Nice read, but rehash of what we already know, I guess. With all that Tunaland has done, we still have a long way to go and we still have many questions about who will be able to do exactly what...It's getting hard to wait for things to start happening...
He's got to go. A few years back, he would have questioned anyone elses dedication to the team if they were doing what he is doing now. I just don't see a good end to this with him on the roster. Make no bones about it, this marriage is ending in divorce.
It's too bad we coudlnt get something done before the draft though. I've got a feeling they'd love for him to stay here though to help in the development of our new lineman, especially Jake Long
At this point it is still anybody's guess whether JT plays another down for us. It is really 50-50 he either plays here again and is asked to mentor Jake & Shawn, or somebody who is contending (or at least thinks they are) for a SB run, loses a key DL or OLB that JT can come in and keep their playoff hopes alive, then we get decent trade value for JT. We won't know until August or September anyway.
I just hope if we decide to move him that we don't just give him away for nothing. I doubt we would get much in return for him at this point in his career. You also have to look at JT's salary and decide whether it is best to keep him around for another year or two? I am sure the Tuna will decide what is in the best interests of the team.
That may very well be the main reason he's still a Dolphin - I don't know, but I would say that if they are in fact looking to trade him they're not going to do business unless the price is right. Personally, I would think that we could in fact get a good price for him. The year before last he was DPOY. He doesn't have a history of being brittle and I do not believe that he's lost much in just a year's time. Like I said, I have no idea what the FO's preference is with JT. Both Sparano and Ireland give the impression that they want to keep him.
I just don't see how. It's something we all pretty much know anyhow that he just can't figure into this now. Not unless he can play at a high level for another 5-6 yrs which is unlikely. He already toyed with the reitiement thing last year and it tells me which direction he is thinking towards anyway. I am surprised we didn't trade him before the draft.
He went from 2006 DPOY to being single-blocked by tight ends in 2007. One of the impediments to moving Jason Taylor may be a perception gap between the front office and the other 31 teams.
everyone was gassed last year. Our top run defense went to crap with a lot of the same personnel. He's in better shape now in May, according to him, then he was in 2006, and I don't doubt it. Fact of the matter is though, he was never brittle, which is true.
I don't attribute his decline in play to a lack of conditioning. I attribute it to getting old. Maybe him being in great shape will help him play consistently over the course of the season, but it's only downhill after 2006.
Ido not believe that JT had anything to do with us going 1-16 last year. We were 0-fer before we were gassed!!
And while "being single-blocked by tight ends in 2007," opposing QBs must have ran out of the pocket and right into his arms 11 times.
Sack totals are not an indication of season-long performance. It just means he tackled a special player 11 times. Furthermore, most of those sacks came near the end of the season. Imagine if some team asked us for a first round pick in exchange for a 34 year old player who only showed up near the end of the season. There are way too many people wearing rose-colored glasses when it comes to JT. But it looks like the topic may be moot.
2006: 1st half = 8 2nd half = 5.5 2005: 1st half = 4 2nd half = 8 2004: 1st half = 3 2nd half = 6.5 2003: 1st half = 2.5 2nd half = 10.5 2002: 1st half = 6.5 2nd half = 12 Aside from 2006, noticing a trend?
Damn, I remember it being bad, but not that bad. We lost 16 times in a 16 game season. Yet still eked out a win. How????
....Man, CNC I could see that happening, seriously. If he's still on the roster once they break training camp, I really could see them working JT at length in the preseason - like you said..just to get him warmed up.
Completely agree. So wait. Was he "single-blocked by TEs" or did he just take a while to get going like he has for most of his career? Of course you're right when you don't stick to one argument. P.S. - 11 sacks (only 8 DEs in the entire league had more), 1 INT returned for TD, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries. I'm not even a Jason Taylor apologist. I was hoping to see him traded on draft day. I expect him to retire if not traded.
He was single-blocked by TEs, as watching game footage will reveal. This is not something I'm making up. As for JT taking forever to get going--your numbers proved that as well. Again, why would a team trade a high pick for a 34 year old who only shows up after week 8? Regarding 2006, it's interesting he had 8 sacks in the first half. I'm going to chalk that up to the superiority of the hybrid defense; it truly is the pre-eminent defensive scheme in football right now.
Probably the hybrid defense combined with the fact that he had Holliday (7 sacks), Carter (6 sacks), Bowens (5 sacks), Roth (4 sacks), and Traylor (4 sacks). Whether it was the scheme, the players, or the combination thereof, he didn't have that to rely on last year. I don't doubt that he got blocked by TEs some last year, but I think you are grossly downplaying the season he had given the circumstances. As far as showing up after Week 8, if you are a playoff team in need of a DE, I think the better question is: why wouldn't you want a guy that waits until around November to start hitting peak performance?
