It's not about this year's draft class or even this year's free agency class.
It's about the previous 4 off-seasons and how those draft picks should begin to start hitting their prime, showing productivity at high levels. Ireland's hands are all over this roster, at every position and we are consistently underwhelming at every playmaking position. We are slow, we lack depth, we lack freakish athleticism. What young playmaker have we drafted in his whole tenure? Which young stud on this team (mind you I'm using ONLY singularity here) can step up to make a game changing play?
Our enormous investment on the O-line with detriment to other parts of our team has not payed off. We still need to burn 2nd rounders on project Right Tackles. We are counting on 5th round safeties to make impact plays. Fasano was brought in 5 years ago and we still can't improve on his above average play. Our 2010 1st and 2nd round cornerbacks are still going to get burned against Andre Johnson come Week 1. We have no playmaking receiving talent and wishing that stiffs like Moore, Pruitt, or Wallace suddenly emerge to become our Miles Austin or Brandon Marshall. We are the only team that drafts a CENTER at a top slot in the draft. Meanwhile the Colts pick up our old pal Samson Satele and he seems to be doing just fine... We don't even have young Linebackers that are ready to emerge to oust overpriced veterans Dansby and Burnett. We are going to count on UDFA Derrick Shelby for a hint of pass rush...
This is not to mention the gobs of money we tied to average players no longer on the team. Nobody on this board should feel sorry or should make excuses for Jeff Ireland. This is his team, these are his decisions, and this will be his below average product.
Having said all this, it's all on Tannehill's shoulders to erase 5 years of bad moves. As he goes, so does Ireland's career. Because if he does have some special in him, he'll elevate our incredibly depleted team to a respectable 6 - 10 record this year, maybe better. That's a lot of pressure on a young guy, but who knows, maybe he's got it in him? Anything less than 6 - 10, either it will be because Tannehill just doesn't have it or, he was given a bad deck of cards to play with from Ireland. Either way 5 - 11 or below and Ireland is gone.