Poll

Which WR will have a break-out year in 2012? (or comeback)

Only registered users are allowed to vote for this poll.
19 votes were received.

Julius Pruitt	1		5%
Roberto Wallace	2		11%
Brian Hartline	5		26%
Chad Johnson	5		26%
Clyde Gates	2		11%
Rishard Mathews	0		0%
Marlon Moore	0		0%
Legadu Naanee	1		5%
BJ Cunningham	0		0%
Jeff Fuller	0		0%
Davon Bess	3		16%

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I have heard good things albeit from mini-camp but Roberto Wallace and Julius Pruitt have been turning heads.

Pruitt closed out the final day of camp with 3 td's.

Hartline is going into his 4th year.

Fuller was formerly thought of as 1st round talent.

Johnson is inspired.

Moore to Moore connection? Sounds nice anyway.

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

Johnson, Hartline, and Naanee are the only logical answers IMO.

Bess is who he is...a 5-8 yard hands guy. Kind of like McDuffie was.

Wallace has done nothing. All others are rookies.

JMO.

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"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

I would like to see Gates turn it up a level this year. I wanted us to draft him last year an we did. The offense could really use his speed.

Aqua&Orange Wrote:
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> Johnson, Hartline, and Naanee are the only logical
> answers IMO.
>
> Bess is who he is...a 5-8 yard hands guy. Kind of
> like McDuffie was.
>
> Wallace has done nothing. All others are rookies.
>
> JMO.


I agree with Aqua, i'm looking for Hartline, Nanee and Bess to really "breakout" this year, and Ocho to be his usual Chad Johnson self. I don't think this group is as bad as some think.

Alot of this has to do with how well Gerrard (who I think will start) plays.

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"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

Pfft only way one of that pile breaks out, is if they step in poison ivy.

For our offense to be even mediocre this year, at least one of these guys will have to "break out". I don't care which one, as long as least one of them becomes a feared receiving threat.

DolfanKing Wrote:
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> For our offense to be even mediocre this year, at
> least one of these guys will have to "break out".
> I don't care which one, as long as least one of
> them becomes a feared receiving threat.

*****************************************************

The new offensive philosophy is going to be quick hits, so whichever wide receiver is the quickest should be the main target of opposing defenses. If I were to guess, I would say that would be Bess. That should also open up Hartline a little further down the field, with heaving one or two Gates' way. Watch out for our TEs, also.

Devon Bess and Reggie Bush will handle the load if we get decent pass protection. I'm crossing my fingers on chad Johnson in the red Zone though............

I still say we have a good tandem with Hartline and Bess, and hopefully the rest will fill in the gaps. This offense should be utilizing our TEs a little more than has been in the past.

And yes, as was said, Bush is also on the field, and hopefully L. Miller's speed will be put to good use.

At this point, I doubt Gates will make the roster. He has been invisible at any of the OTA's open to the media. Assuming they carry maybe 6 WR on the 53 man roster, Hartline, Bess, Naanee, Johnson, and Wallace are the clear top 5. And Julius Pruitt and Marlon Moore appear to be ahead of Gates in the battle for the 6th spot. And Gates may even be behind Fuller and the rookies. Gates didn't learn last year's offense well enough to get on the field more, but that's not unusual for a rookie. But, if he does not get comfortable in this new offense in a hurry, he will have a very hard time making the roster. If he does get to a point where he can play the game fast in this system, then he has too much upside to not make the roster. But, can he get to that point by the end of the preseason?

I would not guarantee they carry 6 WR, either. It will boil down to many TEs and RBs they wind up keeping. Green Bay kept 5 TEs on their 53-man roster last year. If we keep 4, keeping 6 WR becomes problematic.

Gates was a Division II prospect, ex basketball player...I think they expected him to be a longer term project.. How long is the question? He sure didnt pan out like Johnny Know did so quickly coming from the same school... It would be ironic if the guy that brought us the BIM (Believe in Miami) slogan, gets cut cause Miami no longer believes in him...
The biggest question to me is how the rookies and UFA play at the position. Mathews, Cunningham, and Fuller, you would expect at least one of them to make the 53 squad...
I expect Roberto Wallace to be the most improved WR statistical this year.
Chad Johnson and Davone Bess are the only 2 that really have experience catching balls against top defensive backs.
I predict Bess's numbers to become more elite this year... This offense will be well suited for his style..
Hartline has shined at times but not sure how great he is gonna be consistently going against better cb's then he has in the past.

