Charles Robinson @CharlesRobinson 1 hr1 hour ago I'm told that if #Saints draft Bryce Petty, it's a clear indication that Jeff Ireland is already shot-calling in New Orleans. Charles Robinson @CharlesRobinson 24 mins24 minutes ago #Saints fans: Sean Payton/Ryan Pace were your 2 best college talent evaluators. Pace left. Guess who took over his eval role. Jeff Ireland.
No one, ESPECIALLY in football bats 1.00. C'mon man. Doesn't help he was criminally misused as a pro. Pick your favorite talent evaluator and we'll be happy to find holes in his drafts.
Not a lot of GMs have screwed up with the 3rd pick in the draft after moving up to get it. Plus all the other bad picks and free agent signings he made. Not to mention he was a terrible scheme fit for this defense. If he is an OLB it would be a 3-4 OLB and the Dolphins already have Wake and Vernon at DE. Wake will retire soon but they didn't need to move up and try and get his replacement in that draft 2 years ago. Jordan was a horrible reach pick and has off the field problems. One of the worst busts in a while and of course Ireland made that pick.
Jeffy Summary via ESPN: Highlights: Signing Cameron Wake from the CFL. Parcells reportedly convinced the pass-rusher to sign from the Canadian Football League in 2009, when other teams were also interested. But Ireland had scouted Wake, who has since been selected to four Pro Bowls. A solid run of first-round picks. Long (2008), Davis (2009) and Pouncey (2011) all became Pro Bowlers, though Davis' first Pro Bowl came after he was traded to Indianapolis. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill (2012) hasn't been a superstar, but he has been solid; he threw for 4,045 yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2014. Defensive tackle Jared Odrick (2010) hasn't thrived, but he's still a starter five years later. Jordan (2013) was the first real bust of the bunch, though he still has time to turn things around. Mid- to late-round gems. DE Olivier Vernon (Round 3) notched 11.5 sacks in his second season. From Round 4, WR Brian Hartline has two 1,000-yard seasons and RB Lamar Miller has one. Also among the best: LB Jelani Jenkins (Round 4); S Chris Clemons, S Reshad Jones (Round 5); TE Charles Clay (Round 6); S Jimmy Wilson (Round 7); WR Davone Bess and DEDerrick Shelby (undrafted). Lowlights: Trading up for Jordan. Ireland was all-in on Jordan, saying he coveted the athletic pass-rusher for two years. And he traded up from No. 12 to No. 3 to get him. But Jordan has been hampered by injuries, suspensions and inconsistency. On the plus side, the price of the trade was relatively cheap, only costing the Dolphins a second-round pick to swap places with theOakland Raiders. Round 2 whiffs. The most infamous was drafting mobile quarterback Pat White in the second round in 2009, when the Dolphins were at the forefront of the NFL's "Wildcat" movement, though Parcells, Ireland and Sparano probably all deserve blame for that. Other second-round misses include DE Phillip Merling (2008), QB Chad Henne (2008), RB Daniel Thomas (2011) and OT Jonathan Martin (2012). No franchise quarterbacks. Sure, landing one is easier said than done, but it's also the most important asset a GM can acquire for his team. Ireland never pulled it off, even missing out on the Manning sweepstakes in 2012. Long was a great pick at No. 1 overall in 2008, being voted to four Pro Bowls before leaving for St. Louis as a free agent, but Matt Ryan -- or even Joe Flacco -- would have been better for the franchise. Instead, the Dolphins went with Henne in Round 2 that year. Former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema recently claimed that he tried to convince Miami to draft Russell Wilson in 2012, but they didn't seem interested and targeted Tannehill instead. The Dolphins, of course, weren't the only team that whiffed on Wilson.
How many trades have been up to third pick? All GMs make mistakes. Ireland did a good job of picking players who have long NFL careers. He is one of the best. You can hate him all you want, but to say he is bad at everything is just wrong.
Solid run of 1st round picks? Jake along was the #1 pick in the draft. He never lived up to being the #1 pick and eventually left because the team didn't see him worth the asking price. Davis never lived up to his potential here. Pouncey has regressed. Odrick will be a starter next year but only because he plays for the Jaguars now. Teams were running up the middle on him at will last season.
I edited my previous message going into more detail why it was such a bad pick. How many GM moved into the top 5 of the draft and whiffed that bad on a player that was a terrible scheme fit for the team? Few very few. Most of his free agent signings were overpaid and gone. Most of the 1st round picks he made are also.....GONE. Lol one of the worst GMs around. Good riddance Ireland.
Very few move up into the top 5. I am not talking about free agent signings. You are just being a hater.
Of course you don't want to talk about free agent signings. They were just as worse or even worse then his draft picks. Speaking of the draft don't you remember Ted Ginn and that 2nd round pick Pat White?
Tannehill is more likely than not to become a franchise QB for us (in the sense that we won't look at QB as a serious "need" on the team), so that "lowlight" might turn into a "highlight". Either way, let's not forget all his FA moves here: Ellerbe, Wheeler, Wallace (bad fit), etc.. Overall, Ireland was detrimental to this team IMO.
I think Ireland's track record with 2nd and 3rd round picks should be more than enough to at least cast some serious doubt to whether he is a good talent evaluator. 6 drafts as a Dolphins GM and 15 2nd and 3rd round picks, his best selection have been Koa Misi, Olivier Vernon and Sean Smith, with a lot of hot garbage in between. You can't be considered a good evaluator when out of 15 2nd and 3rd round selections, you only muster 2 nothing-more-than-solid players and another who was bad with the team and only got better after leaving.
I am not trying to justify him as a GM. I am just saying he is good at finding talent in the draft. He didn't draft Ted Ginn.
Jonathan Martin, Jamar Taylor, Will Davis, Patrick Turner, Pat White, Dallas Thomas, John Jerry, Michael Egnew, Daniel Thom... The Saints are gonna be just fine. They're in good hands.