Dolphins will pursue Zach Brown in Free Agency…Again

[finmann]

Please no! For Gods sake haven't the Dolphins learned anything? Anything at all? Zach Brown is decent but we need to keep our hands off FA and concentrate on the draft. Brown is going to be looking for a deal north of 5 million a year. If we keep doing the same stuff year after we will be no better.

 

[dolfan91]

Preston Brown is versatile, who could be a good fit. Philadelphia’s Nigel Bradham is another I’d be interested in. He’s very good.

 

[DuderinoN703]

He had a worse year than he had the year before in Buffalo and he's not a very good linebacker. They need to upgrade not find a peer to Alonso in terms of playing calibre.

Technically you’re right. He played 3 less games, didn’t have any INTs, had 2 less PDs, had 1.5 less sacks, and had 22 less tackles than 2016.

The Skins defense isn’t All-World so for them he had a good year and is a must re-sign.

 

[The Ghost]

I doubt it. I think this front office is done with band aids and will make most of their decisions based on the long term.

 

[Andyman]

Zach Brown is NOT a good linebacker. Why do you think he keeps getting relegated to signing 1-year deals? If he was so good, why did the Redskins sign Mason Foster again instead of him?

Preach it. And as far as Miami's interest in him last year...well, obviously their interest was not that great given what the Skins signed him for.

 

[ReppinThe941]

Should have signed him out of the gate last free agency to a multi year deal.

I was banging the table for him.

Went and had another solid season in Washington.

Good thing we wasted our time and $11M guaranteed on Lawrence Timmons corpse.

Our LBing unit is a complete travesty...

Kiko is horrid at Will. Timmons is certainly gone. Hewitt was banged up all season. Anthony was used mainly in Nickle (Should probably be considered to start at Will this season).

We have no natural SLB in the building - Maybe Chase Allen.

But lets be real, Kiko, RM, Allen and Hull are all at their most natural at Mike.

So basically we have 4 sub par or unproven options at Mike. One, maybe two average options at Will. And maybe one option at Sam in house.

We better be shopping for ANYONE that can help this unit.....

 

[ReppinThe941]

Preach it. And as far as Miami's interest in him last year...well, obviously their interest was not that great given what the Skins signed him for.

Zach Brown is a much more proven LB then ANYTHING we could currently trot out there....

 

[Andyman]

Zach Brown is a much more proven LB then ANYTHING we could currently trot out there....

Lol. Ok, but that's not the standard you want. You want to go from awful to mediocre? Zach Brown is - to be nice - not known for coverage and doesn't create turnovers. His tackling aggregate stats are less relevant than Juice Landry's inflated 8 yard catches. There's a reason Brown had to settle for the one year deal he took from the Skins.

 

[Andyman]

Should have signed him out of the gate last free agency to a multi year deal.

I was banging the table for him.

Went and had another solid season in Washington.

Good thing we wasted our time and $11M guaranteed on Lawrence Timmons corpse.

Our LBing unit is a complete travesty...

Kiko is horrid at Will. Timmons is certainly gone. Hewitt was banged up all season. Anthony was used mainly in Nickle (Should probably be considered to start at Will this season).

We have no natural SLB in the building - Maybe Chase Allen.

But lets be real, Kiko, RM, Allen and Hull are all at their most natural at Mike.

So basically we have 4 sub par or unproven options at Mike. One, maybe two average options at Will. And maybe one option at Sam in house.

We better be shopping for ANYONE that can help this unit.....

As you were banging the table for him, did you ever watch him play? What does he do well? Amass tackles? Check Alonso's tackles. He's right behind him. Again, folks, there's a reason Brown settled on a one-year deal. No one is 'banging the table' for him.

No one should ever want band aid approaches. You don't replace awful with mediocre. You want to sign a mediocre LB to a multi-year deal? It's the exact criticism you made of the two they did that with. The draft is the most likely place to address LB. There are few UFAs that will be viable.