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All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.
Nietzsche

Cinco should win MVP this year now that he is married.

Go Fins!

I don't know why so many Dolfans get the Hots over NANNEE. He's a journeyman who has done NOTHING impressive anywhere he has played.

As I see it, w/o MARSHALL demanding the "lion's share" of the throws, maybe we'll discover that we ALREADY HAVE some WRs who can play, and even excel, in this League! I'd be totally ready to cut NANNEE, unless he showed something bordering on spectacular. I'd REALLY look at WALLACE and PRUITT. Both have excellent speed and size. And I'd try to let GATES do what he was hired to do: run a lot more deeper patterns, and return kicks. As to KRs, at times last season, he showed some real ability there. He certainly has the speed for it. So, why not give him a legitimate shot at it? We have no one else, really, unless you count people who are too valuable elsewhere to be put at risk...like R BUSH.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2012 01:22PM by LUDUPORCU.

The Julius Pruitt hype train is picking up steam, Hartline praised him in an interview yesterday.

I agree on Naanee even though he ran with the starters thru most of mini camp. He is going into his 6th year at WR.

467 yards is his best season as a pro and even in college his best year was 541 yards as a senior for Boise state. He is 29 years old too. If he hasn't tapped into his potential by now chances are he never will...or he has just maxed out already.

I would much rather see Pruitt or Wallace or Gates get a real shot than to keep this guy over any of them. Even Moore or one of the rookies.

Hartline, Bess, Johnson, Gates, Wallace and Pruitt are my pick 6.

Naanee doesn't contribute on Special Teams as those bottom 3 do on a much larger basis. Gates is a pretty good returner.

Gates is still a favorite of Irelands and he even said he (JI) was disappointed Sparano didn't play him more.

I think LN is history.

On a side note...

Joe Philbin has kept only 5 WR's over the last 4 years in GB.

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

One of the beat reporters (can't remember which one?) tweeted this morning that he thinks Chad Johnson and L. Naanee are competing for the same roster spot, for what it's worth.

I guess we know who wins that battle. I would take an aging CJ that still has 1000k potential and still looks quick over a guy that is going to give us 400 yards tops and 1 or 2 Td's.

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

dolphaholic Wrote:
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> One of the beat reporters (can't remember which
> one?) tweeted this morning that he thinks Chad
> Johnson and L. Naanee are competing for the same
> roster spot, for what it's worth.


if the writer was Walker, then they must be competing for the #1 spot!

I think it would be dumb for the dolphins to spend years developing f/a like Pruitt&Wallace and cut a 4th rnd pick like Gates. Remember Gates did not have a full training camp last year. The last I heard he was picking up the offense and learning how to read defenses. Which was positive.

It's about time a Miami drafted WR steps up into an elite pass catcher. We haven't drafted one of those in many years.....mid eighties? Chris Chambers doesn't really count IMO.

It would be nice to see Gates utilize those phenomenal gifts. It would really open things up for the offense.

Maybe Sparano was just too stubborn. 2 catches last year is pathetic. Good point about no off-season. It didn't seem to stop Julio Jones or AJ Green. More NFl ready, better Qb play or better coaching?

1-4 AJ Green 65/1057/7
1-6 Julio Jones 54/959/8
1-26 Jonathon Baldwin 21/254/1
2-12 Titus Young 48/607/6
2-26 Torrey Smith 50/841/7
2-27 Greg Little 61/709/2

That may be proof of what a good QB will do for you as a WR. Baldwin did miss the first 5 weeks after punching a teammate but a 23 yards per game average is not good. Greg Little had Colt McCoy and still had a decent year.

