Merged:Miami Dolphins talking points: Decision to release Matt Roth a mistake?

I think we all agree it was a mistake if you base it on his talents alone. The guy could play. He did screw himself by lying about his injury though. That would be enough to piss alot of teams off. Enough to get cut? Probably not. But we know how this regime handles things of that nature.

cutting Matt Roth was a huge mistake.
Porter and Taylor are done and there is no one behind him.
Roth is 27 years old and is a good player

dumb :tantrum:
dumb :tantrum:
dumb :tantrum:
dumb :tantrum:
dumb :tantrum:

While I think Roth is a good player, I don't think it was a mistake.

It was a message.

Nobody is bigger than the team, your either on board or your not.

It was a message that I'm okay with.

the way dolphin fans treat Roth you would think he was a criminal
the guy hid an injury because he wanted to try and play
he hasnt been to jail or beat his girlfriend or anything
he was cut, it was a mistake and now he is playing great in cleve
just like he did after his transition to outside linebacker last season
the guy is a player
stupid move front office

I'm not sure he would have made a difference these last few games, and he certainly wasn't staying here after this season.

"Killerphins wrote:

the way dolphin fans treat Roth you would think he was a criminal
the guy hid an injury because he wanted to try and play
he hasnt been to jail or beat his girlfriend or anything
he was cut, it was a mistake and now he is playing great in cleve
just like he did after his transition to outside linebacker last season
the guy is a player
stupid move front office

We don't know the full reason behind why he wasn't playing for all those weeks. Suffice it to say, there clearly was an issue between him and the staff, because any time either of them was questioned, no one knew what was going on. That's a clear indicator that something was amiss.

There's some locker room drama behind this, you can take that to the bank, and if there's one thing I've learned about this FO in the last two years, it's that they are not putting on a show like Dancing with the Stars.

See wheat I did there? Two for the price of one!

But seriously, the FO doesn't put up with feuds, drama, or big heads. I'm not saying Roth was definitely any of those, but it's clear something was up, and it wasn't solely to do with his practices. It probably had more to do with the overall health of the team mentally going into the playoff stretch.

"Stringer Bell wrote:

I'm not sure he would have made a difference these last few games, and he certainly wasn't staying here after this season.

ill buy that and i guess i agree
that is the only reason really
the fact that they let a good player go over a small disagreement
still burns my balls though :up:

I dont think Cutting roth was a Mistake i thought it was a good move

It was a mistake plain and simple. WE need linebackers. He is a linebacker. Whether we cut him in the offseason or not, it was a mistake. One of several personnel decisions. Oh well.

And why didn't try and trade him before the deadline is beyond me.

I'm sure they would have preferred Roth not do what he did and still be on the team, but its hardly worth gnashing teeth over. He was a rotational player, and his presence wouldn't be solving any issues the team has right now. Its questionable even if the team is in the market to find a player to fill a similar role or not- they may prefer if not Taylor a strongside OLB of his style rather than Roths

The truth of this matter may never see the light of day.

oh, it will likely come out after the season is over .... some of it may have been about JT and playing time. maybe he tried to rush back to keep his position, after JT was signed - who knows ..... all i know is that a healthy Roth would have been better at SOLB than JT was - regardless of what the stats show.

it's spilled milk - so it doesn't matter at this point .... but the fact that we need to upgrade both ILB and OLB doesn't make the situation any better.

i don't get the 'he wouldn't have resigned here anyway' theory though ....

Depends...

If his 'injury' was, in actuality, a holdout... then, I wish they could have released him twice. I have a suspicion that was the case. It makes no sense for the Trifecta to just toss him to the side for no reason. However, I only have my suspicions... none of us know what really went on.

If he really was injured, then I think it was a big mistake letting him go. He's a good player at a position where we are thin & weak.

Yes, it was a mistake.

I feel it was clearly a mistake.

This team still has too many holes to be cutting talented players over an ego war. Roth has always been a hard worker as well. It came down to a clash of egos here and someone decided to go off half cocked instead of taking the challenge of coming to a solution to whatever the rift was IMO.

