A Look At The 2013 Offseason | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

A Look At The 2013 Offseason

I think Jeff Ireland's firing is a foregone conclusion.

Listen, try and be objective about this. Of all the important people in the organization, whose ass is the hottest? Just answer the question honestly. Ireland's clearly got the biggest bull's eye on his back.

Now also honestly answer this. After seeing how negative everything has gotten after two losses in a row, and now three losses in a row...think to yourself what the environment is going to be like after the Dolphins play the Seahawks, Patriots, 49ers and Patriots again.

It's going to be bad. Even winning games against the Jaguars and Bills wouldn't bring anyone off the brink after having lost 7 of the team's final 9 games. And that's if the team can in fact win both of those games, and I think it's fair to question that.

You're Steve Ross, you've got no attendance by the fans whatsoever, you've got a team that is even worse this year than they were last year if that can be believed, and the fans are directing like 95% of their ire toward the man who has spent the last five years as the architect of this losing roster.

I'm sorry, Ireland's fate is sealed.
 
Elliott 1 said:
Jake Long is going to have to walk. He is going to get a lot of money based on his previous years, but he obviously isn't the player he once was. Get comfortable with the Dolphins moving forward withot their All-Pro tackle.

Fasano is a mediocre at best TE. He will never be great or elite; at his best he is good, mostly because of blocking.

I have high hopes for Jonas Gray next year and I think Bush will be used more as a WR/RB next year. Maybe return punts.

Sean Smith,Reggie Bush and Brian Hartline may all ask for too much money. I wouldn't look for the Dolphins to overpay these guys next off season. I think Hartline could be a good WR, but he is just too weak and he isn't getting it done in the weight room during the offseason. IMO, he lacks dedication. He had all offseason and most of the preseason to work on his upper body, but he obviously didn't. He is a fraggin weakling.

Tony Mcdaniel isn't a fit in the 4-3. He may go. Hopefully Matt Moore returns and the Dolphins just keep two QB's.

FA's I would add. With Long,Fasano,Hartline, McDaniel and some other veterans gone, there should be significant cap room, but Starks is going to cost us.

WR....Greg Jennings....He isn't young anymore and he is having a terrible contract year with the groin injury so he should be affordable. He may enter free agency in the 2nd tier, but I like him for a front loaded 4 year contract.

CB Keenan Lewis ...The cap deficient Steelers won't be able to offer him what he is worth. Lewis is 26 and has developed into one of the league's better cover corners.He just keeps consistently improving. I want this one more than any other!

DE Michael Johnson.... A perfect fit IMO. His acquisition would allow Odrick to return to full time DT duties and eliminate the need for Mcdaniel. Johnson is 25 and he continues to get better every year.

OG...Kraig Urbik.......Hopefully he stays under the radar and will be affordable. 28 and just entering his prime. Jerry needs to compete at the OT position IMO.


Draft 2013: It's looking like a possible top 12 pick anyway. Could be as high as the 4th pick. I'll go with 7th for now.

1st...........Luke Joeckel...OT...Most of the bad teams have solid LT's, no really; even the Eagles have Peters returning. It is highly likely that Sherman is reunited with another alum next spring.

2nd.........Cordarrelle Patterson....WR......I think he will declare, maybe not.


2nd.........Dion Simms....TE....Like having a OT who can run routes and catch. The word beast was invented for guys like this.

3rd.........Zavier Gooden...OLB...Former safety with 4.4 speed. Coverage specialist and ST's ace, but could be special later on.

3rd..........Baccari Rambo....S...Might be an addict but maybe he'll grow up in a year or two. I'd risk a late 3rd.

4th..........Brian Winters.....OT....Jonathan Martin looks bad to me. Winters could blow up the combine and go much higher.

5th..........Montari Hughes...DT....Big talent problem child? Another risk, WTH, it's only a 5th.

6th..........Dustin Hopkins....K.......Carpenter stinks.

7th..........Brad Madison.....DE.....If he could ever stay healthy?

Roster:
QB...........Tannehill,Moore
RB............Bush,Miller,Gray,Thomas,Thigpen.
FB............Lane
TE............Simms,Clay,Egnew
WR...........Greg Jennings,Cordarrelle Patterson,Bess,Rishard Matthews,Marlon Moore
OT............Joeckel,Martin,Winters,Jerry
OG/C........Pouncey,Incognito,Urbik,Samuda,Chandler Burden.....I thought Samuda looked great in the preseason.

DT..........Soliai,Starks,Odrick,Hughes,Randall
DE...........Wake,Johnson,Shelby,Brad Madison
OLB.........Burnett,Misi,Olivier,Zavier Gooden
ILB...........Dansby,Spitler
S.............Jones,Clemons,Rambo,Amaya
CB...........Smith,Lewis,Marshall,Carroll,Wilson
K....Dustin Hopkins
P.....Fields
LS...Denney
Click to expand...

Agree w/a lot of what you say, disagree w/some.

