Mr.Majestik
Practice Squad
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If an organization is serious about contending for the Super Bowl every year, then it must be constructed through the draft. Forget high priced free agents, they do not make teams competitive. If a team has a unit that is remarkably efficient, say, a high scoring offense, or a havoc-causing defense, you'll find almost without exception that that unit is made up almost entirely of draft picks a team cultivated themselves.
The Indianapolis Colts have 11 starters on offense that have never played a down for another team. 10 of their defensive starters have never played for another team.
The Chicago Bears best unit is their defense, the only starter not drafted by the Bears was Agunleye.
The Steelers' Super Bowl team from last year only had three players in the starting lineup on either side of the ball that wasn't drafted by the Steelers, and one of them, Jeff Hartings, had been with the team long enough to count as a sort of permanent fixture.
The Seahawks' Super Bowl team had one non-Seahawk draftee starting on offense, and three on defense.
The Patriots and Eagles have been two teams that have traditionally embraced the viewpoint that a team is built almost exclusively through the draft. The Pats had nine starters on offense acquired through the draft, ten if you switch Maroney with Dillon. They have 7 starters on defense acquired through the draft.
The Eagles have nine starters on offense acquired through the draft (I do not count Garcia as he was not the franchise quarterback) and one, Jon Runyan, who was a free agent acquisition that has now been with the team for ages. They have one defensive starter not drafted by the Eagles.
The Chargers had 9 starters on offense drafted by the Chargers, not including Turner, who saw significant action as a backup, the Chargers had 8 on defense.
We'd go to great extremes to have an offense like the Bengals, and nine of their starters on offense were drafted by the Bengals, it'll probably be ten after they let their tight end go in free agency.
The great Ravens' defense has 9 starters drafted by Baltimore. Their offense has 8 starters on offense drafted by the team.
You could go on and on.
The Dolphins on the other hand have 6 starters on offense not drafted by the team, and 7 starters on defense not drafted by the team. In other words more then half of the squad is made up of personnel from somewhere else. You are not going to win big with that sort of mix.
Those advocating signing big dollar free agents as some sort of elixir for what ails this team haven't learned the most obvious lesson of free agency, it doesn't fix much. Look at all of the money the Vikings have spent to bring guys in--Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield, Darren Sharper, Chester Taylor, Travis Taylor, Ben Leber, Steve Hutchinson, etc, etc., and the team is garbage.
The Redskins only have 10 starters on either side of the ball they drafted, and the results are not surprising.
The Dolphins more resemble the Vikings, or Redskins at this point then they do the Chargers, or Colts. Bad drafting has decimated the roster in Miami, just as it has in Minnesota and Washington. Our fortunes will only be reversed when we start drafting to the point where the large majority of our starters are home grown, and we have enough cap space to keep them when they become eligible for free agency. That's why I'm absolutely opposed to making big dollar acquisitions in free agency, it just isn't going to improve the team, and it'll restrict our ability to re-sign our own guys in the future.
The Indianapolis Colts have 11 starters on offense that have never played a down for another team. 10 of their defensive starters have never played for another team.
The Chicago Bears best unit is their defense, the only starter not drafted by the Bears was Agunleye.
The Steelers' Super Bowl team from last year only had three players in the starting lineup on either side of the ball that wasn't drafted by the Steelers, and one of them, Jeff Hartings, had been with the team long enough to count as a sort of permanent fixture.
The Seahawks' Super Bowl team had one non-Seahawk draftee starting on offense, and three on defense.
The Patriots and Eagles have been two teams that have traditionally embraced the viewpoint that a team is built almost exclusively through the draft. The Pats had nine starters on offense acquired through the draft, ten if you switch Maroney with Dillon. They have 7 starters on defense acquired through the draft.
The Eagles have nine starters on offense acquired through the draft (I do not count Garcia as he was not the franchise quarterback) and one, Jon Runyan, who was a free agent acquisition that has now been with the team for ages. They have one defensive starter not drafted by the Eagles.
The Chargers had 9 starters on offense drafted by the Chargers, not including Turner, who saw significant action as a backup, the Chargers had 8 on defense.
We'd go to great extremes to have an offense like the Bengals, and nine of their starters on offense were drafted by the Bengals, it'll probably be ten after they let their tight end go in free agency.
The great Ravens' defense has 9 starters drafted by Baltimore. Their offense has 8 starters on offense drafted by the team.
You could go on and on.
The Dolphins on the other hand have 6 starters on offense not drafted by the team, and 7 starters on defense not drafted by the team. In other words more then half of the squad is made up of personnel from somewhere else. You are not going to win big with that sort of mix.
Those advocating signing big dollar free agents as some sort of elixir for what ails this team haven't learned the most obvious lesson of free agency, it doesn't fix much. Look at all of the money the Vikings have spent to bring guys in--Pat Williams, Antoine Winfield, Darren Sharper, Chester Taylor, Travis Taylor, Ben Leber, Steve Hutchinson, etc, etc., and the team is garbage.
The Redskins only have 10 starters on either side of the ball they drafted, and the results are not surprising.
The Dolphins more resemble the Vikings, or Redskins at this point then they do the Chargers, or Colts. Bad drafting has decimated the roster in Miami, just as it has in Minnesota and Washington. Our fortunes will only be reversed when we start drafting to the point where the large majority of our starters are home grown, and we have enough cap space to keep them when they become eligible for free agency. That's why I'm absolutely opposed to making big dollar acquisitions in free agency, it just isn't going to improve the team, and it'll restrict our ability to re-sign our own guys in the future.
