The Channing Crowder Connundrum

One of the most hotly discussed topics that we Dolfans have talked about is what to do with Channing Crowder.  A lot has been made about his large number of tackles and the fact that we seemed to miss him terribly when he was out, specifically during the game against Kansas City.  Other than that, the debate goes as to whether the trifecta will sign him.

My answer?  THERE IS NO WAY THE TRIFECTA RE-SIGNS CHANNING CROWDER.  How is it possible that this is even debatable??? From all of our impending unrestricted free agents, Crowder is the clear cut choice to go.   I think the anxiety most people have stems from our insecurity of the trifecta not being able to find a suitable replacement.   However, Crowder was serviceable, at best.  Any run-of-the-mill linebacker in the NFL can make tackles after a 5-10 yard gain.  In 4 years, the guy has made exactly ZERO game-changing plays and his "impact" plays have been severely limited.  The only play he made last year that was clutch was the 3rd down pass breakup against the Jets deep in our red zone in the regular season finale.  Bill Parcells said just last week that he wants " big, fast, and smart" players.  Crowder is not big, not particularly fast, or smart.  Too many times running backs were able to change direction and gain extra yardage because Crowder took the wrong angle on a cutback.  Too many times I saw Channing blitz up the middle, only to get stood up repeatedly by linebackers.  Those same holes that Zach Thomas found on blitzes seemed to elude Crowder on a consistent basis.  For a middle linebacker to make so little impact plays in 4 years is atrocious.  Maybe it's a positive for a backup, but not a 4 year starter.  After 4 years, you've got to believe the ceiling to get better isn't that high. 

Against Kansas City, we struggled mightily, and we began to attribute that to Crowder's absense.  I wholly doubt it.  Everyone had problems that game because the playing surface gave no traction due to the frigid weather.  It didn't have much to do with Crowder.  The only perceived knock on Crowder that I don't buy is the notion that he's injury prone.  He only missed a couple of games - it's not like  he missed half the season.  Plus, the guy plays in pain, so you won't see me questioning his heart.

Bottom line:  the trifecta has vowed to get better at every position.  Just because we don't currently have anything better doesn't mean we should stick with the same old results.  Channing Crowder is certainly not in the plans for Miami, especially for the price he wants.  Once we find someone new, we will forget about him just like we quickly forgot Donnie Spragan, Robert Jones, and Morlon Greenwood before him.