The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

Seems like Blaine Gabbert's stock is falling just a bit and might drop out of the top 10.  Cam Newton's stock on the other hand seems to be on the rise.

I'd love to see Miami take Gabbert at #15 if he falls that far.  Gabbert seems to be falling a bit because he's probably not ready for the NFL next year because he didn't play a pro-style offense at Mizzou and I'm OK with that.  I'd still like to see Henne get one more year to see what he can do, so actually I'd prefer a QB that is not really expected to compete for a starting spot next year.  Give Gabbert a year to learn the offense and then compete in 2012 for a starter spot. 

What do the rest of you think of Gabbert? 

Would it be a mistake to take a QB that high and not expect him to play in 2011?  Earlier in the year, I would have said yes as I felt that Sparano/Ireland only had at most 1 year to get something going, but I'm not so sure anymore.  Seems as time goes on Sparano/Ireland are gaining support from the owner.  Unless they just fall on their face next year, I think they'll be back in 2012 and I don't think they are gonna make decisions based on next year alone.  I think they'll continue to try to upgrade the roster and now that Parcells is gone Sparano and especially Ireland would seem to have a bigger voice in the draft room.  I'm kinda getting excited again to actually see what happens in the draft.

I'm not too high on any of the QBs in this draft.

I don't think Gabbert is a top 5 or top 10 pick, but at 15 if he's still on the board, I would have a hard time passing on him.

I wouldn't take Newton or any of the other QB's at 15 though, I'd go in another direction.

I would love it if the Dolphins were able to draft him.  He does need some work, but he does have potential.  He's a good kid.  He went to high school near here and of course I have followed him through his career at Mizzou.  I hope to see his little brother Tyler leading the Tigers in a couple years.

We alread had John Beck.  Nothing to see here with any of these QBs.  Andrew Luck is the qb.

I could almost deal with them throwing the season to get him next spring.

I'm not sold on Gabbert being a good choice for Miami. I think you'll have to overpay for a development project, and that's not a good plan for the Phins' overall roster strength.

I want my 49ers to take Christian Ponder in round 3... I just have a hunch he's going to be a quality QB at the next level, and I'd rather spend the early picks on front-7 beef and mutant size/speed defensive backs.

There's at least three teams ahead of Miami that will take a QB, and possible two others ahead of Miami that will take a QB, Gabbert won't be around at the 15th pick.  Even if he was available Miami has other more important holes to fill this year, better to wait another year to draft a QB.

I realize it's a long shot he's on the board at 15, but stranger things have happened.  All those teams that need QB's ahead of Miami need a QB this year, but Gabbert probably is not going to be ready this year.  I think that's why his stock is falling and he could drop out of the top 10.

And I think the Dolphins will draft a QB this year.  Probably won't be in the 1st round, but I think they will draft one at some point in the draft.  If Henne is not the answer, then we need to be grooming someone to take his place.  We can't wait another year to hope there is a QB next year we like that we can get.

^^^ Agree. I think Miami will probably take a QB later in the draft.  Unfortunately 2011 is just another rebuilding year for the Fins, I mean realisticly it's not like they are two or three players away.  Not to mention the AFC East, and AFC in general is a lot more competitive than the NFC.

I could deal with that as well. 


I wouldn't mind Ponder or Iowa's Stanzi being drafted by the Dolphins.  They've both played in pro style offenses.  None of the top four QB 's have.

...thats the thing, It wouldn't be a bad idea to grab a QB, but only if he'd compete for the job right away, why not, but I dunno if another young QB that may be good, may not be, is a good idea for the Dolphins all together. I was thinking adding a veteran to teach Henne more stuff. Im disappointed at Henne, this is his year, if he doesnt do well by like week 6 i'd bench him and never start him again. I understand he may not have alot of weapons but I just dont see him leading this team as of right now. So QB is a possibility for the future, but maybe Henne would have a great year and then by picking a QB at #15 would end up being a waste of pick, so i'd go with different position at 15, and if antyhing add a QB through free agency

I agree that this year's quarterback class is nothing to get excited about.  However, I think Gabbart is the best of this very unimpressive group.  If he's still available at #15, I'd much rather we try to trade the pick.  The only good thing about our having so many needs is that we can easily improve our team with a much lower pick.  Add in that we don't have a second rounder, and I think we'd be better off trying to trade the pick.

