I have stayed away from the so and so threads which outline possible trades which not only involve expensive free agent contracts but also draft picks .I just think that this regime prefers to build through the draft Jeff Ireland confirms my impression And IMO dont expect the scenario that we will be packaging picks to move up in the draft . If anything we may see an effort to accumulate picks by either trading existing players such as Beck or trading down in the draft . Ireland goes on to explain the value of draft picks, of which the Dolphins presently have nine. When asked about his philosophy of whether to draft the best player available vs. addressing a position of need, Ireland said it's usually a balancing act. Regarding free agency the goal is to There is more . http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_football_dolphins/2009/02/jeff-ireland-on-dolphins-tonight.html
Sounds like they initially arrived at the same conclusion that Saban and Cameron did, that the core roster was basically okay. Saban started seeing more holes as time went on too, but he didn't fill them correctly or at all. Ireland and Parcells should easily do a better job than Saban in this department. IMO, Ireland is the key man in the organization. We'll live or die for another decade depending on his work.
Ireland's thinking may be a bit to cheap in view of free agency's ability to provide a ready to play guy. Draft picks are great, saving money is great, but the ultimate goal is to win games not hoard picks or count every penny twice.
Your right but I think he more talking about not overspending and not giving away picks when we still need alot of help in different positions. We made a huge run at Calvin Pace last year so we are willing to spend big time money on a guy they believe will help us win games. Just don't spend money for the sake of spending
I was kind of hoping to hear this. Sure, its nice to go out there and make a deal to bring in Housh, or Peppers, or anyone else, but do we really want that older type of player, with the big fat contract instead of keeping our picks and finding our own players. I expect to see us bring in some guys in free agency, but I dont see us sending away picks for players. Really, its a good plan.
Its a good plan at this stage of our development .The signing of an expensive free agent is a reasonable thing to do when you are just one or two players away from challenging for a SB .
I couldn't be more happy about Ireland's mentality regarding FA and the draft. It's management like this that will make this team great, not just good but great. A couple overpriced FA won't give you the best long term value
I like what Ireland said too, but....... without trading away a pick for say, Anquan Boldin, (it doesn't have to be Boldin, I am just using him as an example)I am very afraid of what our WR corps is gonna look like heading into next season.
Very realistic concern, but to that note, our WR corp. was thought to be even worse last off season and they did pretty good in my opinion. No one knew what we had in Bess, if Camarrillo could be productive and if Ginn would make strides. Even if we don't make a splash in FA for a WR, we have big TE targets, speedy WR's and a QB who knows how to get the ball to them. Will it be prolific passing attack? No probably not, but I"m feeling safe to say it will be as good or better than last year, which in my opinion isn't that bad.
You can't blame him at this point. There's no need to trade away youth and potential. We're not at that point as a team yet. If we progress even further this upcoming season we MAY have the option to do that next year but even then it should be limited. No point in trading away youth.
I agree 100% with this statement. We should have players in their prime right now, but Wanny and his lack of vision killed this organization. IMO Ireland is the key to bringing this organization back to prominence. Every one talks about the big Tuna and Coach Sparano, but it seems like Ireland gets overlooked. That's a big mistake.
IMO it comes down to how well you draft. If you are Cameron or Saban, you trade away every pick. If you are Ireland and Parcells, you use every pick.
Amen to everything you said. It's all right on the money. If any team's fan base should realize how important a good GM is to the success of a franchise it's this one. We've suffered from this problem for decades and wasted a HOF QB in the 80's early 90's and a stellar defense given to Wanny to destroy because of this lack in personnel leadership. It's a travesty how we wasted some great talent. IMO, the single most important position in football is the GM spot. It overshadows coaching and any position player by far.
Signing Free Agents has gotten us no where because that has been tried. The solution was under their nose all the time and they ignored it. The solution however requires someone who is a good judge of college talent, but the Dolphins haven't had that for a long time. I really believe the Dolphins are in good hands with Ireland and Parcell's. To be a consistently good team you have to hit on a majority of your draft picks not just one or two once in a while. The problem with Free Agents are that they usually get over paid and if they don't play up to what is expected then that costs the team in salary cap problems and if they are gotten through a trade of draft picks it puts you further behind as far as an influx of youth.