FASANO's an excellent blocker. He's mediocre as a pass catcher. I/d/k the TE you mentioned, but if he is a legit blocker AND pass-catcher, he's worth it. FASANO is, and always should've been, the 2nd blocking TE, since he DOES have some ability as a pass-catcher, which MASTRUD doesn't. (MASTRUD goes) I see your man, FASANO, CLAY and EGGNOG as the TE corps, assuming that both CLAY and EGGNOG show more as "seams" threat TEs. Hopefully at least 1 of them develops and stays.

The RB situation is truly up in the air, but it isn't necessarily bad. DT stays, and L MILLER gets more "touches", to see what he's got. I agree w/you about J GRAY: if he makes it all the way back from his injury, he could be REALLY good. BUSH stays if he doesn't demand a fortune to re-sign. If he does, bye-bye.Certainly, his role should change, away from running i/s the Tackles.

As to DE/DT, the cold, hard facts are that MIAMI's "front 4" doesn't get nearly enough consistent pressure on the QB. The "ODRICK experiment" at RDE is i/m/o a failure. Try him at DT: he has the size, and a lot of speed. Playing him there means he and STARKS play 1 DT, and Big PAUL and RANDALL play the other. McDANIEL serves us best by leaving and saving us considerable "cap" room. Try O VERNON at RDE, and see how he does. Getting pressure from the RDE is important: otherwise WAKE will be double/triple teamed all day, every day.

At CB, SMITH and CARROLL stay: hopefully, CARROLL will end up as our 3rd or 4th CB. WILSON sucks at CB. If we keep 5, he stays; if not, he goes. That leaves 2 spots. At least ONE (I say TWO) must come from the Draft. I'm not concentrating on the Draft much just yet. F/A and the Draft must be a co-ordinated effort...and F/A comes first, timewise. At S, I like JONES: he's our starting SS. CLEMONS should only be a reserve, or "2nd String"...if that. I'd consider MARSHALL AS A FS, if he makes it back from his back injury. Otherwise, no! MIAMI's FS problem must be rectified.

I'd go after WALLACE from those cap-troubled STEELERS, along with K LEWIS. A solid zone-blocking G would be nice, too, if one becomes available.

As to J LONG, it all depends on his price. If it's under $10 Million, I'd keep him; if not, no. It's that simple. MIAMI could give JAKE a 4 year deal w/50% guaranteed, to give him "security" in exchange for megabucks. But his price MUST come down.

My draft preferences depend on what is done in F/A. I am inclined to trade down if we end up w/a pick in the top 10. I'd be looking for a 1st Round pick somewhere from 11 to 18, and a 2nd or 3rd. Beyond CB, I'd be looking for OLBs to replace either/both of BURNETT and MISI. (BURNETT goes first) I am not happy w/the play of the o/s LBs.
 
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ckparrothead said:
I think Jeff Ireland's firing is a foregone conclusion.

Listen, try and be objective about this. Of all the important people in the organization, whose ass is the hottest? Just answer the question honestly. Ireland's clearly got the biggest bull's eye on his back.

Now also honestly answer this. After seeing how negative everything has gotten after two losses in a row, and now three losses in a row...think to yourself what the environment is going to be like after the Dolphins play the Seahawks, Patriots, 49ers and Patriots again.

It's going to be bad. Even winning games against the Jaguars and Bills wouldn't bring anyone off the brink after having lost 7 of the team's final 9 games. And that's if the team can in fact win both of those games, and I think it's fair to question that.

You're Steve Ross, you've got no attendance by the fans whatsoever, you've got a team that is even worse this year than they were last year if that can be believed, and the fans are directing like 95% of their ire toward the man who has spent the last five years as the architect of this losing roster.

I'm sorry, Ireland's fate is sealed.
Click to expand...

I agree, Ireland must go.

I disagree with your perspective on the mindset of a new GM.

I think the last thing a new GM would want to do is risk signing a declining veteran to an enormous contract that would greatly diminish his cap freedom.

He could sign three 2nd tier veterans(his guys) for the cap spent on Long if they have to give him Joe Thomas money or even something around what he was getting from his obscene rookie contract.

Why would the new guy want an instant rep of being a pushover and overpaying under performing veterans.

If the Dolphins do indeed end up picking in the top ten, I don't think anyone would balk at denying fat contracts to guys who were inconsistent,failed to make plays, or were just plain bad.
 
I don't see how Jake Long in his 5th year qualifies as a "declining veteran".

Agree to disagree on the mindset of a new GM. I think that Jake Long as the kind of talent that is universally appreciated across the league is exactly the kind of guy a new GM is going to want to keep because he'll have no idea whether he can win with the bunch of mediocre players on the roster, and so he'll want to keep the weapon that he knows works.
 
ckparrothead said:
I don't see how Jake Long in his 5th year qualifies as a "declining veteran".

