I want to preface this by saying I am not a Ireland fan. Nor do I look at my team unrealistically. Under the threat of being flamed by every pessimistic supposed Phin fan I will try to explain why this team is not a complete mess as many on here believe.
First the offseason is not over yet, we were able to sign Soliai to a very reasonable contract, given what we payed him last year that was a very good move. Then we signed Marshall who is a a very good pick up in an area of need, he is productive and has some good years ahead of him, we also picked up a good running back from the CFL he is a bruiser and he could work out like Wake did a few years ago. We signed a few of our younger guys who could be starters soon. And although we lost some players Like B Marshall and Bell, we did this for obvious reasons. One was cap space, and in the case of Marshall we did get a couple 3rds in return. He just was not worth the hassle and his dropping of TD's and passes for first down was becoming an issue.In Bells case he was just getting too old to count so much against the cap. I am however holding out some hope he could be resigned at a later date for less money.
Next is the draft, If anyone remembers last year we had no 3rd and no 5th round pick. This hurt us in bringing in core players to fill in some holes we had. Even with that scenario we got a probowl center that was a huge area of need that is now taken care of. We got a big back in D Thomas who if healthy,has a ton of upside. We got some much needed speed with Gates who I think will be used much more this season with us going to a WCO.And lets face it we got two steals with Charles Clay and Jimmy Wilson. Clay had some really big plays last year and looks like the seam threat that we needed at TE and he is very versatile look for him to improve and be a big part of the offense this year. Wilson really came around as the season progressed and I really think he will take the nickle spot this year and be a stalwart on the defense he also has a lot of upside. So for what picks we had I would say it was a damn good draft and showed us a bit about what Ireland can do now that Parcells is out of the picture.
Miami has alot more picks this year than last and this draft is DEEP with wr's and d-line players as well as o-line prospects. These are all areas of need for our team so this draft sets up VERY well for us. Let me elaborate. We have 4 picks in the top 75 of this draft, that is damn good. I am also looking at the possibility that we trade back and acquire another 2nd rounder and possibly a 3rd or 4th rounder. This is a very real possibilty this year. Philbin has said he wants to build this team through the draft and we may finally learn how to get more picks, instead of wasting them moving up as we have done in the past. Even with out moving back, we still have 4 of thew top 75 and 5 of the top 103. How can anyone not be excited about that? This draft will truly be a start to a new era in Dolphins football and I for one have very high hopes about Philbins ability to help find the players we need to compete now and for the future.
Next, and I know I will hear it from the flamers, Ireland is learning his lessons. Yes the dez Bryant thing was bad, but that was long ago and he is showing that now that he is not under Parcells large thumb that he can make some good moves. Last year he brought in Reggie Bush for damn near nothing same with Matt Moore. Where would this team have been without those two guys last year? Not to mention he got Burnett to replace Crowder which although looked shaky at the start of the season looked damn good in the end. Say what you want but we won games because of them and we were in alot of games last year that we would not have been without them. Close losses to the Giants. Broncos, Browns, Cowboys, Pats two of those were one point losses and the others by just 3 points, This team was in it most of the time and with a few good plays who knows what we might have done. We have a damn good young defense that is still getting better. This team is just not as bad as many are making out.
We could be worse off, and dodged a bullet by not getting Fisher for coach. Look how that is turning out now that Williams will be gone Indefinitely with Fisher saying he "didnt know" how would that have played in Miami? Talk about ineptitude! We have Philbin now and I think this guy is a class act. I believe he will instill the kind of integrity that this team needs and I also believe he brings the offensive mentality that this team has been missing for a long time. We will be much more aggressive and that will allow our defense to really take care of business. Have faith Dolfans we are closer than you think to becoming the team that we have all been wanting, a consistent contender and in the playoffs again. Peace.
First the offseason is not over yet, we were able to sign Soliai to a very reasonable contract, given what we payed him last year that was a very good move. Then we signed Marshall who is a a very good pick up in an area of need, he is productive and has some good years ahead of him, we also picked up a good running back from the CFL he is a bruiser and he could work out like Wake did a few years ago. We signed a few of our younger guys who could be starters soon. And although we lost some players Like B Marshall and Bell, we did this for obvious reasons. One was cap space, and in the case of Marshall we did get a couple 3rds in return. He just was not worth the hassle and his dropping of TD's and passes for first down was becoming an issue.In Bells case he was just getting too old to count so much against the cap. I am however holding out some hope he could be resigned at a later date for less money.
Next is the draft, If anyone remembers last year we had no 3rd and no 5th round pick. This hurt us in bringing in core players to fill in some holes we had. Even with that scenario we got a probowl center that was a huge area of need that is now taken care of. We got a big back in D Thomas who if healthy,has a ton of upside. We got some much needed speed with Gates who I think will be used much more this season with us going to a WCO.And lets face it we got two steals with Charles Clay and Jimmy Wilson. Clay had some really big plays last year and looks like the seam threat that we needed at TE and he is very versatile look for him to improve and be a big part of the offense this year. Wilson really came around as the season progressed and I really think he will take the nickle spot this year and be a stalwart on the defense he also has a lot of upside. So for what picks we had I would say it was a damn good draft and showed us a bit about what Ireland can do now that Parcells is out of the picture.
Miami has alot more picks this year than last and this draft is DEEP with wr's and d-line players as well as o-line prospects. These are all areas of need for our team so this draft sets up VERY well for us. Let me elaborate. We have 4 picks in the top 75 of this draft, that is damn good. I am also looking at the possibility that we trade back and acquire another 2nd rounder and possibly a 3rd or 4th rounder. This is a very real possibilty this year. Philbin has said he wants to build this team through the draft and we may finally learn how to get more picks, instead of wasting them moving up as we have done in the past. Even with out moving back, we still have 4 of thew top 75 and 5 of the top 103. How can anyone not be excited about that? This draft will truly be a start to a new era in Dolphins football and I for one have very high hopes about Philbins ability to help find the players we need to compete now and for the future.
Next, and I know I will hear it from the flamers, Ireland is learning his lessons. Yes the dez Bryant thing was bad, but that was long ago and he is showing that now that he is not under Parcells large thumb that he can make some good moves. Last year he brought in Reggie Bush for damn near nothing same with Matt Moore. Where would this team have been without those two guys last year? Not to mention he got Burnett to replace Crowder which although looked shaky at the start of the season looked damn good in the end. Say what you want but we won games because of them and we were in alot of games last year that we would not have been without them. Close losses to the Giants. Broncos, Browns, Cowboys, Pats two of those were one point losses and the others by just 3 points, This team was in it most of the time and with a few good plays who knows what we might have done. We have a damn good young defense that is still getting better. This team is just not as bad as many are making out.
We could be worse off, and dodged a bullet by not getting Fisher for coach. Look how that is turning out now that Williams will be gone Indefinitely with Fisher saying he "didnt know" how would that have played in Miami? Talk about ineptitude! We have Philbin now and I think this guy is a class act. I believe he will instill the kind of integrity that this team needs and I also believe he brings the offensive mentality that this team has been missing for a long time. We will be much more aggressive and that will allow our defense to really take care of business. Have faith Dolfans we are closer than you think to becoming the team that we have all been wanting, a consistent contender and in the playoffs again. Peace.
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