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Who steps to the forefront of the Dolphins’ safety battle?
Who steps to the forefront of the Dolphins’ safety battle?
Source: Sun Sentinel by Omar Kelly
While everyone has their focus situated on the quarterback or receiver battles, it is a pretty safe bet that safety will be the Miami Dolphins’ biggest camp battle.
There’s no other position by safety where TWO STARTING SPOTS are open, and it is any one’s position to earn amongst five veterans who will compete to become the new starters.
Four of those players – Reshad Jones, Chris Clemons, Tyrell Johnson and Tyrone Culver – have starting experience.
And one of them, Jimmy Wilson, is a converted cornerback who was the biggest defensive playmaker of last year’s training camp. And that’s when he was a rookie.
Talk about a battle royale!
The Dolphins jettisoned veteran safety Yeremiah Bell, who signed with the Jets last week, because they were ready to turn the page, going with a younger and more athletic defensive backfield. The Dolphins hope to find two starting free safeties, which will allow the safeties to become interchangeable, changing roles from snap to snap.
We’ll see how that plays out during OTAs, which continue this week, mini camp and training camp.
Each member of this safety competition brings their own strengths, and weaknesses to the table.
Jones is a playmaker. He’ll flash impact plays – sacks, interceptions, forced fumbles – from time to time. But Jones freelances a bit too much, and blows assignments from time to time.
Clemons, who started 14 games in 2010, contributed 61 tackles, one interception and forced two fumbles as a starter two years ago. But he lost his spot to Jones last year, and was slowed by a troublesome hamstring injury. He’s athletic and rangy, but rarely makes impact plays in games and practice. Clemons will need to be around the ball more to thrive.
Culver is the least athletic of the bunch, but he’s the most intelligent and vocal of the group. His leadership and communication skills allowed him to become the glue that make the 2011 defense tighten when he was elevated into a starting role late last season. Culver’s play isn’t sexy, but there’s value to having everyone in the secondary be on the same page.
Johnson, a former second-round pick, was one of the more athletic defensive backs in 2008 draft. But he’s struggled to get into a groove as a starter in Minnesota. He’s known as an in-the-box safety, but has only contributed 123 tackles and two interceptions in his previous four seasons, which featured him starting 27 games.
That’s the most starts of all the Dolphins safeties. But can Johnson cover ground like a free safety?
Wilson, a seventh-round pick in the 2011 draft, shined as a safety in his final season at Montana. That’s why the Dolphins selected him late despite his troublesome background.
Wilson established himself as the biggest defensive playmaker in training camp last year, but he was going against inferior competition regularly. He’s the dark horse of this race, but my favorite based on his knack for always being around the ball, and applying physical hits.
But how will Wilson perform when the level of competition rises? Wilson struggled as a cornerback (allowed the game-sealing touchdown catch in last season’s loss to Cleveland, and got picked on by Giants quarterback Eli Manning) last season, and at 5-foot-10, 190 pounds he’s small for the position.
According to Culver, this battle has already begun considering the safeties are competing at everything.
Dolphins fans should hope the ongoing rivalries raises every one’s talent level, and ultimately leads to a secondary that doesn’t resemble Swiss cheese.
G.G.G.
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