Miami Dolphins In Depth

Is Vontae Davis on the trade block?

The NFL is aflutter tonight because the Indianapolis Colts are working on a big trade and, of course, no one really knows the specifics but fans across the league are speculating it involves their team.

Miami fans being no different, there is much speculation the Dolphins might be involved. And that speculation further includes the idea that Vontae Davis is the player the Dolphins have on the trade block.

Before we go that far afield let me share the facts:

Indy owner Jim Irsay tweeted Thursday, "SERIOUS TRADE WINDS Swirling! We're talking given (sic) up a high pick for SERIOUS Vet/Starter! ...these deals often crumble n don't reach completion"

Then the Colts' colorful owner added, "Colts fans.. Your GM Mr. Grigson isn't afraid to roll the dice n aggressively improve OUR Indiananpolis Colts n my check book stands ready."

Well, the Colts are in serious need of offensive line help. They are also known to be needing cornerback help. So Dallas cornerback Michael Jenkins comes to mind. Except the Cowboys, through sources, are denying Jenkins is going to be dealt.

And Davis comes to mind because he lost his starting job to Richard Marshall this training camp when he came to camp overweight and out of shape. Davis is back in shape now, but he has still not been able to regain his starting job. And, if you have any memory, you know Davis has a history for being suspended -- having suffered that fate once last year when he showed up late and hung over to a practice after a night of drinking and also in 2010 when he was similarly kept out of the starting lineup but got into the game in the second quarter for breaking a team rule.

Aside from that, it must be said, Davis is not a star. He's a roller coaster -- sometimes very good, sometimes bad. He averages three interceptions and 10 passes defensed per season.

None of this means Davis is about to be dealt. That must be said. But I have an uneasy  feeling about this. Call it instinct.

I did try to reach out to sources to either confirm or deny that Davis is on the block. No one returned a text. Not a one. This, by the way, is rare. The only time this happened in the past 12 months is when I asked if Chad Johnson would be released. Obviously, no one wanted to say anything until the player was actually cut. Afterward, I got confirmation texts on the topic.

All I'm saying is I'm getting the silent treatment on this topic and that raises flags for me.

[Update: At 1:56 AM I got a text message back from a team source. The source was aware of what is being said about Davis and called it, "rumors." So that suggests this is not serious.]

Having said all this, I believe we'll get a very, very clear message on whether Davis is indeed on the block Friday evening when the Dolphins play the Falcons. If Davis does not play you can just about bet the Dolphins are trying to deal the former first-round draft pick.

So would I be surprised if Davis is traded? At the risk of sounding naive, yes I would. He's only 24 years old. He's a kid. There is reason to be optimistic he might mature in the next couple of years and become the player his gifts suggest he could be.

He is also cheap. Davis is signed through 2013 and because he's still on his rookie contract, he'll be making only $957,500 this season and $1,136,250 next year. That is a bargain for a starting cornerback. That is a bargain for a No. 3 cornerback.

And ...

Even if Davis is a failure as a starter, the value of a No. 3 cornerback in the NFL is huge. That player is on the field anywhere 50 to 65 percent of the time in today's pass-happy league. I would suppose the Dolphins would be more comfortable with Davis in the game than Nolan Carroll, who is a nice player, but hardly a lockdown cornerback with the same potential as Davis.

The only way this is a great idea from a purely football standpoint -- off-field and drinking issues notwithstanding -- is if the Dolphins get a first-round pick in return for Davis. That's what they paid for him. A second rounder? Yes, the Colts may not be a very good team and might again draft quite high next year.

But it's simply bad form to continue giving up players that cost high picks in exchange for lower picks. That's what the Dolphins did in trading Brandon Marshall for two third-round picks after giving up two second-round picks for him.

So getting a second or third-round pick for Davis after drafting him in the first round would feel wrong. There is, of course, a caveat to that. What if the Dolphins could get a second-round pick and tight end Coby Fleener or perhaps a wide reciever.

Vontae Davis for a second-rounder and T.Y. Hilton?

I might do that.

 

Dolphins tight ends need to get better

A football team is like a series of links fastened together as a chain. When one link is weak, it weakens the entire chain.

