How the Dolphins won the offseason

Hey Deej, where have you heard this stuff before:

It seems like there was an incredibly intelligent (and ruggedly handsome) poster whose been saying these things for awhile...if I could remember his name.....he's 39, in Ocala......

 

I'm trying not to put any picture to this quote in my mind, as I may not keep my breakfast down.

 

If this discussion is more truth than fiction (which I believe it is), do the moves made this offseason really look to be those of a guy worried about his job? Despite the feelings outside the organization, these moves seem much less like a man worried about his job and more like a man not concerned at all. One that is doing what he'd be doing coming off a SB if he felt the team needed it, rather than a poor 3 yr record...

Those not inclined to give Ireland the time of day, much less any credit at all might even begin to think that it's really Philbin pulling all the strings, not Irish... Naturally, it has to play out on the field before any accolades are given out, but the direction of this team seems very much on the up swing in personnel acquisition, in coaching and in the intangible things necessary for a successful organization...

So, whether people like or not, it appears that the basis for a winning organization is being set up, something even the staunchest of Irish bashers have to start to begin to give him credit for...

 

well, it's a gamble to go all out this offseason. but I'd rather go all out and fail than play it safe (see previous regimes) and never get a shot.

 

It seems this year we were "that team" that we as fans have been wishing the Dolphins were more like. Aggressive, making the bold signing, making trades in the draft. Boy it feels good to be a fan of "that team" for a change. I would not be surprised if there was a move or two left, but if we are done with moves then I am one happy camper!

 

We'll see, do thing they good job of assembling the team, now they have to go through the process of playing with each other and knowing their jobs etc, that is where many teams that won the offseason tend to fall down.

2 really high profile signings in Grimes and Wallace, otherwise mostly solid, dependable players.

 

Dollar dollar bills y'all

Sent from my phone using Fapatalk 2

 

Yeah, I can't remember his name either.
I do remember he's a bit of a douche though.

 

With our additions and losses will we be eligible for any complimentary picks next year? Just curious.

 

I doubt we'd end up with anything noteworthy, but I'm sort of unclear how it would work. I don't know how the formula would compare a guy who got multiple years vs. one year deals.

 

I don't think it's hard to understand that Ireland's hands were tied while Parcells was here, especially the first three years, and I believe that's where the arguments always got heated, but if you subscribe to the theory that Ireland is responsible for the three 7 and 9 seasons without putting a lot of the responsibility on the first time president Parcells in charge of a rebuild, and a first time head coach, then imo im really not sure where your coming from..The only way for me to judge Ireland fairly imo is to apply some common sense to what his responsibilities were during that time, and give him a fair platform for which to judge 100 percent when Parcells left.When he left, he didn't even wait til the end of the season to fire the guy his boss hired, that should tell you a lot, and as we all can clearly see, that decision was the right one considering what has transpired in that guys career since.

I respect the offseason because I think we let go of some players that I believe we're overrated in smith and Bush, and how we went after free agent youth, also, after seeing brandon Marshall play with us I believe it was the right move to get rid of a very large possession receiver with no speed and a bad attitude, I think the guy wanted to play with Cutler while he was a dolphin, and manipulated his way out on purpose, so I believe in that move,also not giving Smith an extension was brilliant imo, watching his reps this offseason all I could do was shake my head, his weak mentality in playing the run was reason enough to get rid of him, his on the field gloating and poser swagger was the icing in the cake, along with a huge helping of bad hands..I know getting rid of Reggie was a tough one for people to swallow, but I thought the move to let him walk was also an excellent one, it's nothing personal, just not the style of running back you want to count on, he's the very definition of a luxury player, when we needed the foundation, the traditional skillset, we needed and need vision and burst...So while the uninformed national media think we lost a lot in Bush, smith and Long (who I told you didn't want to be here anymore all thru last season) I thought 2 of them were the right decisions, and 1 we had no choice.

If you look at these players we brought in this offseason, their heavy on the talent, light in the age, and back to heavy on the shoulder chips..that's a nice recipe for a free agent class.

Stepping back and looking in, sure we could of went all offense and filled up on that side, not my personal style, but, we stayed disciplined for balance in our approach, and added equal amounts of talent to both sides..