 

[Phinatic8u]

Only FA backer I want is Nigel Bradham.

He’s a elite cover Lb and Miami sorely needs that.

 

[Tailgun]

Only FA backer I want is Nigel Bradham.

He’s a elite cover Lb and Miami sorely needs that.

This. In this free agency class of LBs, it's either Bradham or nobody. Or, better put, Bradham or the draft.

 

[ReppinThe941]

As you were banging the table for him, did you ever watch him play? What does he do well? Amass tackles? Check Alonso's tackles. He's right behind him. Again, folks, there's a reason Brown settled on a one-year deal. No one is 'banging the table' for him.

No one should ever want band aid approaches. You don't replace awful with mediocre. You want to sign a mediocre LB to a multi-year deal? It's the exact criticism you made of the two they did that with. The draft is the most likely place to address LB. There are few UFAs that will be viable.

This is the modern day NFL brother...

Would everyone here love to build every position through years of the draft and amass a deep and talented roster?

No Sh**!

The reality of the NFL is that you only get "x" amount of draft picks. And when you have "Y" amount of holes on your team, you cant address them all in the draft.

It means you need to sign quality yet not top notch talent in Free Agency if you are trying to address every "need" possible..

Could LB be addressed via the draft? Of course!

Is it realistic to think that we would spend our first 2 draft picks on LB? No it is NOT!

What is one to do in this situation?

Maybe sign an above average veteran to a reasonable multi year contract (2 or 3 season) at $2M -$3M per.

What does this do? Its offers you FLEXIBILITY in the draft to take the only approach required - drafting the BPA.

Also....

Acquiring players with sensible contracts that are a better option then what you currently have is not a "band aid" approach.... this alongside the draft Is how modern day NFL rosters are built. Not just one or the other.

We can walk and chew gum at the same time.....

 

[Tannchise]

Will we put him on special teams too?

 

[Digital]

If you look at this guy's twitter, he also thinks we should cut Tannehill and sign Osweiller. Sounds like a bright bulb.

LOL, great points BlueUndertow.

 

[Digital]

LB's get the shaft around here. People seem to underestimate what is asked of them these days. With the advent of passing offenses taking over, LB's are asked to cover small shifty WR's and RB's, who are lightning quick and hella fast. But they also need to be able to cover those 6'6" dominators at TE, who out-reach and out-muscle them. Then they're asked to flow sideline to sideline playing the run AND the read-option, be a good tackler (many are not), and a thumper, and instinctively dissect all of this instantaneously. What we get are distinct types of LB's. You get the Brandon Spikes type of run plugger who can't cover anyone, or those shadow walkers who can cover TE's but cannot stop the run, or those glorified safeties who can cover TE's and slot WR's but have no instincts nor can stop the run. Some LB's are run and chase LB's, other are run stuffers. Some are hybrid LB/S players and others are just role players. But in reality, almost no LB's can do it all.

Most Pro-Bowl caliber LB's are made to look foolish in some matchups. Can you stop a power run game like the Jags? Can you cover Tyreke Hill? Can you cover Rob Gronkowski? Can you rush the passer? Can you force fumbles? Yeah, you can count the LB's who can do it all on one hand, with fingers left to spare.

We only play 2 LB's. Most of the time we're in nickel, and sometimes we're using that 3rd LB it's really an extra DE rushing the passer. That's why we added TJ McDonald, because he's a hybrid S/LB type like Reshad Jones.

In Raekwon McMillan I believe we have found our run-stuffing Mike ... or maybe in this case "Mick." We have made a major financial commitment in Kiko Alonso, and when the rest of his LB doesn't suck, he plays pretty well. When he tries to do too much, he fails a lot. But he's still one of our biggest takeaway producers. I don't think our front office is really looking for a starting LB or a rock upon which to build this LB corps. I'll be shocked if we draft Roquan Smith. He can cover, but he's light and definitely not a run stuffer or TE cover guy.