Dolphins should see Taylor and Wake as dangerous duo

By Adam Sweeney  |   Thursday, May 07, 2009  |  Comments( 7 )

 Miami Dolphins
We talked recently about why Jason Taylor's return to the Miami Dolphins made sense, but it seems someone lies in the path to his return to South Beach. Linebacker Cameron Wake has been grabbing the attention of a lot of Dolphins fans this offseason after coming to Miami from the Canadian Football League. RotoWorld issued some info on the Taylor ...
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CommentsComments: 7
 No.1
Jay in Raleigh		 07:07 AM
05/08/2009
There are a couple of problems with signing Taylor. First is his salary situation. Even though he may be willing to take less than he was previously making, he would still take up most of the team's remaining cap room, making it difficult to make in-season roster moves in the event of injury, etc.
The second problem is the "progress-stopper" idea. If this team is being built to contend in 2010, JT likely won't be a contributing part of that team, so why have him here taking snaps from players who may be (Wake, Roth, George, Anderson, Walden)? Giving those players the snaps this year better prepares them to be contributors in 2010, or lets the team know they need to look elsewhere. As far as the mentoring role, JT has never been a willing mentor, and it isn't likely he will start putting the team first at this point in his career.
Another problem is the potential for locker-room conflict/drama, to which JT contributed significantly for both Saban and Cameron, and, to an extent, with Parcells last year. That's not to say it's all his fault, but there are existing tensions there, and JT requires special attention, which doesn't seem to be in Sparano's MO.
The last problem with bringing in JT, and the biggest in my mind, is that he plays the same position as Porter. Neither is well-suited to play on the strong side of the formation, as JP showed in 2007. Having them both on the field for significant stretches would invite teams to run outside the tackles, since neither JT or JP is adept at setting the edge.
 No.2
Dr Michael		 10:01 AM
05/08/2009
Does that mean that Roth is out?

Michael
 No.3
Jay in Raleigh		 01:07 PM
05/08/2009
I think Roth may surprise people this season. He went into last training camp putting on weight to play 34 DE, then was asked to stand up. And he had a solid, if unspectacular, season. He was one of our top run defenders and contributed a handful of sacks (5) without the benefit of being in the right physical shape or having ever played the position before. I believe he'll come into camp much lighter and quicker; he'll also be far more comfortable as an OLB than he was last year.
I think he'll still be coming off the field on third down, and in obvious passing situations (this is where someone like Wake, George or Walden figures to play as a pass-rush specialist). But I also expect him to improve on his 53 tackles and 5 sacks, which is certainly not bad for a two-down player.
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