Official Free Agency and Rumors Thread

[broccoli rob]

What's the vision? I don't see it. What exactly have we done and what's the vision? We dumped a bunch of salary so is the vision to save money? We've upgraded one position with Suh and lost a lot of depth. So is the vision to pick in the top 10 next year in the draft? I don't see vision here, I see a lot of splash with the signing of Suh and trading away Wallace and Ellerbe but no improvement...actually the opposite is happening.

You can't fix everything in one offseason. Like I said, we were trending downwards. Wallace, Gibson, Hartline, Starks, all had to go. Money tied up in all the wrong places. You have to give him another season before you pass judgement, because really, this team was heading in a BAD direction. Despite having a talented squad. Talk about lack of vision. The 2014 Fins had about as much vision as a pick-up game of street ball.

Week 17 of last season should tell you all you need to know about last years direction. Factor in Gibson speaking for Wallace.. Factor in Hartline's golf putt celebration... Factor in Starks laziness... Factor in needing 13M to retain Starks/Odrick despite a poor performance on their part. Money tied up in mediocre players with bad attitudes would have kept us 8-8 for a long time and quite possibly regressing. The Dolphins have finally been sanitized from Ireland's germs.

 

[datruth55]

You can't fix everything in one offseason. Like I said, we were trending downwards. Wallace, Gibson, Hartline, Starks, all had to go. Money tied up in all the wrong places. You have to give him another season before you pass judgement, because really, this team was heading in a BAD direction. Despite having a talented squad.

In another season we're going to be looking for a new coach and a new starting QB cause both will take the fall for the front office ineptitude. Then we're starting over AGAIN with more roster changes to fit the new coach. It's a never ending cycle with this team.

 

[cuzinvinny]

Yeah this is all Tannenbaum...he's killing this team right now.

Anyone who thinks we have a better team now than last year is kidding themselves. We're much worse. We have no depth anywhere and not one position of strength...not one single unit is better. Some may say we're better at TE if we keep Clay and you can think that but in the 8 seasons between Clay and Cameron they have one season in which they played all 16 games. Dolphins are going to build a two TE offense around two guys that can't stay healthy. Offensive line is a mess with no depth, we only have 2 RBs worth a crap in Miller and Williams and Williams has a long way to go. No backup QB. WR corp outside of Landry and Stills is inexperienced and inconsistent (if Matthews was consistent he would have been on the field more...don't kid yourself...he's been here 3 years and can't get on the field). D-line outside of Suh is underwhelming. Our DEs are OK rushing the passer, not great since Wake kind of fell off last year and OV only had 6.5 sacks I think but both are not good against the run. And we're all hoping Fede or Jordan step up as a backup to OV. Linebacking corp sucks and we only have 4 linebackers when you need 7 for depth and special teams. CBs are bad...Grimes and I'm not sure what we have in McCain who's a slot corner they probably plan on putting outside and two injured players that can't get on the field or stay on the field. Safety we have one...Reshad Jones.

This is an awful roster and you traded away a 3rd round pick so you have only 6 picks in the draft. You want to talk about queasy? This roster makes me queasy...actually it's making me sick.

For me the fact that it's not business as normal like we've seen the last 15 years is very refreshing. We may not be better at this point (may) but the fact that our new FO is Finally recognizing all the over priced crap and trying to jettison it and aggressively build in a way that IMO gives us a better future... and it's not going to happen over night....I'm just happy, succeed or fail to see the change ...it was so friggin overdue...

To be fair it seems they atleast need to complete one season so ya actually see what the hells going on before you blow a gasket...After a couple of decades of ineptitude a year more isn't asking much...:hump:

 

[broccoli rob]

In another season we're going to be looking for a new coach and a new starting QB cause both will take the fall for the front office ineptitude. Then we're starting over AGAIN with more roster changes to fit the new coach. It's a never ending cycle with this team.

