Vernon making it happen in the NFL

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Miami Dolphins’ Olivier Vernon excited about opening against Patriots

The Dolphins defensive end, appearing on 790 The Ticket last week, said that he circled the date (Sept. 7, at Sun Life Stadium) as soon he got his hands on the schedule.

“What really got my blood pumping is that we got New England on the first game of the season,” Vernon said. “I’m just really excited to start it off with a bang, with a conference game.”

There’s a reason Vernon, who had a breakout season in 2013 with 11.5 sacks, sounds so eager. Part of him is still stewing about the way the previous season ended.

The Dolphins would have made the playoffs if they had beaten either the Bills or the Jets in the final two weeks of the season. They lost to them both, and within two weeks, general manager Jeff Ireland and offensive coordinator Mike Sherman were both out of a job.

When asked if the bad taste was yet out of his mouth, Vernon responded: “They never really leave until the season’s right around the corner, the season starts, and you have another crack at it.”

Vernon said it’s essential that the team remain “on the same page” and finish the games that got away from it a year ago.

The work on that began this week with the start of the team’s offseason conditioning program.

Vernon made it a point to praise the effort of Dion Jordan, the draft’s No. 3 pick a year ago who finished his rookie season with just two sacks.

Jordan has been a fixture in the film room this spring, “soaking everything up like a sponge,” Vernon said.

And yet, Jordan might again have trouble seeing the field if Vernon continues making plays. The two both play defensive end, and Cameron Wake isn’t going anywhere.

So what does Vernon do for an encore? He wouldn’t disclose his goals but did say that “15’s pretty good,” referring to a possible sack total in 2014.

Fifteen sacks would almost certainly put him into the Pro Bowl, which would be sweet, considering he wasn’t even on the ballot last year. His rise was so unexpected, it caught the league by surprise.

“There’s a lot of guys that before me, they’ve had great seasons and they didn’t make it to the Pro Bowl that year,” Vernon said. “That just adds more fuel to the fire. Can’t wait until this year and see all that work I put in show on the field.”


Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/04/27/4082822/miami-dolphins-olivier-vernon.html#storylink=cpy
 
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I'm a huge believer that the reason kids from The University of Miami excel in the NFL at a greater percentage than the Alabama's of the world is the low key football player "experience" on campus. There is zero sense of entitlement at Miami. Under Shannon and Coker, that 3 year plan was sold to recruits and responsible for the cultural change. If you play football at Miami, no one cares. You learn to work out, go to school and wish for Saturdays and football season. At "football" school's with 50,000 students, you party, get excited about the off season and are a rock star before you get paid. Vernon is doing what he always did here, fighting against disappearing. It's as much about fear of failure as it is about God given physical talents. Miami is where great football players go to become better football players. They go to other schools for the "experience". I'm excited to see him growing. I'm excited to see it in Malcum, Tracey, Deon, Chick and all the rest. They will ALL out perform their NFL draft projections. They don't know any other way. my2
 
I'm a huge believer that the reason kids from The University of Miami excel in the NFL at a greater percentage than the Alabama's of the world is the low key football player "experience" on campus. There is zero sense of entitlement at Miami. Under Shannon and Coker, that 3 year plan was sold to recruits and responsible for the cultural change. If you play football at Miami, no one cares. You learn to work out, go to school and wish for Saturdays and football season. At "football" school's with 50,000 students, you party, get excited about the off season and are a rock star before you get paid. Vernon is doing what he always did here, fighting against disappearing. It's as much about fear of failure as it is about God given physical talents. Miami is where great football players go to become better football players. They go to other schools for the "experience". I'm excited to see him growing. I'm excited to see it in Malcum, Tracey, Deon, Chick and all the rest. They will ALL out perform their NFL draft projections. They don't know any other way. my2


Excellent post and great insight, Boar!
 
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