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WR Spending!

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by keithjackson, Jul 31, 2014.

  1. keithjackson

    keithjackson Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Here's an interesting article, albeit from June, comparing what teams spend on WRs:
    http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24579741/examining-what-each-nfl-team-spends-on-wide-receivers%22

    It includes some awesome charts, and one of the first remarks is, "Oh my goodness, Miami. The Dolphins are spending $29,593,000 on wide receivers (mostly because of Mike Wallace). There's no team in the NFL even remotely close." The average team spends only $12.58 million, so yes, going into 2014, the Miami Dolphins are Number One! Interestingly, the Seahawks are #2 and the Broncos are #5, but looking at the rest of the list, there doesn't seem to be a right or wrong way to spend.

    It also compares WR costs to PROJECTED (CBS Sports fantasy) TD and yardage production, saying "Miami is ... a projected $2,113,785 per receiving touchdown. Mike Wallace is the eyebrow-raising gift that keeps on giving. At least Miami is a projected top-10 in terms of passing yards to wideouts, unlike the Texans (projected 27th overall)." They continue to predict the average team will be paying $4,410 per yard, whereas the Dolphins will be paying almost $9,000. Still projections are only projections.

    They do conclude with what I am considering is a compliment to Ryan Tannehill, "And that's really the point here: you want to marry production and cost. It helps if there's a good quarterback on your roster, sure. But even teams with good quarterbacks aren't immune to overpricing wideouts (see: the Dolphins)." It's the little things in life.

    We are spending 19.6% of our cap on WRs, more than any other position on the team. In fact, Mike Wallace's $17,250,000 is more than we are paying our QB, RB, TE, OL, DB & ST units. To put that in perspective, no team in 2013 paid their WR units the most. (I'd venture to say our WR unit may be the most expensive in NFL history.) Here's a fun interactive site looking at where teams spent their money last year: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/in...tions-2013-2014#miami-dolphins,miami-dolphins

    Should we blame Ireland for overpaying Wallace and Hartline? Let's remember our biggest need last offseason was playmaking ability at the WR position. Of the 60+ free agent WRs last year, Brian Hartline actually produced the second most yards, Wallace was #4, and Brandon Gibson was on pace to be near the top of that list as well. We needed help desperately, and couldn't afford to gamble with the draft or hidden gems. (Heck, this message board would've spent two picks on Tavon Austin and Ryan Swope and we'd be 5-11.) In 2012, Tannehill completed 166 passes for 2,294 yards to a group of eight WRs that included bygones like Moore, Bess, Naanee, Armstrong, and Gaffney. In 2013, those numbers improved to 226 for 2,776, but most importantly our WR TDs increased from 3 to 14. (Our TE numbers also improved, as well as Tannehill's numbers in almost every category - with an Oline that allowed 21 more sacks.)

    Maybe the Dolphins are on the forefront of a pass happy league, and our upcoming Super Bowl win will give the other teams notice to spend spend spend on WRs. Maybe not, but it's fun to think about, especially when you have some cool charts.
     
  2. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Ted Ginn..where art tho?

    Kidding aside the Landry move should have happened last season (ie someone similar) to balance the spending
     
  3. keithjackson

    keithjackson Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I'd guess this might be the reason we say goodbye to Gibson's $3 million plus salary, if we do. Though we still have the cap room so I hope we keep him.
     
  4. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    Mike Wallace only made one million in base salary last year. What's he making this year? 16? So 17/2=8.5 million. Cut 8.5 million off that number of 29 million and we're still leading in salary, but not by as wide of a margin. It all works out.


    Crazy that Green Bay is only paying 5.8 million total. Even losing Greg Jennings and James Jones, there receiving core is still plenty talented. I wish Miami would have followed their model for the last few years. Drafting WR's in the 2nd and 3rd. Get them cheap and grow them within the system. Perhaps Jarvis Landry's drafting in round 2 this season is a sign of things to come.
     
  5. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    Was that updated with Jordy Nelson's new contract?
     
  6. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Little reason to dump him if he is healthy, this is why Landry is getting a shot at the Returner job
     
  7. keithjackson

    keithjackson Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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  8. LBsFinest

    LBsFinest Banned

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    I supported the Mike Wallace signing at the time. I knew what it would cost, I knew we'd be overpaying. Unfortunately that's what you're forced to do when you fail to find weapons for cheap in the draft like most of the good teams in this league and you're under pressure to help your young QB out. When your GM can't find a Mike Wallace or a Greg Jennings coming out of college then he has to pony up and pay top dollar for them when/if they hit the market.
     
  9. LBsFinest

    LBsFinest Banned

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    I'll never forget the 2012 draft....that's when my hatred for Ireland went from already high to an unhealthy level. We had the worst crop of receivers in the entire league (4s, 5s, and 6s as he himself called them) and like a ****en idiot he waited until the 6th and 7th rounds to take a wideout. a big physical receiver in the 2nd to replace Marshall like Alshon Jeffrey or Rueben Randle? nahh, let's go with an all time bust in Jonathan Martin. TY Hilton in the 3rd? No thanks, I'll take bum *** Egnew. a certified steal in Marvin Jones is still available in the 5th? no thanks, I'll take bum *** Josh Kaddu...couldn't even take a Mohamed Sanu or a Chris Givens or a Travis Benjamin in the mid rounds for Christ's sake. I remember watching the draft on NFL Network and Mayock was like "where's the receiver?" almost every time we were on the clock. it was one of the most pompous and stubborn decisions I've ever seen. And how sad that the least experienced QB coming out of the draft got the least amount of weapons.

    we paid for that mistake the following offseason (literally), which is why we're tops on this list .
     
    Clark Kent likes this.
  10. Clark Kent

    Clark Kent Fighter of the Nightman

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    I agree, What really adds a little extra sting is Greg Jennings costs about 18 million dollars less than Wallace. They had very similar years statistically, which is shocking considering the QB carousel of awful that was going on in Minnesota. Obviously Greg Jennings would of fit into 2013's offense much better too. Hopefully with Lazor running the show, they can figure out how to mask Wallace's deficiencies and maximize his ability to run in space.


    Why? Of all of the WR's on the team, Gibson has one of the friendlier contracts. He was on pace for about 70 receptions, 750 yards, and 7tds. Essentially the same numbers as Charles Clay but from the slot. He can also play inside and out. While those numbers aren't irreplaceable, his salary hardly demands he be cut. I'd still keep Gibson over Matthews too at this point.
     
  11. ASOT

    ASOT New Member

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    Jeff ****ing Ireland, the gift that keeps on giving. God I hate that guy.
     
  12. P h i N s A N i T y

    P h i N s A N i T y My Porpoise in Life

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    Cherry picking.... how much does the average team spend on DE ?
     
  13. VanDolPhan

    VanDolPhan Club member Club Member

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    Some glossing over going on here. It's not guaranteed that Gibson sticks. They could save $1.7 million (and over $4 million next year) if they simply decide to give his job to Landry. Also, this is the pay out year of Wallace's contract. His cap number goes down by $5 million next year and in the final 2 years is still $3.5 million less than this year.

    I'm fine with that if he can catch a few more of those deep balls (the diff between him being an 1100 yard/7-8 TD guy). He keeps secondaries honest when they are afraid of his deep speed. Keeps things open for guys like Clay.
     

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