Thanks Jeff.

 

Oddly enough I've been surfing that site the past hour...

Good stuff

 

pretty doom and gloom but its a well written piece.

 

I already accepted the fact that they will be here for atleast one more season... Thank you Jeff..

 

It's a very good site top to bottom, fun to view the cap situations of all 32 teams. Also gives you a decent idea of some players who may come available via cap casualties.

 

The price the fans pay for ross not firing Ireland last year.Desperate men make desperate decisions and now we are stuck with these two bums.

 

Ireland or Aponte???

 

He's Canadian. They don't cure diseases, they politely ask them to leave.

 

wonder where I've heard mention of this before as a big reason for our nice 2013 cap situation. :shifty:

 

In 10 years they'll still be blaming Ireland

 

assuming we cut Patterson and Jonathan Martin, and either cut or trade Matt Moore, we'll have 45 mil in cap space. 5 mil for the draft, 40 mil left which should be more than enough to re-sign Grimes, Starks, Soliai, and Carroll while also leaving us a good amount to sign a couple free agent o-lineman.

 

Only you can cure my itch. And you are lollygagging good sir.

 

That's not just Ireland. Much of that is from Parcells and before Parcells/Ireland.

 

As in 10 years we're still blaming Wanny, and we're eminently correct.

What if these two had trouble adjusting to a new system, and gome back stronger after the offseason? Will we thank Jeff then?

 

We have little talent on offense.

 

We should definitely re-sign Grimes, and we should want to see what Starks demands before we sign him to a contract. If he's looking for the money he got on that tag, then no... in our team he's a part time player, we can't afford to give him 8.5 million for a guy that rotates with Odrick and Soliai. We have too many other needs, one being a free safety, and obviously 4 pieces on our offensive line. I rather we save the money and give it to a premier left tackle.

Look to see what Brandon Albert or Veldheer wants... Also look into Geoff Schwartz, though the Chiefs may keep him if they lose Albert. Raiders may let Veldheer test free agency. If we can get Veldheer and Schwartz on this team, that would be a massive upgrade, we would just need to fill the gaps with quality guards..

 

If Miami can't re-sign Soliai and/or Starks, I think I'd almost go the route of getting some new blood in there at DT. If you could double-dip in rounds one and two with Louis Nix and Aaron Donald - meaning you've signed a free agent LT - I'd consider that a home run.

It'd give Miami a very flexible front four, almost like the Patriots. You have a pure pass-rusher in Wake, who is a lot better than Chandler Jones. You have two guys who can play that hybrid DE/LB role that Rob Ninkovich plays with Dion Jordan and Olivier Vernon. Louis Nix is your Vince Wilfork, plus Miami had Jared Odrick as a 3 technique and Aaron Donald waiting in the wings, as I'd imagine you can probably let Odrick walk after 2014. I think that lineup keeps the integrity of the interior pass-rush and Nix could be a better run-stopper in 1-2 years time than Paul Soliai's going to be at his current decline rate.

Plus, if it doesn't quite work the way you want it in 2014, it probably means there's going to be a new staff coming in and Nix and Donald are that good I don't think it matters what type of scheme you'd be running at that point. Both would be pluses for 2014 AND beyond in my book.

 

If we take Nix and Donald in rounds 1 & 2 I would be amazed. When do you reckon we work on the OL?

 

Some good insight...hes my feedback...
-Dion Jordan - Not a potential starter, but Brandon Gibson off a serious knee injury over Hartline and Wallace is? Theyve figured that out after 1 season of being used wrong? Garbage.
- Jared Odrick - Not a potential starter? His PFF rankings and play says otherwise. Hes a fine pass rushing tackle and would be really good as a 3-4 pass rushing end.
- Jamar Taylor - See Jordan. Guy wasnt even healthy enough to determine how good or bad he is. Same goes for Will Davis and Dion Sims.

This team needs some more vets. We are very young and I think that showed. The lack of leadership was apparent in the way the players performed down the stretch in my opinion.

 

I strongly advocate for trading or releasing Matt Moore, but that will bring another 1.5 in dead money to an already significant total; most of which comes from Dansby and Burnett's carry over amounts.

Then there is always the rookie pool to consider as well.

On the other hand the team can probably go ahead with the vision of releasing Ellerbe,Wheeler,and Wallace if they don't take huge pay cuts in 2015.

