And look where Long, Pouncey, and Tannehill have the team. Nowhere. It's unfair to pin anything on Tannehill this soon but the presence of Long and Pouncey hasn't resulted in much. With Ryan, maybe the team would be mediocre. Maybe not. The point is, the team is far worse than mediocre as it stands. Realize also that teams with low first round picks that know how to draft do just fine. Teams like the Ravens and Steelers have hit home runs year in and year out with late first rounders. In my opinion, I DO think at least some of it has to do with Ireland's philosophy and how he values certain positions over others. It seems that he is a big fan of taking fliers on project types at the skills positions rather than use premium picks on them. Gates was a fast guy with not much in the way of actual football prowess. The Jonathan Martin pick this year is a perfect illustration of him placing more value on a highly rated offensive lineman who maybe slipped a little than if a WR had done the same. I'm sure he didn't have guys like Stephen Hill and Alshon Jeffery rated as high as Martin. Isn't that maybe a big part of the problem and the point of a lot of people here, though?
