GREG COTE'S RANDOM EVIDENCE BLOG: MIAMI. SPORTS. AND BEYOND.
1) It's SATURDAY, JANUARY 13. Click on Amazon or Barnes & Noble to check out Fins At 50, our Dolphins book. 2) In The Previous Blogpost (ITPB): Looking beyond Ryan Tannehill poll, give the devil (Nick Saban) his due & more. 3) Join us on Twitter @gregcote. Also Facebook and Instagram.
Panthers column: And Barkov shall lead them: Call him Sasha. Call him Barky. Call Aleksander Barkov the future, the best hope for leading the Panthers back to relevance in the NHL and in South Florida. Click on And Barkov Shall Lead Them for my latest column.
Other columns from this week: On bizarre reemergence of Tonya Harding, and on Dolphins and Tannehill: Click No Way to Escape Her Shame for my latest column, on efforts, 24 years later, to rebrand Tonya Harding as a sympathetic victim. And click Are the Fins Feeling Bold? for my earlier column on Dolphins moving beyond Ryan Tannehill.
UPSET BIRD DAY IN AMERICA! OUR NFL DIVISIONAL-ROUND PLAYOFF PICKS: We're down to eight teams now, with two weekend doubleheaders bringing us to the AFC and NFC Championship Game matchups -- the Final Four, King Sport style. I though the two AFC games were pretty simple, clear-cut picks. The two NFC games I wrestled with. and from the rasslin' emerged one major upset. Click Divisional-Round Gems for all our second-round pick as the Super Bowl Tournament continues.
THE LIST: DOLPHINS ALL-TIME FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICKS, RANKED TOP TO BOTTOM BASED ON MOST CAREER GAMES PLAYED FOR MIAMI: Games played for Miami including regular season and playoffs by the 48 first-round draft picks in franchise history. The Top 20, then the rest:
Year Player, School Pick Games
1983 QB Dan Marino, Pittsburgh 27 260
1990 OT Richmond Webb, Texas A&M 9 177
1967 QB Bob Griese, Purdue 4 173
1994 DT Tim Bowens, Mississippi 20 167
1982 OG Roy Foster, Southern Cal 24 144
1976 DE Kim Bokamper, San Jose State 19 140
1979 OT Jon Giesler, Michigan 24 138
1993 WR O.J. McDuffie, Penn State 25 126
2004 OT Vernon Carey, Miami 19 122
1969 DE Bill Stanfill, Georgia 11 120
1980 CB Don McNeal, Alabama 21 120
1977 LB A.J. Duhe, LSU 13 119
1968 RB Larry Csonka, Syracuse 8 118
1989 S Louis Oliver, Florida 25 110
1976 LB Larry Gordon, Arizona State 17 107
2011 C Mike Pouncey, Florida 15 93 [ACTIVE]
1968 OT Doug Crusan, Indiana 27 90
1996 DT Daryl Gardener, Baylor 20 89
2005 RB Ronnie Brown, Auburn 5 77
2012 QB Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M 8 77 [ACTIVE]
The rest:
21st through 30th -- 1984 LB Jackie Shipp, Oklahoma 76; 2008 OT Jake Long, Michigan 75; 1985 RB Lorenzo Hampton, Florida 72; 2006 CB Jason Allen, Tennessee 72; 1992 DE Marco Coleman, Georgia 68; 2010 DT Jared Odrick, Penn State 65; 1992 CB Troy Vincent, Wisconsin 62; 2007 WR Ted Ginn, Ohio State 49; 2014 OT Ja'Wuan James, Tennessee 48 [ACTIVE]; 1988 DE Eric Kumerow, Ohio State 44.
31st through 40th -- 2009 CB Vontae Davis, Illinois 44; 2015 WR DeVante Parker, Louisville 44 [ACTIVE]; 1989 RB Sammie Smith, Florida State 43; 1974 DT Don Reese, Jackson State 42; 2001 CB Jamar Fletcher, Wisconsin 41; 1966 QB Rick Norton, Kentucky 31; 1987 DE John Bosa, Boston College 31; 2016 OT Laremy Tunsil, Mississippi 30 [ACTIVE]; 1975 OT Darryl Carlton, Tampa 28; 1991 WR Randal Hill, Miami 28.
41st through 48th -- 2013 DE Dion Jordan, Oregon 26; 1995 OT Billy Milner, Houston 21; 1998 RB John Avery, Mississippi 19; 2017 DE Charles Harris, Missouri 16 [ACTIVE]; 1981 RB David Overstreet, Oklahoma 15; 1997 WR Yatil Green, Miami 8; 1966 RB Jim Grabowski, Illinois 0; 1972 DT Mike Kadish, Notre Dame 0.
POLL RESULT: CLEAR MAJORITY THINK DOLPHINS SHOULD THINK BEYOND TANNEHILL: We asked, "Is this the right offseason and draft for the Dolphins to think beyond Ryan Tannehill?" Your verdict: Yes. If Miami's future at QB is in this draft, go get him, 77.42 percent; No. Tannehill is good enough. Address other needs, 16.67%; Undecided. Like the Dolphins, I'm really not sure, 5.91%.
ALABAMA'S RECENT RUN IN PERSPECTIVE: Nick Saban just own Alabama's fifth national championship since he took over Crimson Tide football 11 seasons ago, in 2007. In that same time span the most championships by one of the Big Four pro teams is three, by the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins and MLB's San Francisco Giants. Althought two of the 11 teams with two titles since '07 -- the NFL's New England Patriots and NBA's Golden State Warriors -- have a big shot at a third title in seasons ongoing.
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Twitter @gregcote
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