Greg Likens Blog
"Position Battles to Watch (7/30)"
Jul 30, 2010
As late July rolls around each year, NFL fans across the country become filled with excitement and optimism as a new season approaches. That’s definitely the case in South Florida as the Dolphins open up the 2010 version of training camp on Friday, July 31st. And while many are focused on Brandon Marshall’s impact on the offense, Chad Henne’s development as a quarterback, and the health of Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams, the defense is where the big training camp storylines exist. Below are my 3 position battles to pay close attention to… not only will they be fun to monitor as fans, but also may hold the key to how much success Miami has this season.
1.) Outside Linebacker – Whenever you allow a combined 219 ½ sacks to leave town in the offseason, there will be some major question marks about how to make up for that production. That’s what the Fins did in letting Jason Taylor (127.5) and Joey Porter (92) depart for the Jets and Cardinals, respectively. While the two are both over 33 years of age and seemingly on the downside of their careers, they did combine to total 16 sacks in 2009. With that said, it’s time for a youth movement in terms of Miami’s pass rush. The big question is who’s going to step up and fill the massive shoes of JT & Joey? The candidates include former CFL standout Cameron Wake, 2nd-round pick Koa Misi, Charlie Anderson, Quentin Moses, Erik Walden, and Chris McCoy. At this point, Wake & Anderson are the early favorites to fill the two OLB openings. Wake accumulated 5 ½ sacks in limited snaps last season while Anderson had just 2, but is a 7-year veteran who’s been waiting for his opportunity to have a larger role with the Dolphins. There are high expectations on Misi as the Fins’ 2nd overall pick in this year’s draft. He will be given every opportunity to win a starting job – but as with every rookie, there’s a learning curve in the transition from college to the NFL. Overall, this will be the team’s most fascinating position battle to follow because the team is counting on unproven commodities to make huge, breakout impacts this season.
2.) Free Safety – With last year’s starter, Gibril Wilson, having been kicked to the curb in the offseason, Dolphins’ fans can rest assured that the level of play at free safety can’t get much worse than it was in 2009. While he did total 93 tackles, Wilson never had his hand in on a turnover and was a big reason why the Fins gave up more big plays than any other team in the league. Now it’s up to Chris Clemons, Tyrone Culver, or Reshad Jones to upgrade the position opposite Pro-Bowler Yeremiah Bell. All indications during offseason workouts were that Clemons will be given the first opportunity to win the job. The 2009 5th-round selection was primarily a special teams contributor in his rookie year, but earned increased playing time in the secondary as the season wore on. Tony Sparano & Bell both spoke enthusiastically about Clemons’ progress since the ’09 season ended. Culver is a 5-year veteran who the coaching staff prefers to utilize as Bell’s primary backup as well as a safety/defensive back in passing situations. He’ll likely remain in that role unless Clemons proves he’s not up to the task. Meanwhile, Jones is this year’s 5th-round pick from Georgia who is ready to compete, but may encounter some of the same rookie roadblocks that Clemons faced last year. At this point, it’s Clemons’ job to lose. However, the wild card at this position is that there’s still a viable possibility that the team adds a veteran FS if it’s not happy with the progress being made by the players currently on the roster.
3.) Offensive Guard – I couldn’t ignore the offense completely! Outside of the two tackles (Jake Long & Vernon Carey), the rest of the offensive line seems to be a continual position battle under Tony Sparano. The candidates for the two spots are Richie Incognito, John Jerry, Donald Thomas, Nate Garner, Cory Proctor, and Joe Berger. While it’s assumed that newcomer Richie Incognito will get the nod at right guard, you never know with Sparano. More interesting to watch will be the battle at left guard. 3rd-round selection Jerry impressed during offseason workouts and it’s very feasible that he could start as a rookie. However, he’ll face stiff competition primarily from Thomas & Garner. Thomas started 12 games last season at RG while Garner started 8, and even played 4 positions (left guard, center, right tackle, & tight end) in a Week 11 victory over the Panthers. Sparano’s background as an offensive line coach means he’s got a vested interest in the position and makes for an even more heated position battle this training camp. Meanwhile, Berger will likely remain in his role as a backup to center Jake Grove.
Other position battles to watch: Defensive end rotation between Kendall Langford, Jared Odrick, Marques Douglass, Tony McDaniel, Lionel Dotson, and Ryan Baker; Starting cornerbacks between Will Allen, Vontae Davis, & Sean Smith; #2 wide receiver opposite Brandon Marshall between Brian Hartline, Greg Camarillo, & Davone Bess; Quarterback depth chart behind Chad Henne between Chad Pennington, Tyler Thigpen, & Pat White; Kick returner now that Ted Ginn is no longer on the team… Patrick Cobbs, Davone Bess, Kory Sheets, and Ryan Grice-Mullen are among those in the mix.