Coach, yes. But don't be surprised if they are already planning for a Philbin-less future, much like they were planning for Suh long before they acquired him. Only now I think Ross gets whatever coach he goes after, instead of a swing and a miss. Tannehill will be back. He played some tough football last year and was in the top tier of the NFL for quite some time, even by fantasy standards. Take out those first three games and Tannehill's performance last year was really good, despite the missed connections with Wallace. I am not worried about Tannehill being jettisoned in the slightest, neither should you.

Ireland really did a number on this team. It is a miracle we are in the shape we are in (a year or two being from a playoff team). I think we whiff on the playoffs this year, Joe gets canned, and in 2016 we are right there with any serious contender.

Anyone who believes we were going to be a consistent playoff contender with Wallace, Gibson, Hartline, Starks, and Odrick is living in fantasy land.

 

[Fin Thirteen]

What's the vision? I don't see it. What exactly have we done and what's the vision? We dumped a bunch of salary so is the vision to save money? We've upgraded one position with Suh and lost a lot of depth. So is the vision to pick in the top 10 next year in the draft? I don't see vision here, I see a lot of splash with the signing of Suh and trading away Wallace and Ellerbe but no improvement...actually the opposite is happening. This is Mike Tannenbaum...lots of moving parts without actually getting better. Keep the franchise name in the news during the off season but not really moving towards anything.

We're into the 2nd tier free agents now. This is where we signed Shelley Smith and Cortland Finnegan, those guys didn't exactly help us win any games. Tannenbaum and Hickey said the draft was important but their actions show that it's clearly not and that's why this franchise fails...consistently...it's the only consistent thing it does.

I think we're starting to see the beginning of a Tannehill-friendly, Lazor offense personnel. If we're going to talk about vision, that's about all you could say that FA has pointed to. On the assumption Clay is kept and we draft a receiver to fill out the roster, the personnel has the look of one designed to get yardage through short-medium distance passes over the middle. Outside of Clay, we don't have a YAC guy on the roster really - I suspect whoever we get in the draft will be someone who can make the first guy miss.

Outside of that, I don't disagree with you. If our offense over the middle looks like a strength - our defence over the middle (LB, safety, nickel) looks like a glaring weakness. Questions on o-line are the ones that bug me the most - we really need to solidify the line on the interior.

 

[Archaeopteryx]

Coach, yes. But don't be surprised if they are already planning for a Philbin-less future, much like they were planning for Suh long before they acquired him. Only now I think Ross gets whatever coach he goes after, instead of a swing and a miss. Tannehill will be back. He played some tough football last year and was in the top tier of the NFL for quite some time, even by fantasy standards. Take out those first three games and Tannehill's performance last year was really good, despite the missed connections with Wallace. I am not worried about Tannehill being jettisoned in the slightest, neither should you.

Ireland really did a number on this team. It is a miracle we are in the shape we are in (a year or two being from a playoff team). I think we whiff on the playoffs this year, Joe gets canned, and in 2016 we are right there with any serious contender.

I really want to disagree with this, because I would love to see them make the playoffs this year, but I think you're spot on.

 

[nyjunc]

I said knee-jerk decisions.

Trade up for Sanchez
Trading Leon Washington when he was good
Getting Lito Sheppard? lol
Trading for Brett Favre LOL
Drafting Vernon freaking Gholston
Signing of Burress and Maybin
Releasing Cotchery

I could keep listing some if you like...


Oh and hows former 1st rounders Kyle Wilson and Ducasse doing in New york? Oh yeah they suck and are not signed to a team. Tannenbaum was worse than Ireland...

trade up for Sanchez was a great trade, gave up virtually nothing to move into top 6 and got QB that helped them reach 2 title games

Leon Washington was coming off a broken leg, he was never really the same after the injury.

Lito was a low cost FA, started on the best D we had in this era.

Favre trade was bad but you need to remember the circumstances. Chad was always hurt and ruining seasons.

he had a draft bust, who doesn't?