I was very vocal before the draft that there would be no acceptable condition for Ireland to select an Olineman with our first pick, I don't want to get into the variables in play for me to come to that conclusion but lets just say he sure as hell didnt let me down, not sure about y'all, not only did he not go there, but he got imo 1 of the four top players in the draft excluding lineman, ( Jordan, Sheldon, Tavon, Eifert)and the top defensive player coming from the 12th position..excellent job no matter what side of the fence your on, excellent execution in the earlier part of the draft..To come back and get a player of the quality of Jamar Taylor at an absolute need position was also a slick move, filling another need at oline, even though I would of drafted the badger in the third, was also solid, basically his strategy was to go after the homerun, then fill out some needs, I have no problem with that considering the groundbreaking skillset of Dion Jordan, and the potential of Jamar..

I really believe people should rethink their stance on Ireland in terms of just a fair platform for which to start his evaluation, just try and think about what it must of been like with Parcells and sparano leading the charge, think about the dynamic of all three men Parcells, Sparano and Ireland getting their first gigs at their position in the hierarchy, and what kind of power that left Ireland with?..I think that's all anyone on his side ever defended..There were signs about Ireland that the rest of NFL kept saying about his skills, and to see what those skills were really all about, was to judge him without the baggage and handcuffs imo.

I believe once the roster is complete this year, we will be the youngest team in the NFL, BUT, it will have young experience at key positions, without compromising or cap situation, and all behind a 2nd year coach that wherever I go, all I hear is how good this guy could be.

This is for Fin-D..... Pat Kirwan on Philbin...." I REALLY like Joe Philbin, REALLY like him, I think he knows exactly what he's doing, and has a quiet confidence to get it done,"

I really hope the fanbase takes a good look at themselves, and forget the past, for it can not be judged accurately as to where to assess blame, so lets have a fresh start with this young talented team, led by a talented Qb who wants to do the right thing, and think about helping this team as best we can, and there's only a couple ways to do that, go to the games, get to your seats on time, stand and scream no matter what anyone says to you, and appreciate that we have a team to cheer for.

 

I would think we would get something for jake?

 

His acquisitions include eight or nine new projected starters in right tackle Tyson Clabo, middle linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, cornerback Brent Grimes, defensive end Dion Jordan, tight end Dustin Keller, guard Lance Louis, cornerback Jamar Taylor, wide receiver Mike Wallace and outside linebacker Phillip Wheeler.

Clabo..Upgrade
Ellerbe..Upgrade (imo but he's got to stay on the field, dont get injured!)
Brent Grimes..Upgrade
Dion Jordan ..Upgrade (RookieNo1.. No3 Overall)
Dustin Keller.. Upgrade
Lance Louis..Neutral (Needs to get healthy. If he does. Upgrade)
Jamar Taylor..Upgrade (Smith was servicable..average. Taylor will be good)
Mike Wallace..Upgrade (as the Rock says..finally!....we got speed and TD's)
Phillip Wheeler..Upgrade (May not be a huge upgrade but you don't knock a solid player with a motor)

 

Ireland has basically said this every offseason for the last 4 years.

 

do you not think Ireland was Parcells ***** puppet?

 

well if his job was that secure they'd be talking extension right now. not even Stephen Ross is foolish enough to give a guy coming off 4 straight losing seasons an extension. Jeffy's deal is up this year, if his team can't even crack 8 wins for the 5th year in a row we'll see if the owner still brings him back.

 

How do you feel about the team this year?, you excited a little?

 

I think that the only reason the Ireland Support Group deflects blame for the first 3 years to Parcells is because the drafts sucked, a bunch of money was wasted on inferior players and bad decisions were made. Had this franchise made good moves from 2008-2010 and it translated to the field, nobody, including myself, would be denying Ireland any credit for helping to build a good team, and a lot of the fans would have faith in the guy to build a winner on his own after Parcells retired. it's only because we sucked that people want to pin all the failures on one guy and defend the lone survivor of a failed regime.

