cant believe no one posted this.. gadsen rejoins dolphins

[Tatonka]

i thought this was funny..

"It's been a roller-coaster of emotions, definitely," Gadsden allowed after signing the contract. "We did what we could. It's not a total loss. I'm looking forward to playing some football now."

http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1570742.html

YEAH.. keep telling yourself that.. you turned down a 3 mill, 750,000 signing bonus deal over 3 years.. so you could take 550,000 for a one year deal.. sounds like a total loss of 2.5 mill to me..

i admire the way the fins handled this. they stuck by their guns and gadsen came crawling back.. only to be the 4th or 5th wr on this team now.. he may not even make the team in all honesty depending on the play of their rookie tolver who has looked impressive so far.

i dont think his presence makes the fins any more dominant really, as they will still be the ricky show, but it does shore up somewhat of a weak spot.. they have alot of possesion guys and not much speed.. but possession guys move the chains too.. and ricky is their big play guy.

the fish got a solid squad, and after this signing, imho, they have had the best offseason in the nfl. does it mean they will win the division? certainly not.. one injury to ricky could send them spiraling, but they should be considered favorites in all of the AFC to me at this point.

[Lone Stranger]

I would have liked to have seen Gadsen in a Bills uniform. He could have solidified the shakey depth at WR.

[Michael82]

Originally posted by Tatonka
the fish got a solid squad, and after this signing, imho, they have had the best offseason in the nfl.

What the heck are you smoking? :mex: They have??!!? Who have they signed? They drafted bums and reached a lot. They signed a washed up LB (Seau) replace another washed up LB in Rogers. They signed a good Safety who gets INTs...but is really no better than the safety that they already had. They signed a pretty good DT from the Rams...but he isn't that good. They signed a backup receiver from Washington (Derrius Thompson). They also brought back a scrub CB in Terrell Buckley. Oh wait...I forgot one more....Charlie Rogers for their kick returns (and he didn't do much on the Bills). What is so good about this offseason? IMHO, the Bills and Patriots are tied for the #1 offseason in the NFL. But, that is just MO.

[Tatonka]

well.. i guess we see things differently.. i am not one of those who believe that seau is "washed up".. is he older, sure.. but look at romanowski.. he is much older and playing well.. seau made the pro bowl last year.. his numbers were comparable to spikes and he was hurt... i think he can still bring it personally.. and sammy knight is a baller.. i dont care what anyone says.. i would have taken him in a heartbeat.. they added two extreme good players to the number 3 defense..

on offense.. lets be real.. if fiedler doesnt get hurt, they make the playoffs.. they were averaging 29 points a game before he got hurt.. he was playing good last year... and now they have griese who is about as good a back up as you can expect in the nfl. they lost no body on offense.. and added a guy like thompson who has potential writen all over him. are they great at wr and qb? not at all.. are they solid? without a doubt.. add that to the best RB in the nfl right now.. and that equals a good offense.. with a supurb defense.. it makes me nervous.

that is not counting any other additions or draft picks.. zgonia is a solid back up.. buckley is a decent back up too... hell.. at this point.. gadsen is a back up.. not bad.

tons of things can happen during an nfl season, and we dont know how they are all going to play together.. but we dont know how the 10 new guys we added will either.. i do think seau and knight should add more intesity to that tough defense.

one injury to ricky williams could mean all the work and additions mean nothing and their season is over.. but one injury to moulds, henry, or bledsoe and we could be in the same boat.

i personally think that they had a great offseason.. clearly the best? arguably.. did the bills have a great offseason? sure.. do we still have holes.. sure.. that is why they play the games, to see who did the best.. but i am simply stating that i like the moves they made and that they are going to be a very tough opponent.. i dont think we can bank on a sweep this year. i will be happy with a split and us winning in buffalo when the playoffs are on the line.

[venis2k1]

the fins have 3 AFCE games in december, that is why i dont think they will make the playoffs.

[Tatonka]

true.. but they may be able to set themselves up before that..

dont get me wrong.. i am excited.. every afce victory we get this year will be earned.

[Michael82]

You forgot ONE thing though.....

December CHOKE!!! And if they make it to the playoffs, they can't get past the first round! :snicker: :evil:

[Tatonka]

that is a factor..

but if you think about it.. every team chokes except for one the one who wins the superbowl.. some just do it earlier than others.

[MDFINFAN]

Originally posted by Mike32282


What the heck are you smoking? :mex: They have??!!? Who have they signed? They drafted bums and reached a lot. They signed a washed up LB (Seau) replace another washed up LB in Rogers. They signed a good Safety who gets INTs...but is really no better than the safety that they already had. They signed a pretty good DT from the Rams...but he isn't that good. They signed a backup receiver from Washington (Derrius Thompson). They also brought back a scrub CB in Terrell Buckley. Oh wait...I forgot one more....Charlie Rogers for their kick returns (and he didn't do much on the Bills). What is so good about this offseason? IMHO, the Bills and Patriots are tied for the #1 offseason in the NFL. But, that is just MO.

