Marshall plan not right course for Miami Dolphins

As soon as I opened it and saw it was written by Mando, I closed it w/o reading it...

 

You do that too, eh?

 

I realized Brandon Marshall probably is worth the risk when Armando mentioned he had 21 catches in one game and stopped reading.

 

Amen brother.

 

Did Miami receiveing corp have 21 catches this year combined??

 

no they didnt

 

from day one, Marshall has been the only wr worth an investment in fa for miami

 

I've herd it three times on the radio this morning that the Jets are trying to make a serious push to land Marshall. If it happens I think I'll be sick. He may end up being a malcontent but pairing him with Edwards has the chance to be downright deadly....

 

I thought Edwards was suppose to be a FA, whatever happend to that?

Also, is anyone else just downright confused on what they think about getting Marshall, he's a monster, but in more ways then one. I dunno how I feel either way to be honest

 

These malcontent receivers just kill team chemistry. Look at Owens in Dallas...they run into all that drama and miss the playoffs. They release him then win the division as well as their first playoff game since 1996.

 

Has anyone that thinks this is a no brainer for Miami bothered to wonder why no one else is making offers? I haven't heard of anyone being serious about him, theres a few rumors going around but really a guy with his talent should have been gone 2 minutes after the Broncos put the 1st round tender on him. The fact that there hasn't been too many reports of any interested parties willing to part with a 1st rounder and give him a huge contract should give a little pause to everyone. Its not just us that finds the price a bit too high and risky for this guy.

 

If you were a GM would you feel so confident in your job security that you would take a chance on Marshall and taking on the documented runins with two coaches as well as all the off the field issues? Not to mention this would cost you a 1st round pick and $30 million in guaranteed money. Gee I wonder why no team has ponied up to take Marshall off their hands?

 

Maybe. Maybe not.
But I sure would've given up a 3rd and 4th to get Boldin and a 5th back.

 

Owens was a diva because of playing time, catches, and being a centerpiece. Brandon Marshall's problems have been monetary, Darrent Williams, and domestic violence based. Marshall isn't a locker room killer. He's a guy who will produce but investing in him could falter if he gets arrested more so than he will kill your team. Mercury Morris was a great teammate but his downfall was drugs.

 

Again the picks are not the issue - it's the contract extension. There was a time when Boldin was worth $7-8 million per year. Not now with the wear and tear accumulated due to his playing style. He would have been worth the money for the playing style that got him to this point but not what he is now.

 

I know, and I get the money issue. But at some point you have to pay to get an elite #1 WR.
Until that happens, or we hit a homerun in the draft, instead of striking out (Ginn, Turner) or hit singles (Bess, Hartline), the Dolphins will continue to hover around .500 or worse.

 

This team was 7-9 last year while coming off an 11-5 season the year before. They are doing ok. What keeps this team down is the play of the defense. The offense played plenty well enough to beat the likes of New Orleans and Indianapolis - it was the play of the defense that killed those two games. As well, it was our defense that fell apart versus Buffalo, Houston and Pittsburgh. Don't lose sight of what is holding this team back.

 

The 11-5 season had more to do with Brady going down and the WC taking the league by storm.
I agree the D let us down last year. But one of the problems is this team can't really come from behind that well. And that has alot to do with the lack of a deep passing attack.
The WC is great when Brown is healthy and the game is still close. But once we get behind by 14 or more, the game is usually over.

 

With a great defense you shouldn't have to come from behind 14 or more.

 

Touche.

 

Actually, in a league with great passing teams and top offenses, coming back is something you will have to do in order to win...a few times a season.

The current champions came back a few times this season, including in the Super Bowl.

Great defense alone isn't getting us a championship.

 

Defense alone? People on this board act as if this offense did nothing all year. They performed more than sufficient to beat the likes of New Orleans and Indianapolis. The defense cost us both those games as well as at least three others. With the return of Brown and the further development of Henne, the o-line and our receivers, the offense should be much improved over last year. The defense was the key weakness that ruined last year and must be fully addressed.

 

Again... hes not a LB or DL... we have Parcels and Ireland

 

I am not saying the defense is perfect, far from it. But if we want to compete for a championship we need a top WR along with defensive improvements.

We have made a solid defensive improvement already, and this draft is defense heavy, so we will obviously address more defense there. What worries me is we really have no WR options at hand right now, or any inclination that the F.O. is moving in that direction.

 

Yep. It's starting to look like another year of Ted Ginn drops along with one or two big plays and screens to Devone Bess, with Hartline and Camarillo making the occasional sem-big play.
Right on.

