Third-year measure awaits for Saban's first Dolphins draft

BY BARRY JACKSON

bjackson@MiamiHerald.com

Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas has a theory: ``The third year is the year you see the most improvement with most players.''

If true, this season should be telling for Nick Saban's strong first draft class. The Dolphins believe Ronnie Brown and Channing Crowder are capable of more, want to see their faith in Matt Roth justified and need a strong comeback from Travis Daniels. What people are saying:

• Daniels asserted he's ''300 percent better'' than last year, when he missed four games, allowed 28 negative plays (catches or penalties) out of 48 balls thrown toward him, and lost his starting job.

''My ankle bothered me every game last year, but I'm fine now. Teams should have gotten me last year when I was hurt. I was just running around before. Now I can outsmart guys.'' Some view Daniels as merely a No. 3 corner, but more will be needed if Andre' Goodman's shoulder isn't ready by opening day.

• After watching Roth get 3 ½ sacks and force three fumbles in the final seven games, the Dolphins decided he was ready to start and dumped Kevin Carter. ''Matt's body of work spoke for itself,'' GM Randy Mueller said.

Anticipating more snaps, Roth took up martial arts to improve conditioning and speed. ''He's ready to step up,'' Thomas said. ``The first couple of years, he had a motor but didn't know where he was going. He can be a beast.''

• The Dolphins still see untapped talent in Crowder, whose 104 tackles were second to Thomas' 165. ''No question, he has Pro Bowl potential,'' Mueller said.

Crowder said ''great players make plays you're not supposed to'' -- and doesn't think he does that enough. He has only one career sack, though he often drops in coverage. Coordinator Dom Capers loves Crowder's skills but wants growth in some pass coverages and to see him ''close under control in the open field.'' Crowder has bonded with Joey Porter, who sees similarities: ''He plays with a chip on his shoulder, like me,'' Porter said.

• Cam Cameron told Brown he's determined ''to get my full potential,'' and Brown envisions being used more like San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson, who had 50 catches in Cameron's offense last year. (Brown had 33.)

Told to reduce his body fat percentage, Brown says his first two seasons were merely ''decent'' and has drawn motivation from Phil Simms' comment that he lacks the ''wow'' factor. ''I have a lot to prove.'' He studied tapes of Tomlinson and plans to talk to him: ``I want to achieve some of the things he has.''

So how did Brown's 4.2 rushing average compare with great backs in Year 2? Tomlinson averaged 4.5, Edgerrin James 4.4 and Shaun Alexander 4.3. ''Brown's a good back, but I don't know if he'll be a great back,'' Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson said. ``Year 3 is a turning point.''

Another Hall of Fame back, Gale Sayers, predicted: ``Brown will last 10 years and maybe make the Pro Bowl one, two or three years. Can you say he will be a superstar? No. But he has good size, speed, quickness and he's strong.''

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