Relying on Rookies is Recipe for Disaster!

[ITS!MATEO]

So, your whole idea of "competing" is to sign 20 free agents a year?

And to throw 75 million on the top free agent every year?

If your team needs 20 free agents then you're in pretty bad shape! 20 no, 1 or 2 high priced FA in an obvious area of need yes! And follow that up with draft picks in those talent deficient areas to prepare for the future!

Well duh.. Welcome to the Miami Dolphins.

You build through the draft while picking up some depth in free agency. You DO NOT build through free agency. That's actually how we got into this 15 year mess...

If our draft picks would've hit then yeah ok.. But we're in the real world and only the past 2 drafts have been good, so you move on from there. We can sit around and bitch all day about how we missed out on so and so and how our franchise sucks or we can look at the ways to fix it.

Right now.. We're going to have to depend on some rookies just like we depended on them last year. We can't sign all free agent starters or we'll end up in this same situation again in 2 years from now. Look at how deep the receiver class is and it just so happens that's one of our major needs, so you go there early and sign a Gibson or Hixon. I think it makes Wallace's 75 million contract demands an illegitimate answer to the position, but that's just me.
Corner? well, it's pretty deep too so you'll sign 1 vet and draft 2 young guys to compete for a starting spot with the vets.
TE you go draft and either sign Fasano back or get a Cook, Keller, Davis or Myers.
DE you go get Bennet or Gilberry and draft a guy
OL you get Winston or Long and draft a guy
FS Clemons back

What's your suggestions?

 

[daniel3]

And 0 TD's against coverage? His 1 TD (1 TD for the entire season) came on a busted coverage.

I've already banged this out multiple times, but when you factor in the value of TD's, multiple rookies every year have seasons comparable to (or better than) Hartline's 2012 season. That's not taking into account the fact that we were force-feeding Hartline, because SOMEONE had to catch the ball for us. You can't judge football by looking at someone's end-of-year stats.

There were number twos on other teams that had more targets than Hartline, so to say he was being force fed is a bit much. Not to mention it seemed like we never really targeted our receivers at all in or anywhere near the red zone (i can't be only one that noticed that) is a huge reason why we had such minimal TD production from the unit.

 

[JTech194]

Well duh.. Welcome to the Miami Dolphins.

You build through the draft while picking up some depth in free agency. You DO NOT build through free agency. That's actually how we got into this 15 year mess...

If our draft picks would've hit then yeah ok.. But we're in the real world and only the past 2 drafts have been good, so you move on from there. We can sit around and bitch all day about how we missed out on so and so and how our franchise sucks or we can look at the ways to fix it.

Right now.. We're going to have to depend on some rookies just like we depended on them last year. We can't sign all free agent starters or we'll end up in this same situation again in 2 years from now. Look at how deep the receiver class is and it just so happens that's one of our major needs, so you go there early and sign a Gibson or Hixon. I think it makes Wallace's 75 million contract demands an illegitimate answer to the position, but that's just me.
Corner? well, it's pretty deep too so you'll sign 1 vet and draft 2 young guys to compete for a starting spot with the vets.
TE you go draft and either sign Fasano back or get a Cook, Keller, Davis or Myers.
DE you go get Bennet or Gilberry and draft a guy
OL you get Winston or Long and draft a guy
FS Clemons back

What's your suggestions?

I am in agreeence that you build through the draft, but we cant rely on rookies in key positions every year! its rare that you have a young proven talent like Wallace available in FA! I'd rather go draft than sign Jennings because he's 4 years older and coming off injury! So what I'd do is sign Wallace I mean we have enough money! I also sign a corner to replace smith. I then fill the rest of the roster with 2nd 3rd tier free agents! In the draft I go WR, DE, Corner, and LB and o-line not necessarily in that order!

If you look at the dolphins FA signing history under Ireland they'd only give big money to younger FA like Marshall and Dansby, they were both in their 20's I could be wrong but I don't see them giving big money to Jennings!

 

[dolpns13]

Ummm that's not true... New England did it TWICE! Green Bay did it. Lots of teams draft players even though they have a solid starter on the roster

Aside from GB, what team drafted a QB with the full intent of having an open QB competition, let alone a first round QB. Who did NE draft with the intent of that QB raplacing TB? Any to make my pint even clearer. QB is the only position where this is the exception, point and case.. You post in which I was responding to stated otherwise.

 

[Ikema]

The problem with that is you have to be willing to miss the playoffs for the next couple of years and no one here is that patient and Ireland would be fired before those excelled

You act like this forum has some kind of power, that it obviously doesn't. The bottom line is this is Ross's team and he will do what he wants when it comes to firing or backing the GM. It seems obvious to me there is a plan going forward. Do you honestly think the plan is to win the Super Bowl 2013?

 

[Digital]

Personally, I'd draft 2 or 3 WR's to develop with Tannehill. We're only in year 2 of what will probably be a 15'ish year career with Tannehill. I'd like to get some very talented young WR's to grow with him as the core of our team for the next decade plus.

Now that we've locked up Hartline, I think we have the flanker position settled and a guy to give us production while the rookies learn from him and develop. Certainly a guy like Swope could step right in and contribute in the slot, giving us 2 reliable receivers right now, and if we don't draft Swope, Bess can contribute as another possession guy between the 20's.

So if we bring in a FA, that's fine, but we definitely need to draft WR's early for the long term. That's what teams do. Remember, Duper, Marino and Clayton were all brought in a year or so apart and grew together with veteran Nat Moore. Washington added Garcon and Morgan to Moss and Hankerson for RGIII. Indy resigned Wayne and drafted 2 rookie WR's and 2 rookie TE's for Luck, including his best TE from college. If we are smart, we build around Tannehill, and that means drafting high quality WR's and TE for him to start building chemistry with starting the 2013 season.