The Miami Dolphins value and pay for intangibles during NFL free agency | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

The Miami Dolphins value and pay for intangibles during NFL free agency

DKphin

DKphin

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You need to understand this: The Dolphins didn’t just pay Stills because he caught nine touchdown passes last season to lead all wide receivers. There was more to it.
There were ... intangibles.
There were things you and I don’t see on a daily basis that coaches see. That the front office sees. That people in the building see and feel.
The Dolphins valued that.
The Dolphins paid for that.

Branch got rewarded because he brought ... intangibles.
That added to his value.
The Dolphins paid for that.

The point is on two of their signature moves of free agency the Dolphins came to a value assessment on each player in part because of intangibles that you and I and the rest of the media generally have no clue about. Until now.

So let’s take Stills first.
His intangibles include the fact he has been a model of what the Dolphins organization wants out of a wide receiver both on the field and in the building. Consider:
When the play calls for Kenny Stills to run an out-cut at a certain depth, he runs it exactly at that depth. Not one inch more. Not one inch less. He generally works on being precise. That means he studies it, he refines it, he accepts the coaching which can sometimes be hard or even harsh.
In short, he has acted like a professional.
And that is valuable to the Dolphins because that makes Kenny Stills an example of how it is done in the wide receiver room. He sets an example of how to conduct himself on and off the field for both DeVante Parker and Jarvis Landry as well as younger guys such as Leonte Carroo.
Parker, everyone knows now, has been challenged with maturity issues in that in the past he wasn’t always on time, or didn’t always hydrate or didn’t always treat his body (his meal ticket) with the highest regard relative to nutrition and sleep and so forth. He wasn’t a trouble maker. He was instead basically a high school junior in an elite NFL wide receiver’s body.
The Dolphins have gotten him help. He has people that manage him now, prod him along, hold his hands if necessary. And coach Adam Gase reported at the combine in February that Parker has been “doing a good job” getting it lately.
But if Parker needs an example of how to do things the right way and how that can reward you with results on the field, all Parker needs to do is look to Stills.
That is an intangible that Stills brings.
Same thing for Jarvis Landry.
Landry is Miami’s most productive receiver. He is the go-to guy. Everyone loves him and for good reason.
But he is not as precise as he could be with his routes. He is not always, and I do mean 100 percent of the time, doing things exactly right like Jerry Rice would do. By that I mean, Rice was always where he was supposed to be. He didn’t freelance. He did what he was taught so he could maximize his production for the offense. (If you want to produce like Jerry Rice, you need to reach for perfection on every route like Jerry Rice did).
There’s also the wonderful passion Landry brings that the Dolphins love that, unfortunately, sometimes boils over into moments that cause people to ask, “What is he doing?”
The extra-curricular scuffling.
The penalties.
That argument (some called it a fight) in a special teams meeting with a teammate a couple of years ago.
Not necessary. Emotion is great and necessary in football.
Emotion out of control is foolishness.
Stills is also an emotional guy. (Aren’t we all?) But he taps it to his benefit practically all the time. Landry would do well to learn how to do that. He’d also do well to understand he can be amazing if he adds precision to his game.
Stills bringing those things is a valuable and that example is a valuable intangible to the Dolphins.

Branch?
He came to the team almost as an afterthought signing last spring. He signed a one-year, prove-it deal. He was destined for backup duty.
And then Williams flopped. And Branch seized the opportunity.
But before that happened, Branch had already brought a certain easiness to the defensive line. By easiness I mean he was cool with everybody. And he helped everyone be cool with each other.
His nature was an example to some very high-strung individuals such as -- maybe I shouldn’t name names -- Ndamukong Suh.
Suh, not very well liked within the building after his first season, was a different guy last year. Oh, he was still a jerk to the media. That didn’t change.
But he was more free with his teammates. He laughed and joked and seemed to enjoy his work more. And as he became more free, guys started to listen to him more. Suh had tried to be a leader in 2015 but it didn’t work with a majority of the defensive players.
It worked last season. It was very good for him. It was very good for the team.
And the team believes Branch set the tone and mood in the defensive line room to help that happen. That is an intangible.
The Dolphins value that.
Click to expand...

