Dolphins move at safety says a lot

The Dolphins were very active Tuesday, as I told you here first, signing Donovin Darius and Lamont Thompson.

But after taking a second to digest the addition of two veteran players who were on the street for a couple of weeks as recently as 24 hours ago, one must consider what it says about the depth of the Miami secondary, and the players that comprise that depth.

Understand that starting today, Travares Tillman, Darius and Thompson will likely be competing for the starting safety spot next to Renaldo Hill. Understand that Tillman has a heavy advantage in that he knows the defense, knows the calls, knows all he should know to make this competition moot.

But Darius and Thompson, unemployed as they were two days ago, may be better players than Tillman. And so even if Tillman wins the start for the Dallas game Sunday, it doesn't say much about his chances of keeping the job because, well, eventually Darius and Thompson will learn the system.

The moves today also speaks to Jason Allen's worth on the team. When Nick Saban drafted him in the first round last year, one of the values Allen brought to the table, or so we were told, was that he could play either safety or cornerback, or both.

"I can play anywhere they want me to play," Allen told me after the draft. "I can hit like a safety, cover like a corner, play nickel, dime. Anything they want."

Turns out Allen washed out at safety, hasn't been good enough at corner to get on the field consistently, and wasn't even a serious option to help his team with a move back to safety in a time of dire need.

I learned long ago not to worry too much about what coaches said about players because coaches make statements with an agenda in mind. They are either protecting the player by not ripping him or trying to motivate the player by criticizing him.

he Dolphins current coaching staff doesn't criticize. So you're not going to hear quotes from Cam Cameron admitting Allen wasn't good enough to consider or that Tillman's days as a starter -- assuming he gets some -- are numbered.

Instead you have to understand what Cameron and his staff really think by what they do.

So what statement do you think Miami made about a couple of its players today?