the Miami Sports Dude

It’s that time of year again! Time for a bunch of old men with clip boards & whistles to gather around and poke, prod, touch and ogle young athletic men standing around in their underwear.

That’s right. It’s the NFL Scouting Combine! And it’s here that we’re going to scout the NFL’s future.

It’s where guys like Denver's rookie quarterback Jay Cutler look to raise their draft-day stock and where hidden gems are discovered. We know about the Brady Quinns and the Tedd Ginn Jrs. of the world. The combine is where guys like Randy The Muel Mueller find the late-round gems. This is where he spotted guys like Donte Stallworth and Deuce McAllister back when he managed the Saints. Mueller likes quarterbacks and he likes speed, so it will be interesting to see who he gets in this, his first real draft as an actual, fully functional general manager. Add Cam Cameron in his first draft as a head coach and newly acquired QB coach Terry Shea and you have to feel good about how they plan to address this draft (i.e. speed & quarterbacks).

Unlike Nick Saban, they’ll be looking at needs. Not just future practice squad, second-rate safeties from the SEC.

This is what The Muel said in today’s Sun-Sentinel:

...

“My philosophy is get as many good players as we can get," Mueller said. "Obviously, that [quarterback] position is critical. There have been times in my past where we've had four, five guys in camp who could play, and I think the more options you give yourself ... the better chance you have of competing week to week in this league. Sometimes it's about depth."

At one point while constructing the New Orleans Saints' roster from 2000-01, Mueller's depth chart at quarterback included Jeff Blake, Aaron Brooks, Jake Delhomme and Marc Bulger -- all of whom became NFL starters.

Among the invited quarterbacks at the combine, LSU's JaMarcus Russell and Notre Dame's Brady Quinn are considered the standouts.

...

Mueller is making the quarterback position a top priority. That’s great news. Read the entire Sentinel column. It doesn’t say anything new or anything we haven’t all heard or said. But it just has a fresh quality to it. The Dolphins are letting their fans in on what they’re looking for. And you get an overwhelming sense of calm that the team is now – finally – in good hands and that the botched drafts of the past are a forgotten thing.

If anything of interest happens at the combine (usually, nothing of interest happens), I’ll report it here. I’ll also update you guys on how the players the Dolphins might be looking at fair. Brady Quinn is expected to be there. And we'll get good looks at plenty of offensive linemen as well.

Keep it here in the coming weeks.

Labels: Miami Dolphins 2007 Draft