Wednesday, June 27, 2007

NFL Europa Season Stats

With the 2007 NFL Europa season in the books, here's a look at how the Miami Dolphins-allocated players performed and what impact we can expect them to have on the team this year.

DT Steve Fifita, Frankfurt
Played in 10 games, started 4
26 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
Expectations: I don't see this guy making the 53-man roster, even with the possible release of DT Fred Evans. There's already a good deal of youth on the defensive line, and if either of the two Miami Europa DTs is going to make the team, it will most likely be Kevin Vickerson. I don't know if Fifita is still eligible to land on the practice squad, but that could be an eventual destination for him.

CB Shirdonya Mitchell, Frankfurt
Played in 10 games, started 9
31 tackles, 9 passes defensed, 2 INTs (one returned 81 yards for TD)
Named to All-NFL Europa League Team
Expectations: Mitchell has a legitimate chance to make the final roster as the fifth cornerback. CB is one of the weaker positions on the Miami defense, and he could wind up seeing significant playing time. Assuming Andre' Goodman gets healthy in time for the season, I would project the top four CBs to be Will Allen, Travis Daniels, Andre' Goodman, and Jason Allen. That means Mitchell will have to battle it out in camp with the undrafted free agents, Michael Lehan, and waiver-acquisition Derrick Johnson. Before Mitchell went down with injuries, he showed some promise. If he's fully recovered, he has a good chance of locking down that fifth CB spot.

WR P.K. Sam, Rhein
Played in 9 games, started 7
32 receptions, 529 receiving yards, 3 TDs
Expectations: I liked Sam when he was coming out of college, and I thought there was a chance that Miami would draft him. Well, he's now on the team and he has a chance to battle it out for a receiver spot. The chances are stacked against him, however. Assuming the Dolphins only keep 5 receivers on the roster, the first four are going to Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, Derek Hagan, and Ted Ginn. Veterans Kelly Campbell and Az-Zahir Hakim have a leg up on Sam for the fifth spot since they've been with the team during these minicamps, learning the new offensive system. David Sutton has also showed promise, but he will most likely end up on the practice squad. That's also a possible destination for Sam, since I think Campbell will make the roster if he stays healthy (albeit that's a giant "if").

DT Kevin Vickerson, Cologne
Started all 10 games
31 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 2 passes defensed
Named to All-NFL Europa League team
Expectations: Vickerson's chances to make the roster just got a lot better with Fred Evans' recent troubles with the law. If Evans is cut loose, Vickerson will most likely take his place on the roster.

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