Sean Smith and the Dolphins "Far Apart" on contract talks

Patterson and his contract fell into our laps. I agree we're spending too much on both combined, but Marshall is a starter and Patterson is a quality player, so it's tough to really dispute those contracts.

 

I don't think Marshall is an ideal starter.

 

I think Richard Marshall is a nickel and I think Dimitri Patterson is a nickel. Of the two, at nickel corner I prefer and have preferred Patterson. They were both available in the off season, they both were considered nickel corners by the market, and they both got essentially the same contracts. The Dolphins considered both of them and went for Marshall. With Patterson's contract discounted by what the Browns have already paid, I believe his salary is now more like $4.5 million instead of $5.5 million. But that's not really relevant to the Sean Smith negotiations.

The best point I see being raised about this thing is just letting Sean Smith walk and signing someone else's free agent. If your doctors are convinced Brent Grimes suffers no ill effects from the Achilles tear, that's an upgrade. Cary Williams and Keenan Lewis might be considered small upgrades.

But those guys will cost you more than Sean Smith, perhaps considerably more. So you should be prepared for that. I would estimate that those guys all really will want to be getting contracts in the $9 or $10 million per year range. If you think that going from Sean Smith to one of those guys is like going from Brian Hartline to Greg Jennings, then maybe you pull the trigger.

Otherwise you're looking at downgrading. It has been argued that Derek Cox is a better football player than Sean Smith but he also carries a significant injury history. That would in my opinion be a downgrade. Yet how much is he going to ask? What would you have to pay him? What would you have to pay Chris Houston or Chris Gamble? In either player you're not getting an upgrade in my opinion, yet you might find yourself negotiating the same price tag as Sean Smith. In the mean time you lose a player that is respected in the locker room and knows your defense, a known quantity within your schemes, and you replace with an unknown quantity in your scheme, and send a message to the players that we prefer to pay other players rather than our own. It's one thing if it's Greg Jennings because he's earned a tremendous amount of respect in this league. Chris Houston and Chris Gamble less so.

 

He isn't. He became a starter by virtue of the Vontae Davis trade. So he's a starting CB with a nickel CB's contract. Strictly speaking, that's not a bad thing.

 

Sean Smith and his agent are on crack if they are trying to get that kind of money. Let him hit the free market, that will wake the young man up.

 

He was a starter before the vontae trade because he out played him.

 

It's a bad thing if he plays terribly on the perimeter and a little bit better in the slot.

 

Yes but what was the source of that relative evaluation? Was it more Richard Marshall being good, or more Vontae Davis being disappointing? Because if it was the former I don't think they end up trading Vontae. But since it was the latter, they traded him.

 

I miss those days when we had Surtain/Madison/Marion and a mix of Walker, Freeman, Wooden, Knight.

In comparison it's like paying Reggie Howard big money cause Smith is closer to that type of player then he ever will be to those guys.

 

Really? You're going to say Smith is like Reggie Howard?

Howard was complete garbage and couldn't cover receivers, period. Smith is handling the opposing #1 wide receivers fairly well. Obviously he's not Revis-status but more Cromartie-status.

 

I mean just in terms of finances.

 

LMFAO 7M....

Yeah, let the kid walk. NO team in their right mind is going to give him that kind of money. He's barely worth half that. Way more face palms he's given me this year than he's made plays on the field.

 

It's good for finances to be paying a guy $5.3 million to play poorly on game day?

 

I really disagree with that. I think he's like a Will Allen but with a little less versatility.

 

Who did Legadu Nanee out play?

 

Absolutely amazing that a player who was generally praised all season long is getting **** on by most fans in this thread because he wants some $$$.

Sure, let him walk. Create yet another hole that Ireland will most likely not be able to fill through free agency or the draft. Because the depth at that position is awesome with VD gone. /end sarcasm.

 

Exactly.

I'm no huge Sean Smith fan, little too much finesse to his game for my taste. But if we're going to become contenders we gotta go through the Pats and Sean Smith gives us an important weapon to use vs their TE's, as well as other teams with big-tall WRs . More importantly, only the garbage franchises make a habit of jettisoning their own draftees after one contract and giving big $$$ to other teams' players. It's like shopping for a new wife in the "recently divorced" pile. Guys like Long, Starks, Hartline, Fasano, Bush, etc who come to work every day, play well, play hard, play hurt, etc and get rewarded with a contract help to build a team wide identity that says if you do things the right way (our way) you'll get paid. And if you goof off, don't get with the program, etc. you'll be gone, period.

Vontae and Marshall are gone, now it's time to reward the guys who did things the right way. I wouldn't put Smith in the same category as Long-Bush-Starks guys, this was his first season behaving like a vet (contract season). But unless he got is act together solely for the money then it makes no sense to let him go and then give a big $$$ contract to some FA who's never shed a drop of sweat for the team. Sends a terrible message to the rest of the squad.

 

And depth charts in preseason, are carved in stone and never ever change during the regular season do they?

 

Cromartie without the hands.

 

Or the platoon of baby mamas.

 

Cromartie had one huge season in San Diego... otherwise he has had 2-4 interceptions per season.

