I wonder if the whole the "Dolphins weren't a strong possibility" thing was a ploy to lower the price. I'd feel a whole lot better with Mathis in the fold. Let Douglas learn for a year or two while Mathis is here and then take over.

 

thanks Tuna, we did have him on the roster at one point...

 

Yeah, well, wasnt that one year he WASNT ranked in top two, last year, where he was god awful? Or am I remembering wrong?

 

They're saying he was in the top two in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

 

Evan Mathis just doesn't make sense for a team that has so much cap tied into a few players. He's only coming on condition of a pay raise and you're already holding Albert, Wake, and Grimes with major elevators coming in 2016 for Suh, Tannehill, Cameron, and Pouncey. The reality is we're going to have to find someone young, good, and cheap barring a major jump in the cap. Thing is, if our team is really good and only needs to shore up interior blocking, then we can always go the Cowboys route and invest heavy draft resources in the offensive line. Collins would have been a great get. This is also why Jared Veldheer was the better get to me last year. He's playing about just as well as Albert but significantly cheaper.

 

agree w carib. no way to pay mathis what he'll want unless we cut some major cap.

Hey, let's cut Suh to sign Mathis.

That'd go over well!

 

The move they should have made: Trade Pouncey for a 2nd round pick and signed Clint Boling to a long term contract. Boling was perfect for our system and Cinci got him back for donuts.

As far as the center position goes: Chris Meyers remains unsigned. 33 year old multiple pro bowl center.

There were a ton of other possible scenarios for the Dolphins to improve the OL, and the team, but the arrogant idiots blew it all off like they didn't have the worst OL in football last year. https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/01/08/2014-pff-offensive-line-rankings/

effing dumb *** mindless buffoons

Nobody in their right mind should be supporting this FO.

 

yeah those baffoons signed the baddest man in the game..thoe baffoons are totally remodeling that cancer of a stadium with their own money, this baffoons had nice draft, like what are you so pissed at?, that we signed pounce to that big deal and didn't sign your boy boling?

 

If you're putting stock into PFF, you should know that Clint Boling graded negative in pass blocking. He was pretty bad in 2014. I'll stick w/Pouncey...

 

Get him. We have the cap space and the d-lines in the AFC East will massacre offenses this year.

 

I would stick with Pouncey as well, but for less than half of what they gave him. I would have kept the 50 mil and garnered a 2nd round pick and signed one of the best young guards in the league and use your imagination when it comes to what the Dolphins could have done with a high 2nd round pick.

Meyers is old and he still wants to get paid; I don't know, maybe he is finished or maybe he has another pro bowl left in him, but Pouncey has yet to approach his level of excellence. Not saying Mike can't grow up and work harder and actually earn his money but giving a guy who was ranked 52nd in the league at guard last year an enormous contract is just grossly irresponsible.

 

Exactly how do you figure they have the cap space to acquire him? Based on the latest adjudged cap numbers, it appears the Dolphins are going to have trouble signing any of their own free agents after the season and they certainly don't appear to have the cap space to take on his salary at this time.

 

I think Mathis makes perfect sense. OG is still our biggest need (or at least question mark) and he's the best OG in football and is perfect for our blocking scheme. He was 2nd in PFF's rankings last year when he played with some injuries, but in the 3 years before that he totally dominated those rankings, with grades about double the next highest guy each year. He's a little old, but is uncommonly fit for an OG and may be the most fit/best conditioned OL in NFL history. I think he has several very good years ahead of him. As I understand it, we still have $10M in cap space and could easily fit him in at around $6M if necessary.

 

Mathis would turn our OL into a known strength rather than a potential weakness and give us a lot of depth going forward with Thomas and Douglas as the backups. Problem is the cap space... no idea how that would work out.

 

You also have to take into account PFF's numbers are cumulative, meaning even with missing several games, his performance was rated over every G except one...that's insane. Extrapolated over a full season, his rating would've been right with the #1 dude.

 

wow, welcome to two years ago, thanks for posting. Discussing options at center is mindlessly stupid considering we just signed Pouncey to a contract that says we believe he's the long term anchor on the Oline.

 

....but, he's not playing guard anymore. so, basing your cynicism on the fact that he was a poorly rated guard is a waste of time.

 

Then I guess most of us aren't "in our right minds".

This FO has overall been great, starting with that Suh signing, with Stills and Cameron also ++, and then the draft with Parker (at least him.. we'll see about others, but I can't give clear negative marks on the others). I'd give the FO an A- right now, the minus being only for not yet addressing the OG position. But otherwise? I think no one is in their right mind to give this FO anything less than thumbs up for what they did given the resources available, at all positions except OG of course.

It's a huge change of scenery from the Ireland days!

 

Would love to see this guy come in, if at all possible. Our top rated guard last year was horrible (54th)...and he's no longer here (Smith). Our #2 guard you ask? Dallas Thomas (58th)...followed by Pounce (69th) and Colledge (74th).

So ugly.

 

Seems like Guard has been an eternal hole for us, to me if Mathis plugs it for two yrs he'd be worth it.

BUT, I feel like I have a grasp on how this regime works, with so much invested draft wise in G prospects, Mathis may as well as be retired as far as they are concerned

 

A little over $10 million still left in cap space.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/cap/

 

I think they're just playing chicken with the eagles. Hopefully just trying to make the deal more palatable.

Plus, they really don't know what they have in Douglas.

Still, I see your point with the faulty logic and all. I just don't see them being so blind. Ireland, yes...Tannenbaum/Hickey, not so much...