 

Stop right there! Just change offense to RB's and you're cool.

 

This is the regime that found the likes of Miles Austin off the scrap heap as well as Witten in the third round. I'm confident in their abilities to address the position.

As for requiring a top WR in order to reach Championship level, I have to disagree with you there. NO has several qualities receivers but no true elite number one; Pittsburgh had two good ones but nowhere near the quality of the team they beat; NYG had Buress (who caught the final pass) but they beat a team with superior receivers because of defense; Pitt on 05 had arguably an elite in Ward; NE x 3, TB (Johnson was no longer elite) and Baltimore did not have elite receivers. The above noted teams, except for NO, all had elite level defenses. Defense is still the key to a Championship and I don't see that changing any time soon.

 

I guess we can keep this debate going all day, but dude seriously? ALL these teams had either VERY GOOD number 1s and 2s, and/or GREAT and developed QBs, and/or great role players on offense. And on top of that we are now in a league dominated by Passing offenses.

 

The rules in the NFL favor the pass. Not having a #1 WR is like bringing a BB gun to a shotgun battle and thinking you can get by.

What you need in this league is big targets b/c they are match-up problems for the defense. We don't have any. The teams that win like NO and Pitt have those.

And if you still think defenses win championships then you haven't been paying attention. You can't get by with no defense, but all you generally need is a defense ranked about 15th or so. Of course both SB teams this year had defenses that were ranked below even that.

Heck, I even watched an NFL Network show yesterday discussing the top 10 NFL myths that included the defense wins championships myth.

 

You hit on the key point...a great or developed QB. If Henne doesn't develop into a top QB, this team won't be championship caliber regardless of what we have at WR. BTW there is a big difference between a "very good" number one or two vs. people claiming it's Marshall or bust at the WR position. History has clearly shown you do not need a Marshall caliber receiver to win a championship provided you are championship caliber at other key positions.

 

If it weren't for the damn issues with Marshall's off-the-field concerns I'd say sure. I just don't think they'll be able to get over that. He really would be an automatic top offense producer day one. A 1st for Marshall and Scheffler would likely send the offense to another category.

 

And then what happens when decides to smack his girlfriend around again and is suspended for the season? Not only are we minus him but our would be 12th overall pick.

 

What happens if he doesn't and catches a 100 balls and puts up 1200 yards? We probably contend for the AFCE title and become SB contenders as well.

 

You really think a WR will do that much for us? Without the 12th pick, how do we address our FS as well as depth at OLB and NT. Again, it was the pathetic defense that killed us last year more than anything else.

 

Besides, you outline the best case scenario. Are you willing to risk the pick and the money knowing his history with two coaches and countless off the field issues? If I were the GM, I'd sure hate to face the owner after that one blew up...because it's not as if there weren't any warning signs. Sure you could sue to recoup some of the signing bonus...but how much of that do you think would be left?

 

The offense wasnt good last year, the defense was even worse....they had a nice running game...they pounded the ball and took time off the clock, would score a FG/TD, then when playing against the good teams, would give up a TD back in 4 minutes or less....then the offense would come back on for yet another 8-12 minute drive to score....you cant win like that...

I agree that the defense is the bigger problem, but Miami severely lacks that big play ability, something they will absolutely need to contend..

Rememeber the Pats in 07, before Manning threw a desperation pass up and Tyre caught it (thank god for that!!)...they had a ridiculous offense , one that if it werent for that crazy play, they are undefeated...the Pats scored at will (always contending), Indy scores at wil (always contending), SD scores at will (always contendeing, Philly scores at will (always contendeing)...etc...etc....for a simple 1st round pick, we can have the "scoring at will" offense.....

 

Ricky owed Miami 8.6 million at one point because breach of contract....you can get it back...I would rather be know as the GM that took a shot to better the team and it backfired, then be the GM that consistantly played it safe drafting dreams at the hopes that one of these kids turns out...there are very very few Jerry Rice's out there....

 

Yes, seeing he did it for Denver with a QB that I believe is < Henne, and a far inferior running game.

We have other picks where we can address defensive needs.

I get it bro, you think the defense was our downfall last season. But again, I see that as half of the problem, and the weakness at WR part of the other half. So you can rag on the defense all you want, it won't make my opinion of the WRs change.

If I outlined the "best scenario" aren't you outlining the worst?

And yes, I would risk it, but neither me or you are GMs so its easy to armchair it.

 

Do you have some kind of auto response ready for anyone who posts anything about Marshall? Did you conveniently gloss over the entire first sentence of that post where I mentioned if it weren't for the off-the-field issue?