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/s...-salguero/article138356753.html#storylink=cpy
 
Let's see if these intangibles add up to helping this team win. At least it's a start.
 
Intangibles are more important at certain positions than others. I see this as less about the intangibles and more about setting the right precedents. The Patriots succeed by fielding a team that does what the coaches tell them to do. Freelancers get benched and/or cut. The coaches pull the strings (and provide opposing teams' playbooks) and require the players to do exactly as they are told. We are cultivating that kind of culture too.

When a player plays for us on a one-year "prove it" deal, he proves it, and we reward him with a longer term deal, that helps. Future players are much more inclined to sign those one-year "prove it" deals because they know if they do prove it--and they all believe they will--that they will be rewarded with a good contract by the Dolphins. Following up provides good benefits down the road.

Similarly, when someone like Stills keeps his mouth shut, his nose to the grindstone, and does what the coaches say, and then gets rewarded with a good contract when he becomes a free agent, people are more willing to trust the Dolphins. Their agents are more willing to trust the Dolphins. Free agents are more willing to come to the Dolphins. IMHO, holding on to our own players who are performing well is a big step in the right direction.

I will be thrilled with 10-6 again this year. Our schedule is rough, and we won a lot of close games last year. We will not be so fortunate with the close games forever. Putting up a second consecutive double-digit win season would be huge for the Dolphins, for Gase, and for the mindset of the players. We weren't good enough to contend for a Super Bowl last year, that was obvious all year. We aren't good enough to contend for a Super Bowl this year, I think that will be fairly clear as well (but we can't really evaluate that until we see the draftees play in spring training). So, IMHO, we're looking at a building year (not re-building) where we can make the playoffs with a goal of actually winning a playoff game and who knows, maybe get lucky.

But, this is the year when the offense and defense will be fully installed and we'll need no ramp-up time. This is another year of adding pieces. Maybe Julius Thomas is one of those pieces? Regardless, having all of his receivers and running back return helps Tannehill. After the initial 5 game adjustment period, he played very well last year. I'm expecting more of that this year ... assuming we can field 2 competent guards and Pouncey can stay healthy.
 
Interesting information here. I didn't realize Stills was more of a technician than Landry.

I also suspected and feared, but had literally zero evidence, that Suh's leadership wasn't exactly blossoming in his first year. If Branch is the glue that held it all together last season, then yes, that's worth something. I thought the D-line guys were having fun Suh's first year (or that problems were related to coaching and not the relationship between guys) but maybe things were even more tense than thought.
 
Digital said:
Intangibles are more important at certain positions than others. I see this as less about the intangibles and more about setting the right precedents. The Patriots succeed by fielding a team that does what the coaches tell them to do. Freelancers get benched and/or cut. The coaches pull the strings (and provide opposing teams' playbooks) and require the players to do exactly as they are told. We are cultivating that kind of culture too.
Click to expand...

This is spot on.
 
Digital said:
Intangibles are more important at certain positions than others. I see this as less about the intangibles and more about setting the right precedents. The Patriots succeed by fielding a team that does what the coaches tell them to do. Freelancers get benched and/or cut. The coaches pull the strings (and provide opposing teams' playbooks) and require the players to do exactly as they are told. We are cultivating that kind of culture too.
Click to expand...

If this is true, then I don't think Jarvis fits in quite as well as some people think. At least not well enough to deserve a monstrous extension right this second.
 
I'm now 100% convinced that Mike Tannenbaum is the one feeding Armando scoops from inside the building.

This is a team-sponsored defense (and possible future apology) for the approach we're taking in free agency.

That said, I actually think this is a good defense. Most of us agree now that Joe Philbin's "We don't need leaders, that's overrated" approach was a total disaster. I think most of us also look at the way the Patriots do business and reward attention to detail and really emphasize that with their personnel decisions and see that perhaps they have found a winning formula and agree that we should emulate that in some respects.

I just hope that these moves pan out for the team. I feel great about the Kenny Stills deal, and not so great about the Branch deal. But I respect the leadership and intangibles argument and I honestly believe that it was a big part of the team's success last season, especially after the dismal start. We won ten games mostly because our guys just wanted it more than the teams they were playing against.
 
Have not been sold on Tannabaum since we first hired him still not and I believe as long as he is here getting better is going to be difficult.
 
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