No, you're smoking some good stuff..Tatonka has pointed this out already, but Seau was hurt last year and still made the probowl..his numbers were about the same as Spike..we've already looked this up on the phins board..plus he's eagle to prove something this year, makes a player dangerous. D. Thompson was a starter on the skins last year, started as a backup ended up starting and led that team in receptions and TD's..I live in DC and watched a lot of their games..we were surprise the Skins let him go, but they had Cole targeted and Coles a faster DT. T. Buckley is still solid, look at him in the miami\NE game..he's a big part of why Miami couldn't get those 10 yards they needed at the end. Zgonia was the team Captain and starter for the Rams last year..very good depth..Charlie, I just don't think you're over all ST play was good..in seattle, the guy was a stud, Miami has very good ST, just never had a break away runner. I'm not a happy camper about the OG signing..I thought DT covered everything OG already does, and he's faster..I prefer to keep an extra Speedy guy that we have on the roster, but may not make it now, because of this signing. This has defintely been a great offseason for the Phins..The signing of Knight and Griese just gave us the extra depth we needed and Knight might be the starter, he's a ball hawk unlike Freeman and a harder hitter..people will not feel as comfortable going across our middle as they use to.. Miami has a very talented team right now..I can't argue the December thing, that's something the team will have to over come, like they did the Jets thing last year...maybe it's meant to be one step at a time..last year the jets thing, this year the December thing...But I would say overall Miami is indeed a very scary team right now, but that's why they play the game..to see if the offseason was really great or just an illusion..you guys will know if yours was great and so will we..Every body looks good on paper.

[SoCalBillsFan]

the fins got a good squad, there is no denying it. They didn't have a good offseason, but their team was already good heading into it. I dont think they will win the super bowl. But this is a team that went 9-7 and would have been 11-5 if fiedler doesnt go down. RW can run and the defense can be great, though it is inconsistent.


They'll be some good fins-bills games this year :up:

[hey]

you know sayin we will always choke in december is pretty dumb.because i could say you will always choke in the superbowl.which is way worse.

[The_Philster]

:rolleyes:

[venis2k1]

The difference is that the SB losing bills were a long time ago, this is a WHOLE new team, while THIS fins teams always sucks in Dec.

[SoCalBillsFan]

actually, id take choking in the super bowl over choking in december.

[Doc]

...or in the playoffs, well BEFORE getting to the SB.

[MDFINFAN]

Originally posted by venis2k1
The difference is that the SB losing bills were a long time ago, this is a WHOLE new team, while THIS fins teams always sucks in Dec.

Factually, this will be a different 53 man roster from the one we've had the past 3 years, still have a lot of core players, but big differences in depth and some new starter...Should be a pretty interesting team..Yesterdays gone, Yesterdays gone..

[Demon]

I was never high on Gadsen. I remember people calling in local shows on WGR and WNSA saying they wanted Gadsen signed here, but i donno, i don't think he's that good. I think he plays well in the system Miami has but thats it.

He won't be a factor against the Bills.

[Doc]

The way I see it MD is that you added a couple old guys (Seau and Zgonina, both over 33 years old) who may help early-on, but will likely fade as the season wears on, which is where Miami has had trouble. Plus with Seau there are the issues of him freelancing too much and the fact that he's only produced an average of 5 big plays a season for the past 5 years. Knight is excellent depth, which is valuable, but unless the Dols are planning on playing a lot of 3 safety sets, that's pretty much all he'll be, and I didn't think that safety depth, particularly at SS, was a problem for the Dols. I also see problem on the O-line, given the age and lack of depth.

[MDFINFAN]

Doc, only Seau is over 33, Zgoina is 32, Seau won't play everydown, so he should be fresh for the end..I think the talk about him being on the downslope has him pump. He made the pro bowl last year, people act like it's been years since he made it..If you go back to last year, you will find his numbers very close to Spikes, and Seau was injured for most of the year..Knight speaks for himself..he's a hard hitter and cut off the middle or at least make people think about it. I agree Seau will have to cut down his freelancing in our style of D..If you look at Oakland, older guys haven't hurt them too much..In terms of OG, I'm on record as against the signing, I feel some of our younger receivers gives us more spice, but they would need the opportunity. OG signing seems to seal some of their fate to me. I thought we already had an OG on our team in the form of a faster Derrius Thompson and a Draftee who's looked good in mini-camp..J.R. Tolver who caught 128 for over 1400 yards for SD State last year..Plus we still have the explosive Baker and a possibility in Newson, both he baker led NFLE this year..but that has to translate to the NFL..but I was hoping one of them could make it..Plus we signed another arena product, like OG, in Chris Jackson who led the arena league with some ungodly numbers, I can't even phatom..Depth in a lot of positions were the problem with this team, Wanny has done an excellent job in over hauling a lot, so the 1st teamers don't have to stay on the field the whole game..of course rookie are untested and we can only hope..but I like a lot of the moves and hopefully they pay off for us.