Locker and Mallett to me are the ones I would want. Everyone who sees Locker says what he needs to fix are things that are easily correctable and 1 full year in the league on the bench learning would be more than enough.

Mallett can just make every throw. I dont' care that he can't move. Manning/Brady aren't winning any sprint races with their feet, so I will take the arm anyday of the week. And the off the field stuff doesn't concern me too much with him. He will grow up

I didn't know accuracy was easily correctable. The knock on him is his accuracy from what I know.

From what I've seen, Mallett is a choker (although to be fair, Peyton was just as bad in college).

Pocket awarness is the big knock on him according to Mayock who seems to peg these guys pretty well

He had Arkansas from the SEC in a BCS bowl. I wouldn't call that choking. Plus he is coming from a Pro Style offense in college. Something alot of these guys haven't played in before

One has nothing to do with the other.  (I notice that the result of said bowl is conspicuously absent.)

He had Alabama dead-to-rights (with a 20-7 lead at home) and threw the game away, sealing the loss with 2 INTs in the last 5 min (and not 4th down "prayer" INTs, either).

Yeah, he beat Tennessee Tech 44-3, and UTEP 58-21, and Vanderbilt 49-14.   That's great and all, but ending your last two drives with INTs when you have a lead, at home, against the defending national champions who are ranked #1 in the nation?  Chokeville.

Losing a Bowl game to Ohio St where his WR's dropped a ton of passes isn't on him.

So he played a bad game vs a team that is probably the most talented in the country and that makes him a "choker"....unfriggin real. He still played in the SEC and won big games there against the best of the best of college football!!! You can't knock someone who won in the SEC

http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/09000d5d81eb70a5/article/defensive-line-leads-the-way-on-list-of-top-32-prospects

Mike Mayock's Top 32

^ He has Gabbert at #5, Locker at #20, Newton at #21 and Mallet not even in the top 32.

If you were trying to defend Mallet, you did just the opposite.

It's my OPINION!! Im not trying to defend anything. This isn't a court of law. Tom Brady went in Rd 6 was he in anyones Top 32 that year??? So if a guy (ie Mallet ) in ONE GUYS rankings isn't in the Top 32 that means he can't play?? Give me a break.

I would rather have Mallett over Newton, I don't care where they rank Newton. Ang Gabbert is coming from a spread offense (ie Pat White).....been there, done that! Give me Mallett over those 2 anyday. That's me!   ::)

Err...ahem...I agree with MikeO.

Wait... are you saying that if a QB's receivers drop a bunch of balls, the QB is blameless for the loss?  I just want to get this on record.

You may recall that Arkansas' last possession in that particular game was not ended by a dropped pass, but rather by an INT thrown by Mallett...  after his special teams unit blocked a punt and handed him the ball in OSU's red zone, down by 5.

But throwing a game-ending interception to a Big 10 team still doesn't count, right?

Alabama is the most talented team in the country?  The same Alabama that had three losses?  How does that work?

P.S. If you are having a discussion about the draft and you feel the need to reach for Tom Brady's draft position to bolster your argument, you almost certainly have nothing of value to add.  No team, ever, should plan their draft around where Tom Brady was selected, and anyone who claims otherwise is an idiot.

WHY!! That is what EVERYONE on this board does! I just figured I would join the party!

I was just trying to figure out your reason for posting that link.
I would also like to point out that just because Pat White came from a spread offense and did not make it in the NFL, does not rule out the possibly of a spread offense QB making it in the future.  The reasons are more numerous and complex than the type of offense he played in college.  I would not dismiss anyone out of hand for that reason only.

Modified to add: If you have more reasons as to why you feel the individuals in the draft who have played a spread offense in college would not be a good fit for the Dolphins, I would be interested in hearing them.

So to clarify, MikeO:

If a QB's receivers drop a bunch of his passes, is he blameless if they lose?

