keithjackson
junkyard dolphin
Here's an interesting article, albeit from June, comparing what teams spend on WRs : http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...g-what-each-nfl-team-spends-on-wide-receivers
It includes some awesome charts, and one of the first remarks is, "Oh my goodness, Miami. The Dolphins are spending $29,593,000 on wide receivers (mostly because of Mike Wallace). There's no team in the NFL even remotely close." The average team spends only $12.58 million, so yes, going into 2014, the Miami Dolphins are Number One! Interestingly, the Seahawks are #2 and the Broncos are #5, but looking at the rest of the list, there doesn't seem to be a right or wrong way to spend.
It also compares WR costs to PROJECTED (CBS Sports fantasy) TD and yardage production, saying "Miami is ... a projected $2,113,785 per receiving touchdown. Mike Wallace is the eyebrow-raising gift that keeps on giving. At least Miami is a projected top-10 in terms of passing yards to wideouts, unlike the Texans (projected 27th overall)." They continue to predict the average team will be paying $4,410 per yard, whereas the Dolphins will be paying almost $9,000. Still projections are only projections.
They do conclude with what I am considering is a compliment to Ryan Tannehill, "And that's really the point here: you want to marry production and cost. It helps if there's a good quarterback on your roster, sure. But even teams with good quarterbacks aren't immune to overpricing wideouts (see: the Dolphins)." It's the little things in life.
We are spending 19.6% of our cap on WRs, more than any other position on the team. In fact, Mike Wallace's $17,250,000 is more than we are paying our QB, RB, TE, OL, DB & ST units. To put that in perspective, no team in 2013 paid their WR units the most. (I'd venture to say our WR unit may be the most expensive in NFL history.) Here's a fun interactive site looking at where teams spent their money last year: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/in...tions-2013-2014#miami-dolphins,miami-dolphins
Should we blame Ireland for overpaying Wallace and Hartline? Let's remember our biggest need last offseason was playmaking ability at the WR position. Of the 60+ free agent WRs last year, Brian Hartline actually produced the second most yards, Wallace was #4, and Brandon Gibson was on pace to be near the top of that list as well. We needed help desperately, and couldn't afford to gamble with the draft or hidden gems. (Heck, this message board would've spent two picks on Tavon Austin and Ryan Swope and we'd be 5-11.) In 2012, Tannehill completed 166 passes for 2,294 yards to a group of eight WRs that included bygones like Moore, Bess, Naanee, Armstrong, and Gaffney. In 2013, those numbers improved to 226 for 2,776, but most importantly our WR TDs increased from 3 to 14. (Our TE numbers also improved, as well as Tannehill's numbers in almost every category - with an Oline that allowed 21 more sacks.)
Maybe the Dolphins are on the forefront of a pass happy league, and our upcoming Super Bowl win will give the other teams notice to spend spend spend on WRs. Maybe not, but it's fun to think about, especially when you have some cool charts.
It includes some awesome charts, and one of the first remarks is, "Oh my goodness, Miami. The Dolphins are spending $29,593,000 on wide receivers (mostly because of Mike Wallace). There's no team in the NFL even remotely close." The average team spends only $12.58 million, so yes, going into 2014, the Miami Dolphins are Number One! Interestingly, the Seahawks are #2 and the Broncos are #5, but looking at the rest of the list, there doesn't seem to be a right or wrong way to spend.
It also compares WR costs to PROJECTED (CBS Sports fantasy) TD and yardage production, saying "Miami is ... a projected $2,113,785 per receiving touchdown. Mike Wallace is the eyebrow-raising gift that keeps on giving. At least Miami is a projected top-10 in terms of passing yards to wideouts, unlike the Texans (projected 27th overall)." They continue to predict the average team will be paying $4,410 per yard, whereas the Dolphins will be paying almost $9,000. Still projections are only projections.
They do conclude with what I am considering is a compliment to Ryan Tannehill, "And that's really the point here: you want to marry production and cost. It helps if there's a good quarterback on your roster, sure. But even teams with good quarterbacks aren't immune to overpricing wideouts (see: the Dolphins)." It's the little things in life.
We are spending 19.6% of our cap on WRs, more than any other position on the team. In fact, Mike Wallace's $17,250,000 is more than we are paying our QB, RB, TE, OL, DB & ST units. To put that in perspective, no team in 2013 paid their WR units the most. (I'd venture to say our WR unit may be the most expensive in NFL history.) Here's a fun interactive site looking at where teams spent their money last year: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/in...tions-2013-2014#miami-dolphins,miami-dolphins
Should we blame Ireland for overpaying Wallace and Hartline? Let's remember our biggest need last offseason was playmaking ability at the WR position. Of the 60+ free agent WRs last year, Brian Hartline actually produced the second most yards, Wallace was #4, and Brandon Gibson was on pace to be near the top of that list as well. We needed help desperately, and couldn't afford to gamble with the draft or hidden gems. (Heck, this message board would've spent two picks on Tavon Austin and Ryan Swope and we'd be 5-11.) In 2012, Tannehill completed 166 passes for 2,294 yards to a group of eight WRs that included bygones like Moore, Bess, Naanee, Armstrong, and Gaffney. In 2013, those numbers improved to 226 for 2,776, but most importantly our WR TDs increased from 3 to 14. (Our TE numbers also improved, as well as Tannehill's numbers in almost every category - with an Oline that allowed 21 more sacks.)
Maybe the Dolphins are on the forefront of a pass happy league, and our upcoming Super Bowl win will give the other teams notice to spend spend spend on WRs. Maybe not, but it's fun to think about, especially when you have some cool charts.