Agree to disagree on the mindset of a new GM. I think that Jake Long as the kind of talent that is universally appreciated across the league is exactly the kind of guy a new GM is going to want to keep because he'll have no idea whether he can win with the bunch of mediocre players on the roster, and so he'll want to keep the weapon that he knows works.
Click to expand...

Are you serious or, just sarcastically playing? :)
 
I think we need to let Jake Long go and someone else can overbid for his services. I think we could draft Luke Joeckel, LT, Texas A&M to replace Long. If not Joeckel, we could draft another A&M lineman, Jake Matthews. I know we need a WR, but there are not many LT's out there like Joeckel or Matthews. In Round Two of the draft I would go WR and CB. CB's like Xavier Rhodes (Florida State) and David Amerson (NC State) should be there in the second round. WR Tavon Austin of Oregon would add a lot of speed for us, or maybe a taller WR like Cordarelle Patterson of Tennessee. Then get a top pass rusher or tight end.
 
I go back and forth on the Jake Long decision. I've been espousing the strategy of letting him walk for a year now but I'm starting to come to the opposite side by virtue of the lack of talent on this roster. I don't like the idea of allocating 10% of your salary structure to a left tackle, and I sure as hell didn't like that idea before the Dolphins had a quarterback that was worth blocking for. But let's be honest, the Dolphins are still miles away from the efficient frontier as far as having so much talent that fine points about which positions you allocate how much of your salary structure to actually matters. The very idea that the Dolphins would have trouble keeping all this "talent" under the salary cap...is laughable. So until we actually acquire enough talent for that to be a going concern, I don't see anything wrong with keeping one of the best left tackles in the game around in order to help your team win.

On the other hand, if you decide that you've got tangible, finite and highly specific options for directing the resources that would otherwise get tied up in Jake Long...I'm certainly willing to weigh that. In other words, in my opinion, I'm not buying the idea that you just let Jake Long walk for the sake of letting Jake Long walk. I think there needs to be a choice set up where you say we can either A) Re-sign Jake Long, or B) Get a 1st round draft choice for him in trade which we then use on Luke Joeckel and use the saved money to sign Mike Wallace. The choice to me has to be specific and sure...not vague. You have to be sure that you have the ability to sign Mike Wallace and you won't get caught bidding $8 million a year and losing him because he wants $9 million...or something like that. And that's if you even decide that the combination of Joeckel and Wallace is better than Long.
 
ckparrothead said:
I go back and forth on the Jake Long decision. I've been espousing the strategy of letting him walk for a year now but I'm starting to come to the opposite side by virtue of the lack of talent on this roster. I don't like the idea of allocating 10% of your salary structure to a left tackle, and I sure as hell didn't like that idea before the Dolphins had a quarterback that was worth blocking for. But let's be honest, the Dolphins are still miles away from the efficient frontier as far as having so much talent that fine points about which positions you allocate how much of your salary structure to actually matters. The very idea that the Dolphins would have trouble keeping all this "talent" under the salary cap...is laughable. So until we actually acquire enough talent for that to be a going concern, I don't see anything wrong with keeping one of the best left tackles in the game around in order to help your team win.

On the other hand, if you decide that you've got tangible, finite and highly specific options for directing the resources that would otherwise get tied up in Jake Long...I'm certainly willing to weigh that. In other words, in my opinion, I'm not buying the idea that you just let Jake Long walk for the sake of letting Jake Long walk. I think there needs to be a choice set up where you say we can either A) Re-sign Jake Long, or B) Get a 1st round draft choice for him in trade which we then use on Luke Joeckel and use the saved money to sign Mike Wallace. The choice to me has to be specific and sure...not vague. You have to be sure that you have the ability to sign Mike Wallace and you won't get caught bidding $8 million a year and losing him because he wants $9 million...or something like that. And that's if you even decide that the combination of Joeckel and Wallace is better than Long.
Click to expand...

IF Long were still one of the best LT's in the game, I would still have a problem in re-signing him because he does not fit well into this WCO. IF we fire Ireland and Philbin, and IF we go in a different direction in scheme, he would be worth considering at a reduced rate.

Otherwise, no reason to keep him, no matter the price. High prices LT's do not win games in today's NFL, Play Makers do, and he is not one.
 
Long, Cog, and Daniel Thomas need to Go.

Ireland Too. We need to get Playmakers! Not Offensive Tackles Man. Pouncey, Martin, and Long are All First Round Picks Yet are O-Line Sucks. We need to keep people like Wes Welker and Brandon Marshall, not let them Go Dude.
 
Irelands fate is sealed Ck, by the logical. But by Ross and his BS antics, nothign is ever sealed.
 
Resign reggie bush, brian hartline, sean smith, chris clemons and brandon fields. Sign wes welker, dustin keller, dwight freeney and jermon bushrod. Draft: Jonathan banks, aaron dobson, khaseem green, eric fisher, wes horton, braden hansen, branden smith, tanner hawkinson, cornelius carradine and carson york.
 
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