By Julian (@Miami_Jules on Twitter)
The 2014 Senior Bowl was played this weekend and during the week of practices that preceded the game, quite a few players stood out and climbed up in the rankings. Not all players entering the draft played in the Senior Bowl, some because of eligibility or injuries, and others just decided not to participate. The rankings will change yet again in the weeks following the game and in order to stay current with these, I will be monitoring some of the more significant changes as they happen. Today I will concentrate on late rounds wide receivers only.
Miami enjoyed a healthy amount of receivers signings during the offseason last year, which included the most expensive WR signing of free agency, Mike Wallace. NFL analysts predicted Miami’s passing game would become its new found strength, as a result of these pricy off season moves. However, the Fins only ranked 20th in passing in the NFL.
The mediocre showing in the passing department could be attributed to yet another consequence of the OL struggles. We blame a lot of the pressure on the QB. We blame the sacks allowed on the offensive line as we should….on play calling, which often had Miami’s QB sitting in the pocket forever waiting for the deep play to develop….and on the struggles of the running game. But there’s another component to this problem, which could very well have been a contributing factor to, instead of strictly being the result of, the poor play by the offensive line.
The lack of respect defenses showed our oft challenged deep passing threat, by frequently opting to use single coverage on Miami’s wide outs, thus having the benefit of extra available men to stack the box, rush the quarterback, and or take away the short passes down the middle, made it often seem as if there were more than just 11 defenders on the field. (continued on page 2, CLICK HERE)