Flores on DE Young: ‘I like good players’
Ohio State standout could be targeted by Dolphins in ’20 draft
Ohio State defensive end Chase Young may be the best overall player available for the NFL draft next April, and the Miami Dolphins could be in position to draft him if they end up with a top-2 pick.
But could a standout player such as Young — who had 16.5 sacks this season, while Miami has just 18 — fit into coach Brian Flores’ defense?
Here’s what Flores said about whether he would acquire a player who may not be a fit in his multiple defense, without naming Young on Thursday:
“Generally, if he’s a good player. I like good players,” Flores said with a smile.
“If it’s a good player, the scheme — it’s very, it’s a scheme-versatile defense, I believe. If we’ve got a good player, we’ll make it work for said player, and it goes for any position,” Flores added.
Young may be better suited to play as a traditional 4-3 defensive end, while the Dolphins have asked their edge rushing defender to do a variety of things like line up without a hand in the ground and drop into coverage like an outside linebacker, among other roles.
Miami’s defense has also used a variety of defensive fronts which have included three, four, five or even six de
each of those years didn’t conclude as anyone planned. First, all the losing took a toll on Riley. By the the fall of 2003, when the Heat opened poorly, he had enough. He quit as coach. The burden was too much.
He was pulled back into coaching to win a title in 2006. By the spring of 2008, pained by losing, he was done again. He entered the locker room before the final game and asked a question to the roster of young and journeymen just happy to be in the league — imagine this Dolphins team cut to an NBA roster.
“What do you think the movie ‘Forrest Gump’ was about?” he asked the players.
The responses were predictable, starting with the scripted line, “Life is like a box of chocolates.”
“To me the premise of the movie is when he lost Bubba, his best friend,’’ Riley said. “His mother passed. Then Jenny left him in the middle of the night, and he walked around his house for two or three days.”
Then, Riley said, Forrest started to run. And run. People began following him. He was considered wise, even mystical. He just kept running north to south, one coast to another. Finally, one day Forrest stopped running. His followers waited for him to say something spiritual. He said nothing
“He didn’t say this, but I’m assuming he was thinking, ‘I’m finished with my journey,’ ” Riley said. “And now I’m done with mine.”
That’s how Riley broke the news he was finished coaching. His journey was done. That year’s tanking worked, too. The Heat got the second pick overall — they won for all their losing, right?
Well, pay attention. In 2003, when they won that final game and lost draft odds, Toronto drafted Chris Bosh with the fourth pick and the Heat took Dwyane Wade with the fifth pick. Both great players, but is there any doubt Wade was greater for the Heat?
In 2008, the Heat used that second pick on Michael Beasley. A wasted pick. More head case than head of the class.
You see, all this confusing and conflicting talk of tanking this Dolphins season has brought us to the doorstep of … what? Maybe their Wade come draft day. Maybe Beasley. But who knows what path gets the team there? It depends on smarts and luck more than draft order.
Go ahead and cheer for a loss, if you want. Maybe that works. But certainly Flores should just do what comes naturally. Try to win. It’s who he is, what he wants to instill. Besides, as Riley showed, it doesn’t pay to lose.