Jason, I've been with ya for a long time, all the way back to Miami days.
But I think you've got it pretty wrong here. The structure of logic you've set up in your article supposes that what the Dolphins did with Taylor yesterday is dumb if they intend to trade him, because they've lowered his value by calling him out.
I believe that's the biggest hole in your argument. The problem here is, as you even cited in your own article, teams have already seen right through this charade. They saw through it going all the way back to well before the draft. Someone would have to be extraordinarily naive to think that tampering and indirect contact does not happen behind the scenes, and it was a worst-kept secret that Jason Taylor wanted out of Miami and wanted to play for a winner.
Miami didn't demand a first round pick for Taylor, as some have speculated. One high ranking NFC personnel guy told the papers down here that the Dolphins called him before the draft and offered Taylor for a 2nd rounder. The best offer they had on the table was actually a 4th rounder, coyly offered by Jack Del Rio because he was under the impression the Dolphins 'had' to trade Jason Taylor.
Does this 'outing' maneuver simply add to that perception? Or rather, does it take the entire feud into an entirely new territory?
I think the latter. How many people saw Tony Sparano's face, heard him chew and spit out the words he said, and thought to themselves wow, they really hate Taylor. Plenty. How many of those people know Bill Parcells' history well enough to know that with this much enmity, he would rather see Taylor flat out retired, than give in to Taylor's demands by trading him to a winner on Taylor's terms, rather than the team's terms?
That's what is building right now. Retirement. The Dolphins are positioning themselves into the Detroit Lions with the Barry Sanders struggle. You recall that. Detroit could have traded Barry's rights at any time, and he'd have unretired. They didn't. There was such bad blood they'd rather have seen him retired than getting his wish. That's where Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano have taken this feud.
And that's what has to scare teams that actually thought they'd get Jason Taylor on the cheap from the Dolphins, either after they cut him or after they relent and give him away for a song.
This is a pro bowl pass rusher, a double-digit sacker that is one year removed from defensive player of the year, playing in a league where the Giants proved that the most unbeatable team since 1972 could be toppled in the biggest game of the year if you have an arsenal of pass rushers to throw at them. You think the market doesn't WANT Taylor? They absolutely do. Is he 33 going on 34? Sure. But you know as well as I do there's a Jason Taylor 34 and there's a Trace Armstrong 34. At 34 Trace Armstrong had a few fingers bent in wrong directions, could barely lift his arms to shoulder height, walking with a limp. At 34 Jason Taylor is moving with the style, speed and grace of a professional dancer, on a 6'6" frame.
These teams were being coy because they knew damn well (Jason made ZERO attempt to hide it, off camera) that Taylor had no intention of playing for the Dolphins and they thought the Dolphins were backed into a corner, needing to trade him.
Anyone that's played some poker knows, once you start to assume irrationality in one of the players, the entire game strategy changes.
That's what Miami did.