 

Two years ago?? Is this another drunk post? Try two months ago. Pouncey's hideous contract is new.

I really thought this crap was over when Ireland was fired.

The Dolphin tradition used to be winning; lately, it is mindlessly stupid contracts.

This front office has completely screwed the pooch when it comes to the way they handled the OL this offseason.

No way in hell should the 2014 52nd ranked guard get contract making him the highest paid center in football. Maybe he still has potential greatness at center but he hasn't shown it and his pro bowl appearance last year was a farce, and everyone with a brain knows that.

He should have played on the one year 7.5 mil deal and they could have made an educated decision after the season. It isn't like the cap situation is rosy the next two years.

 

I wouldn't use the phrase screwed the pooch, but yes considering Tannehill's been sacked 104 or so times over the last couple years, they certainly could have done a little more. I would've waited to extend Pouncey as well. The money we were willing to tie up in Charles Clay, we could have given that to the hometown kid Orlando Franklin, and then in the 5th round taken La'el Collins, now you have an excellent line with excellent depth, now you have multiple options to step in at LT should Albert miss time. I'd be a hell of a lot more confident of making the playoffs with that OL.

 

The Eagles have not picked an offensive lineman yet in the draft and could be down another lineman if Evan Mathis has his way.

Mathis wants his contract restructured, but the Eagles have declined to renegotiate. They have told him and his agent that they could shop for another team and new deal, though. But Chip Kelly said the Eagles have yet to receive an offer for the 33-year-old Pro Bowl guard.

"Evan's been available to trade for two years now and we've never had an offer for him," Kelly said. "That's through his agent and him. They've asked if he could renegotiate a contract and see what he could get and we've obliged him with that, but we've never had an offer."

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/...-Mathis-in-two-years.html#v1mp7KzoiDTG7ksg.99

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-eagles/Evan-Mathis-a-no-show-for-OTAs.html

Personally, I say go get him. Let's face it, Billy Turner and Jamil Douglas are unproven commodities at this point, Mathis has been there an done that at OG. Sign him, dump Dallas Thomas and let the two young guys develop. We have massive question marks at OG and our division is loaded with DT talent, there's no sense is wasting another season because the interior OL is weak. Not to mention, Branden Albert is far from a certainty to be back at full strength by week one, we need all the OL help that we can get.

Jordan Phillips looks like a heck of a talent, but I would have been fine with using our 2nd rd pick on Jake Fisher and also one of the 5th rd picks on Tayo Fabuluje for depth at OT and OG.

 

Why do people assume that drafting La'el Collins in the 5th would have resulted in him actually playing for us? The greater chance was that he would refuse to sign a contract, and would have then been eligible for the draft again.

 

Also Tannenbaum being close with his agency all but assures he would do what they asked the NFL teams (to not draft La'el Collins). Tannenbaum probably would not have wanted to risk a close relationship with the agency by doing the exact opposite of what was asked...

 

The threat.

At this point Collins' agent made a bold move.

According to Klemko, Collins' agents told teams that if he was drafted after the third round, he would not sign with the team and would instead sit out a year and enter next year's draft. It was a gamble with multiple risks, and teams could have simply ignored the threat.

After the draft, one of Collins' agents admitted that the move was a bluff.

"We can put it on the record now: We were never going back in the draft," his agency's general counsel, Rick Smith, told Klemko. "If someone had drafted him, we would’ve had a long, long discussion about it, but at the end of the day you can’t go back in the draft. He could get injured, gain weight, or 10 great tackles could come out. Too many risks."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/lael-collins-agent-nfl-draft-dallas-cowboys-2015-5#ixzz3cPEnEBCk

http://www.catscratchreader.com/201...-the-panthers-and-every-other-team-in-the-nfl

 

Lol here we go with this bull**** logic again. It was a bluff, from day 1, and I said to call the bluff on day 3 of the draft, and the same reason why we were a heavy favorite to sign him after the draft would be the reason he would have EASILY been convinced to change his mind and play here. Dolphins, yet again, weren't proactive and missed a golden opportunity to greatly improve the line and the team, now we have to bank on a guy who didn't even play 20 snaps last season, a 4th rounder, and hope to God one of the worst offensive lineman in the league has improved his game tenfold ......I'd say it looks promising!

 

You are completely ignoring the human aspect of the situation. This isn't Madden where there wouldn't be consequences like burning bridges of a professional relationship... these are REAL people here.

Put yourself in Tannenbaum's place: you have worked with Priority Sports for about two years... you know and have a good relationship with pretty much everyone who works there. La'El Collins' agent, whom you probably know, has specifically asked all teams to not draft him, and has likely reached out to you and personally asked you to not draft him. What do you do? Do the exact opposite and risk burning the bridge of a good working relationship which might endanger future negotiations with other Free Agents/draftees?

If you really would think about doing something like that, you are a real prick and likely would have no connections in the sports world.

In other words, you'd basically be Jeff Ireland.

 

Which should be carried over to help offset Suh's contract.

 

Yeah, I'm assuming some of it will.

 

Why on earth would he sign a 3rd round pick offer this year when he could re-enter the draft next year as a clear cut 1st rounder?

 

See post #30.

 

Nobody was touching him until he was clear. Not in this age of the NFL being so heavily scrutinized over character. So the rest is moot 20/20 hindsight talk.

 

You can't actually rollover cap space like phone minutes, can you?

Plus, won't they raise the cap anyway?

...and why are you now not wanting to beef up the O-line? You pushed hard for Collins predraft. Why the change of heart?