Good day sports fans! Welcome to edition #2 of Greg’s Garage, as I have cleaned out my garage again with random thoughts on what is going on in the sports world.
- I give the Dolphins an A draft grade for the 5 players they drafted in the 1st three rounds, as I believe all 5 will be solid contributors. But I must reduce their overall grade to B, as they once again ignored the running back position. They should have drafted Najee Harris at #18 or moved up to #33 take Jevonte Williams. Shame on you Chris Grier!
- Happy 90th birthday to Willie Mays, who many people think is the greatest baseball player of all time. There have been many great players in MLB history, but few, if any, have been able to match Mays’ combination of power, speed and defense.
- There’s no doubting that Russell Westbrook is an incredibly talented basketball player, but why do I feel NBA GMs don’t really want him on their roster if they want to win a title?
- Best move of the NFL draft was the Bears moving up from #20 to the 11th spot to draft QB Justin Fields. I don’t know if Fields will have a Hall of Fame career or not, but the Bears were the most quarterback desperate team in the league and needed to roll the dice.
- There is little doubt in my mind that quarterback is the toughest position in all of sports to play as it requires a high level of both talent and intelligence to be successful. So, what is the 2nd toughest position in sports to play?
- Which leads me to the toughest thing to do in sports … hitting a baseball. If you are successful just 30% of the time you will be in the Hall of Fame!
- The Dolphins won 10 games last season, added WR Will Fuller in free agency, drafted 5 players who should be immediate contributors and all their young players have another season of experience under their belt. So how many games do they win this season. Did you say 12? Sports books have the Fins over/under at 9 wins. Bet the over!
- Just when you think the Heat might have gotten their act together, they lose a few games. Is their inconsistency due to all of their injuries or is the magic just not there this season? I still wouldn’t want to play the Heat in the playoffs if everyone was healthy, though.
- The Dolphins dodged a major bullet when they decided not to re-sign offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James in the 2019 offseason. Denver signed him to a 4 year $51M contract. Their return? In 2019 he played only 3 games before injuring his knee. He then opted out of the 2020 season and last week he had a season ending Achilles tendon injury.
- Although the Dolphins have done a great job adding talent to the roster, they are still an incredibly young team. At least 11 players in their 1st or 2nd season in the league will be playing major roles this season including Tua, 2021 1st round draft picks Jaylen Waddle & Jaelen Phillips and 4 starters on the O-line.
- Is there a sadder NFL franchise than the Houston Texans? After having no 1st or 2nd round draft picks the past 2 seasons because of the Laremy Tunsil trade, they needed to use their 1st pick this year, a 3rd rounder, on a QB, Davis Mills, because of the Deshaun Watson sexual allegation mess.
- Miami has released veteran safety Bobby McCain. They will save about $5.6M in cap space. Most of his playing time should be absorbed by Jevon Holland, who they drafted in the 2nd round this year. It’s possible they could also sign veteran safety Malik Hooker, a free agent who they recently had in for a look-see. McCain will likely get signed quickly by a team looking for a veteran & versatile defensive back.
- Miami will now have at least $48M in available cap space for the 2022 offseason, but a lot of that is due to current players who will be free agents after the season. WR Will Fuller and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah are 2 of them. It could cost $20M-$30M to resign both of them.
- Unless Aaron Rodgers is 110% dead set against ever playing for the Packers again, there is no way he should be traded. Fire the GM and restructure Rodgers contract to make him happy. When you have a QB as talented as Rodgers is, you have to be all-in. Green Bay has been the worst managed team in the league the past 2 seasons starting with the ill-fated decisions to draft QB Jordan Love and RB AJ Dillion last year in the 1st two rounds. Add in their refusal to add a legit #2 WR to support Devante Adams and losing Pro-Bowl center Corey Linsley in free agency because they didn’t restructure Rodger’s contract and GM Brian Gutekunst deserves to lose his job.
- Hopefully our Covid-19 world is slowly returning to normal, but if you are still looking for some TV shows to binge watch, here is 5 I highly recommend.
Schitt’s Creek – It has gotten a lot of notoriety over the last year, but if somehow you haven’t seen it yet, following the quirky Rose family is a must see.
The Americans – An excellent Russian/American spy drama that is one of my top 10 shows of all-time.
Freaks and Geeks – The 1999/2000 comedy from Judd Apatow. There is only 18 episodes, but it is very unique & funny and has an iconic cast.
Homeland – My 3rd favorite TV show of all time after Seinfeld and The Sopranos. I have never understood why this CIA drama on Showtime has never gotten more love. Great story lines & acting. Claire Danes is outstanding as the bipolar CIA operative Carrie Mathison.
State of the Union – If you are looking for something different, check out this British comedy where each episode is only 10 minutes long. It is set in a pub and stars Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd. It is extremely well written. It has been renewed for a 2nd season.
See you next week sports fans by which time the NHL regular season will be over and the NBA season will almost be over.
