Went to bed at 9pm up at 12am pondering tomorrow's work, so I thought I'd have a few Hershey kisses and seltzer water and saw this article. Thought you may enjoy.
So much in limbo, LB Mike Hull’s role on Miami Dolphins’ D is no slam-Dunkin’
May 15, 2017
| Filed in: 2017 offseason, Hal Habib
Miami Dolphins linebacker Mike Hull (45) intercepts a pass intended for Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Dec. 11, 2016. (Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)
(Note: This continues a series in Daily Dolphin spotlighting members of the team individually. In addition to reliving highlights and lowlights of the past season for each, we’ll provide analysis and criticism, plus take a look at how each player fits — or doesn’t fit — into the team’s plans for 2017.)
LB Mike Hull
Height, weight: 6-0, 233
College: Penn State
Age: 25
Experience: Entering third season, all with Dolphins
Acquired: Re-signed as free agent
Contract: Made $525,000 last season, was tendered as an exclusive-rights free agent
Pro Football Focus rank: Unranked
In 2016
Stats: One start, 15 tackles from scrimmage, one interception
Notable moments: Made eight tackles and had one interception in first career start, vs. Arizona.
Straight talk: Just after the Dolphins had finally secured a playoff berth, Cameron Wake was reflecting on some of the reasons this season was unlike any other Dolphins season he’d been a part of.
“How many people know Mike Hull’s name?” Wake said.
Wake wasn’t saying Hull was why the Dolphins made the playoffs, only that Hull and other relative unknowns played a larger role than people thought.
Now some cynics might suggest that Wake was showing a preference to a fellow former Nittany Lion — Hull did have 294 tackles for Penn State — but the respect Hull has is evident when you talk to fellow linebacker Kiko Alonso (“That guy’s a monster”) and coach Adam Gase (“His instincts are off the charts.”)
When injuries to linebackers pressed Hull into his only starting role, he responded by intercepting a Carson Palmer pass on the sixth play of the game to set up a touchdown against Arizona. He made a career-best eight tackles.
Yet despite being a member of a badly underperforming linebacking unit, and despite the accolades, Hull has been unable to nail down a regular role on defense. Instead, his major contribution has come on special teams, where he finished second in the NFL with 18 tackles.
“If you look at the guy, you might not pick him out of the lineup at the Dunkin’ Donuts,” said Darren Rizzi, the Dolphins’ special teams coordinator and assistant head coach. “They might not know he’s an NFL player if he walked in there. But when the guy is on the field, he just makes plays.”
Rather than do a double-take at the remark, Hull seconded it.
“That’s the truth,” Hull said. “I mean, I fit in pretty well. No one really recognizes me and a lot of times that’s a good thing. That’s an accurate statement by him.”
Prospects for 2017
Hull says he loves playing special teams and knew that as an undrafted free agent, that would be his way to get his foot in the door in the NFL.
Whether Hull can squeeze his entire body through that door may be another matter. Remember, the Dolphins finished 30th in the NFL against the run, largely because of ineffectiveness of the linebackers. Alonso is back, but the team also added Pittsburgh’s Lawrence Timmons and drafted Ohio State’s Raekwon McMillan.
Hull has been off and on Miami’s roster the past two years but his production on special teams could set him apart from the other young linebackers.
Check out The Palm Beach Post‘s Miami Dolphins page on Facebook.
All aboard! Miami Dolphins' Jay Ajayi, Cameron Wake make NFL's 70 best players
So much in limbo, LB Mike Hull’s role on Miami Dolphins’ D is no slam-Dunkin’
May 15, 2017
| Filed in: 2017 offseason, Hal Habib
Miami Dolphins linebacker Mike Hull (45) intercepts a pass intended for Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Dec. 11, 2016. (Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)
(Note: This continues a series in Daily Dolphin spotlighting members of the team individually. In addition to reliving highlights and lowlights of the past season for each, we’ll provide analysis and criticism, plus take a look at how each player fits — or doesn’t fit — into the team’s plans for 2017.)
LB Mike Hull
Height, weight: 6-0, 233
College: Penn State
Age: 25
Experience: Entering third season, all with Dolphins
Acquired: Re-signed as free agent
Contract: Made $525,000 last season, was tendered as an exclusive-rights free agent
Pro Football Focus rank: Unranked
In 2016
Stats: One start, 15 tackles from scrimmage, one interception
Notable moments: Made eight tackles and had one interception in first career start, vs. Arizona.
Straight talk: Just after the Dolphins had finally secured a playoff berth, Cameron Wake was reflecting on some of the reasons this season was unlike any other Dolphins season he’d been a part of.
“How many people know Mike Hull’s name?” Wake said.
Wake wasn’t saying Hull was why the Dolphins made the playoffs, only that Hull and other relative unknowns played a larger role than people thought.
Now some cynics might suggest that Wake was showing a preference to a fellow former Nittany Lion — Hull did have 294 tackles for Penn State — but the respect Hull has is evident when you talk to fellow linebacker Kiko Alonso (“That guy’s a monster”) and coach Adam Gase (“His instincts are off the charts.”)
When injuries to linebackers pressed Hull into his only starting role, he responded by intercepting a Carson Palmer pass on the sixth play of the game to set up a touchdown against Arizona. He made a career-best eight tackles.
Yet despite being a member of a badly underperforming linebacking unit, and despite the accolades, Hull has been unable to nail down a regular role on defense. Instead, his major contribution has come on special teams, where he finished second in the NFL with 18 tackles.
“If you look at the guy, you might not pick him out of the lineup at the Dunkin’ Donuts,” said Darren Rizzi, the Dolphins’ special teams coordinator and assistant head coach. “They might not know he’s an NFL player if he walked in there. But when the guy is on the field, he just makes plays.”
Rather than do a double-take at the remark, Hull seconded it.
“That’s the truth,” Hull said. “I mean, I fit in pretty well. No one really recognizes me and a lot of times that’s a good thing. That’s an accurate statement by him.”
Prospects for 2017
Hull says he loves playing special teams and knew that as an undrafted free agent, that would be his way to get his foot in the door in the NFL.
Whether Hull can squeeze his entire body through that door may be another matter. Remember, the Dolphins finished 30th in the NFL against the run, largely because of ineffectiveness of the linebackers. Alonso is back, but the team also added Pittsburgh’s Lawrence Timmons and drafted Ohio State’s Raekwon McMillan.
Hull has been off and on Miami’s roster the past two years but his production on special teams could set him apart from the other young linebackers.
Check out The Palm Beach Post‘s Miami Dolphins page on Facebook.
All aboard! Miami Dolphins' Jay Ajayi, Cameron Wake make NFL's 70 best players
