Gibson: Forty three of his 51 catches went for first downs, and that 84.3 percent ranked third in the league behind only Vincent Jackson and Lance Moore. His yards-per-catch have risen every year (to 13.5, higher than Wallace last year) but he’s not a speed demon and his 2.4 yards-after-catch was fourth-worst among 102 receivers in 2012. “He’s a jack of all trades, a really solid No. 3 receiver,” Williamson said. “Last year, Miami’s skill positions were bottom two or three in the league. Now it’s in the middle.” Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...-ncaa-heat-marlins-chatter.html#storylink=cpy
That's unacceptable for a GM that has been here 5 years and going into his 6th draft. You guys can shluurp him all you want, I still think he's done a poor to awful job here. We should be Super Bowl contenders by now, and we are crossing our fingers and hoping for a WC berth. San Fran had about the same talent level we had when Ireland arrived, and they have been in their 2nd consecutive NFC Championship game and coming off a Super Bowl. We were 3-6 in our last 9 games. UNACCEPTABLE period ! This draft has to be a grand slam home run to win a world series.
You do realize the 49ers had 8 consecutive seasons without a winning record before the last two seasons, right? Wouldn't that be UNACCEPTABLE period? So maybe it'll be acceptable for us if we don't get to the AFC championship game by 2016. Also, I'd definitely disagree with our two teams talent levels being similar after the 2007 season.
Because regularly competing for Superbowls is a fair measure of success. And the Miami Dolphins, as a business or as a sports team, "should" be managed to be successful.
yeah, well, just like in SF, the braintrust there was picking for several different coaching staffs until Harbaugh came along...Is Philbin our Harbaugh, no clue yet, but Sparano and the Quitcellian effect have to be considered into why we have not been successful, not just simply Irish picking the right guys or not...It's just not as simple as blaming Irish for all our woes while he's been here...Is is right for us, as fans, to not have success with our team, No...but it's fair that everything that has made it impossible for us to reach that success is not just Ireland's fault... And like it or not, I don't think this is a make or break year for Irish...Ross has made it clear that he want's stability and changing GMs won't achieve that...
Anyone who feels like this year will be a disappointment without a superbowl appearance should prepare themselves to be disappointed. Ireland has been a mediocre GM so far. I don't know what to make of this FA period other then he is being very aggresive about remaking the roster. I hope it all pays off better then his past signings. I get the feeling that Philbin is behind many of these changes as well. I dont think he liked the players he had and got rid of as many of them as he could. I'm very interested to see what they do in the draft next.
He did an excellent job assembling some of the best talent in the NFL and reaching the AFCC consecutively without a QB.
This. Making the playoffs is what i am hoping for. Wouldn't be surprised if ireland is gone if we miss the playoffs.
Is $25M all that out of the norm? I really don't know, but was curious if it is worth criticizing too much over. I would think factoring QB cost into that as well we certainly can't be too far outside what most teams spend.
Two of the guys cited in that article should probably never be cited. They are Charlie Casserly and Dan Dierdorf. I have no problems with any of the others.
Herock said: “I studied Oakland’s tape, and he’s fast, active, goes hard all the time. He’ll be one of Miami’s top couple defenders.” Anyone know this Herock cat?
Yeah, too bad megatons and AP's don't grow on trees. Then everyone could have the best skilled players in the league.
History of opinions since joining the media. History as a GM. He's not thorough. I doubt he really works at what he's doing, judging by what I have heard him saying since joining the media.
That's a whole different issue. Sure, failure is inherent, but without the attempt to win, the failure would be meaningless. The Miami Dolphins should try to win the Super Bowl. The fact that they are likely to fail, doesn't make it any less of a necessity for them to try. Consequently as fans, we are allowed to expect a team that tries to win. Accepting constant losing, as a fan or a team, is not realistic and not how the game/business operates.
Middle of the pack offensive talent? Uhm, yeah, Keller is one of the better Te's in the league when healthy and Wallace is premium deep threat and Hartline blossomed. Thigpen is one of the best returners in the league, I count ST as "offense" b/c it establishes field position and scores points. Miller v Bush can be argued of course, otherwise I disagree with that assesment, but either way it hangs on Tannehill developing if he does and Miller is what we hope it can be argued we are top 10
Dustin Keller is a very "middle of the pack" tight end. Brian Hartline is a very "middle of the pack" #2 receiver and Davone Bess is a very "middle of the pack" #3. And personally, if indeed there is a pack of true #1 receivers, Mike Wallace to me is in the middle of that pack, or possibly the tail end of it. The primary tailback for now is an unproven 4th rounder. The left tackle is a second year guy you picked in the 2nd round who was awful at football in 2012. The right tackle doesn't exist, for the moment. Yeah, I think there's something to the "middle of the pack" remark...for now. Free agency isn't done yet. And there's also the Draft.
The 49ers are also winning with players that were acquired mostly by Scott McCloughan, not Trent Baalke. McCloughan is the guy they fired because the team in his first four seasons didn't improve markedly.
Hmm, in your view Hartline is not an ascending player and Keller when healthy is not a premium level Te? Below the Graham and Gonzalez's of the league, he's probably the second best Te in the AFCE especially with Gronk and Hernandez being somewhat injury prone lately.
Middle of the pack at all positions usually translates to above average if you have no true weaknesses on the offense. I'd like that to improve that but right now aside from resigning Long, drafting another TE, and say Montee Ball (or another strong ball carrier), you are looking at the near finished product. An all around team can go very far.
McCloughan wasn't fired because of team performance. The reasons were never disclosed and seems to be related to something personal about McCloughan that neither side wants to talk about.
I doubt lacy will be around for 2 a, but if you can walk out of this draft with Eifert/ball or Austin/ball you are maximizing the space created by the 11 million dollar man.. Your surely not paying a man 11 million dollars for touching the ball 6 to 8 times a game.. Must capitalize on what this players does without the football, the only way to do that is to find the components that have the skillsets to do that...Eifert..Austin..Lacy...Ball..any combination would be excellent.
Gronkowski and Hernandez are much much better than Keller. So that would place Keller 3rd in the division. The Bills and Jets have nobody so he beats theirs by default. I like Keller, think it was a very good signing given that it's affordable and short but no way is he a premium level TE in this league. No way
Edit: I was off a little on when he was with the Falcons. It was late 80s - mid 90s. Here is his web site and you can see he was involved in personnel with the Raiders, Bucs, and Packers too at various times. Anyway, he is well regarded in NFL circles. http://kenherock.homestead.com/ BTW, I have his football card from when he played TE for the Raiders in the mid 60s.