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

eesti Wrote:
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> It's about time a Miami drafted WR steps up into
> an elite pass catcher. We haven't drafted one of
> those in many years.....mid eighties? Chris
> Chambers doesn't really count IMO.
>
> It would be nice to see Gates utilize those
> phenomenal gifts. It would really open things up
> for the offense.
>
> Maybe Sparano was just too stubborn. 2 catches
> last year is pathetic. Good point about no
> off-season. It didn't seem to stop Julio Jones or
> AJ Green. More NFl ready, better Qb play or better
> coaching?
>
> 1-4 AJ Green 65/1057/7
> 1-6 Julio Jones 54/959/8
> 1-26 Jonathon Baldwin 21/254/1
> 2-12 Titus Young 48/607/6
> 2-26 Torrey Smith 50/841/7
> 2-27 Greg Little 61/709/2
>
> That may be proof of what a good QB will do for
> you as a WR. Baldwin did miss the first 5 weeks
> after punching a teammate but a 23 yards per game
> average is not good. Greg Little had Colt McCoy
> and still had a decent year.


So your saying Miami hasn't drafted an "elite" reciever since the Marino years?.........hmmmmm, coincidence?

dolphaholic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So your saying Miami hasn't drafted an "elite"
> reciever since the Marino years?.........hmmmmm,
> coincidence?


Have we EVER drafted a truly "elite" WR? Does Mark Clayton count? Would he have been nearly as good without Marino?

We didn't draft Paul Warfield. We didn't draft Brandon Marshall. What other WRs have we had that could be considered "elite"?

montequi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dolphaholic Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So your saying Miami hasn't drafted an "elite"
> > reciever since the Marino
> years?.........hmmmmm,
> > coincidence?
>
>
> Have we EVER drafted a truly "elite" WR? Does
> Mark Clayton count? Would he have been nearly as
> good without Marino?
>
> We didn't draft Paul Warfield. We didn't draft
> Brandon Marshall. What other WRs have we had that
> could be considered "elite"?

If Duper and Clayton don't qualify as elite wr's then what are we talking about?

Chris Chambers was pretty elite for a time period, OJ Mcduffie was no slouch.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.
Nietzsche

THE Truth Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> montequi Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > dolphaholic Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > So your saying Miami hasn't drafted an
> "elite"
> > > reciever since the Marino
> > years?.........hmmmmm,
> > > coincidence?
> >
> >
> > Have we EVER drafted a truly "elite" WR? Does
> > Mark Clayton count? Would he have been nearly
> as
> > good without Marino?
> >
> > We didn't draft Paul Warfield. We didn't draft
> > Brandon Marshall. What other WRs have we had
> that
> > could be considered "elite"?
>
> If Duper and Clayton don't qualify as elite wr's
> then what are we talking about?

********************************************************

I "think" what the poster is aiming at when talking of "elite" is they weren't drafted as elite players; they later turned into elite players (thanx in large part to the QB they had).

captkoi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> THE Truth Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > montequi Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > dolphaholic Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > So your saying Miami hasn't drafted an
> > "elite"
> > > > reciever since the Marino
> > > years?.........hmmmmm,
> > > > coincidence?
> > >
> > >
> > > Have we EVER drafted a truly "elite" WR?
> Does
> > > Mark Clayton count? Would he have been
> nearly
> > as
> > > good without Marino?
> > >
> > > We didn't draft Paul Warfield. We didn't
> draft
> > > Brandon Marshall. What other WRs have we had
> > that
> > > could be considered "elite"?
> >
> > If Duper and Clayton don't qualify as elite
> wr's
> > then what are we talking about?
>
> **************************************************
> ******
>
> I "think" what the poster is aiming at when
> talking of "elite" is they weren't drafted as
> elite players; they later turned into elite
> players (thanx in large part to the QB they had).

Duper was most certainly considered a top WR out of college, and he was the fastest WR in the draft and picked 52nd overall. The only reason he didn't go top 10 was height.

Duper was taken back in the days when the Dolphins knew how to draft.

Naanee could be the odd man out. But, he has also been the most consistent performer in the OTAs. The WCO needs someone who is physical enough to run those tough slants. Wallace may be that guy, but Naanee is probably the only other guy who can really do that. He has been a starter in the league, and he can contribute. Can Pruitt be a guy to run those slants? Maybe. That could be the key. Pruitt is a great special teams player, and that gives him an inside track to a roster spot. If he and Wallace are both ready to be contributors on offense, then Naanee's roster spot is in jeopardy. But, if they think one of those younger guys isn't quite ready to help the offense, then Naanee's odds of sticking are that much better, and probably at Gates' expense.

Kickoff returns are not much of the game any more, so Gates' value there isn't overwhelming. Miller could fill that role. Maybe even Marcus Thigpen if he makes it as the 4th RB.