I agree the front seven is strong against the run. Unfortunately , except for Wake, they are not very strong when it comes to putting pressure on the passer. This puts additional pressure on a secondary which is among the worst in the NFL. Since the NFL is basically a passing league, this weakness in rushing the passer, along with a below average secondary must be the fault of Ireland, if you are giving him credit for the ability of the front seven against the run. Bess and Hartline are solid 3 and 4 receivers. What they are not are 1 and 2 receivers and Ireland has failed to upgrade this unit for the past several years. He did make the trade for Marshall in an attempt to bring in a true #1 receiver. This lasted two years and now the Dolphins have Naanee as the WR to replace Marshall. Bad move by Ireland, IMO. The offensive line with Long and Pouncey has been a pleasant surprise so far this season. I will even give Ireland credit for drafting Martin, who has been much better in the regular season than he was in the preseason. Incognito and Jerry have also played quite well so far. I will certainly give Ireland credit for this. Miller had a productive game against the Raiders and I still think he was one of the steals of the draft. He obviously still has a lot to learn. That is the reason the Dolphins went with Thomas after Bush was hurt last week, instead of using Miller more. I liked the Miller pick and again I give Ireland credit for this selection. Tannehill is still a work in progress. While I see things in Tannehill that shows he can be a quality QB in the future. The jury is still out on him. I think we will have to wait a few seasons to see if he can develop into a long term starter in the NFL or not. I understand Ireland selecting him, I will just take a wait and see approach on this selection. Getting a second and possibly sixth round selection for Davis was probably a good deal at this time. My problem is what did Ireland see in Davis that led him to select him in the first round in the first place. Selecting quality starters for the secondary has been one of Ireland's major weaknesses as the teams GM. Right now the Dolphins have one of the worst secondaries in the NFL. Until last week, I would have agreed in regards to Carpenter. The fact he missed two very relatively easy FG's to win the game has certainly put in the question, his reliability going forward. I will admit that he has been solid prior to this season. I also agree Fields has been an excellent punter. Of course with these good players Ireland has selected as the teams GM, the Dolphins are still only 32-35 during his tenure as the teams GM. This includes the 11-5 season during year one of his tenure. Since 2009, the Dolphins have been 21-30. So while Ireland has certainly drafted and signed some quality players in his time as the teams GM, he just has not signed or drafted enough quality players so far to turn this team into a winner. This is not a knock on Ireland completely. I give him credit for the good players he has drafted and signed as the teams GM. I just feel that after five drafts and free agency periods, this team should be much further along than it is. I have stated recently that I am willing to see how this season progresses before I judge Ireland completely. My view is that the Dolphins need to have a winning season for Ireland to remain the teams GM, beyond this season. If they finish below 500 for a fourth straight season, I just can't see a legitimate reason for the owner retaining Ireland.
It is close to 1/2 of the allotted amount total. If that does not speak volumes about where this team is headed, I don't know what does. If you look closely at the players that are here and their salaries Ireland has done a remarkable job, minus a few who you have pointed out. I honestly think you may see this be Jake Long's last year as a Miami Dolphin. His salary is simply too high. If we can get equal performance out of a guy fresh out, or a 1 or 2 year vet, that unfortunately for Jake Long, will be the road we go down. It just depends on Long's agent and what they are willing to do. Ireland has positioned us to be the talk of the NFL this off season. Now, if we can win 7 -9 games to boot with what we got, man we are positioned well. Everyone wants to be part of a winning team and no player wants to be up rooted from their daily routines by having to relocate to another teams town. Renegotiated contracts will be the word of the day in Miami and I am stoked. GO Miami!!!!!!!!!
Just to keep things in perspective and Since Ireland is so bad could you please show us where other teams have fared better. Oh and while your at it, they have to be teams that have had a Bill Parcell's looking over your shoulder, 2 different owners, and 2 different coaches with 2 totally different schemes on offense and defense in the 5 yrs you pointed to. Please enlighten us.
I was responding to the OP, who happened to credit Ireland for all the good players the Dolphins have signed or drafted since Ireland took over as the teams GM. He credited Ireland for Long, Carpenter, Bess, Hartline, Fasano, and the players on the front seven. All the players I just mentioned and most of the front seven were select or signed while Parcells was here. So was it Parcells who was responsible for all these good players, or was it Ireland? Since the OP credited Ireland, I just responded to his comments in support of Ireland over the entire time he has been the teams GM. The fact is that the majority of the quality players on this team were signed or drafted while Parcells was still with the team. I just don't think that there have been enough quality players selected or signed over the last five years, whether it was Parcells or Ireland doing the selecting. If you are happy with the job Ireland has done over the past five years, great. As for me, I would much rather have had the GM of the Falcons over this period of time. The Dolphins and the Falcons were both terrible teams in 2007. Look at where the Falcons are today compared to where the Dolphins are. As far as other teams which have done a better job of selecting players over this time period goes. Just about every other team in the NFL, because the majority of the teams have had a better winning record over the past five years. In fact every other team, except for the Chiefs, who have had a worst record over this time period have replaced their GM. As I stated, I am willing to see how this season turns out, but if the Dolphins once again finish below 500, for the fourth straight year. How can you justify the owner retaining Ireland? Unless you are a member of his family and you don't want him to lose that big salary.
