I would be stunned if they did not franchise him, but if they did not, I would go after Denver OLT Ryan Clady HARD. He one of the top OLT in the game right now along with Joe Thomas. OLT Brandon Albert of KC is solid also.

Young and talented.

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If he hits the market ( which I doubt ) If Miami was planning on paying Long, not simply switch to Clady.

I don't see Denver letting him get away either. If they can't agree to a contract, I think they just throw the franchise tag on him.

If a miracle occurred though.

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I look at those names and I just don't see too many of them actually hitting free agency.

Jennings and Keller could make it due to their teams' cap situations and upcoming contracts (in Green Bay's case)

Wallace will definitely be a free agent, the Steelers have 18 other unrestricted and six restricted free agents on their roster. They are not going to give him the $30 mil guaranteed, 5 year deal he's likely to demand. I expect the Dolphins to show a lot of interest.

I think we need a free safety more than we need a defensive end or tightend. Clemons has been an absolute liability out there the past couple of years. Clemons is constantly out of position and leaving his cornerbacks out to dry on deep passes. He takes bad lines and he's not the best tackler either. While I wouldn't mind us re-signing him for cheap as he would make a quality backup, I think he badly needs to be replaced. The position definitely needs to be upgraded in my opinion. Having a ballhawking free safety that can roam "centerfield" would give our cornerbacks a safety net to go after receivers in the short to intermediate parts of the field.

I'd love to see us take a chance on the Honey Badger in the 2nd or 3rd round if he's available and convert him to a free safety. The kid is an absolute ballhawk who has great football instincts. I think he'd make a great free safety. He'd also be a great option to use as a nickel corner. His skillset would come in handy when we needed to cover smaller faster guys like Welker.

We need a cornerback more than a safety. Smith is average and the CB by committee on the opposite side was putrid.

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Philbin's countenance exudes confidence!
1984 was so long ago...Will there ever be another rainbow?

Seems like he would be a huge loss to their offense. His speed alone allows Heath Miller to work the middle and their backs to have more room to run.

If we sign Wallace and sign a guard, we can then draft a DE which will upgrade our secondary.

I agree that TE is down on the list, but free safety over a DE? We can try to build a great secondary, but that means getting 4-5 really good players, or we can have 2 stud DEs giving the QB fits and less time to read the field/throw.

Which do you think is easier to do? Find 4-5 players or just 2? By the way, we already have 1 of those stud DEs in Wake, but only Jones in the secondary has been good-great.

I completely agree, that wasn't my arguement at all. I was simply pointing out that we needed a free safety more than we needed a defensive end or tightend. Cornerback is one of our top three needs this year, I'd put it as our #2 need behind only widereceiver. If I had to rank our needs I'd rank them like this:
1 - Widereceiver
2 - Cornerback
3 - Offensive Tackle
4 - Free Safety
5 - Tightend
6 - Defensive End
7 - Offensive Guard

I am not sure if DE should be low on the needs chart....I would put it at 3. If we want to beat New England, the defense has to put Brady on his a$$ repeatedly. He hates getting hit and his game falls apart under consistent pressure. The Giants proved this, over and over. Add another pass rusher opposite Wake....and throw in Vernon and Pee Wee at times. Relentless punishment of Brady = victory. Also, a top flight pass rush will do wonders for the secondary.

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Philbin's countenance exudes confidence!
1984 was so long ago...Will there ever be another rainbow?

Bingo!

We were 7th in the NFL in sacks with 42. Taking a guy in the 1st round when we already have Wake, Starks, Soliai, and Odrick up front is overkill in my opinion. We just need to be patient and let guys like Odrick and Vernon continue to develop. Between the two of them they had 8.5 sacks, 7 tackles for loss, 2 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles. I only think those numbers will go up next year now that both guys have had a season to learn their respective roles. But I get what you're saying, you want to see us try and build a defensive front similar to the Giants because it flusters Brady. But just realize that the Giants were 22nd in the league in sacks this year with 33 sacks. That defensive front isn't as great as you think. Yes they get after Brady, but I think that has more to do with gameplanning done by Coughlin than it does their amazing skill.

A lot of Brady's success against us is because we have trouble covering slot receivers and tightends (their strength). We need to find safeties that can cover Gronk and Hernandez. We need to find nickel guys who can keep up and cover Welker in the slot. We'll never shut them down, but we can slow them down by doing a better job covering their guys and limiting them. Eventually Brady will make a mistake. When he does, we need playmakers that are able to take advantage and make the interception.

I agree that Odrick and Vernon are developing. We still need another beast to rush the QB. This draft is loaded with that.....and you could move Odrick inside with another top DE added. A nasty pass rush will help the secondary. I still rank CB and WR as more important for the Dolphins in this draft, but I can see us going with a DE in the second round. Even if we get a WR in free agency, I think we have to add a WR in the draft......and in the 1st or 2nd round.....enough of trying to find receivers in the bottom half of the draft or off the garbage on e waiver wire.

_________________

Philbin's countenance exudes confidence!
1984 was so long ago...Will there ever be another rainbow?

I want 3 ends that can rush the passer. I don't view Odrick as a real defensive end. Kick him inside to rotate with Starks, use high draft pick with Wake and Vernon to bring heat.