byebyericky
Practice Squad
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2004
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Here are some quotes from spielman regarding Tait from miamidolphins.com:
(On having the cap room to go after John Tait, especially with all of the cap room that Chicago has) – “As far as the cap room issue, we have plenty of room under the cap to do what we need to get done. We have plenty of room from a financial commitment to get what we need to get done. The John Tait scenario is something that we’re very, very, very involved with. I’ve spoken his agent twice already today. It will not come down to a financial decision. It will not come down to a football decision. It’s basically going to come down to whether John Tait feels more comfortable here or if he feels more comfortable in Chicago. There will be no other issue involved except that issue. We are going to be as aggressive as we have to be to have John Tait down here and be a part of this football team, but he also has to want to be a part of this football team and want to be down here as well. That will be his decision, not ours.â€Â
(On what the Dolphins did to entertain John Tait when he was in Miami for his visit) – “I didn’t spoon with him the night (said kiddingly). The biggest thing is he did not know people down here and he wanted to become familiar with Coach Wannstedt and spend a lot of time with Coach Wannstedt. He wanted to get familiar with Coach (Tony) Wise (offensive line coach) Coach (Joel) Collier (offensive coordinator). He spent a lot of time with them. He wanted to get familiar with the system and what type of offensive system we run. It was ironic. As they were gong through the film, they (Kansas City) have the exact same terminology and the same scheme that we run here, and he could tell the plays. I was sitting in there watching tape with him and Tony Wise. He watched the blocking scheme and John would say, ‘This is 20 Tex.’ Tony said, ‘That’s what we call it, 20 Tex.’ He (Tait) said, ‘This is 60 Power.’ And he (Tony) said, ‘That’s what we call it.’ That’s was one thing I think he wanted to make sure that he felt comfortable with from a scheme standpoint, and if it was going to be a different scheme where he had to come in and learn. It was very, very ironic that it was exact. It’s the same system that Norv (Turner) had, that (Don) Coryell had and that Al Saunders had. It’s coming from the exact same system and same terminology. We flew his wife down. We wanted to make sure she was comfortable in what Miami is about. The only decision it’s going to come down to, it’s not going to be a financial decision or a football decision, it’s going to be where he feels most comfortable at.â€Â
(On if the Dolphins have an offer out to him) – “Oh yeah. He’s got an offer on the table. We don’t have an offer sheet out. Then you would go into the seven days and see if Kansas City will match or not.â€Â
(On what Tait’s connection to Chicago is) – “I think the offensive coordinator was at Kansas City, (Terry) Shea. I think that’s where the connection was. That’s why it was important for him to get down here and get to know our people and our coaches as well. He’s a very, very strong-willed person who will educate himself. He will make a decision based purely on that, with the type of character and the type of person he is.â€Â
(On if the Dolphins give Tait an offer sheet, that might shut tem out of the offensive line market during that seven-day period) – “We will still bring offensive linemen in and we will still be aggressive with that. We do have that window where it could possibly close. We will have a backup plan - a Plan A and Plan B - if the John Tait thing does not work out.â€Â
(On having the cap room to go after John Tait, especially with all of the cap room that Chicago has) – “As far as the cap room issue, we have plenty of room under the cap to do what we need to get done. We have plenty of room from a financial commitment to get what we need to get done. The John Tait scenario is something that we’re very, very, very involved with. I’ve spoken his agent twice already today. It will not come down to a financial decision. It will not come down to a football decision. It’s basically going to come down to whether John Tait feels more comfortable here or if he feels more comfortable in Chicago. There will be no other issue involved except that issue. We are going to be as aggressive as we have to be to have John Tait down here and be a part of this football team, but he also has to want to be a part of this football team and want to be down here as well. That will be his decision, not ours.â€Â
(On what the Dolphins did to entertain John Tait when he was in Miami for his visit) – “I didn’t spoon with him the night (said kiddingly). The biggest thing is he did not know people down here and he wanted to become familiar with Coach Wannstedt and spend a lot of time with Coach Wannstedt. He wanted to get familiar with Coach (Tony) Wise (offensive line coach) Coach (Joel) Collier (offensive coordinator). He spent a lot of time with them. He wanted to get familiar with the system and what type of offensive system we run. It was ironic. As they were gong through the film, they (Kansas City) have the exact same terminology and the same scheme that we run here, and he could tell the plays. I was sitting in there watching tape with him and Tony Wise. He watched the blocking scheme and John would say, ‘This is 20 Tex.’ Tony said, ‘That’s what we call it, 20 Tex.’ He (Tait) said, ‘This is 60 Power.’ And he (Tony) said, ‘That’s what we call it.’ That’s was one thing I think he wanted to make sure that he felt comfortable with from a scheme standpoint, and if it was going to be a different scheme where he had to come in and learn. It was very, very ironic that it was exact. It’s the same system that Norv (Turner) had, that (Don) Coryell had and that Al Saunders had. It’s coming from the exact same system and same terminology. We flew his wife down. We wanted to make sure she was comfortable in what Miami is about. The only decision it’s going to come down to, it’s not going to be a financial decision or a football decision, it’s going to be where he feels most comfortable at.â€Â
(On if the Dolphins have an offer out to him) – “Oh yeah. He’s got an offer on the table. We don’t have an offer sheet out. Then you would go into the seven days and see if Kansas City will match or not.â€Â
(On what Tait’s connection to Chicago is) – “I think the offensive coordinator was at Kansas City, (Terry) Shea. I think that’s where the connection was. That’s why it was important for him to get down here and get to know our people and our coaches as well. He’s a very, very strong-willed person who will educate himself. He will make a decision based purely on that, with the type of character and the type of person he is.â€Â
(On if the Dolphins give Tait an offer sheet, that might shut tem out of the offensive line market during that seven-day period) – “We will still bring offensive linemen in and we will still be aggressive with that. We do have that window where it could possibly close. We will have a backup plan - a Plan A and Plan B - if the John Tait thing does not work out.â€Â
