Miami Dolphins Select Jake Long With The #1 Overall Pick

Instead of waiting until Saturday afternoon, the Miami Dolphins have signed offensive tackle Jake Long to a 5-year deal reportedly worth $57.5 million($30 million in guaranteed money). This will allow Long to get into camp on time, and avoid any messy holdout situation that seems to plague teams with top picks these days.

Leading up to the draft it appeared that another Long, defensive end Chris Long from Virginia, was going to be the Dolphins' top choice. However, last week it was revealed that Miami was engaged in contract talks with Jake Long's agent. At that time, even Vernon Gholston's name was still in the mix. At the end of the day, though Miami's desperate need for a quality lineman, especially at left tackle, beat out the other positions and Jake Long became their top choice.

As a Dolphins' fan, I have to say that I'm pleased with this pick. It instantly erases any fear I had of a debacle similar to last year's draft occuring again. Miami has their pick signed four days before the draft, and now they can concentrate on their other choices while mapping out what the rest of the teams are likely to do. In that respect, they should end up being one of, if not the most well prepared team in the draft this weekend.

On the talent side, I have no doubts that Long can step in and make an instant impact along the offensive line. While a lot of that has to do with how bad Miami's line has been in recent years, I do think he's extremely talented. Besides, think about what head coach Tony Sparano produced when he was working with the offensive line in Dallas. In his three years of offensive line coaching, he sent four different offensive linemen to the Pro Bowl(Larry Allen, Flozell Adams, Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis). The last time Miami had an offensive lineman appear in the Pro Bowl was when Tim Ruddy lined up as a reserve center in 2001. So yeah, they've needed help for a long time, and Jake Long definitely provides that.

At the very least, this pick is infinitely better than that Ted Ginn Jr. nonsense last year. If you ever wanted an example of the difference between Tony Sparano/Jeff Ireland/Bill Parcells and Cam Cameron/Randy Mueller this is it. And now you know why the latter duo is no longer coaching in South Florida, and why I have faith in the new regime to actually field a competitive team capable of winning games.

Football Movie Trailers, The More They Change The More They Stay The Same

Recently, I was involved in a discussion about movie trailers. Over time, the movie trailer has become an integral part of Americana. Why else would they show 50 of them before the movie that you actually want to see?

Seriously, seeing a kickass trailer for a film that you've been waiting for only increases your want to see it. The clips and music edited together in such a way that you don't mind paying $20 to watch a 90 minute flick(better secure a good line of credit if you want popcorn and a drink). Part of the discussion was about how much better movie trailers have become over the years. Due to advances in technology, and the desire to create a "hook", the movie trailers we see today are vastly superior to those of years past. At least quality wise.

I say quality wise because I believe that content wise certain types of films will always have the same elements. Being that I'm a sportsfan, I brought up the subject of football movies(ones that are more "serious" in nature), and how, while the quality of the trailer may change, the basic content will stay the same. I tracked down three clips, one from the '00's, one from the 90's and one from the 80's to illustrate my point.



The Program Movie Trailer(Click Link)

All The Right Moves Movie Trailer(Click Link)

After watching those three clips, I noticed a few common elements:

1. Coach yelling. Without a coach yelling at some point during the trailer your movie is probably doomed. If he's grabbing facemasks while he's yelling you've probably got a hit on your hands.

2. Partying/drinking. Really, what else do football players have to worry about other than playing their sport? They just show up on Sunday, collect a paycheck and then party like it's 1999. At least that's what people want to see in the trailer.

3. Games/practices in the mud & rain. Somehow this has worked its way into the trailers of many football movies. I guess it shows that the team has had to battle through numerous obstacles to obtain the success that they usually have in the end of the movie. Or it helps mask how crappy the extras are at running routes and making tackles.

4.(optional) Key position battle. This doesn't always make it into the trailer, though it's usually a key storyline in any football movie. One character has held a firm grip on his starting position, but there's a new guy on the team who's battling him for it. This almost always involves either a quarterback or running back.

So there you have it, the elements that I think are universal to any movie trailer you see about the sport of football. Feel free to add any that you've noticed in the comments.