Doesn't matter which one is better. The thing is, those three are our best three. Sorry Kenny, you are too one dimensional so can be just a really good #4. With Gase, 11 personnel will be our starting and most often used offensive package. Matthews and Landry are two guys that RT really trusts and has chemistry with but Parker is quickly gaining Ryan's confidence too. All three should get starter snap counts.
You are tripping. Rishard Matthews quietly had a very efficient year. 70% catch rate which was higher than Landry yet 15 ypc. Out of the 119 wide receivers with the most playing time, Rishard is the only one who ranks in the top 25 for catch rate and ypc. Usually it's one or the other because deeper targets correlate with lower catch percentages. He started the year off hot in yards per route run. It slowed down a little but he was still top 20 by the time he was injured. Based on the numbers if Rishard Matthews were to get 166 targets like landry he'd have 1700 yards. Now it's not that easy to just multiply his targets like that but it's not out of this world to think so. Based on last year Rishard was much better than Landry. Landry is a good player but I don't get the massive love he gets here.
It does though. There are only so many targets to go around and the passing offense was much more efficient when targeting Rishard last year. Rishard was on pace for 1150 yards basically what Landry got. But with only about 110 targets vs 166 that Landry got. If at the end of the year Matthews and Parker are leading the team in yardage that means we had a damn good year passing. Because those two guys get down the field.
Parker is the #1, Mathews #2, Landry in the slot. Stills the 4 wide speed burner. I can live with that!
What on earth is there to "get"? He's a guy going into his 3rd year that is trending way up. He's been dependable, great with yards after catch, a go to 3rd down target, good Special Teams player and a true leader in the clubhouse. He has the toughness and work ethic of great players. Matthews couldn't get on the field for his first few years because he was always in the doghouse. I like him, I hope we keep him but I'd take Landry over him, and honestly I think so would just about every GM in the league.
Why does it matter in what order any of us may rank them? All three should start. All three will be running pass patterns on most pass plays. Ryan will spread the ball around based on who is open.
Watch the Patriots and Panthers make a run at him, perfect set up- played very well, talented, overshadowed by other WRs and got injured. He'll present great value in FA I would think, smart teams will be all over him if they have a need at WR.
Here is what I think makes this whole discussion much more interesting. I think most people on this board would agree that Matthews is better than Stills, but Stills has a unique skill set in his speed. There was a poster who wrote a fantastic post the other day about how misleading statistics can be (I highly recommend reading the whole post. It is one of the best posts I've read in some time.) By simply putting Stills out of the field, teams have to at least account for the deep pass. In fairness, RT has come a long way on his deep passing skills, especially to Stills. With Stills on the field, safeties may play back a little bit more or defenses may not stack the box as much. This is where things get juicy (pun intended), and we have to ask ourselves, "How many times did Llamar Miller get extra yards because of favorable defensive match ups due to Stills' presence?" or "How many times was Juice able to get open for medium distance pass (probably RT's most accurate type of pass) because Stills commanded safety help?" My gut tells me that our offense as a whole would be better with Stills on the field more, but also, I agree that Matthews is a better and more complete receiver. I think the real dilemma would be determining how to feed so many mouths.
I'm just now noticing three Seahawks receivers on that list...3 guys that aren't even that gifted to be honest...at this point comparing Russ to Tannehill is as stupid as comparing Brady or Rodgers to Tannehill.
It doesn't except for when it relates to targets and snaps. I'm okay with Landry getting more targets cuz he's a move the chains guy. When we are scheming to get him the ball but Dallas is scheming to get Dez the ball, cincy is scheming to get AJ green the ball, etc
It is but I think Lockett can/will be special. That kid got behind the defense so many times but Wilson didn't start trusting him till late That is a ridiculous stat though. What he did with that receiving corps and oline is amazing
Then you should not make that comparison. I have not seen anyone else make it. Probably someone somewhere has, but they are a very minute minority.
How do we pay him more? And do all the other things we need to do? Remember we have more to worry about then just this year. We have to look how this years contracts will effect next year - what about Stiles next year. He is going to want a long term deal as well. What is he worth to stretch the defense - 3, 4, 5 a yr? Everything we do this year will effect next year and we will have about 24 players under contract with 70 m to doll out. Not a lot when you need to sign 30 players. We start giving out 5 m a year contracts and we will be screwed next yr. the way out of the problem is to give huge signing bonus which are spread out over length of the contract. With that move though comes the problem of then we are stuck with these guys because that is guaranteed money that counts weather they are on the team or not.
Depends on how much the front office wants to keep him. We have Stills, Landry and Parker for pretty cheap so we could afford to spend 4-5 million a season for the next few years on Matthews. If he gets a ton of guaranteed money from someone else he's probably going to leave but he's not even going to consider a 3 year 5 million deal, he can get better than that easily. If we can sign him to a smart deal that pays a good amount over the next 2 years then we can keep him and Landry and Parker together for 3 years, thats a strong WR corps. Honestly I don't care about Stills being here long term or not, certainly not at the expense of losing Matthews, Landry or Parker long term.
That's why they pay cap specialists. Fans need not worry as much they tend to Imo. They have it fit together like an intricate puzzle. Leave it to the professionals and relaaaaaax. There are hundreds of ways to create space.