 

Someone mentioned the other day on this forum that Aponte has done an excellent job in structuring contracts to fit within the cap. The contracts of of Wheeler and Ellerbe may indeed fit within the cap, but because of the guarantees in their respective contracts, it appears we are stuck with them in Miami in 2014. Hopefully both of these players will play far better next year than they did last year. If not, they will be two of the highest paid backups in the NFL next year. Because the Dolphins have to find replacements for these two LB"s if their play is as bad next year as it was in 2013.

 

Since Ellerby and Wheeler won't be cut,is there any chance that with another year they will flourish at all next season?
Or are they just dead cap weight?

 

Both played very well in 2012 on other clubs, and both are in their prime. There's no logical reason that they can't do better in 2014. I think that the staff needs to take a look a how they were used and adjust. The whole defense played far worse against the run than they had in years. I wasn't just those two.

 

Since neither of them played very well this past season. There is no logical reason to believe that they will be better next year. Especially if the Dolphins defensive coordinator decides to play the same defensive scheme the Dolphins played this past season.

 

No

Have you seen the coaching staff?

 

Are we capable of adjusting?

 

Outside of the recent firing of the GM, when was the last time logic dictated anything the Dolphins did?

 

I was merely responding to a comment from Unlucky 13, who stated that it was LOGICAL that Ellerbe and Wheeler would play better in 2014 than they played in 2013.

Personally I don't think logic has anything to do with the play of Ellerbe or Wheeler. I just don't think they are the right LB's for the defensive scheme played by the Dolphins at this time. Perhaps the DC will change the scheme, but I doubt it.

 

Ireland was not fired

He resigned or if you prefer left on mutually agreed terms

Ross was going to retain him

 

Well technically you are correct that he wasn't fired but he was having a new position forced upon him that where the end result was the same.

 

I was basically responding to your look a how they were used and adjust part of your post.

We'll see if they can get it right.

 

If our coaches cannot adjust, then it doesn't matter which players are on the field.

 

I have more hope for Ellerbe than I do Wheeler. Ellerbe is at least good at something. He is a good coverage linebacker. Wheeler isn't good at anything. Neither player has good instincts. Neither player can find the ball in the running game. Neither player takes on a block worth a flip. They are both average to below average at blitzing effectively. Because of their contracts though, we are stuck, and the presence of these two will put a cap on how good this defense can be.

Because of Jeff Ireland's roster mismanagement, we are possibly looking at a complete rebuild of the defense.

 

Hopefully these guys can improve because they will both be on our roster in the upcoming season. Between having to resign our current players that will be FAs and having huge holes on the Oline, LB core and Rb position, I've never thought our cap situation was all that rosy. Its not that bad, it can be worked with but people always start spouting off about 30-40million like its just sitting their waiting for big name free agents. We have a lot of guys to resign and a lot of holes. Whoever the new GM is he has his work cut out for him.

 

I understand Brother.

Ireland Quit

It is not the same

Ross was going to keep him. That is far from the same and should indicate to us a lot about Ross

What does that say about what has happened and what is going to happen

How much commitment does Ross have to actually making changes that will matter

Doesn't seem like much if he was going to keep Ireland

 

Our coaches can not adjust

This has been my point in multiple threads

If the coaching staff is unable to adjust with what they had, How are we going to make adjustments to major positions like GM and OC and expect instant improvement??

The Coaches in place have little to no experience and are looking at bringing in more inexperienced people like Ben Mcadoo.....

WTH.....The writing is on the wall for all of us to read and we all should be jumping up and down

 

Ireland had a choice of having is responsibilities, power and influence reduced or walking. What he was facing was a demotion and he walked. In essence, he was given the choice of walking or having his tail firmly put between his legs- he was shown the door. Get over it.

 

It's because they are trying to fill two type's of linebackers with one Linebacker. It's the whole point of these new offenses exposing your weakness'. As much as I hate to say it we are going to have to have situational players. Example being linebackers that are good on the run playing during the downs that run is most likely. And passing LB's on passing downs. It also keeps guys fresh rotating. Just like (I hate to say it) New England does. If you got the game recorded go back and watch it. Almost all their players are situational and rotate. Look at their runningbacks for example, that's one that should stick out

I just don't believe we have the coaching staff necessary to put that together.....JMO