Burress gave us #1 RZ offense in league
Maybin was no risk, low cost signging

Cotch asked to be released, there was much more to it than just a transaction.



where are the "knee jerk" decisions you alluded to?

Yep, clearly Tannenbaum was worse than Ireland which I guess is why you had so much more success w/ Ireland(and post) than the Jets had w/ Tannebaum.

 

[AL R]

The Suh move looks like a long term move, and the rest of the moves look like purge and rebuild mode to me. It looks like they want to go younger and cheaper. They were not going to fix it all this year or highly unlikely they would have been able to if you played the odds. Will see if they can get any help with these tier 2 free agents or not but this year could be a tough year on the field for us. You have to feel a little bad for the QB for sure.

 

[matt11390]

I really want to disagree with this, because I would love to see them make the playoffs this year, but I think you're spot on.

Add on is Lazor gets the promotion to HC. He's a leader and the move keeps continuity with the offense and Tannenbaum vision

---------- Post added at 09:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:48 AM ----------

The Suh move looks like a long term move, and the rest of the moves look like purge and rebuild mode to me. It looks like they want to go younger and cheaper. They were not going to fix it all this year or highly unlikely they would have been able to if you played the odds. Will see if they can get any help with these tier 2 free agents or not but this year could be a tough year on the field for us. You have to feel a little bad for the QB for sure.

Agree look to 2016

 

[broccoli rob]

I really want to disagree with this, because I would love to see them make the playoffs this year, but I think you're spot on.

I would love to see them make the playoffs, too. But the end game isn't playoffs or bust in 2015. Ross is a business man that needs to fill his renovated stadium. He can put all the bells and whistles he wants on Joe Robbie, but its a playoff team thats going to put asses in the seats of that new stadium. The biggest part of selling those tickets to the fans is going to be a winner on the field. I will be pleasantly surprised if we make it to the playoffs this year. However, I can see the Fins putting the finishing touches to the roster (that should include a new head coach) that makes us a playoff team in 2016, not 2015.

I really like that they are "ripping the band-aid off" this team and taking the risk of not improving this season, instead of trying to make chicken soup out of chicken**** going forward. If we miss the playoffs, they have the perfect fall guy in Philbin (and perhaps thats why he was retained this year). Keep in mind, Tannenbaum has been involved with the team and Ross long before he got on the Dolphin payroll.

Add on is Lazor gets the promotion to HC. He's a leader and the move keeps continuity with the offense and Tannenbaum vision

I would love this move.

 

[trojanma]

re: Tannenbaum
Folks are naive if they think that this spring hasn't been all Tannenbaum. Tannenbaum is the new GM of the Dolphins. I am very curious how Hickey fits in all of this. Perhaps he realized he wasn't ready to take over and takes a back seat as a well paid director of personnel with a GM title. If the fins are successful then he can parley this experience into an independent GM job somewhere else.
Hickey has likely polished his reputation as a capable guy and if the draft hits well he may cut bait after the draft instead of living in Tannenbaum's shadow. Hickey leaving after the draft is kind of a doomsday scenario. I am seeing it as a test of unity in the FO.

re: Ross
I don't think this is simply about grabbing headlines, though lets be honest Ross doesn't want a quarter filled new stadium. He needs something get people excited. I think Ross desperately wants to win. He wants to win now and is willing to open his wallet and pay for shortcuts. Tannenbaum has likely been whispering in Ross' ear that he can turn this team into a winner with just a few moves.

re: Philbin
I have pondered to why Tannenbaum kept Philbin when joining the org. At the end of the day Tannenbaum doesn't mind having a fall guy in place and treating this year as a setup for his emergence next year. Ross feels bad about extending a coach then firing him so would have been opposed to the move.

In the end the offseason has been about cutting bait with just about all of Irelands moves. It shows how dysfunctional it was and how much of a mistake it was keeping Joe and Jeff together.