Here's our cap situation: http://overthecap.com/salary-cap/miami-dolphins/ Cut Jennings, Jordan and Cameron and you save $14.5 mil. I'd argue we should also cut Grimes, Thomas and Mitchell, giving us $10.5 mil more. And no way should we let Wake come back for $9.8 mil. I'd say max you re-sign him for $6 mil, giving us a total of $29 mil savings minimum. Our current cap number is $155 mil which is way over, but people are saying 2016 cap will be at least $150 mil. If that's true, then even setting aside money for rooks you have more than enough money to sign Matthews, Miller and OV (if you want to) unless one tries to break the bank. Furthermore, if you structure their cap hits to be small in 2016 to compensate for Suh's massive cap hit this year (I'm against restructuring Suh's contract.. just pushes the pain down the road and we're not SB ready anyway in 2016), then we should be fine signing all 3 while still filling out the roster. Oh, and regarding Stills, I'd rather have Matthews than Stills if it came down to the two.
Sign Matthews with the Miller money. Lamar is going to get over paid. Better that it's not the Dolphins. He's going to test the market and walk.
I'm as big or bigger a fan of Matthews as many here, don't get me wrong. And whether I'm tripping or not is noneya! But I haven't seen him (thru no fault of his own) give me all in balls out effort like Landry does. And as a fan, that's what I respect far and away above any percentage of ??? Landry has just taken what he's been given and humbly run over every doubter or defender gets in the way. I look forward to seeing the same from Matthews, fully confident in the abilility, praying (in my own way) he gets the opportunity because he absolutely earned it. Back to trippin', it's after dark
I agree with hanging onto Williams, but how would this current regime use him? I disagree with his pass blocking. He was down right a hot mess early in his career, but he has gotten better, so there's something. He's certainly not the best pass blocker on the team. That would go to Lamar Miller. Now, maybe he's the best blocker once he gets his hands on someone? But understanding where to go once the ball is snapped would have to go to Miller. It may be more of the proper angles, etc., to take where Williams is sort of missing the mark. He is young and cheap with experience, which is really good.
Everybody keeps saying we are saving, we are saving. We are not saving those numbers because we then have to replace those players with equal or hopefully better talent. We can save some but it is no where near what is being claimed. We still need money for rookies and FA. If we do everything you said we are right up to the cap again with a bunch of holes still. I am not trying to be negative and I hope we can dig out of the hole but the guy doing the digging has a broken shovel. We should have never given SUH the money they did or the money they gave Tannehill. Next year Tanny is a 20m+ cap hit. 20 million - really. Tannenbaum needs his head checked. Mathews or Stills is a no brainer, but Stills serves a purpose of stretching the defense and will command more then the 1.6 he will get this year. last yr and the yr before he was under a mill per yr. It is his time to get paid. Cutting the guys you mentioned will leave us with more holes and if that is the case I would consider us in full blown rebuild mode - will set us back several years. Not saying it isn't needed or warranted, just was really hoping to avoid it.
From the Miami Dolphins web site: MIAMI – The Miami Dolphins today announced that the team has signed cornerback Chimdi Chekwa and wide receiver A.J. Cruz to free agent contracts. Chekwa played four seasons (2011-14) for the Oakland Raiders and appeared in 32 games with four starts. He totaled 32 tackles (28 solo), four passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Chekwa was signed by New England as an unrestricted free agent in 2015 and later signed with the Raiders again before training camp but did not participate in any games. He entered the league as a fourth round (113th overall) draft choice by the Raiders in 2011 out of Ohio State, where he was a first team All-American as a senior. Cruz originally entered the NFL with the Chicago Bears when he signed a free agent contract on July 28, 2015. He was waived by the team after the final preseason game. He played the past two seasons in the Arena Football League where he led the league in kickoff return average both seasons as a member of the Arizona Rattlers in 2015 and the LA KISS in 2014. In 2015, Cruz caught 27 passes for 220 yards (8.1 avg.) and five touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 46 yards (4.2 avg.) and three scores. On defense, Cruz totaled 57 tackles (34 solo), six pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He also returned 51 kickoffs for 1,221 yards (23.9 avg.) and six touchdowns. As an AFL rookie in 2014, Cruz led the league in kickoff return average (22.5) with 58 returns for 1,305 yards. Not sure what this means for Mathews and/or Grimes. Maybe nothing but, damn Arena football ???
It means nothing to either player. McCain was cut and they're gonna need bodies, why not a player with 4 years experience. Arena football has nothing to do with anything, we need competition at kick returner.
I agree. I believe he is the best WR on the Dolphins at this time. Parker may eventually turn out to be the better WR over time, but right now Matthews is better. Landry is a very talented slot receiver, but I think Matthews is the better all around WR. I think if he ends up with the Patriots , Panthers, Seahawks, or one of the other teams with a top tier QB. He will end up being a 1200 plus yard receiver and will have 12-15 touchdowns. Unfortunately the Dolphins probably won't be able to sign him because I think he will probably get an offer which will pay him $5-6 million a year.
McCain was a free agent - but if you want to say he was cut - ok. Arena football has nothing to do with it? Maybe I misread the article I will go back and reread it. Thought it said he led the league in Arena football.
The articles I've read have stated that McCain was released. What's your issue with his arena league experience? You realize he's not getting paid 10 million a year?