I was already of the opinion that Philbin had a good amount of say in who was brought in and signed. It is Irelands job to find talent, but he and Philbin are working together in WHO is signed.
The majority in these forums are upset unless the FO spends like sailors at a brothel, but that never works out for anybody except the proprietors of said brothel. In this case, that would be Jewie Drewie and the like........
I predict, this topic (if not this thread) will get ugly. The old "talent trumps everything" argument is going to be epic.
To me, that argument only works if it's "elite" talent. talent so good you can overlook the excess baggage. When that baggage comes with mid-level talent, then it's questionable whether it's worth it.
Ahhh to be young and full of optimism....lol Rest assured get any group of people together and if its big enough, the majority will be upset about something.
I get that this argument is perfectly applicable to now, but it doesn't really explain the spending spree. Why would the FO and Philbin be so quick to throw money at Wallace, Ellerbe, Wheeler, Gibson, and Keller, but then nothing since? Was he only comfortable with the upper tier free agents? Or did he just not have the time to scout the guys still available?
Oh, I promise you they have guys studying each and every player available. This is a multi-million dollar investment. No way you can't have a scout studying each and every guy out there.
The tier 2 guys Ireland is looking at for HIS price. Like the Grimes deal. We have made a 1 year offer, which he is considering against Cleveland's 2 year. I wouldn't be surprised if we had the same kind of offer on the table for Winston and Moore as stopgap guys.
I think after the first round of FA activity you're generally left with: 1. Older players: we are obviously steering away from that 2. Less talented players: not in a hurry to sign those 3. Questionable character guys: obviously a no go for us I don't think we budge on 3, but we're probably not in a major hurry to sign 1s & 2s either. I think they may view 1s and 2s on the same level as playing some of their lesser known guys on the roster. Sure, there are better players who are over 30 our back ups....but is that difference drastic enough to justify a roster spot and a lot of money...especially if they feel some of our backups are just missing real playing time? I mean I don't think they keep guys on the roster just because. Ireland is forever churning the bottom half of the roster throughout the season. That happens because they have hope for the guys they're bringing in, even they are last on the depth chart.
I guess those explanations make sense, considering that there are only 1-2 noteworthy moves per day, league-wide, at this point... I just expected them to make a harder push for a guy like Grimes. Of course, that's my opinion, not theirs
As with everything. it's a matter of degree. It's impossible to know if Philbin is being to rigid, not rigid enough or just right. But he is the guy that has to work with the players far more often (daily basis).
And, I respect your opinion, and wouldn't mind Grimes coming in, but there are LOTS of variables, and once again, I promise you there is a room full of guys studying each and every single angle.
and the list of available second teir players will increase as teams cut certain players rather than pay roster bonuses, after drafting replacements or as they trim down their roster. The FO may view whats left on the market as not much better than what could be available later when deals are cheaper.
This is my thinking too. I'm partially back on the Ireland bandwagon, but looking for a bump in the road. I still don't trust him.
Omar also said Legedue Nanee was A STUD. He also said that last leaked logo WAS NOT our new logo........... So, why are people STILL posting anything he says, as if it's something actually informative?! Dude is just running a blog at this point. No sources worth a damn.
I am of the opinion that Philbin only wants certain TYPES of people on his team. Character and work ethic is probably playing a big role in his decision.
Philbin really liked Steinbach, if I recall, even though he couldn't play a damn anymore. And didn't like Marshall who was very productive. I dunno, it ain't the boy scouts.
I don't buy it, Jake Long is a Ram and was as solid a person as could be. Oh, so that talent thingy does matter then?
They didn't know Steinbach could play anymore and Steinbach and Philbin go way back. Marshall wasn't much more productive than Hartline was this past year.
OmarK has become somewhat irrelevant really, he's been pretty much wrong about everything this offseason and is getting even more hysterical as the offseason has rolled along.
How DARE you bring facts into this. I honestly had to roll my eyes at the Hartline comment. That's like saying that Tannehill had similar numbers to Drew Brees.....and yes, somebody in here made that comparison recently.
I think Wallace, Ellerbe, Wheeler, and Gibson were guys they targeted. Seems to me that they had interest in Keller, but only at the right price. Once he came down in his demands, they signed him. I think the guys that are still available are waiting to see if the market develops in their favor. It may be beneficial for some guys to wait until after the draft.
I clarified. So everyone can take the incredulous down a peg. BM best year here: 81/1214 6TDs 75/game 319yac BH best year here: 74/1093 1TDs 67/game 240yac
Philbin was Steinbach's position coach at Iowa. He wanted to give him a shot to see if he still had anything.
IMO, I think one of the contributing factors in Jeff letting Jake walk is the possibility that Jeff wasn't 100% on board with taking Jake Long. I remember hearing after the fact that Jeff was really pushing for Matt Ryan, but Fat Bill leaned on him and warned him of the ills of missing on the quarterback with the high pick. Then Jeff's counter was to target Joe Flacco at the top of round two, and I think Parcells kept the team from making an aggressive move to get Flacco.
I think it had a bunch to do with the leadership council. I'm sure Philbin doesn't have a problem with players being leaders and even having a council, but I think the problem was that they first approached him about CJ was the problem.
I think that the phrase "Omar Kelly Tweeted" should be replaced automatically with "A Douchebag Twated" Get on that mods.
You have to think about what makes Philbin tick...developing his own from the draft is his preferred MO with player acquisition. That said, at this point every FA out there has a flaw or flaws and now is the time for them to be judicious. This wasn't the case in the first week of FA... I'm as bad as anyone...I keep asking myself "Why haven't they signed Winston or Grimes ? We don't want to go into the draft with a glaring hole at any one position." The answer, logically is that Winston, while not particularly an injury risk is closer to his end than his beginning. A cheaper, longer term (4-5 yrs) option could come thru the draft and we have a few guys they've been working with (Yeatman, Garner) and know a lot about....Grimes is coming off an injury that has ended careers...(think Dan Marino, who arguably lost a lot of power in his throws after his Achilles' injury)... It's doubly difficult for a CB to come back from, who's production relies on speed and explosion. I don't know the answer and they could be wrong in not signing someone to fill those needs, but this sudden hitting of the brakes has Joe Philbin written all over it...
Why these guys would put themselves out there on television for a washed-up 34 year old head case receiver is beyond me.
To be fair he was right about the pursuit of Mike Wallace. Then again, anybody who can read a certain forums could deduce that months back.