DAILY DEBATE: Who is the most underused player in Miami history?

[DMoney]

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[Ironmanfootball]

It always seemed strange that such an explosive return man couldn’t make plays on offense. But even in the NFL he was never more than an average receiver. He was at best a WR3 in the league. He only caught 255 passes in a ten year career.

Miami was already so far behind schematically they had no idea how to use a guy like him on offense. They butchered Berlin's first season entirely

 

[FrancisSawyer]

I thought that de from Nj bosco highschool who played in the golden era was a waste of talent . That kid was a stud

Al Quadin Muhammad?

 

[OptimusCreampie]

I can’t put brashard smith on here if he was adamant on playing slot wr here.

 

[Ironmanfootball]

I can’t put brashard smith on here if he was adamant on playing slot wr here.

He saw the scheme and knew he'd die running inside zone 15x a game on predictable run downs. Jit doesn't look like Martinez or Fletcher.

 

[OptimusCreampie]

He saw the scheme and knew he'd die running inside zone 15x a game on predictable run downs. Jit doesn't look like Martinez or Fletcher.

lashlee’s run scheme was better? All he had was inside zone. He didn’t even play rb until 2 went down at smu.

 

[88]

He played for ONE year, as a 5th year senior, and had not played TE since high school.

Come on, now.

So what? He had double the production in the league a year later and a superstar the year after that

 

[Ironmanfootball]

lashlee’s run scheme was better? All he had was inside zone. He didn’t even play rb until 2 went down at smu.

Rhett ran a lot of guard wrap, some power read, wide sweep at SMU this year. Split zone as well which allowed Smith to cut back side rather than bang play side as much as Martinez did. Rhett also stayed spread 11p picture more vs. 12p pictures which stacked the box for the RBs

 

[AlexCane]

Jimmy Graham is in the what-could-have-been category but not underused. The Jimmy Graham that played here was a project that had suspect hands from what I recall. I don’t think anyone anticipated he’d turn into what he became.

Now, Gus, Hester, Geathers, Thomas, sure.

 

[jdmorgan76]

Devin Hester

 

[Empirical Cane]

Lorenzo Lingard.

 

[Canesfan1899]

Devin Hester: all-timer on specials but should’ve found ways to get him more touches.

 

[Torocane]

Jason Geathers

 

[TemplarCane]

Geathers was quite an enigma. Was he a wide receiver or a running back? If I recall, he wanted to be wide receiver, but was always needed for depth in the backfield. One of those utility knife players who makes plays, but isn’t gonna do anything in some games. Especially on a team like those Miami teams, which were loaded with studs. I am surprised he didn’t find the spot in the NFL, at least for a couple years.

Hester is the greatest return man of all time, but was an average wide receiver after proving he couldn’t consistently play cornerback. Miami should’ve found some ways to get him the ball more but how effective is he going to be if every time he comes in the defense knows he’s gonna get the ball? Then again I’m no offensive coordinator. Hester would likely get the ball more in today’s era.

Jimmy Graham is a hindsight pick. I know he developed into nearly a Hall of Fame caliber tight end, but he was playing football for the first time in many years his one season at Miami. That Canes team had a lot of good players on offense. This is a non-story if Graham would have had two seasons of eligibility.

Brock Berlin was misused. After his epic second-half comeback versus Florida in 2003, Miami should’ve left him in the shotgun and never looked back.

Two defensive players out of position are obvious. RayRay Armstrong and James Williams. Both should’ve played linebacker, and possibly with their hand down as an edge player. I doubt either was willing to do it during their college career, but that seems to be the way it’s going in the NFL for Williams and was for Armstrong during his NFL career. Had they made those transitions in college who knows what might’ve happened. Williams of course still has a chance.

One player I thought I should’ve had an offensive package was Sean Taylor. You wouldn’t want to do anything to take away from his time on defense, but he was such a freak athlete imagine lining him up at wide receiver with Andre Johnson, Roscoe Parish, and Winslow Jr at tight end. Just putting him out there is going to scare the opposing defense. Taylor was magic with the ball in his hands.

 

[BoxingRobes]

Jimmy Graham
Dwayne Johnson
Greg Olsen