Think of that when considering the Dolphins offense. And now tell me which is the weak link?

Well, the wide receivers, right?

It's not just me saying it. Coach Joe Philbin has made the point that he's not completely comfortable with the group. General Manager Jeff Ireland has said the group has several No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 receivers but he's yet to see someone step up as a No. 1 or No. 2.

So that being established, the receivers are the weak link. And the problem is that affects the other links. And the link I see that could probablly be considered acceptable if the receivers were strong but now gets scrutiny is lacking because the receivers are lacking is the tight end position.

Miami's tight ends have potential. But so far that potential is unmet.

Anthony Fasano is today the best tight end on the team and we all know he is never going to be mistaken for Jason Witten or Rob Gronkowski. He's is a good blocker and would be fine as the second TE behind a dynamic pass-catcher that can threaten the middle of the field and dominate in the red zone.

But the Dolphins don't have that.

"Fasano is very steady," Philbin said. "You kind of know what we have with Anthony. He’s a guy that has good experience, he’s a good in-line blocker, he’s got good hands."

The problem is that while the Dolphins believe they have talent behind Fasano and potential behind Fasano, the production of the players behind Fasano falls off a cliff.

Charles Clay is developing but he was simply terrible the first two weeks of practice. He's been better lately but it's a long way between better and really good and consistent.

"I think Charles Clay has quietly had a good camp," Philbin said. "Early on there were some things that we weren’t totally fired up about, but I think he has really developed the last couple of weeks. The last two or three weeks he has really stepped his game up. We’re going to need him to do that obviously through the course of the year."

The Dolphins drafted Michael Egnew to be an Aaron Hernandez type of player. They want him to tear down the seam of the secondary and make it his personal pass-catching playground. Instead, he's had a terrible first training camp and has been equally bad in games. He's dropped passes, missed assignments and generally not played very fast. He has what I call the thousand yard stare, like he is overmatched with what's going on.

"I said to Mike Egnew on the field today that I thought I saw some progress with him on the tape," Philbin said this week. "Even some more with him blocking wise, where we knew he was going to be behind the curve due to his experience in college, but there are some signs there."

The Dolphins also have Jeron Mastrud and Les Brown in camp. But let's face it, Mastrud is like Fasano except not as productive, not as good a blocker and not as experienced. The team wants to upgrade from him in the best case scenario. If he's on the team, something went wrong with Egnew or Clay.

Brown? He's done. He couldn't block when he arrived in camp and he still cannot. That would be somewhat acceptable if he was a dynamic playmaker in the passing game. He is not. He gets open sometimes but the speed simply does not translate consistently enough. He should strike fear into the hearts of linebackers covering him. But they stay with him.

And I believe the Dolphins are ready to end the experiment. There will be cuts on Monday and I would expect Brown to be among them. He certainly is not making the 53-man roster. It's a shame because I love the idea of a TE that runs 4.4 in the 40 yard dash. (I wouldn't mind re-signing Brown to the practice squad and seeing if he can develop over the next month and give signs of hope.)

"Mastrud is very steady and doing a nice job, and Les, Les is learning day-by-day," Philbin said. "It’s a good group and we’re going to need those guys. We’d like to be a versatile as we can be and get different personnel groups and use them in different spots, so I think they’re capable. They’re smart guys, and they’re giving us a good work ethic, so I think we’re going to be in good shape."

I don't.

You see, getting back to the chain, the lack of dynamic receivers begs for the Dolphins to find passing yards from the tight ends. If they were great, the need at receiver would be very well hidden. Look at the New England Patriots. Aside from Wes Welker, they haven't had any great receivers on the field for a couple of years. But they've had excellent tight end play from Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. So the problem at receiver is covered up a bit. (Obviously the Patriots realized this and signed Brandon Lloyd this offseason).

But the Dolphins have neither the dynamic receiver nor the dynamic tight end. They have one "steady" tight end and two or three projects.

That's rough.

The hope, obviously, is for Clay to suddenly explode with the advent of the regular season. If he can learn the offense to the point it is instinct to him, I believe he has the potential to be the answer. The Dolphins need that to happen.

They need to tighten up that weakened chain.