Filed under: Dolphins, AFC East
DAVIE, Fla. -- When the Miami Dolphins chose to part ways with veteran outside linebackers Joey Porter and Jason Taylor in the offseason they shifted quite a bit of pressure onto the shoulders of young Cameron Wake.Five games into the season, Wake is proving to everyone that his bosses made the right decision.
At 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, Wake has that rare combination of size and speed that continuously frustrates opposing offensive linemen and has opposing quarterbacks running scared. So far, those quarterbacks haven't been able to run fast enough as Wake already has registered six sacks, with three of them coming last week at Lambeau Field on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
On Dolphins.com, Wake explains what motivated him and his teammates and head coach Tony Sparano breaks down what it is about Wake that makes him so effective.
"As a pass rusher he's one of the best and he's trying to separate himself among a great group of outside linebackers in this league," inside linebacker Karlos Dansby said. "He's looking real promising and his closing speed is amazing. It's rare to find, and I thought I had great closing speed but Cam's set me back a little."
Wake went undrafted out of Penn State in 2005 after playing defensive end for the Nittany Lions and after being signed as a free agent by the New York Giants he was waived before the start of training camp. He spent all of 2006 out of football and made ends meet as a mortgage broker before heading north of the border to rekindle his football career with the Canadian Football League's B.C. Lions.
Two seasons of domination in the CFL during which he registered 39 sacks and won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year honors put Wake back on the radar of a number of NFL teams, including the Dolphins and Steelers. Miami signed him as a free agent in January of 2009 and liked what he brought to the table.
Now Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and every other quarterback around the league is well aware of Wake and the threat he brings as a pass rusher.
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