In addition, if all of this was over the coach thinking Roth was "dogging it" with his injury while Roth was just being careful with his health this turns out to be an even bigger and ridiculously silly mistake.

The FO of a team needs to be smarter with who they want to play games with and "send a message to the team" by cutting a talented and dedicated player.

There's nothing anyone can say to me that would change my mind that the Roth cut was an ill advised move and one stemming from ego rather than level headed thought.

"Stringer Bell wrote:

I'm not sure he would have made a difference these last few games, and he certainly wasn't staying here after this season.

Interesting viewpoint which is based on?

If you're saying that because he was let go in the season that he clearly wouldn't have been kept dosen't justify anything.

Again, the better path IMO is to work through the issue and keep a young and talented role player on a team that is in need of people just like him.
Cutting him outright just to make a point....... that's lazy personnel work IMO.

In order to evaluate whether or not it was a mistake, we would have to have all the information that the front office had at the time it made its decision. These are football executives who are there for a reason. Unfortunately, they don't publicize that kind of information. Until we have it, we're engaging in the rankest kind of speculation, which is part of the purpose of our being here having fun.

"Coral Reefer wrote:

Interesting viewpoint which is based on?

If you're saying that because he was let go in the season that he clearly wouldn't have been kept dosen't justify anything.

Again, the better path IMO is to work through the issue and keep a young and talented role player on a team that is in need of people just like him.
Cutting him outright just to make a point....... that's lazy personnel work IMO.

Based on the fact that his contract is expiring.

"PHINANALYST wrote:

oh, it will likely come out after the season is over .... some of it may have been about JT and playing time. maybe he tried to rush back to keep his position, after JT was signed - who knows ..... all i know is that a healthy Roth would have been better at SOLB than JT was - regardless of what the stats show.

Roth really had one thing on Taylor, his ability to be like an additional "big" defensive linemen, and to stack and shed blockers. Taylor is still a much better pass rusher, and is probably the best coverage guy in the front-7 right now.

Given that our run defense is essentially the same this year with Taylor as it was last year with Roth, it's pretty difficult to suggest that Roth's style as play as a run defender is superior or more productive than Taylor's.

Based on what I understand about the situation (which, admittedly is very little), I would have to say it was a huge mistake to cut Roth. You can't tell me he wouldn't have helped us. Especially these past two weeks when no one on defense could remember how to tackle. I also don't know how anyone can say he wouldn't have been here next season anyway. Why not? Because his contract is up? So what. He's only 27. Resign him.

Having said all that, I accept there are things I don't know. And, maybe even wouldn't understand even if I knew them. Besides, it is what it is...history. Time to move on.

Our run defense didn't suffer with his absence. Statistically, we gave up 6 more yards per game in 2009 than 2008.

There are many players in the NFL that can set the edge without lying about injury to get more $$$!

"Killerphins wrote:

the way dolphin fans treat Roth you would think he was a criminal
the guy hid an injury because he wanted to try and play
he hasnt been to jail or beat his girlfriend or anything
he was cut, it was a mistake and now he is playing great in cleve
just like he did after his transition to outside linebacker last season
the guy is a player
stupid move front office

or he tried to hold out for a contract and didn't do it very well.

"Killerphins wrote:

the way dolphin fans treat ____
you would think he was a criminal
the guy did ____________ but he works hard and wants to try and play
he hasnt been to jail or beat his girlfriend or anything
he did _____, it was a mistake and but now he is playing great
just like he did after his transition to ______ this past/current season
the guy is a player
stupid reaction/move by Fan Base/FO, really

Fill in the blanks (and adjust the language or emphaisis) and this is spot on about so many on our Roster that get ripped with limited overall facts to support the ripping.

I just enjoy how each of us, defend some players, rip others (not simply "name call"), or try to be equal in our CRITIQUE of all.

Spot on...:hi5: (KillerPhins...not ripping you at all or your view of FO handling of Roth...using your post to make a point on we as FANS and any player even on Roster, etc)