Dolphins' poor start rooted in five years of bad drafts

[Shouright]

I'm not gonna say Long over Ryan was a bad decision. Ryan isn't even an elite QB with the offense he's leading in Atlanta. Look at our offense, especially the o-line. Look at the o-line with Long, we don't have to imagine how bad it would be without Long, we saw it during the preseason. How great would Ryan like behind that?

And let's say we did take Matt Ryan. Is he really that great? He's good. He's good enough for sure. He'd keep a team competitive, just like he is in Atlanta. But will he make a team great? With him, we could just go through years of 10-6 over and over and never break through. At least now, we're bad enough that we know we have to rebuild. This front office has a lot of reasons to have criticism thrown at them, I don't think this is one of them.

So the alternative is what? To have years of something worse than 10-6 over and over and hope we land a quarterback at least as good as Ryan at some point?

That doesn't sound too intelligent. What if you never land that quarterback? Then what? You just continue to struggle profoundly indefinitely?

Oh and by the way, Atlanta went 13-3 last year. What made us go 7-9 instead of the 10-6 you mentioned were Chad Henne's poor games at the end of the year against Buffalo, Cleveland, and Detroit.

 

[Twitches Brew]

I don't think he's overrated i think he is right with what everyone is saying. Not elite but good to very good. (i.e. he wins games)

I wouldn't call him 'very good'. As a fan, i don't worry about him shredding a secondary and beating you; he doesn't scare me at all. Their offense is balanced and he has great skill players. it's the skill guys who scare me, not the guy getting them the ball.

 

[Shouright]

I wouldn't call him 'very good'. As a fan, i don't worry about him shredding a secondary and beating you; he doesn't scare me at all. Their offense is balanced and he has great skill players. it's the skill guys who scare me, not the guy getting them the ball.

And meanwhile we don't even have a guy who's good enough to be a starter.

This debate is ridiculous.

 

[dr.jake]

this FO sucks. i'm a nobody's nobody and spend about a max of 10 hrs a year grading the draft. yet this crew continually makes me look like einstein. not sure exactly what they're lookin' at but it's crystal clear to me they have no friggin clue come draft day. note to front office.watch some games!!!!

 

[The Confessor]

And meanwhile we don't even have a guy who's good enough to be a starter.

This debate is ridiculous.

And if we had Matt Ryan and no Jake Long, we still wouldn't.

We're not the only team in search of a franchise QB. 90% of the teams in the NFL are.
We took the safe pick and it was a good one. Long will be a Pro-Bowl LT for a decade.

 

[circumstances]

this FO sucks. i'm a nobody's nobody and spend about a max of 10 hrs a year grading the draft. yet this crew continually makes me look like einstein. not sure exactly what they're lookin' at but it's crystal clear to me they have no friggin clue come draft day. note to front office.watch some games!!!!

first year this fo had full control over the draft - 2011:

Mike Pouncey
Daniel Thomas
Clyde Gates
Charles Clay
Frank Kearse
Jimmy Wilson

looks pretty damn solid from where i'm sitting, mr. einstein.

 

[Shouright]

And if we had Matt Ryan and no Jake Long, we still wouldn't.

So Sam Baker is the equivalent of Jake Long? Matt Ryan is doing fine with Sam Baker at left tackle.

We're not the only team in search of a franchise QB. 90% of the teams in the NFL are.

Atlana isn't. And if we would've drafted Ryan when we had the chance, we wouldn't be either.

We took the safe pick and it was a good one. Long will be a Pro-Bowl LT for a decade.

And if we don't get a quality QB during that time, Jake Long's 10 years of Pro Bowls will be meaningless for the team as a whole, just like his first three.

 

[rent this space]

If you have a QB that can't win a playoff game whats the point?

 

[Shouright]

If you have a QB that can't win a playoff game whats the point?

And your basis for saying Matt Ryan can't win a playoff game is what?

Remember, there's a difference between saying someone "can't" win a playoff game, and saying someone "hasn't" won one.

 

[dlockz]

And if we had Matt Ryan and no Jake Long, we still wouldn't.

We're not the only team in search of a franchise QB. 90% of the teams in the NFL are.
We took the safe pick and it was a good one. Long will be a Pro-Bowl LT for a decade.

atlanta seems fine without a pro bowl lt,

 

[fishfanmiami]

Hind sight is always 20 / 20. Getting Long was a good step. Now get someone for him to block / pass protect for.

 

[Shouright]

Hind sight is always 20 / 20. Getting Long was a good step. Now get someone for him to block / pass protect for.

Wrong order.

You get the guy you can't possibly win without, and then you surround him with what he needs.

Hindsight may be 20/20, but that doesn't mean it's wrong. In hindsight, we should've drafted Ryan.

What is wrong, IMO, is to say, "in hindsight, we made the right choice by passing on Ryan."

That hindsight is about 20/500.

 

[dlockz]

And your basis for saying Matt Ryan can't win a playoff game is what?

Remember, there's a difference between saying someone "can't" win a playoff game, and saying someone "hasn't" won one.

This is as bad as the arguement not to get a coach that has won a superbowl. Ryan has been a starter since day one has more victories than any qb in his first three years ever. Its silly to think that a qb has an invisible barrier that yes he can win 13 regular season games but somehow he cant win a playoff game lol. Peyton Manning at one point was 0-2 in playoff games and took six years to win a playoff game. This board is hilarious at times. I remember people arguing on this board that Drew Brees would be no better than Jay Fielder or that Ryan would be no better than Beck.

 

[The Confessor]

Wrong order.

You get the guy you can't possibly win without, and then you surround him with what he needs.

Hindsight may be 20/20, but that doesn't mean it's wrong. In hindsight, we should've drafted Ryan.

Right, cause then we would have a mediocre QB, be strapped by his ridiculous salary and have absolutely ZERO offensive line.

EDIT: What we REALLY blew in regards to the Atlanta QB was not trading for Schaub. Furthermore, if ATL had've kept Schaub and spent that pick elsewhere, they would be a MUCH better team.

 

[Sirspud]

first year this fo had full control over the draft - 2011:

Mike Pouncey
Daniel Thomas
Clyde Gates
Charles Clay
Frank Kearse
Jimmy Wilson

looks pretty damn solid from where i'm sitting, mr. einstein.

Give it a couple years. I'm looking at that list and I see two guys who are making contributions who were drafted where players should come in and make contributions. The rest you are basing your opinion on what you think they can do, not what they have done, considering there isn't a player on that list who has made more than one play the entire year so far.