lineup changes coming?

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/2015/11/monday-dolphins-dan-campbell-addresses-lazors-firing-other-issues.html

almost as a throw away comment, this appears in the middle of the article...

He [Campbell] said he's contemplating lineup changes but wouldn't elaborate.

so lets try to guess (suggest) the changes.

number one on my list would be to sit down Jamar Taylor and play Bobby McCain.

mercury22nathan wrote:number one on my list would be to sit down Jamar Taylor and play Bobby McCain.

I'm completely in favor of that If Campbell actually does this, I'll take back everything I said about him being a macho meathead.

Matthews is hurt (multiple broken ribs) so that should pave the way for Parker to start.

I'm hoping that Misi gets benched in favor of one of the young LBs.

And yeah, pretty much anyone should be starting over Taylor.

No,no. They're moving the tackles in 2 inches. That will be their change.

The Dolphins say lineup changes are in the works, and they quietly made one on Sunday: benching safety Walt Aikens (no snaps) and instead playing Shamiel Gary (15) as Thomas’ backup....

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/2015/12/draft-schedule-free-agency-an-early-dolphins-look-ahead-to-2016-um-coaching-search-nuggets-heat.html

geez, i hope that isn't the only non-injury-related move.

Aikens stinks no doubt. I have no idea how he was playing ahead of Thomas, but then again, Thomas has not exactly had any great moments like the INT of Tom Terrific awhile ago!!!

Parker SHOULD be starting. let's see if he is gonna work out or not. get him some playing time while the season is a lost cause.

Play ALL the young LBs. Not gonna happen, but it should, for the long term benefit of the franchise.

Misi has always struck me a "okay" and I guess "okay" looks magnificent next to "stinks on ice", but when you SETTLE for okay, you exclude excellent.

Maybe one of the young LBs is an excellent. Probably not, but none of the starters are excellent we know.

I think the only change will be more rushing and less Tannehill's inconsistent passing. Or it SHOULD BE IMHO. You get rid of "Air it Out" Lazor, you should go to Parker's "3 yards and cloud of turf" offense.

Completely agree, FF.

Hey, I didn't even notice that Aikens didn't play last week...I was too busy watching Marshall and Decker torch our corners! Of course, there was no safety help anywhere, so I just assumed it was Aikens...

Anyway, on Misi - I think there was a time when we was a decent player - mediocre overall, but acceptable I guess. But last season and this season, it's a different story - he has now fallen to the level of suckitude IMO. Maybe injuries have caught up with him? He's always out of position, doesn't understand angles, misses tackles left and right, and has lost all of the minimal coverage ability he once had. He's flat out terrible. But - like Dallas Thomas - the coaches are head over heels in love with him. I just don't get it.

At one point I had hoped Misi could at least reach a "Morlon Greenwood level of mediocrity", but yeah, he is turrible. I think we need to see what we have in the backups. Probably not much, but can they be that much worse than what we are throwing out there now?

We haven't had a legit Mike linebacker in ages. Should have addressed that last draft early on.

Bobby McCain is in - Taylor out! Also Aikens benched.

Let's see how the Taylor led offense, and new players on defense, work out on Sunday.

white1 wrote:Bobby McCain is in - Taylor out! Also Aikens benched.

WOOHOO!!! NOW MY MAN FROM MEMPHO GONNA SHOW YOU WHAT DEFENSIVE PLAYMAKING IS ALL ABOUT, BABY!!!

Or not

But seriously, there's no way on God's green earth he can be worse than those other bumblers, busts and bums. Maybe just as bad, but not worse

Like I've said, Bobby McCain should be a slot corner. But yeah, he can't be worse than Taylor on the outside.

I hope in the offseason we can add a couple of tall boundary corners...tired of seeing our smurfs out there. Watching Grimes trying to cover Marshall last week was comical. I'm not sold on Tony Lippett's upside, but at least he has the size.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/2015/12/um-oral-commitments-other-appealing-recruiting-targets-pleased-with-richts-hiring-dolphins-heat-marl.html

DeVante Parker will play more now, with Rishard Matthews sidelined with cracked ribs, but Parker is still not doing things exactly how coaches want.
“There are some plays you would like to see his routes be much more sharp than they were,” Dan Campbell said. And “he needs to reach out for the ball and use his size.”

Parker needs to see significant time (starting or not) the remainder of the season to see if he can be what his draft pedigree suggests. if he can't use his size, then he's just another less-than-speedy WR that can't run routes - not much value there.

I sure hope the Phins knew that Parker was a poor route runner in college...it's right there on tape for all to see. But I don't care about that - the guy needs to play. Look at the Panthers last season: Kelvin Benjamin was a poor route runner in college, yet he started 15 games as a rookie, and had 1000 yards and 9 TDs. The only way to get better with route-running is to play...you can't learn to run by sitting on the bench.

And you know what? If Parker is so big and physical, at the very least use him in the damn red zone! It's amazing to me that an NFL team can't figure out a way to use a 6'3" receiver in the red zone...mind-boggling.

That said, I've never been a huge Parker fan and I don't think he's got star potential. Still, can't we give the guy a chance? It's not like our WR corps is lighting up the league...let's give him a chance.

FREE DEVANTE PARKER!!!

Okay, who wants to print out the T-shirts? And even more importantly, would Pouncey wear one?

JMP wrote:If Parker is so big and physical, at the very least use him in the damn red zone!  It's amazing to me that an NFL team can't figure out a way to use a 6'3" receiver in the red zone...mind-boggling.

exactly! but that is why Campbell's comments about him needing to learn to use his size are so concerning. if he's 6'3" and doesn't know how to use it to his advantage, then what good is he?

mercury22nathan wrote:

JMP wrote:If Parker is so big and physical, at the very least use him in the damn red zone!  It's amazing to me that an NFL team can't figure out a way to use a 6'3" receiver in the red zone...mind-boggling.

exactly!  but that is why Campbell's comments about him needing to learn to use his size are so concerning.  if he's 6'3" and doesn't know how to use it to his advantage, then what good is he?

Yep, but you don't know till you try. The only time I recall Parker being used in the red zone was the game where Tannehill threw three consecutive godawful fades to him...I think that was the Jets game in London? I assume he's not getting the job done in practice, but I'd like to see what he could do in an actual game.

I tried to tell everyone, drafting a WR in the 1st USUALLY means it takes a while for him to get up to speed. There have been some notable exceptions over the last few drafts I admit, but....

This a WR who missed a ton of camp with a foot injury, so he is even FURTHER BEHIND the learning curve.

And of course, this all assumes he is not a BUST to start with.

Call me crazy, but any time I hear about the Phins drafting an oft-injured WR in the first round I immediately get the "Yatil Green" Fever!!!