 

I am, I would have done things a tad bit differently but I pretty much liked all the free agent signings except for overpaying for Hartline, but that's not the worst thing in the world. Though I wouldn't have traded up for him, I still like Dion Jordan. I hope a silly offset snag doesn't keep him out of camp too long. I would have taken an explosive receiver in the draft, Ireland tried multiple times but it's still a bit frustrating that we didn't get one. but overall I am pleased with the team.

but that doesn't mean I'm excited because our GM is excited lol, i really couldn't give two ****s about how good he feels about the team, he's always pleased with the team, it hasn't gotten us anywhere, and one good offseason certainly doesn't mean I think he should be extended on the spot, his deal is up after this year, it's put up or shut up time for him, if he can't secure a winning record after all these years and after all these moves then I'll drive him to the airport.

 

There are a variety of reasons to be excited about this season for the dolphins, prime among them as many have noted on this thread, it is nice to be the team that makes some moves to upgrade at some positions of definite need and do it with some aggression.

However, as much as you would like to just wipe away the past several years of decision making and say this is still the new Ireland without Parcells era it's just not that simple. Think of the "additions" we made this year that everyone loves.

Huge trade up for Dion Jordan.. He's the hopeful answer to the failures of choices like Odrick, misi and phillip merling.. all high picks that were supposed to provide what Jordan is expected to.

Brent Grimes and Jamar Taylor... Supplanting two very high picks at corner.
Clabo.. Replaces the NUMBER ONE pick in the draft from four years ago!
Mike Wallace.. Replacing Brandon Marshall who was our Mike Wallace before Mike Wallace was.
Ellerby and Wheeler... Replacing Dansby and Burnett

No Running Back addition leaves us still searching to find a player to replace a top five pick in Ronnie Brown who wasn't with the team just five years after his drafting.

Is there a chance that this is the year the Dolphins will hit on their offseason additions and finally take a big leap forward in relevance? Yes there is. But we can not discount the fact that if the Dolphins had been more effective with just half of those positions I referenced above then wed be able to start PERFECTING a team and a vision as opposed to constantly BUILDING a team and an identity.

 

Welcome to the board..

I hear what your saying about the past transgressions, but when you mention names like Ronnie brown tells me your letting the past interfere with present evaluations, without assessing proper time frames and responsibilities of how the front office was put together five years ago..

How can you put proper blame for the past when Parcells was hired to do one thing, which was to rebuild a team for the first time in his career, I mean do we need anymore proof of a GM being handcuffed then the hiring of Sparano?

I don't know why common sense doesn't rule in this situation when we can clearly see certain variables that could strangle a GMs power..

This has been hashed and rehashed ad nauseum, but common sense would tell me that first time president would make the final decisions in very large contracts for a team that was 1 and 15, I mean Wayne H didn't hire Parcells to pass power to first time GM and let him play with 100's of millions of dollars...just doesn't make any sense, what does make sense is late round picks and undrafted free agents for the first timer..

You mentioning the failures of nick Saban tell me your a bit scorned , which can affect your ability to evaluate fairly and with common sense, which I can understand, but I'm just trying to find a legit fair platform here.

 

We won't get any comp picks IMO, because we did not have a net loss. We signed as many or more system free agents than we lost to other teams.

 

thats just not true, it behooves up us to try and find out who is to blame, why would any of us want incompetency at the GM position..

We can only use common sense cause we don't have access to the right info, and common sense tells me Ireland was not the boss of Bill fu@&ing Parcells, not with who we were at the time, and what type of ego we know we were dealing with, Wayne H hired Parcells, not Jeff Ireland and Tony sparano, do you think he would of hired him under the premise that Parcells was going to concede power to a his personal hiring, a first time gm

 

I see, I thought that but I'm just not clear on the system..

 

so you think an 8 and 8 is an acceptable record for a 2nd year coach and young team?

 

I doubt any of us totally understand it. Right off the bat though, the signing of Wallace would offset the loss of Jake, if we were even on the rest of the signings. I think if we had a net loss among the rest though, we have have gotten a late comp pick. But just off the top of my head we had a net gain. Dansby and Burnett don't count as losses, and Clabo does not count as a gain because they were cuts who did not play out their contracts.

 

If this team does not make the playoffs it will be a unacceptable season IMO.

