him and signed him to a 1 yr deal worth 2 mil., without any guaranteed money. If he gets hurt or can't perform any more I can simply cut him without any penalty. He'll share carries with Andre Granderson and rookie Cletis Parker, which should help to keep him fresh & as healthy as possible.

DE/DT Darnell Dockett was signed to a one year contract. He perfectly fits my defensive scheme. He probably won't be a starter but he'll contribute as a rotational player and in sub-packages.

Rookie Jamie Potter beat out Dan Carpenter for the kicking job. Carpenter did not make the final 53 men roster. Others among the final cuts included QB Johnny Chapman, RB Sedrick McCoy and CB DeAnthony Nails.

A lot of big name (and high OVR) players are still unsigned and remain in the FA pool. I'm not interested in anyone at the moment as my roster is set, although I could change my mind in case of injuries.

We won all 4 preseason games, including a 23-21 win at Dallas with a game winning FG by rookie Jamie Potter. The season starts today with a home game against the Titans.


Game Preview, week 1 vs Tennessee:
We are injury free and the Titans are without starting QB Vince Young. They don't have an adequate backup so I expect them to struggle in the passing game. Chris Johnson has to be contained and I'll try to force him to run inside by bringing edge blitzes. Their 3 best players are on defense: Albert Haynesworth will make it hard to run between the tackles, Kyle Vanden Bosch is a high motor pass rusher and FS Michael Griffin is a ballhawk in the secondary. Nevertheless, I expect a clear victory against a team with an unproven backup QB.

[burnum]

Quote: Originally Posted by ramz43

Have your ever tried the 3-3-5 Mustang? That is my favorite playbook of all. 3 lineman, 3 lb and 3 corners and 2 safetys but when your playing you can change them to cb if you want. There are a lot of blitz plays but you keep the 5 cb to cover the WR, Te.

Never tried it although I've read a lot about that defense and how it works. Maybe I'll add some plays to my PB, do you know which coaches use 3-3-5 in the game?

[JDStang]

Quote: Originally Posted by burnum

Never tried it although I've read a lot about that defense and how it works. Maybe I'll add some plays to my PB, do you know which coaches use 3-3-5 in the game?

If you find a coach that actually has the defense it will be a long way into your career... no other coaches use the 3-3-5 and the only way to get it from a coach is to hope that a certain college coach comes into the nfl and you play against him... sorry cant remember his name but I do know it's like 8 years into a career before he comes into the nfl. I would just look to add via the play creator at this point.

[ramz43]

Well if you start off with it at the beginning of your career it will benefit you in the long run. Its a strong play book it says and its only 75 plays so you can add another 125 plays on top of the 3-3-5. It has benefited me because i use the 3-3-5 mustang. Then as i play games i gather plays from other teams like the 4-3, 3-4, nickel, cover 2, dime, 46. You know stuff like that. It was just a though since you were trying to convert to a 3-4 and just trying to give you some advice since maybe you have not tried it yet

[burnum]

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. If/When I start a new career in the future I'll probably try it out. As for now, I added some 3-3-5 plays via the play creator. I already had a 3-3-5 formation in my PB (it's called 'Pressure Nickel').


Game Review:

Titans 7
Dolphins 49

It was the easy home opener that I expected. I completely shut down the Titans' offense (the lone TD came from their defense on a long fumble return) as I simply too away the running game and their inexperienced QB was just plain awful (12-30 for 89 yds, 4 INTs). The Titans only got 4 first downs all game. Gino King (2 INTs, 1 sack), Mychal Greenlaw (5 tkl, 2 sacks) and Elvis Dumervil (6 tkl, 1 sack) were particularly impressive. Our first round pick (who only has 84 POT after moving from FS to SS) had an interception in his first NFL game. The story of the game was rookie RB Cletis Parker, who rushed for 112 yards on 18 carries and scored 3 TDs. He's really a threat once he gets into open space, although he'll also make some head scratching moves and mistakes. Adrian Peterson had 9 carries as the inside runner (1 TD). John Scotland was able to move the ball at will, if needed but I decided to give the backup QB Matt Keppinger some live reps after being up 32-0 midway through Q3 and focussed on using some new or underutilized plays to get play knowledge up. Brandon Marshall and Skyler Cofield both broke short passes down the sideline for long TDs. Only downside: it won't stay this easy...

Record: 1-0


During the week:
Rookie OLB Daniel Coyle suffered a torn MCL in the season opener and was placed on IR. CB Adam 'Pacman' Jones was signed to take his spot on the 53 man roster. He'll see action as a CB in sub-packages and share return duties with DeSean Jackson.


Game Preview, week 2 vs Jacksonville:
With the exception of my injured rookie LB (IR), both teams are injury free. The Jaguars have a balanced offense with David Garrard at QB and MJD at RB. Their defense is rock solid and has 2 star players in CB Rashean Mathis and OLB Lance Briggs, who they acquired via trade last season. Their roster doesn't have a real weakness, the only weak spot might be at RB depth, as they lack a quality runner to spell MJD. Skyler Cofield will be rewarded for his good performance in week 1 and will start as our #2 WR.


