"When tackle Jake Long returned to Miami after his extended visit with the Rams last week, word was that he was meeting with the Dolphins to discuss a contract that would allow him to remain with the team that drafted him first overall in 2008. That word was incorrect, however. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch spoke to Long after he decided to sign with the Rams and Long recounted what happened during his visit with the Rams as well as what happened when he returned to Florida. Or, more precisely, what didn’t happen. “My wife and I, we came back and slept in our bed and just thought about what we wanted to do and what was best for us. Really just slept on it and wanted to think it through. And in the end St. Louis was the right place for us,” Long said. “I don’t know where that report came out, but I never went back to the facility. Nope. I didn’t meet with any of them. My wife and I were just relaxing and thinking things through. It was just me and her." http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/18/jake-long-never-met-with-dolphins-over-the-weekend/
The point is that he didn't even give the Dolphins a chance to counter offer. Why would he do that if he was all about the money?
The good news is, we are saving money from Jake Long's contract. The bad news is, we still need a LT and most of the rest of the offensive line. I can still hear echoes from some on here saying Martin was going to be a good LT., or that offensive linemen were easy to find.
Serious question, for you and anyone else who'd like to offer an opinion. Where would you rank our OL in terms of the teams we have faced this year? How many of our opponents have better OLs than us and how about league wide, how many OLs are significantly better?
He had a prior offer from the Dolphins before going to StL. Maybe they told him that was certainly their best offer. Go out and try to beat it.
Martin could still become a good LT. Duane Brown stunk up the joint for 2 seasons, before becoming average in year 3, and top 5 from year 4 through yr 5.
But threads like this reinforce the message of how badly Ireland has put together this team. So it's relevant
I think that you're just being stubborn now. It seems pretty clear from the multiple stories to be found online that Jake Long came home to Florida, spent time thinking about the decision and didn't even bother to visit Dolphins HQ for one last pitch. The reason why I bothered to look up this story in the first place is that I remember Jeff Ireland lamenting to the press that Jake didn't even give them a last chance to present a final offer, and to make that sting even worse he was already back in south Florida. He blew them off. I think that it's pretty clear that Long's decision abut leaving Miami for St. Louis was about a lot more than just money. The question is exactly what about the organization that he didn't like, or was substandard compared to the Rams, that drove him away.
To answer the question about the line; I think with Vollmer going down the Pats might be worse. Fortunately for them they have Brady and a gamelan that compensates. Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk
There is no good news there- The OL sucks, the OTs suck, Tannehill is getting pummeled physically, maybe mentally as well, and the running game is average at best. The Wheeler/Ellerbee signings look questionable at this point and Wallace is a major concern, but I think that the inability to re-sign jake Long is the signature failed move of the Dolphins FO this year. Talk about unindented consequences...
I don't think it was just about the money. I think a big part was the scheme. He understood that he just fits better in St. Louis's scheme. That's why I don't agree that it was a failure to let him go.
You think the Patriots' line is worse? I don't think so, personally. Nate Solder is leagues better than any tackle we have and Marcus Cannon may be the equivalent to the best we have to offer at the tackle position. Logan Mankins is better than any guard we have as well. Dan Connolly may not be great but he's not as bad as John Jerry, IMO.
His'n yours, yours hisn', that whole philosophy of making our schemes match the talents of our players. I would have rather kept Jake Long and made scheme adjustments if that were the case, and btw I'm not too sure about your point being correct. Regardless, the OL results this year speak for themselves.
I just don't see Long as a sound long-term decision. They want to use more move blocking to take advantage of Pouncey's mobility. I don't see much sense in tying up so much of your cap on a ill-fitting player with significant health concerns. I even said before the season that I thought Long might be better this year than what we got out of Martin this year, but I didn't think it was a good bet that Long would still be the better player for us in years 2 and 3 of that albatross of a contract. And in general it may no longer make sense to allocate as much of your salary cap to Ts when you have a quick passing game that negates so much of the end pressure on it's own. Obviously you don't want a turnstile there, but you may be able to get 90% of the production for about 10% of the cost and then use some of that savings to bolster more impact positions.
Yeah Larry, you whiffed on the whole point- why didn't he want to say and what does that say about the state of the Dolphins franchise? No kidding.