 

not a matter of evaluation of Ireland. Acknowledgement of Past as a factor in the performance of the future is a part of the discussion. I didn't mock or discredit Ireland at all in my post. You are letting your own defensiveness come into your comprehension of what i had to say.

All I did was state that whoever the present GM is has been forced to remake a roster that was supposed to have been remade in exactly the same places years ago by previous GM's. This is not an indictment of Ireland. I don't know what Ireland is capable of and I don't know what he has been responsible for.

What I do know is that this franchise has shown one thing over the past thirteen years and that one thing is futility. No matter who the steward, this team has been stuck in neutral for years. I look forward to the development of Tanny Boy and I am as eager for this season to start as any in recent memory, but we are going to need to temper our enthusiasm.

You can't just assume that EVERY single one of these signings and picks are going to be hits. Some are going to hit and some are going to miss. What I am saying is if we hadn't missed with so many of the previous picks we'd certainly be in a much better position, regardless of who has been responsible.

 

An 8-8 record in 2013 would be totally unacceptable in regards to Ireland remaining the GM after the season. He has had complete control of all the drafts and free agency signings for the past three years. So there will be no excuses, (including having the youngest team in the NFL), for the Dolphins not having a winning season in 2013.

I have always thought Ireland had a lot of input during the three years Parcells was with the organization, but even if you want to blame everything on Parcells while he was here. It now falls on Ireland and the players he has selected over the past three years. The Dolphins have failed to have a winning season since Parcells left and Ireland took over total control of player acquisition.

I would be willing to accept that Ireland should be retained if the Dolphins win at least 9 games in 2013. They don't have to make the playoffs, but they at least need to win a majority of their games for me to believe Ireland should keep his job as the teams GM.

I think continuing to blame Parcells and to overlook the fact the Dolphins have been a sub 500 team under Ireland just doesn't make much sense. The reason the Dolphins continue to be one of the youngest teams in the NFL is because Ireland and Parcells drafted so badly and the few players who did work out over the past few years have decided to sign as free agents with other teams.


If the Dolphins were to go 8-8, after back to back seasons of 7-9, this really wouldn't be a major improvement. Especially considering all the money Ireland spent on players which are suppose to be major upgrades for the offense and the defense. I really can't see Dolphin fans being happy with a one win improvement after all the hype this team created in free agency and in the draft.

Ireland and Philbin should expect a lot of heat from the fans and hopefully from the owner if this team is no better than an 8-8 team in 2013. Hopefully the Dolphins will have their first winning season in five years in 2013 and we can all finally feel excited about the direction this team is headed.

 

No, 8 and 8 won't be an acceptable record, there's no way that one extra win is enough of a result from the re-tooling that's gone on this offseason. The only way that 8-8 will get a pass is if we have a bad year injury-wise.

 

I moved to NC, stoopid. And I'm 38.

 

Stop flattering him, TDK.

 

yeah, wrong. You think you're speaking for us but you're not. None of us had any reason to show a bias for Ireland or against Parcells, none whatsoever. Your perception is heavily warped. All I gotta say.

 

Absolutely not. Only a one win improvement, after Ireland clearly used his newly found Super GM powers to upgrade the team?

 

For me, for the first time since Pacellian thinking brought stability to the franchise, we have the proper approach to win more football games.

We have more of a JJ style of team now, but with a passing attack rather than running the ball, we finally have speed on Defense again. To me you just are not going to consistently win in this league by always outcoaching your opponent, you have to have guys who can run well and make impact plays.

Basically, what Pacellian ball did was keep us competitive, but never really able to turn the corner.

We wound up losing 3 games per yr that we "should" have won b/c the talent did not make that one key play, missed FG attempts, poor ball skills lead to deep completions, OL leaked at the wrong time, Rb missed a blitz pickup etc.

The style of football we played made that all possible, we were rarely blown out, we rarely had a 14 pts lead either.

 

Get it right LB, it's the Ireland Support Club, or I.S.C., founded by the team owner. Not to be confused with the I.S.G., Ignorant Statements Galore, dunno who their founder is but I can spot a member a mile away.

 

No patience for rookies, I've got bigger fish to fry .