Game Review:

Jaguars 8
Dolphins 31

Another convincing win, this time against a serious opponent. John Scotland had a good game (16-22, 215 yds, 2 TD) and Skyler Cofield paid back my faith in him with 7 catches for 127 yds and a TD. We completely shut down their running game (again) but Cletis Parker (20-55, 2 TD) was not able to break free for any long runs this time and was tackled in the own endzone for a safety. Gino King again led the defense with a sack and an INT. Cornerback Amos Summers, who took over the starting job from Ellis Hobbs this season forced 2 fumbles and Mario Williams brought pressure on 8 QB hurries, although he didn't get any sacks.

Record: 2-0


During the week:
nothing to report


Game Preview, week 3 vs Cincinnati:
Both teams are injury free. The Bengals feature a power running offense with RB Vonnie Mendenhall, who ran for over 1000 yards in each of the 3 seasons he's in the league so far. Carson Palmer has the arm to make you pay if you sell out to stop the run so we have to be careful to not being over-aggressive. Their group of WRs is not very good but TE Jason Witten, who joined as a FA before the season is always a threat over the middle. Their defense is borderline elite, they might have the best CB tandem in the league with Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph and Keith Rivers is one of the best LBs in the game. We need to be careful with the football and stop the run.

[burnum]

Game Review:

Bengals 0
Dolphins 31

This was easier than I thought. We had no problems stopping their run and held Vonnie Mendenhall to just 10 yds. Carson Palmer was hindered by bad WR play as his WRs dropped a lot of balls. I'm surprised they didn't use Jason Witten more, he didn't have a single catch and was barely on the field because the Bengals played a lot in 20 personnel (2 RB, 0 TE, 3 WR). Their slot WR was the only productive guy with 7 catches for 85 yds but he also had 2 crucial drops on 3rd down. Both of my safeties had an INT, one of them was returned for a TD by Sanrick Raines with time expiring in the first half. Gino King had another good game with 4 tkl and 2 sacks. Offensively I spent most of the second half running the ball to eat up the clock. Cletis Parker (17-80), Josh Johnson (8-30) and Adrian Peterson (6-29, TD) all had decent but not great games. Unfortunately, Peterson got hurt in the 3rd quarter, let's hope he doesn't miss too much time. Our rookie kicker made a 52 yarder.

Record: 3-0


During the week:
Adrian Peterson is back at practice after getting injured in the last game.


Game preview, week 4 at Oakland:
The first road game of the season and it's as hard a game as it gets. Travelling all the way to the west coast to face Gary Hammermill and his Raiders in a battle of 2 unbeaten teams. The only relevant injury is to Raiders' LT Paul Abbamonte. They use Hammermill's unique playbook, so JaMarcus Russell is 'The Man' and puts up unreal stats every week. Our sole focus is on stopping him. His WRs don't look good on paper but Hammermill's system usually turns them into stars anyway. Their main threats will probably be WR Javon Walker and RB Darren McFadden who is used more as a receiver out of the backfield than a runner. Their O-Line is average at best without its starting LT and the defense has a very good CB tandem (Asomugha & DeAngelo Hall) and a playmaking LB in Thomas Howard. We should be able to run against them.


Game Review:

Dolphins 44
Raiders 42

What a game!!! Both offenses started slow and we were up 13-7 with 2 minutes in the 2nd quarter when DeAngelo Hall returned a John Scotland INT for a TD to give the Raiders the lead. In the second half the game turned into a real shootout with the Raiders always up one or two scores. At the end we managed to score a TD with 1:50 left in the 4th but Oakland was still up by 5. I decided to kick it deep as I have never ever recovered an onside kick in Heach Coach 09 and we still had all 3 timeouts. We managed to stop the 3-and-out and got the ball back at our own 11 with 1:10 left. John Scotland and Josh Johnson moved the ball very well and we marched down the field. It all came down to the very final play of the game with 4 seconds left at the Raiders' 16 yard line. I called one of my best passing plays and to my surprise the Raiders came out in 4-3 base personnel and called a blitz play. John Scotland threw a short pass into the flats to RB Cletis Parker who went untouched into the endzone. Ballgame.
As for the stats, we were trailing most of the game so we had to rely heavily on the pass. John Scotland threw for 354 yds, 4 TDs and a pick-6 but our passing game was provided a spark by Josh Johnson who made some big plays with his arm (10-13 for 187 yds). Brandon Marshall destroyed Nnamdi Asomugha with 10 catches for 217 yds and a TD but Skyler Cofield (7-131) and Cletis Parker (7-120, 2 TDs) had great days receiving as well. JaMarcus Russell was held to 'only' 339 yds and 56 percent completions, both are season lows for him. He was under pressure from Gino King (11 QB hurries) and Mario Williams (10) all game but avoided any sacks or INTs. This is a great win against one of the best teams in the league but it could have gone the other way as well...

Record: 4-0


During the week:
nothing to report.


Game Preview, week 5 at New York Jets:
The Jets are such a stupid team. They drafted Trent Stanton #3 OVR, making me yell at my playstation and now they sit him behind Sage Rosenfels. Are you kidding me??? I need to tell my pass rushers to go easy on the QB to not knock him out of the game (thus giving Stanton a chance) They have a good O-Line (aside from their RT), good pass rushers (Gholston & Pace) and Darrelle Revis at CB. If we avoid turnovers it should be an easy win. No key injuries on both sides.