Miami Dolphins Primer: Cameron Wake Ready To Shine

Danny DolphinJul 17, 2010

Six-time pro-bowler Jason Taylor. New York. Four-time pro-bowler Joey Porter. Arizona. The Dolphin’s top two pass-rushers have moved on to other locales, creating a gaping hole in the Miami defense.

Second-year linebacker Cameron Wake is ready. He gave us a taste last season. The sparsely used pass-rushing specialist typically only played during passing situations, yet still complied 5.5 sacks in limited action, including 2.5 against Buffalo in week four.

Anyone who watched him play last year can tell he has a knack for getting to the quarterback. Wake is a force off the edge. The 6-3 250-pounder knows how to best utilize his explosiveness and strength at the point of attack. He accelerates quickly and overpowers lineman from a low stance, dominating the leverage battle en route to the quarterback.

This offseason has been more mental than anything, for Wake. It’s been about pass coverages and play recognition. Everyone knows he can get to the quarterback, but being an every down player in this league requires more than that.

The Dolphins coaching staff wants the most out of him.

“Our hope is that he can be an every-down player,” said Coach Tony Sparano. “I would hope certainly that he can be an every-down player, that’s why we brought him here. It wasn’t just to be a pass-rush specialist."

A Long Road

Wake’s path to the NFL has been anything but steady. After a solid, yet unspectacular career at Penn State, he went undrafted and was picked up by the New York Giants in April of 2005, only to be released a few months later.

After joining the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League, Wake dominated at defensive-end compiling 39 sacks over a two-season span before getting another chance at the NFL with the Dolphins last season.

He was such an effective pass rusher last year that he was on par with NFL sack leader Elvis Dumervil (17 sacks in 09′), from an efficiency standpoint.

According to ProFootballFocus.com, a site that measures advanced statistics, Wake registered a sack for every 24.3 pass rushes while Dumervil registered a sack every 24.6 pass rushes. Wake just didn’t have as many snaps, which can be attributed to his inability to play the pass and run equally as well.

Taking the Next Step

New Dolphins Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan featured Dumervil in Denver last year in his blitz packages. Wake is the ideal fit for that role and could be in for a breakout year. Double digit sack totals are not out of the question.

Taylor seems to think so.”I think maybe five years from now, maybe one year from now,” Taylor wrote, “People in Miami will quickly forget about me and talk about Cameron Wake because I think he has that kind of talent."

He is above and beyond the best pure pass rusher on this team, and for this defense to be effective, they have to put pressure on the quarterback. No pass-rush plus a young, inexperienced secondary equates to major problems.

He will have every opportunity to man one of the outside linebacker spots full time. They need him to be that guy, a complete player.

Nobody questions the physical tools. He is a monster of an athlete, with the size of a linebacker and the explosiveness (4.5 speed) of a running back. It’s more mental than anything else.

If Wake does improve upon his deficiencies and becomes more of a balanced player, he is going to put on a show next year and make fans forget all about names like Porter and Taylor.

Follow MIA Sports Guy on Facebook and Twitter