If we lose out on Peyton Manning, it ain't Armando's fault and its not the fault of the Miami media. Are they crazy and over-the-top? Of course. However, Manning's a big boy. Yes, he's used to the small market that is Indianapolis, but he's no "awe-shucks Southern boy". He grew up under a microscope here in New Orleans, the son of the greatest New Orleans Saint (at the time). He's a savvy dude who does a ton of commercials and has hosted Saturday Night Live. He's not a scarred rabbit, afraid of a circus. He's going to sign with whatever team he thinks gives him the best chance at a ring. Do you really think Armando and some idiot at the local FOX affiliate are going to be a factor???? That's crazy talk!
The only thing in which the local media is a factor is in the number of posts on the message boards of this community, and the number of hits on the local media websites. In that, they have been astonishingly successful.
I don't think anyone has blamed the media for us not getting Manning. I think the crux of the argument is that they overstated our interest and under-reported the facts of the issue. That is to say, that 85% to Miami statistic was made up, the hype surrounding Manning to Miami was just that, hype, and although we may have legitimately been interested in Manning, there's still factors to consider, including Matt Flynn. I know I sound like a broken record by now, but our HC coached Flynn for 4 years in GB as his offensive co-ordinator. You'd have to think that his potential praise of Flynn as an elite talent would carry at least some weight. After all, it was his intelligence and thorough nature that impressed Ross and Ireland the most.
The only thing I blame the media for is spouting unreliable nonsense hour after hour in the quest to break news.
The event of Manning not signing with us, has no blame inherent with it. Blame comes in, when we find out the reason(s) why he didn't sign. There are a myriad of reasons Peyton wouldn't sign with one team or another. Most of which are beyond our control and some that aren't. I have zero faith our fanbase will understand the difference. My biggest fear in regards to blame, is how many people are going to have a baby blaming Ross, Ireland or Philbin if we don't sign him, and how they are going to blame them without knowing any of the facts. Or how they will disregard any facts that may come up to the contrary. From there, every post about every decision or event will reference Manning not signing as the proof positive the FO sucks. On and on.
Just go ahead and blame Ireland now.... He is already blamed for herpes, egg farts, and Obama so why not?
I blame the media for blowing it out of proportion and possibly hurting the fact that Manning will not come to the Dolphins because of all the speculation that's been occurring ever since the Colts let him go. Hopefully, the media gives Manning a chance to make his final decision and hopefully his decision is the best choice for him. I hope the media doesn't influence whatever his decision may be.
I think the lesson I have re-learned this week is how there are many people in the media that do not like our franchise, and they go out of their way to create drama and discord with everything Miami Dolphins. It's really almost to the point that you can rarely take anything at face value in the coverage of the NFL. I think I will say that Philbin could be the kind of guy that finds favor with the media. He doesn't seem to carry his emotions on his sleeve and he is an intelligent and likeable guy. Early success could really put him in a fantastic position. I've never been a fan of another NFL team. The Dolphins are all I have known my entire life. So much has changed since Coach Shula that sometimes it's difficult to see what is happening nowadays. Guys like Irvin have huge ego's and often serve their own interests with their focus of news coverage, etc. I'm hoping our dumping of Marshall is a sign of things to come. He made plays for us, but he was never really what we hoped for. His constant distractions and dropped passes, penalties, etc cost us games. Easily as many as he helped us win he contributed to our losses. Bringing in good people to the Miami Dolphins will help us win back over the media. Give them good things to report always and end the teenage immaturity of players like Brandon Marshall. Even if our franchise continues to struggle on the field, I'll enjoy rooting for guys like Wes Welker over guys like Brandon Marshall anyday. I think the types of people we bring in under Philbin will make it more fun to be a Dolfan.
Peyton would be a big splash but I see it as a win win any way it goes. If we get Peyton we have a great QB assuming he's healthy. If we don't get Peyton there's still money to keep the rest of the team.