This year Cromartie had 3 interceptions and 0 forced fumbles while Smith had 2 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles.

The hate on Sean Smith is ridiculous here...

 

LOL @ the Ireland supporters trashing Smith in this thread. Isn't Ireland supposed to be building through the draft? So he should just cut loose the 2nd half of the talented CB tandem he drafted? Or helped draft depending on your viewpoint. One of the few bright points in his tenure as GM. And how should he fill that hole? Especially since the hole left by VD hasn't been adequately filled.

Most of you praised Sean Smith all season. Especially when you defended Ireland for cutting VD. And now he's trash because he wants to get paid?

Does the defense of Ireland have no bounds? Are you all going to trash every player who tries to negotiate a decent contract for themselves? Should they all just accept Ireland's first low ball offer?

 

Fair enough. I just can't get those plays out of my head like the one where the WR made a cut and spun around Smith so bad that by the time Smith finished his move he was 10 yards away from the WR. I just can't see paying a guy that the best thing folks can say about him is that he's 'inconsistent'.

MonstBlitz give it up. That horse your kicking has long expired.

 

How is it kicking a dead horse when Ireland is still the GM? Are you as tired of the pro-Ireland argument?

 

"Practices like Tarzan, plays like Jane" someone said... SSmith is good against larger, slower receivers, but cannot handle the faster, shiftier WRs. He also has atrocious hands. He makes a lot of tackles because he allows the catch, but he whiffs a lot too... The biggest chaff is that he celebrates a standard pass breakup or missfire as though he actually made a game changing play.

If 7 million is now the average for a #2 CB, then pay him. Much like Clemmons, he is serviceable for now, but you don't want to introduce a hole where you don't need one by letting him walk. Keep him until we find an upgrade. We beef up the pass rush and both of them are not a liability when the QB can simply stand back and throw on them.

 

I don't hate Smith. Just think he has lousy hands, even as cornerbacks go. No wonder he was moved from WR. I think we probably do need to resign him, and the 6yr 43 mil demand from his camp is certainly in the ballpark of a fair contract IMO.

 

I think he is good enough for a #2 or #3 corner. I think Patterson is a little better overall. If we went into next season with Smith, Marshall, Patterson and Carroll as the top 4 corners, that would be not so bad. Still looking for a corner in the first 5 picks though. Also on a secondary note, I'd absolutely cream my boxer shorts if we signed Jairus Byrd to pair with Jones. If Ireland pulled that off, I'd take back every negative thing I've ever said about his trading BMarsh and Vontae.

 

Yes. I'm tired of the argument period. I'm tired of it getting dragged into every thread.

 

No more so then those that over value him extremely. He is the CB version of Channing Crowder. Mediocre but folks treat him better then he is out of the fear of the unknown possible replacements. I'd rather throw that kind of cash at re-signing Jones and either a new FA cornerback or a FS.

Sean Smith is easily replaced by a half dozen or more guys out there.

 

Your no big fan, yet you'll pay him no problem?.

 

its not hate, it's breakin his game down because he's up for a big contract, I haven't been his biggest fan since he got here, thought, and still think VD is the better corner, Smith for me was in a big year, I had thought his game thus far was subpar, so I needed a big jump, I thought I saw that in the preseason and early, but if often resorting back to what I know..

Ay time a player on our defense is not aggressive in his tackling demeanor, you have an issue, any time you have a corner that has had an inordinate amount of dropped ints the last 3 years, (would bet more than anyone in the NFL)you've got to look closer and see if your gonna settle for the theory that he was close enough to get his hands on the ball and deflect the pass so we should forgive.

 

I'm going to drop a dilemma bomb for those that swear by PFF....but also swear by Sean Smith:

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/01/01/free-agent-cornerbacks/

Channing "Goddamn" Crowder I tell yah! Yes that's Sean Smith in the bottom quarter of FA CB's.

Or...........just more proof that PFF is off their rocker.

Or a mix of both truths.

 

I guess we better go chase Adam Jones and Sam Shields to start in 2013 then...

 

I was thinking we can just sit tight with Bryan McCann???

 

Interesting theory... SOLD!

 

Why? You think he is as good as Jones or Shields?

 

The contract that Shields is going to get is going to be much more than McCann is going to get. I don't know what the hell Coyle does to get such results out of the secondary, but McCann wasn't bad.

 

McCann is an RFA so basically Miami still retains him.

So we got McCann, Marshall, Patterson, Jimmy, Nolan plus whatever draft/undrafted/vet guys they bring in to compete for that 2-5 slot. That list does have some intriguing options....IF they make it to FA. For instance I can't see Detroit letting Houston get to FA...not with how starved they are for CB. If were serious about upgrading the DB's....Clemons and Smith's spots are ripe for upgrade.

 

Mid rather pay him than Brent Grimes, yeah. A CB who proves he is starter caliber on his first contract will be paid on his second. That's just the nature of the business. The alternatives are signing another FA from another team or spending a high draft choice and hoping for the best.

 

I'm not too sure about McCann, but his PFF ranking is higher than Smith's, hence my joke.