Please don't take it personally my friend it is very frustrating to me that the whole of the gambit is being put on Jeff Ireland's Head. I am saying that some of the criticism he deserves, but in fairness not what he gets on this board on a daily basis. One of the hardest things is to remain objective without letting our emotions get in the way of things. We all love this team, are frustrated to the hilt and need to blame our problems on someone. It is difficult not to pick Ireland because he has been here the whole duration of time. However, he has went thru 2 owners, 2 head coaches, Bill Parcell's, 2 offensive schemes and 2 defensive schemes. Geez, JW is it really fair to lay it all at his feet?? I don't think so. Personally I like Jeff Ireland. There must be a leader in this regime and he has stepped up to the plate. I see it for what it is, and I blame Ireland for 25% of the problem. He has free reign now and it is showing. We are positioned well, to make any move we see necessary to make this team competitive for a long, long time. I am just sooooooo tired of the Ireland bashing and the sky is falling every time we loose. Being a fan is rooting and supporting your team, its management and it's players no matter what. I want to win every game just like the next guy. I just want to keep it real in the process. I reread my post to you and after thinking about it wanted to apologize if I offended you in any way. It was not my intent if I did. Go Phins!!!!
First of all. I never get offended by any comments made to me on this forum. I realize that I frequently take positions which differ from many individuals on here. I expect and welcome opposing viewpoints. You certainly don't need to apologize for your comments to me, but thank you for the apology anyway. There are certainly no hard feelings from me regarding your comments. As far as Ireland goes. As I have stated previously, I want to see how this season unfolds before I go back to any, "fire Ireland" rants. I hope the Dolphins show tremendous improvement this year and that Ireland proves he made the right decisions in the players he has signed and drafted during his time with the Dolphins. I have also made it clear that the Dolphins have been a sub 500 team for the past three years and that another sub 500 season is just not acceptable, as far as I am concerned. I understand your position on Ireland and I certainly feel that you have every right to this position. We may not agree in regards to Ireland, but I know that we both agree that all we really want is a successful Miami Dolphins football team, once again. If Ireland is the right GM for the job, I can live with that. If he isn't though, I just think that 5 years with the team is enough to show what he is capable of doing as the teams GM. My problem is that if the Dolphins once again finish below 500 this season. I am just not comfortable with Ireland being the person responsible for spending all the cap money and selecting the players in the 2013 draft. If you feel differently, I can respect your point of view, while respectfully disagreeing with you. I hope you can understand that.
Good to hear. So this was the first year Ireland has had no owner/overseer to put crap in his ear or control his picks and he drafts Ryan Tannehill. He also cleans house of past "mistakes" and everyone criticized him for it. 2 owners, Bill Parcells, and 2 different coaching regimes with both defensive and offensive differences in schemes in the 5 years he has been at the helm and you don't trust him......why??
How was this only the first year? Parcells left the team in the middle of the 2010 season and Ireland was in complete control of the draft and free agency in 2011, as well as in 2012. I hope Tannehill is the answer at the QB position, but he is still a question mark at this time, as far as I am concerned. Ireland has worked under the same owner for the past four years. Huizenga was only the majority owner during Ireland's first year with the Dolphins. So I don't see the ownership issue as even relevant. As I pointed out earlier, the vast majority of the quality players on the team at this time were players signed or drafted while Parcells was still with the team. I give Ireland credit for drafting Pouncey and for trading for Bush. Martin at right tackle and Tannehill, might end up being quality players eventually, but only time will tell. I just don't see any other quality players which Ireland has signed or drafted in the last two years which makes me question if he really knows how to build a solid football team, top to bottom. I think it is all about the players and the talent on the team. It is Ireland's responsibility to provide the talent on the roster. He has been effective in some areas, while totally lacking in others. I happen to feel he had more input on player selection while Parcells was here than you obviously do. Can I prove this. Obviously I can't, just as Ireland supporters can't prove that Parcells had total control over personnel matters while he was with the team. Only Ireland and Parcell' know the truth and neither of them are talking. I hope you are right about Ireland. I certainly don't hate him. I just want a winning football team in Miami, and I'm not sure Ireland right man for the job. I certainly don't want him or the Dolphins to fail this season, just so I can say,"I told you so". I hope they win every game they have left and that proves Ireland is the right man for the job. I just can't see him staying if the Dolphins finish below 500 again this season. That is my position and it hasn't changed since the season began.
