The first round of the NFL draft is history, and the Dolphins pulled the biggest surprise of the night out of their hat, trading their #42 pick in the second round to the Oakland Raiders to switch places, from #12 to #3, and selected DE/OLB Dion Jordan from the University of Oregon. Jordan, who was ranked among the top five players in everyone’s lists, is a player with excellent pass-rushing skills and has the athletic ability and the speed to also drop back into coverage. At 6’6” and 248 pounds, he reminds a lot of people of former Dolphins great Jason Taylor. If he continues to remind people of Taylor when he takes the field, the Fins have something.
My commentary: It would be very easy to second-guess the pick because it is not what the Dolphins were expected to do and because they gave up their second-round pick to trade up to get him. You need to give draft picks, and trades as well, time before you criticize them. Again, Jordan was a top-5 talent on everyones' lists, and they did not overpay for trading up. All that being said, my pick would have still been the TE from Notre Dame, Tyler Eifert, who went to Cincinnati with the 21st pick. Only time will tell.
We’ll know later today if the Dolphins are going to pull the trigger on a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for Branden Albert of if they are content to head in another direction. The Fins are also actively trying to trade WR Davone Bess, looking to get a fourth or fifth round pick for Bess. The second and third round of the draft is today, and starts at 6:00 pm. Rounds 4-7 are tomorrow, and they get underway at 12 noon.
The Dolphins still need to address other issues, including the offensive line. I still see them adding a slot receiver to possibly replace Bess, offensive line help, and cornerback and tight end are also possibilities. Also, look for them to draft a kicker, either Dustin Hopkins of Florida State, or Caleb Sturgis from Florida.
Here are my MOCK Dolphin picks that remain, pending any trades, of course:
MY MOCK REMAINING DOLPHIN PICKS
54. Second Round WR Ryan Swope Texas A&M
77. Third Round OT Terron Armstead Arkansas Pine-Bluff
82. Third Round G/T Dallas Thomas Tennessee
111. Fourth Round RB Christine Michael Texas A&M
146. Fifth Round K Dustin Hopkins Florida State
166. Fifth Round G Earl Watford James Madison
217. Seventh Round DE Tourek Williams FIU
224. Seventh Round LB Lerentee McCray Florida
250. Seventh Round QB Colin Klein Kansas State
Here are the complete first round picks, with analysis from ESPN:
Mel Kiper Jr. has his Top 10 list of best available:
Kiper’s winners and questions from the first round:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2013/story/_/id/9198156/2013-nfl-draft-winners-questions-round-1
Reaction from Armando Salguero from the Miami Herald:
I hit on 22 of the 32 picks in the first round, three of them were right on the money (right pick, right team).
Here is how the real experts did in their mock drafts:
Mel Kiper Jr ESPN 27 out of 32 9 right on the money
Todd McShay ESPN 27 out of 32 9 right on the money
Mike Mayock NFL Network 27 out of 32 9 right on the money
Nate Davis USA Today 26 out of 32 6 right on the money
Peter Schrager Fox Sports 24 out of 32 7 right on the money
Peter King CNN/SI 24 out of 32 1 right on the money
Doug Farrar Yahoo! Sports 24 out of 32 1 right on the money
Jason La Canfora CBS Sports 23 out of 32 4 right on the money
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: The Dolphins are hoping this draft, along with all the free agent moves they made, get them back into the playoffs. When was the last time the Dolphins participated in the post season? Tell you later, alligator.
The Miami Heat took it to the Milwaukee Bucks last night in Milwaukee, 104-91. Old Man Time, Ray Allen scored 23 points and set the NBA career playoff record for three-pointers, with 322. He passed Reggie Miller who finished his career with 320. LeBron James scored 22 points, while Chris Bosh added 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Bird Man scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds in less than 14 minutes of playing time. Dwyane Wade had an off shooting night, going 1-12 from the court, and finished with only 4 points. He did contribute with 11 assists, 9 rebounds, five steals, and two blocked shots. Miami looks to end this series on Sunday in Milwaukee. Game time on Sunday is 3:30 pm, and you can watch it on ABC, Channel 10 in Miami. In the other first round games last night,
Chicago 79 Brooklyn 76 Bulls lead series 2-1
Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Bulls, Luol Deng added 21 points and 10 rebounds. The tenacious and thug-like Bulls defense held the Nets to 34.6% shooting from the court.
Memphis 94 LA Clippers 82 Clippers lead series 2-1
Zach Randolph finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, Marc Gasol contributed with 16 points and 8 rebounds.
TONIGHT
New York @ Boston 8:00 pm ESPN
Game 3 Knicks lead series 2-0
San Antonio @ LA Lakers 10:30 pm ESPN
Game 3 Spurs lead series 2-0
Denver @ Golden State 10:30 pm ESPN-2
Game 3 Series tied 1-1
SATURDAY
Brooklyn @ Chicago 2:00 pm TNT
Game 4 Bulls lead series 2-1
LA Clippers @ Memphis 4:30 pm TNT
Game 4 Clippers lead series 2-1
Indiana @ Atlanta 7:00 pm ESPN
Game 3 Pacers lead series 2-0
Oklahoma City @ Houston 9:30 pm ESPN
Game 3 Thunder lead series 2-0
SUNDAY
Miami @ Milwaukee 2:00 pm ABC - Ch. 10
Game 4 Heat lead series 3-0
New York @ Boston 8:00 pm ESPN
Game 4 Game 3 being played tonight
San Antonio @ LA Lakers 7:00 pm TNT
Game 4 Game 3 being played tonight
Denver @ Golden State 10:30 pm ESPN-2
Game 4 Game 3 being played tonight
Another day, another gut-wrenching and heart-breaking loss for the Marlins. The Cubs dealt out the punishment last night, beating the Fish 4-3. The Cubbies erased a 3-1 deficit, tying the game on a Nate Schierholtz home run in the sixth inning and then Luis Valbuena connected long distance against Steve Chisek in the ninth inning for the go-ahead run. Another good effort by Marlins starter Kevin Slowey goes down in flames.