NO! But you are making these vast jumps of..."since "A" then "B"". Mallett had a bad game vs Alabama. He lost in the Sugar Bowl. That doesn't mean he won't be a good pro! That's silly. That is what you are saying.

In the Sugar Bowl the Arkansas WR's dropped a ton of passes! I don't put that loss al on Mallett. That is a crazy thing to say. Sure he threw an INT late, but so what. I don't pin that loss all on his shoulders! And one bad game vs Alabama also doesn't mean he won't be a good pro. That's laughable!

Look at the QB's that have won recent Super Bowls......Brees, Manning, Brady, Eli, Rodgers, Big Ben. How many came from a spread offense?!  Look at the OTHER successful QB's in the league RIGHT NOW, Rivers, Sanchez, Flacco, Ryan, Schaub, Cutler. SEE ANY SPREAD OFFENSE GUYS THERE???

Game. Set. Match.

In Mallett's two biggest games of the year (in fact, the two biggest games of his college career), he ended the game by throwing INTs... one by throwing INTs on back-to-back possessions.  That is choking.

Did he only spend 1 year in college? He carried an Arkansas team through the toughest football conference in the country and had them in a BCS game.

Peyton Manning choked in college a lot at Tenn. How did that work out for him? Did he ever beat Florida once? Come on. This defense you have is laughable. Nobody is saying Mallett is the 2nd coming. But your bashing of him and the reasoning behind it is silly.

Just because you don't see any spread offense guys there, does not mean every guy who plays a spread offense in college is automatically a bust.  I am not going to dismiss every guy who plays the spread outright just for that reason.  It seems the "experts" are not either.

This is why I quit having discussions with you.  You are unable to have a reasonable conversation.  Every time someone has a different opinion from you, you take it as a personal affront and then have to "win" and put down the other person.  I will go back to ignoring you now.  Thanks for playing.

So wait... are you arguing that Mallett is not a choker, or are you arguing that because of Peyton Manning, being a choker in college doesn't matter?

Please make up your mind.

It's very simple and I thought you were following along. Just because he lost 2 games in college and didn't play well at points in them, I won't label him a choker! And that has no bearing on whether he will be a good NFL QB either!

It always scares me when MikeO makes sense...

Two games... parts of two games, even... is hardly statistically significant.

1) Mallett lost far more than two games in college.  He was 20-8 as a starter (over 2 years + 2 games).
2) In college, if you lose two games every year, you are not a contender; if you lose three games, you suck.  Ending the two biggest games of his career by throwing (multiple) interceptions is significant, since many of the games on his schedule (Louisiana Monroe, UTEP, Vanderbilt, etc.) won't tell you anything except whether he is a complete fraud (if he loses).

SO by your logic Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning, Jay Cutler, Phillip Rivers, Drew Brees....all were "CHOKERS" in college.  Did any of them even make a BCS game? Let me answer, nope!! MALLETT DID THOUGH!!! And got there in the SEC the toughest football conference in the country! Bar None! not even a debate about that.  So he had to beat a few good teams!!

This is a silly stance you have taken on every level. It makes zero sense. To say Mallett won't be a good pro because of what his college team won and didn't win is laughable.

All of those guys threw game-losing interceptions to close out their biggest college games?  Do elaborate.

There is a difference between "being on a team that loses" and "repeatedly throwing interceptions that end big games."  I mean, just look at all the threads you've written about Chad Henne.

So let me get this straight:

 - Ryan Mallett made it to a BCS bowl (and lost)
 - This "proves" that he will be a good NFL quarterback
 - As evidence, here are a bunch of good NFL QBs that never made it to a BCS bowl

But you're right, if making it to a BCS bowl is an indicator, then Mallett has every chance to be the next Rex Grossman, or Matt Leinart, or Jason Campbell, or Brady Quinn.  Because having made it to a BCS bowl means something in the NFL, right?

In fact, I hear there's a former West Virginia QB available that made it to 2 BCS bowls (and won them both!).  Certainly this gentleman must be an excellent prospect...