 

[ITS!MATEO]

It sure is easy to pick apart draft decisions after the fact, and Tannenbaum certainly wasn't worse than Ireland. The Jets made it to two AFC championships with his squad and the Dolphins haven't sniffed the playoffs. Also, Ireland's mess took YEARS to fix. In fact, Tannenbaum (and Hickey, in all fairness) are just finally cleaning up the last of his mess THIS year!

I guarantee you wouldn't be saying that if Tannenbaum wasn't with us right now

Let's not be coy, the guy was horrible... The only reason they ever went to the playoffs was because of Rex and I really really don't like the guy, but the truth is the truth, he's a good football coach. Players respect him.

Ireland was really bad, but definitely not as bad as Tannebum or Spielman/Stache.. Those are at another level of garbage. Just saying.

 

[datruth55]

For me the fact that it's not business as normal like we've seen the last 15 years is very refreshing. We may not be better at this point (may) but the fact that our new FO is Finally recognizing all the over priced crap and trying to jettison it and aggressively build in a way that IMO gives us a better future... and it's not going to happen over night....I'm just happy, succeed or fail to see the change ...it was so friggin overdue...

To be fair it seems they atleast need to complete one season so ya actually see what the hells going on before you blow a gasket...After a couple of decades of ineptitude a year more isn't asking much...:hump:

Not business as usual? We've signed the highest paid free agent 3 years running...it's business as usual. And don't be surprised if Albert gets hurt again this season when we cut him next off season to save money. So goes the cycle of trying to fix the roster in free agency instead of the draft.

I think we're starting to see the beginning of a Tannehill-friendly, Lazor offense personnel. If we're going to talk about vision, that's about all you could say that FA has pointed to. On the assumption Clay is kept and we draft a receiver to fill out the roster, the personnel has the look of one designed to get yardage through short-medium distance passes over the middle. Outside of Clay, we don't have a YAC guy on the roster really - I suspect whoever we get in the draft will be someone who can make the first guy miss.

Outside of that, I don't disagree with you. If our offense over the middle looks like a strength - our defence over the middle (LB, safety, nickel) looks like a glaring weakness. Questions on o-line are the ones that bug me the most - we really need to solidify the line on the interior.

Does a Tannehill-friendly, Lazor offense personnel team have no OGs to block for the QB. Is it designed for him to throw the ball from his butt?

If we're looking to the draft to fill those needs then fine...but don't expect a WR or ILB and a starting OG plus another OG for depth to fall to us with no 3rd round pick. They've created a roster with too many holes to fill and not enough depth to finish strong.

 

[ITS!MATEO]

trade up for Sanchez was a great trade, gave up virtually nothing to move into top 6 and got QB that helped them reach 2 title games

Leon Washington was coming off a broken leg, he was never really the same after the injury.

Lito was a low cost FA, started on the best D we had in this era.

Favre trade was bad but you need to remember the circumstances. Chad was always hurt and ruining seasons.

he had a draft bust, who doesn't?

Burress gave us #1 RZ offense in league
Maybin was no risk, low cost signging

Cotch asked to be released, there was much more to it than just a transaction.



where are the "knee jerk" decisions you alluded to?

Yep, clearly Tannenbaum was worse than Ireland which I guess is why you had so much more success w/ Ireland(and post) than the Jets had w/ Tannebaum.

You can paint those moves and rationalize however you like... It doesn't change the fact that as your GM he was trash bin material.

Maybe he redeems himself here, but I doubt it.

 

[nyjunc]

You can paint those moves and rationalize however you like... It doesn't change the fact that as your GM he was trash bin material.

Maybe he redeems himself here, but I doubt it.

if you get the results in Miami he gave us in NY you'll be signing his praises. every GM makes bad moves but he put together rosters that had chances at multiple SBs, the last legitimate chance Miami had at a SB was probably 1994.