Here are the pitching match-ups for the rest of the series this weekend:
Today 7:10 pm Scott Feldman vs Wade LeBlanc
Saturday 7:10 pm Travis Wood vs Alex Sanabia
Sunday 1:10 pm Carlos Villanueva vs Ricky Nolasco
You won’t want to miss Monday’s game against the Mets. Matt Harvey will be on the hill for the Metropolitans, Jose Fernandez for the Marlins.
The Fish are still bringing up the rear in MLB in runs scored, with a grand total of 57 runs in their first 22 games. I will be posting the “bottom five” rankings in runs scored until the Marlins aren’t on the list. At this point, I am not very optimistic about this list not being a permanent part of this blog.
TEAM W-L Runs
Marlins 5-17 57
Dodgers 10-11 67
Cubs 7-14 69
Padres 6-15 69
White Sox 9-12 71
In the rest of MLB yesterday, first in the National League,
Pirates 6 Phillies 4
Garrett Jones hit the go-ahead two-run double as part of a three-run eighth inning. Former Marlin Gaby Sanchez homered and finished with three RBI.
Dodgers 3 Mets 2
Juan Uribe drove in the winning run with an infield single in the top of the ninth inning.
Nationals 8 Reds 1
Gio Gonzalez allowed only one hit in eight innings - a solo HR by Joey Votto, and the Nats ended a four-game losing streak. Danny Espinosa and Bryce Harper homered, Espinosa and Denard Span each drove in three runs.
D-Backs 3 Rockies 2
Paul Goldschmidt clubbed a two-run homer in the win.
Over in the American League:
Royals 8 Tigers 3 (10 innings)
The Royals scored 5 runs in the top of the tenth inning, capped off by a grand slam by Alex Gordon.
Red Sox 7 Astros 2
David Ortiz went 3-4 with a homer and two RBI. Clay Buchholz improved to 5-0 this season, Astros starter Philip Humber fell to 0-5.
Yankees 5 Blue Jays 3
Robinson Cano, Vernon Wells, and Francisco Cervelli all connected long distance. The Yanks came back from a 3-0 deficit.
White Sox 5 Rays 2
Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer in support of Chris Sale, who allowed only 2 runs and 4 hits in his seven innings of work.
Rangers 2 Twins 1
Nelson Cruz and Elvis Andrus drove in a run apiece in the win.
Orioles 10 A’s 2
Nate McLouth, Nick Markakis, and Chris Davis each drove in a pair of runs.
Mariners 6 Angels 0
Brandon Mauer combined with two relievers to shut out the offensively-challenged Angels. Kyle Seager and Carlos Peguero connected long distance, Seager finished with three RBI.
Today’s games, first in the National League:
Reds @ Nationals 7:05 pm
Homer Bailey vs Jordan Zimmerman
Phillies @ Mets 7:10 pm
Kyle Kendrick vs Dillon Gee
Pirates @ Cardinals 8:15 pm
Jonathan Sanchez vs Lance Lynn
Rockies @ D-Backs 9:40 pm
Juan Nicasio vs Brandon McCarthy
Giants @ Padres 10:10 pm
Tim Lincecum vs Andrew Cashner
Brewers @ Dodgers 10:10 pm
Hiram Burgos vs Josh Beckett
Over in the American League:
Blue Jays @ Yankees 7:05 pm
Josh Johnson vs Ivan Nova
Braves @ Tigers 7:08 pm
Paul Maholm vs Anibal Sanchez
Astros @ Red Sox 7:10 pm
Erik Bedard vs Ryan Dempster
Indians @ Royals 8:10 pm
Scott Kazmir vs Ervin Santana
Rangers @ Twins 8:10 pm
Justin Grimm vs Scott Diamond
Rays @ White Sox 8:10 pm
Roberto Hernandez vs Jake Peavy
Orioles @ A’s 10:05 pm
Wei-Yin Chen vs Tommy Milone
Angels @ Mariners 10:10 pm
CJ Wilson vs Aaron Harang
Here are the up-to-the-minute standings in MLB:
Here are the individual league leaders in MLB:
In college baseball this weekend, FIU is home for a weekend series against Louisiana-Lafayette. Meanwhile, over in Coral Gables, the Canes are in Chestnut Hill, MA to take on Boston College.
In high school baseball, congratulations go out to Coach Oscar Benitez and his LaSalle Royal Lions, who captured the District 15 4A Championship last night, beating Terra 7-2.
Here is the web site for all the latest in High School Baseball -
Speaking of websites, check out my new and improved site:
Don’t miss my two “Descarga Deportiva” radio segments (for the Spanish-challenged, “Sports Jam Session”) every day, Monday through Friday, at 9:25 am and 12:15 pm on Radio Esperanza, 1550 AM or on the internet on www.miradioesperanza.com.
THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: The Dolphins are hoping this draft, along with all the free agent moves they made, get them back into the playoffs. When was the last time the Dolphins participated in the post season?
The last time the Dolphins went to the playoffs was after the 2008 season, when they lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round, 27-9. I’m sticking to my guns - - - the Dolphins will return to the playoffs this season.
IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW WANT TO ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE ON MY RADIO SEGMENTS, PLEASE E-MAIL ME FOR ALL THE DETAILS - jerry@descargadeportiva.com
Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
No comments:
Post a Comment