No need to take sides. I don't like Ireland or Aponte. Armando does an excellent job reporting behind the scenes tidbits like this. You know darn well there would be squealing from inside franchise headquarters if there weren't substantial truth to it. They don't risk squealing because they realize it's only the tip of the matter, and don't want more to surface, even if it's mostly from Jeff Ireland.
I'm forever baffled that contributions like this aren't appreciated. Writers who cover the team are coddled with free seats and free food. Flopsies from throughout the organization try to manipulate them, to discourage or limit negative stories, to write like Andy Cohen. It takes more than a bit of backbone to provide details that don't put the team in a favorable light. We need more Armandos, not less of them. Well, maybe less of him. If we accept 5 or 6 losses a year no matter the caliber of the team I can excuse Armando's frequent lazy reporting. That's understandable these days when writers are asked to contribute frequent blog material instead of merely one print article and then lounge around until the following day.
I appreciate straight forward respectful treatment of the media. I'm convinced that more often than not it aligns with a self confident and high caliber individual(s) and organization. Exceptions, as always, don't impress me, if someone want to bring up Belichick. Loads of margin for error with Tom Brady. If Dawn Aponte feels the need to spoon feed Joe Philbin with his press conference material, and edit his videos, I don't respect her and I'm less confident in him. For one thing, the late season versions were not any more impressive or substantive than earlier. Perhaps that was the goal. There should be a reporter screaming at Philbin during those pressers, asking whose words we are hearing, his or a puppet? That's what you would have seen when Edwin Pope was in his prime. Disgusting.
Somebody, maybe Walrus, posted a video from one of the general manager candidates and his previous (maybe current) team, treating the public with respect with a candid assessment of the department and what they are trying to do. That's what the Dolphins need on top, the high caliber confident individuals that I've long asserted is what we lack, along with a competent stadium. If Philbin doesn't fall into that category, which is increasingly obvious, I have little confidence in him. He's the career long assistant with low upside, which is what I estimated as most likely when we considered him. Now he needs an exceptional general manager to bail him out, and quickly.
Also, if Aponte is a petrified cue card type, I'm not convinced her numbers game is spectacular. That's likely false hype. With this franchise right now you can't go wrong tilting to the low end. That's why I hit the 8-8 button in the season prediction thread, when my instincts were 9-7.
