Surprise!! Phins cut LB Benardrick McKinney!

When McKinney was acquired, I thought it was a huge move. But I don't think I've heard his name more than once or twice in camp reports, and he was invisible in the games (if he even played...) So my initial shock at this cut quickly turned to "yeah, makes sense", because he was a non-factor all summer. I don't know what happened to him, but he seems to have fallen off quite a bit.

Oh well...there are surprise cuts every camp. And I bet Grier has a couple more up his sleeve.

When You are His size just can’t lose a Step and in our Defense Flores wants more versatility than I think he offers.

Why did Grier even bother signing any FAs this season???

Flores can only do so much with the bumblers, busts and bums Grier keeps giving him to work with.

Agree. I read his coverage skills were too much a liability. He had made some impact against the run, but Roberts just as good and is much better in coverage - that's a priority for our defense.

I just do not see this defense taking a big step up without a few STARS in the front 7.

Closest thing they have is Baker, and his success is all scheme-dependent I think.

The Pats have won a whole bunch SBs without big name defensive starts though.

Of course, they had TB too, so....

Sure hope Phillips develops in a hurry.

finfanatic wrote:I just do not see this defense taking a big step up without a few STARS in the front 7.

Closest thing they have is Baker, and his success is all scheme-dependent I think.

The Pats have won a whole bunch SBs without big name defensive starts though.

Of course, they had TB too, so....

Sure hope Phillips develops in a hurry.

In this type of defense, it's not really about stars in the front 7 - it's more about scheme, and getting players that fit the scheme. But we do have some young players that look to be very good: Davis looks like a beast, Phillips has star power, Van Ginkel just keeps getting better, and Baker is an absolute stud.

From what I hear he simply wasn't versatile enough. Though it's still a surprise to me. He'll probably play well for someone else who he better fits their scheme. Flores knows what he's doing, I'm not worried about it at all.

A certain Youtuber I follow was doing a Texans franchise for Madden '21 and as a result even *I* knew McKinney was bad at coverage and a one-dimensional run stopper. If a schmuck like me knew this, how could Grier not?

I'm sure Grier and Flores knew what they were getting in that aspect. But they also didn't know when they were getting Elandon Roberts back too and they have the same role. One belief is with Roberts back that made McKinney expendable. Plus if you look at the transactions as a whole, trading for McKinney, restructuring his contract, and cutting him saved us cap space. He's a nice player but again, cutting him isn't something I am worried about.

I agree, Davis looks like he's ready to turn into a full-on berserker. The Phins desperately need someone, anyone that can get some penetration.

I hope some of the defense develops into semi-stars at least.

finfanatic wrote:I agree, Davis looks like he's ready to turn into a full-on berserker. The Phins desperately need someone, anyone that can get some penetration.

I hope some of the defense develops into semi-stars at least.

Yeah, I'm excited to see what Davis does this season. Seems like he's focused and ready to wreak havoc!!

My money is on Ogbah. He was very good last year, and reports are he went into total beast mode this offseason. He is going to be a monster, I think...

white1 wrote:My money is on Ogbah.  He was very good last year, and reports are he went into total beast mode this offseason.  He is going to be a monster, I think...

Yeah, I expect big things from Ogbah. Last year he was so good early on, but then disappeared for most of the second half of the season. It would be great to get a full season of dominance from him.