[hey]

every year is a new year the past is the past.you cant predict how ateam will do based on the past.so wat if seau is old the oldest team in the nfl just went to the superbowl.it sure didnt hurt them.

[Doc]

How'd they do in the SB again? Sorry but Miami's problem is that their defense is undersized and wears down as the season progresses, and adding a couple older (Zgonina was born 5/28/70 BTW) players is NOT the way to get them over the hump. I guess the hope is that the leadership of Seau and Zgonina will help the players tough it out, but there's only so far you can go when the body isn't willing. Another problem is that Jay Fiedler just can't get it done. His performances in the blowout losses in the playoffs have been horrible. Again I guess the hope is that they'll ride Ricky Williams to the SB, but you need a balanced offense to get you there.

[hey]

your 1 to talk about balance all you did was throw,and tell me again how has bledsoe done in the playoff's?he faded towards the end of the seoson.he is 31 how much do you think he has left?i wish every1 would stop talkin bout age cuz it doesnt matter.r gannon,romo,and jerry too old?

[Doc]

Gannon, Romo, and Rice didn't look too young in the SB. As for age, QB is the one spot where it doesn't matter, although throwing a ton as the Bills did last year, because of a poor defense, isn't the way to go either. That's why the Bills are going to stick with the run more, but still have the ability to shoot the lights out if need be. Oh and Bledsoe has led his team deep into the playoffs and into the SB before. Fiedler has not, and neither has Griese.

[Tatonka]

henry had 1450 yards rushing.. i dont think we threw all the time.

[Voltron]

Originally posted by hey
you know sayin we will always choke in december is pretty dumb.because i could say you will always choke in the superbowl.which is way worse.

At least we have been to a superbowl in the last 3 decades! You guys have had the best team in football every year according to your fans and every year they have won SQUAT!


:snicker:

[HenryRules]

Size isn't overly important for D's ... TB's D wasn't huge - they're based on speed ... the Cowboy's that won in the early 90s were based on speed ... when the Rams have gone to the Super Bowl, their D has been based on speed.

Slowing down at the end of a season is more of a character issue and I think having a guy like Seau will really help the Fins D a lot there ... I don't see Seau letting anyone get away with taking plays off or not bringing it for a game.

[Doc]

Who are you kidding? Tampa Bay, outside of Derrick Brooks, has some good size to it. As for Miami's defense, they decline because they're undersized and wear down. That's why they fade as the season wears on. If it wre a matter of character, they'd go through stretches during the early part of the season.

[HenryRules]

I disagree that Tampa has a big D.

John Lynch is solid, but I wouldn't consider him huge for a SS.
Jackson is about average for a FS.
Neither Barber or Kelly is even 6'0" I think and they're probably in the 180-190 range ... solid, but not big for CB's.

Brooks you already agreed was tiny ... but I think you're forgetting that he was probably the biggest starting LB on the team ... I don't think either Quarles or Singleton go any bigger than 6'2 225.

On the front four ... Rice is definitely not tiny, but I think he goes 6'4 265ish and I wouldn't call that any bigger than average.
Sapp is huge ... but IMO its his speed that makes him dominating ... either way, he's still huge.
I can't think of who their other tackle was, but from watching them last year, he didn't look like he was over 300 ... and maybe I'm off, but I consider 300+ to be a big DT and 290-300 to be average.
The other DE I can't remember at all.

So if I give you their unnamed DE as being huge ... he and Warren Sapp make two players that are above average size. But with probably the tiniest LB corps and average-sized DB's ... I still don't see how you say I'm wrong when I said TB wasn't huge.

I don't have the time to make sure ... but I bet you that if you compare the starters on TB man-for-man with the starters on Miami last year, Miami is probably bigger at 5 or 6 positions.

[HenryRules]

I also disagree with you that late-season stretches aren't a matter of character ... at the end of the season is when everyone brings their game up a notch or two and Miami never seems to make this jump to join the other teams.
I liken the end of the season to a boxer's ability to finish off his opponent ... it takes a killer instinct and ultra-competitiveness to beat your opponent when he has his back against the wall (in the case of playing someone who is about to be eliminated from the playoffs) or is fighting for home-field advantage. Teams with great character find an extra gear for these games and are much harder to beat than they would be earlier in the season.

[Doc]

I checked and yeah I guess Tampa Bay isn't the biggest once you get past the D-line (Sapp and McFarland are 300# and Rice and Spires are 265# apiece). As for character, again I think it's important but as I said, I don't think all the leadership in the world will help when the guys just don't have the fortitude to do it. I think size has something to do with it, TB's defense notwithstanding, and I've heard other people talk about that before. I guess we'll have to wait and see.