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he is a dt, but i think he will play at DE.
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Originally Posted by finnns2003
I understand but he's undersized for NT. And oversized for OLB. Both of which we need bad. Don't forget FS.
In the immediate wake of Miami's decision to spend its 28th overall pick Thursday on defensive lineman Jared Odrick, Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland wasn't willing to say exactly how the team plans to use him.
``We think he can play both inside and outside,'' Ireland said Thursday night. ``I don't really want to get into where we are going to play the kid right this minute. I think you'll see soon enough where he'll be playing. We think he can play both.''
It might seem like a curious sentiment, given Odrick's prototypical size as a defensive end in a 3-4 system. But there's a somewhat interesting explanation for it.
Sources say the Dolphins are in the middle of a defensive transformation that will steer them slightly away from the pure 3-4 defense that has been used each of the last two seasons. It is not a knock on the previous system, but an attempt to fit Miami's personnel.
Although complex and still a work in progress at this point, the Dolphins will rely on more penetration from the interior defensive line than previous years. It will allow the team to benefit from the athleticism of its linemen as much as the bulk.
The key phrase in all of this, though, is interior penetration. That's an aberration from the standard responsibilities of a 3-4 nose tackle, which spends its time clogging up the middle to allow for the linebackers to make the plays.
It still isn't a pure 4-3 defense, either, but it is instead simply designed to allow the crop of defensive ends to help make the entire unit better.
The team has been planning the adjustments for weeks, well before it selected a player that happens to fit the new system perfectly. Don't expect it to be considered a ``new'' defense - but instead an aggressive tweak to the old use of the personnel.
Players like Randy Starks and Odrick, who are prototypical ends with some ability to play inside, will be able to combine their ability to pass rush with their size as well, which is the reason for Ireland's sentiment that Odrick can play both spots.
``I played the one-technique in college,'' Odrick said Thursday night in New York. ``We'd flip and we'd slide. I played a lot of three technique, but I made a lot of plays from the one. I think I can transfer over to a five technique just as easily. It's football. At the end of the day, it's still football.''
The changes should also help alleviate the need for a pure 3-4 nose tackle, although it won't do so entirely. Miami isn't completely abandoning the 3-4 concept, and it still plans for plenty of three-man fronts.
Although Paul Soliai has yet to convince the team he's capable of replacing Jason Ferguson at the position, he will still have a place on the squad. The Dolphins could also still look toward drafting and developing a mammoth-sized player for the future.
When using the penetrating defense, it will require inside linebackers Karlos Dansby and Channing Crowder to be more effective and forceful, but those are qualities that fit their strengths at this point anyway.
Instead, this has the potential to allow Starks, Odrick, Kendall Langford and Phillip Merling to thrive at a position that's currently as deep as any other on the defensive side of the football.