WalterFootball.com Destroys Dolphins in Free Agency Grade

[Tiko377]

Miami Dolphins: YORK AND MILLEN KIELBASA MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN
Acquired: OT Jermon Bushrod, G Kraig Urbik, DE Mario Williams, DE Andre Branch, ILB Kiko Alonso, CB Byron Maxwell, S Isa Abdul-Quddus.
Lost: RB Lamar Miller, WR Rishard Matthews, WR Greg Jennings, DE Olivier Vernon, DE Derrick Shelby, DE Quinton Coples, CB Brent Grimes.

As mentioned in the Redskins' write-up, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has established control of the King of the Offseason, Loser of Games title. Ross began the calendar year with a bang, hiring Adam Gase and then instantly condemning him by threatening to fire him in just a few seasons. And if that wasn't enough, the Dolphins cut ties with some of the young talent on the roster (Lamar Miller, Olivier Vernon, Derrick Shelby) and replaced them with aging, has-beens like Mario Williams and Andre Branch, or injury-prone lemons like Kiko Alonso and Byron Maxwell. Making matters worse, Miami actually moved back in the 2016 NFL Draft to acquire the latter two. Oh, and to top it off, the Dolphins announced that they want to obtain a very talented running back early in the draft (i.e. Ezekiel Elliott), when they could've done so at No. 8. He'll be long gone by the 13th pick.

The Dolphins are the true losers of the offseason. They've worsened the talent on the roster, grown older, depleted their resources and put a ridiculous amount of stress on their new coach. Ross is truly giving Jed York a run for his money as the worst owner in the NFL, and it's now more apparent than ever that Miami won't win anything with him.
Read more at http://walterfootball.com/freeagents2016gradesteams.php#ALQjVYxQS2ByjDd2.99

 

[Vaark]

As an inbred homer, usually I'm inclined to circle the wagons on extreme criticisms like this .. but sadly, I can't really disagree with them. Hope time proves me wrong, but from the moment our clueless owner went dumpster diving for Tannenbum, I foresaw this and worse coming at us in warp speed.

 

[Brazzi]

Lol, and Jeff Ireland and Hickster were great and winners!

#lalaland

 

[Phinatic8u]

I don't see were they got older.

One player equals "zomg Miami is olllddd"

 

[andyahs]

Oh, and to top it off, the Dolphins announced that they want to obtain a very talented running back early in the draft

When did they announce this?

 

[rent this space]

I disagree with the notion that the Dolphins are still trying to "win the offseason". There has been a definite change in the approach this year.

 

[Beach Bum]

I don't give a crap what anybody says right now. Let's wait and see what happens when our team takes the field. I am most interested in our team chemistry. Things like how well are they learning, and how well do they play TOGETHER. This is not something you can evaluate, on paper, in March.

 

[The Bopkin]

I think the Dolphins are "going to back to the drawing board". They are not handing out ANY expensive long term deals to other team's free agents. I think they want to see what their new coaches can do with certain players on the roster (D Thomas, W Aikens, J Taylor) before they spend big money on replacements. I think the plan is to accumulate draft picks to build principally through the draft going forward. I think this off-season is a strange one as they try to implement this philosophy. They have spots to fill but are refusing to commit long term to potential FA busts(I wonder if the failed 2013 off-season haul of free agent busts really sparked this new way of thinking). I follow the Dolphins every day and it took me a while to come to this conclusion(I do acknowledge that if this is the philosophy, some things are inexplicable, e.g. the Suh extension) and if that is the case that it's taking so long for a team's loyal fans to figure out what their team is doing, I really doubt that national writers are going to see it. They just look at it in terms of additions and subtractions then assign a grade. They don't have the time, energy or motivation to read each team's newspapers and fan message boards to figure out what each team's plan is. Some of the writer's points are definitely fair - (the hiring of Gase then condemning him if he doesn't succeed in three years was baffling- why not not throw all your support behind "Young Belicheck" if that's who you believe him to be?) - but all it is, as we all know, is some guy writing up a grade based on limited knowledge and insight to a specific team. I expect this coming season will be brutal. I expect the 2017 off-season to be quite different. If it's not, we might have to stage a massive protest.

 

[Adam First]

I don't hold much weight to his grades since "Walter" is a Jets fan

 

[royalshank]

The win or in three years your fired mandate doesn't suggest a rebuilding or drawing board approach. Tannenbaum and co are trying to win now and not worrying so much about the future. If we had the money he would have went after big names at every position of need.

 

[Patrick_Bateman]

The win or in three years your fired mandate doesn't suggest a rebuilding or drawing board approach. Tannenbaum and co are trying to win now and not worrying so much about the future. If we had the money he would have went after big names at every position of need.

This is the problem....the team is in need of a serious rebuild...maybe not a complete rebuild, but a serious one nevertheless. If he truly is trying to win now, he's only succeeding in wasting at minimum another a year, and in terms of the players that are at or near their prime this is a horrible strategy.

 

[fisi]

It doesn't matter with Miami. If they win they lose. If they lose, they still lose. So there you have it. There's nothing they do that will be approved by the media. Period. Bill belicheat traded a young pass rusher for a 2nd rd pick and a bust, and everyone thinks it was brilliant.

 

[cuzinvinny]

The win or in three years your fired mandate doesn't suggest a rebuilding or drawing board approach. Tannenbaum and co are trying to win now and not worrying so much about the future. If we had the money he would have went after big names at every position of need.

Tannenbomb and Gase are actually pulling off a fractional portion of brilliance.....Rebuilding the team and at the same time still able to get a small minority of the fan base to believe that they are not and will be competitive this year..... Its still a business.....

 

[NaboCane]

While I've HATED winning the offseason the last few years with signings like Suh's and others, I don't understand why it has to be one extreme or the other with this goddamn team.

I can't disagree with any of WF's assessment, and I don't think that, realistically, anyone else can either. Not keeping your drafted talent, the way successful teams do—or trading it to get something out of it before it walks away, leaving you scrambling to fill holes you created yourself, is the worst roster-building strategy I've seen, even from known morons like Dan Snyder and Matt Millen.

Even Matt ****ing Millen had the sense to re-up Calvin Johnson after his rookie deal. We let a RB walk who is better than anyone coming out of this draft, and for what? $6.5M, while sitting on ~$20m of cap space.

 

[Irishfinfan1]

To say the Dolphins cut ties with different people I think is a bit unfair. Reading through the people we have lost and it strikes me they aren't complete players, Miller I wouldn't trust on a 3rd and 1 ever, Vernon gave away too many penalties, Matthews no notion why it has taken till last season for him to get extensive playing time, suggests our inept coaches didn't trust him, time will tell what the truth is with him. It's a pity we have lost them but I'm glad we didn't overpay for them, I feel it is last off season we should have tried to get something sorted with them if possible.
I think the perception a lot of people have is that now we might have good coaches but they aren't going to get what they need with Tannebaum, and if true that's the biggest issue.