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Round 1 newsy recap from Jeff Ireland

Here is the latest from the Dolphins and general manager Jeff Ireland following the end of the first round:

1. Mike Pouncey will start out as a center. He is penciled in as a center on Ireland's depth chart. "He's big, he's tough, he's disciplined, he's smart. He's very athletic ... I can't say enough good things about the kid."

2. Ireland talked to receiver Brandon Marshall on Thursday and might meet with him or, at the least, talk to him again Friday. "I know enough of the details. I reached out to him today because I was able to.  We'll talk a little more tomorrow. Right now I know enough to be dangerous, I guess you could say. We're going to continue to follow that situation. Until I get a chance to sit down and talk to him face to face, I'm not going to jump to any conclusions."

Marshall last week was stabbed in the abdomen by his wife, Michi Nogami-Marshall. She was arrested. He was admitted to the hospital, treated and released. It is the second known domestic violence episode for the couple. It is the ninth domestic violence episode involving Marshall since 2005.

3. The Dolphins didn't have an opportunity to trade out of the No. 15 overall selection, according to Ireland.  "The phones weren't ringing so we took the pick," Ireland said. "When the phone doesn't ring you kind of lose your leverage if you're calling around. 'Do you want this pick, do you want this pick.' That's not the way I do it. They have to want the pick before you can trade. And the phone wasn't ringing."

4. Ireland seems very confident about this pick. He had no problem comparing Mike Pouncey to his identical twin brother Maurkice Pouncey. Maurkice was a starter and Pro Bowl player for the Steelers.

"There's a lot of things that both remind me of each other," Ireland said. "They remind me of each other so I didn't feel like I was going to be getting too much different than Maurkice. When you're watching Mike, he's got things to work on as all rookies do. But I think you're looking at pretty much the same type of player."

5. The Dolphins are known for doing the safe thing over the bold thing. Guilty as charged, if that's the way you look at it. "I think it's a good, safe pick," Ireland said. "I know what I'm getting. I know exactly what I'm getting with Pouncey. I feel pretty good we've solidified an offensive line here."

5. Players will likely be around camp on Friday. There is supposed to be a rookie camp next week. The schedule is not set in stone because it is all subject to the legal wranglings of the NFL and the, ahem, trade association.

6. Yes, the Dolphins are aware of the concerns about Pouncey's shotgun snaps.

"They do a lot of things with their center that most teams don't do," Ireland said of the University of Florida. "They pull him a lot. So what you see is when he's trying to pull out in space he's getting out so quick that he's doing something with the ball. I don't know that we'd be doing much of that as Florida did. But he improved at it over the season."

7. Ireland, confident at this press conference, started by saying, "The best way to start this is for me to say, 'Awwwright Miami.' I don't say it as well as Jim Mandich but my heart's out to his family."

Classy.

8. My column on what I think of the Pouncey pick is here. Please help a brother out and check it out. It makes me feel like I'm not working in vain. I also might talk you off the angry, Dolphins should have drafted a quarterback ledge.

 

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