Matty I over at The Phinsider wrote this week that he thought that WR Davone Bess was one of the most underrated players in the NFL, and I totally agree with him. In many ways Bess reminds me of Wes Welker during his time with the Dolphins: he has very good hands, knows how to find the soft spots in a zone, and is fearless over the middle. He's also a good special teamer, although not as dangerous on returns as Welker was for us.
What did he do last year? His 76 receptions made him the 11th most productive receiver in the NFL last year. His 48 first down receptions is a clear indicator that when the Dolphins needed to move the chains, he was the receiver that Chad Henne believed would be open and make that catch. This was very refreshing for us after watching Chris Chambers and Randy McMichael drop crucial 3rd down receptions over the years. In two seasons, Bess has had two quarterbacks throwing him the ball and both quarterbacks bought into how important he was in the passing game.
Pro Football Focus crunched all the stats together and rated all the NFL receivers last year. They rated Bess as the 10 best receiver in the NFL last year.
I guess we should not be all that surprised at his production at the NFL level. He was super productive at Hawaii in an NFL type of an offense and started 3 years there. In his final season he caught 108 passes and 12 touchdowns. Still, he went undrafted. Here is SI's predraft analysis of Bess:
Well-rounded receiver with the added advantage of being a return specialist. Quickly releases off the line, plays with terrific balance and body control, and effortlessly makes the reception in stride. Comes back into the clearing making himself an available target. Displays soft hands and elusive running after the reception. Terrific route-runner who quickly gets into breaks then separates from defenders. Keeps the play alive trying to pick up yardage and plays with a good degree of toughness. Consistently extends to make the reception away from his frame. Fearless and will go up in a crowd to make the difficult catch. Adjusts to the errant throw and comes down with the ball in a crowd. Did not miss a beat last season when his starting quarterback, Colt Brennan, was out of the lineup.
I could go on and on about Bess, but I will let JP's video clip of Davone Bess fill in the blanks. Hopefully we will sign Bess to a longterm contract and not underestimate the possibility that another team will try to get him when he becomes a restrict free agent as the Patriots did with Wes Welker. The poison pill that the Patriots put into Welker's contract made it impossible for the Dolphins to match it. Of course, blame it on Welker. If he really wanted to play for the Dolphins he did not have to sign that contract.
I really can't get along without the browser toolbar. It has all the important links on it. I'm not selfish, I even have all the other Dolphins fan sites on it. There's a lot of draft links, rss feeds, and a cool email program that lets you know when you have mail. And NO spam or spyware. It works for Firefox and Internet Explorer. So, enjoy!
Support Phinfever by buying what you need from our advertisers. They pretty much pay the bills for us. Thanks!
