Pre-Draft Musings: Service Pack 2

Written by Rich Rodriguez

Friday, 08 August 2008

Is trading for Trent Green really such a bad idea? I’m not so sure we can judge where Trent Green’s career is at based on his 2006 season. For starters, no one can stop an offense like Kansas City Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards. Although it is usually his own offense he winds up stopping. While Edwards was the coach of the New York Jets, his offensive teams were known for underachieving despite having players such as Curtis Martin, Santana Moss, and a healthy Chad Pennington before his arm became a pea shooter. There are many reasons for this, but Herm Edwards has to be at the top of those. The fact is that Trent Green is one season removed from a 90.1 QB rating, and 4014 passing yards with 17 TDs and 10 INTs. While these numbers are not spectacular, they are better than anything the Dolphins have had since Dan Marino. People are concerned about Green’s post-injury performance. But if you take a close look at his numbers after his return, they really were not that terrible. Green had to face tough defenses in 6 of the 7 games he played upon his return (Oakland twice, Denver, Baltimore, San Diego, and Jacksonville). As a matter of fact, Baltimore, Jacksonville, and Oakland were ranked top three in defense in 2006, while San Diego was ranked 10th and Denver was ranked 14th. Imagine coming back after 8 games from a concussion, having Herm “Offense Killer” Edwards as your head coach, and having to play four games against the three best defenses in the NFL. That being said, Green is 37 years old and did suffer a serious concussion. The concensus is that if the Dolphins are going to trade for Green, they should give up no more than a 6th round pick. My take is to wait for the Donnie Jones deal to go through with St. Louis and trade our last two picks for Green. He can be a caretaker for the next 2 seasons while the Dolphins groom whoever they take in the draft. The 2006 Draft Many view the 2006 draft as a disaster. But is it really fair to judge it on one season? What happens if Jason Allen develops into a solid corner, Derek Hagan takes over the 3rd receiver spot and Joe Toledo winds up winning the job at left guard? All of a sudden that draft, coupled with the 2005 draft, morph into turning points for this franchise. I got a glimpse of what Jason Allen and Derek Hagan can do at mini-camp. Allen looks like the type of player that is better suited to react rather than think. I think he has the potential to flourish at cornerback. Hagan has all the physical tools necessary to be a wide receiver in the NFL. He has 4.4 speed, a nice frame, he runs decent routes and knows how to get open. The only thing he needs is a little bit of confidence with those hands. If he can learn to concentrate more and overcomes his problem dropping passes, watch out because everything else is already in place with this guy. The 2007 season will say a lot more about the 2006 draft than the 2006 season did. If even two of those guys from the 2006 draft pan out, all of a sudden the Dolphins have picked up several young players over the past couple of years that will be the young core of the team.