Okay guys you all know I tend to be more optimistic when it comes to moves the Fins make, that's just the way I am. Now in this thread, I'm not getting up on a soapbox and preaching we should support our team nor am I going to bash everybody and say we are a joke. I don't want this thread to become a bashing session either but that again might be too much to ask for.
Let me first start by saying whatever plan Ireland and Philbin have, the start of it has been poorly executed. Now I am not talking as much about the QB situation as I am the Wide Receiver situation. Honestly, I was never overly thrilled with the idea of getting Matt Flynn. Yes he has looked good in 2 games, but that's just it, it is two games with a stacked receiving corp. Was I willing to give him a shot? Sure, especially if we could have gotten him for the relatively friendly deal Seattle got for him. But I was not thrilled with the idea of giving him a Kevin Kolb like deal. I'm not going to address the Peyton Manning situation as honestly, I never felt we were seriously going to be considered. WHen he didn't even come visit our facilities I was ready to move on. Now there is Ireland's first mistake (and this probably goes more on Ross) they didn't/refused to see the writing on the wall that we weren't getting Peyton. Had they seen it earlier maybe we would have been more active on the free agent market.
I am intrigued by Alex Smith, but I doubt he comes here with the Manning saga coming to a close. This all reeks of desperation. Another mistake. Now I'm not against going into next season with Matt Moore as our starter (to be fair to him, he did earn the right to at least compete for the starting job next season) and going with a rookie QB behind him.
This is where I don't like how the FO handled the WR situation. While I would have liked to have seen us get more for Brandon Marshall, trading him is not the end of the world. Brian Hartline and Davone Bess are nice assets to have. Here's the problem though; they have very similar skill sets and we don't have much diversity with our other WRs. I have no problem not giving huge contracts to the Pierre Garcons and the Laurent Robinson's of the world but they would have added an extra dimension to the offense. As of right now, if we want a deep threat we have to rely on the very raw Clyde Gates or Julius Pruitt. In not at least attempting to get another WR, our draft choices become more desperate for need rather than Best Player Available. Had we not spent time *****footing around Manning we could have realistically filled 1 or 2 more needs.
Now that being said the offseason is a long way from over. Joe Philbin has come out and stated he wants to build through the draft. He came from an organization that has been one of the best drafting teams of the past decade. If he and Ireland are on the same page (and for the most part I believe they are) they can build in a fairly deep draft. Our 2 coordinators also have the reputations of good developers of talent.
The 2012 offseason is far from over and the 2012 Miami Dolphins are far from being constructed. We have the draft ahead of us and plenty of picks to work with. Now where more criticism will be warranted is with the players selected. As I briefly mentioned, the decision to wait for Peyton to make a decision has made our needs more glaring because we ignored some free agents and in the short term the trade of Brandon Marshall also hurt us, but the Super Bowl is not won in the first week of Free Agency; ask last year's Eagles or any of Dan Snyder's Redskin teams.
The fate of the team now rests on the draft, which is just over a month away. Some will say Ireland will screw it up, others will be excited. But that is where our future lies.
Let me first start by saying whatever plan Ireland and Philbin have, the start of it has been poorly executed. Now I am not talking as much about the QB situation as I am the Wide Receiver situation. Honestly, I was never overly thrilled with the idea of getting Matt Flynn. Yes he has looked good in 2 games, but that's just it, it is two games with a stacked receiving corp. Was I willing to give him a shot? Sure, especially if we could have gotten him for the relatively friendly deal Seattle got for him. But I was not thrilled with the idea of giving him a Kevin Kolb like deal. I'm not going to address the Peyton Manning situation as honestly, I never felt we were seriously going to be considered. WHen he didn't even come visit our facilities I was ready to move on. Now there is Ireland's first mistake (and this probably goes more on Ross) they didn't/refused to see the writing on the wall that we weren't getting Peyton. Had they seen it earlier maybe we would have been more active on the free agent market.
I am intrigued by Alex Smith, but I doubt he comes here with the Manning saga coming to a close. This all reeks of desperation. Another mistake. Now I'm not against going into next season with Matt Moore as our starter (to be fair to him, he did earn the right to at least compete for the starting job next season) and going with a rookie QB behind him.
This is where I don't like how the FO handled the WR situation. While I would have liked to have seen us get more for Brandon Marshall, trading him is not the end of the world. Brian Hartline and Davone Bess are nice assets to have. Here's the problem though; they have very similar skill sets and we don't have much diversity with our other WRs. I have no problem not giving huge contracts to the Pierre Garcons and the Laurent Robinson's of the world but they would have added an extra dimension to the offense. As of right now, if we want a deep threat we have to rely on the very raw Clyde Gates or Julius Pruitt. In not at least attempting to get another WR, our draft choices become more desperate for need rather than Best Player Available. Had we not spent time *****footing around Manning we could have realistically filled 1 or 2 more needs.
Now that being said the offseason is a long way from over. Joe Philbin has come out and stated he wants to build through the draft. He came from an organization that has been one of the best drafting teams of the past decade. If he and Ireland are on the same page (and for the most part I believe they are) they can build in a fairly deep draft. Our 2 coordinators also have the reputations of good developers of talent.
The 2012 offseason is far from over and the 2012 Miami Dolphins are far from being constructed. We have the draft ahead of us and plenty of picks to work with. Now where more criticism will be warranted is with the players selected. As I briefly mentioned, the decision to wait for Peyton to make a decision has made our needs more glaring because we ignored some free agents and in the short term the trade of Brandon Marshall also hurt us, but the Super Bowl is not won in the first week of Free Agency; ask last year's Eagles or any of Dan Snyder's Redskin teams.
The fate of the team now rests on the draft, which is just over a month away. Some will say Ireland will screw it up, others will be excited. But that is where our future lies.