The point was you can't base Mallett's NFL future on the fact he threw a few INT's in college and lost to Alabama and lost in the Sugar Bowl. That's just dumb! To call him a "choker"....why? Because his college team lost? That's crazy. You are the one who keeps bringing up the Sugar Bowl and Alabama game. I am using your idiotic logic to show how stupid it is!

MY ORIGINAL POINT was that I would rather have Mallett over Newton or Gabbert. That's it! I never said Mallett would be a good pro (although I think he will be good in the NFL). I just said I would rather have him over Cam Newtin and Blaine Gabbert!!

I'm not basing it on the fact that his college team lost; his college team lost plenty of times in '09.  You're the only one that cares about his level of success (BCS bowl coming from the SEC!!!1!) in college.

I'm basing it on the fact that when the pressure was at its highest, he threw picks; picks that ended his team's chance of winning.  More than anything else, that speaks directly to his sense of being able to make decisions under pressure.  Win or lose, a QB that makes bad decisions in the biggest moments is unlikely (not impossible, but unlikely) to be any good.

I don't understand how you can possibly come to the conclusion that Mallett will be good without simultaneously coming to the conclusion that Newton would be better, but whatever.

I don't think Newton will be a good pro. Sorry. Guys with his skill sets who play in his style of offense in college don't have success in the NFL. History is on my side.

Mallett played in a pro style offense. Has a gun for an arm and he can make all the throws. Yeah he is slow and yeah he might be a little immature. But if I were a betting man I would bet Mallett has a better NFL career than Newton. I am NOT saying Mallett will go to multipe pro bowls or be some superstar. But if I had my pick of these QB's in this upcoming draft I am taking Locker and Mallett (in whichever order) before I take Newton and Gabbert. That's all I'm saying.

Mallet was once Henne's back up at Michigan....just sayin

this is a fantastic, deep analysis on ryan mallet published in yesterday's sun-sentinel from universaldraft.com:

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columnists/hyde/blog/2011/03/draft_winds_lies_damn_lies_and_1.html (http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columnists/hyde/blog/2011/03/draft_winds_lies_damn_lies_and_1.html)

one of these guys out of the top few quarterbacks is going to be a franchise qb, and after reading through this piece, mallet has a strong case.

i like the point that is made towards the end of the article. sparano's and miami's philosophy is to have the qb throw the ball away, where henne accounted for the most thrown away pass attempts, 1 out of every 19 pass attempts. where you see the other great qb's, have the total opposite mentality. trusting their abilities to make plays, and throwing the ball away with significantly less frequency. mallet has those more aggressive, confident in his abilities traits.

mallet is going to go a lot higher than folks think, but he might be around when the dolphins are on the clock at #15. yeah, having a second round pick would be nice by trading down. i'm just so freaking tired of this team simply looking for value. conservative, close to the vest, tight, all characteristics of the folks running this franchise that lead to nowhere. no guts, no glory and it's one of the things that separates guys like belichick from the wannstache and sparano's of the world. fist pumping field goals, punts, thrown away passes, and 2 yard runs.

^^ I tend to agree.  Why not take a shot on Mallet? If he doesn't work out so be it, at least you took a shot. I really don't see Ingram as a game breaker. He's a nice back, but I don't really see him being anything more than Ricky or Ronnie were in their prime.  He'll get a 100 yards for you, but he won't score from midfield. He won't scare defenses. He won't help you come back in the 4th quarter. Miami doesn't need a workhorse RB, they need a game breaker.

Well, if Mark Ingram "wanted" to push me off his draft bandwagon, I think he's found the way to do it... Be injured.

"According to NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi, there’s growing concern in league circles about Alabama RB Mark Ingram’s knee. He had it scoped prior to the 2010 season, and Lombardi reports that some teams believe he may have an arthritic condition."

Obviously speculation involved in that report, but still...if there is any question about Ingram's health, then I'd prefer to see Miami go a different direction. An arthritic knee is definitely not a good thing for a RB.

^As a person that has a pair of those arthritic knees...I'd only wish them upon my white trash neighbor!  :-[

I don't like hearing that, and wonder if that will change any "mock drafts" where Miami Picks,I find it harder to find a mock where the Dolphins don't take Ingram...