''Bigger isn't necessarily better for me,'' Sparano said.
Apparently, bigger isn't necessarily such a bad thing, either.
After this year's NFL Draft, the Dolphins might want to think about hiring a few more chefs at the team's Davie facility. The team continued to bolster its offensive and defensive lines with its final six picks Sunday, and also added two large running backs.
The final weigh-in? Five of the team's nine total picks weigh more than 290 pounds -- and the average weight of those nine players is 275 pounds.
OK, so maybe that's because the team decided against drafting any wide receivers or defensive backs (possibly the only major knock against the team's overall drafting outcome). But the team clearly still maintained its focus of strengthening the trenches.
The Dolphins surely got bigger, tougher and stronger this weekend.
''We feel like one of the first things you have to do is build theoffensive line and defensive line,'' general manager Jeff Ireland said.``We weren't targeting those players, but they did fall to us. Theyalso met a need. We like big guys who can play that are good characterguys. They have great motors. All these kids we picked [Sunday] fitthat type.''
After picking up an offensive tackle and a defensive end with the first two picks Saturday, the team added two more offensive linemen (Shawn Murphy in the fourth round and Donald Thomas in the sixth) and two more defensive linemen (Kendall Langford in the third round and Lionel Dotson in the seventh round) on Sunday.
Not since 1980 had the Dolphins taken this many linemen in one draft. Even then, when they also picked up six linemen, the draft consisted of 12 rounds instead of seven, making this year's emphasis on building the lines even more notable.
As a result of Saturday's first pair of selections, it's also the first time in 43 drafts that the Dolphins have taken an offensive lineman and a defensive lineman with the first two picks of the draft.
This theme certainly shouldn't come as a surprise. Vice president of football operations Bill Parcells has long been known for placing an emphasis on the trenches when building an organization, as he has done four times before.
FILLING THE VOIDS
And given the Dolphins' severely depleted offensive line, which seemingly had vacancies at left guard and right tackle heading into the weekend, it makes sense why Parcells and Ireland took that approach again. Now, Long will shift into the left tackle spot, allowing Vernon Carey to jump back to his more natural role on the right side. Murphy and Thomas also can now compete with Drew Mormino at the left guard spot opposite Justin Smiley.
Murphy, who is the son of former Atlanta Braves star Dale Murphy, is likely to have the best shot of any second-day selections at a starting job during his rookie season. The team traded up five spots to snag the former Utah State lineman, giving a seventh-round pick to the Bears to make sure they'd land Murphy in the fourth round.
He is the prototypical Parcells-Sparano lineman: strong, smart and tough. As a mature, versatile player who could fit at guard or tackle, Murphy has the potential to develop quickly into a prospect that could be a contributor for several years.
So with the important additions of the linemen, the Dolphins still were forced to neglect several other areas of need, most notably wide receiver and cornerback. Miami didn't draft players at either position, which apparently shows some of the faith it currently has in wide receivers Ted Ginn Jr., Derek Hagan and Ernest Givens.
BACKFIELD PICKS
Still, it's slightly peculiar that the Dolphins instead invested picks in two running backs: Jalen Parmele and Lex Hilliard (both in the sixth round). Both are much bigger than Lorenzo Booker, who was traded Saturday for a fourth-round pick.
The addition of each is likely also part of a continued effort by the new regime to increase the quality of special-teams coverage units, a move intended to give the Dolphins better field position on more occasions.
But on this day, when the team added so many other big players, it certainly seemed as if Parmele and Hilliard simply possessed the one major quality of everyone else: size.
