Barry Jackson rips the franchise for poor team-building

All of the issues Barry Jackson is discussing are a direct result of our organization not being in sync. Too many leftovers from previous regimes spoiling the new regime. The team has tried to remain competitive and rebuild at the same time. For the last handful of years, Miami has lacked a focused approach. Ireland was sitting cozy as Ross's right hand man and Sparano was fighting to keep his job. Sparano ultimately gets fired. Soon the roles are reversed and the coach (Philbin) is sitting pretty and Ireland is fighting for his job. You fire Ireland, bring in Hickey on a short leash, and now both HC and GM are fighting for their jobs trying to clean up a huge mess that was set in motion years ago. At some point, you have to start fresh and wipe the slate clean. If not, you end up where we are. One step forward and one step back week to week, year in and out.

While I don't have the highest opinion of Sparano, Philbin, Ireland, or Hickey (I like him the best out of the bunch), I think all of them were put in tough situations where the playing field was unbalanced.

 

You really just have to look at the failed draft picks to see why we aren't a good team, its not really a mystery. The one thing I disagree with Jackson on is that it is not too early to give up on Thomas. I'm sorry but you don't get your young Qb hit routinely and stall every drive to see if some 3rd round tackle can finally put it together. He should have been cut during the season.

 

I think there is some idea that this affects only us as dolphins. It's not true, the majority of other teams suffer the same problems. Over the past 5 years our drafting has probably been solid as opposed to exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. That's the way it is for most teams.

The thought that we are a basket case just isn't true. There are areas that need to get better, we all want a solid OL, better LB play, ball hawk CBs and big body WR. If only there wasn't 31 other teams trying at the same time.

Fix the OL and the majority of our problems will disappear on the offensive side. On the D we probably have the combo of LBs somewhere on our roster, just need to get them out there.

 

The problem was Ireland.

Regardless of what anyone thinks, Ireland has a helluva eye for talent...but he was very poor at the concept of building a team (and also communication). He bought groceries for cooks who were cooking something different. I mean its great you can find the best tunafish out there but ultimately its detrimental if the cook is baking a chocolate cake.

Ireland drafted like Bill Belichick was his coach when what he had was disciple of dinosaur football (Sparano) and then a staunch scheme guy (Philbin).

So Hickey comes in and looks around and realizes there's some gaping holes in the secondary and he has to replace 4/5 of the oline. The only way to fill that many holes is to either:

1. Sign as many low cost (which generally means average to poor) players as possible.

OR

2. Gamble on talented players with either injuries or character concerns or age. (He chose to go for injury issues.)

By choosing #2, he figured if the stars aligned we could be really good while injuries didn't crop up. And he was right. Let's not forget, that before Albert's injury (and after we got the swing of the new offense) we were damn close to an elite team.

Now we have another voice in Tannebaum, to help ensure the team is built correctly, which I think is a good thing. Collaboration is good, especially when there's enough people for a tie breaker...without having to go to Ross. And make no mistake, that's THE #1 reason our new structure is a major positive (#2 is the analytics dept.).

 

Or perhaps Ireland wanted to hire Mike McCoy as HC and Ross wanted Failbin. Difficult to succeed as a gm when your forced to work with a coach you never wanted in the first place.

 

Doesn't matter who Ireland wanted. Once the coach is hired, it is his job to find the players that fit that coach.

 

Spot on, except I think that Jackson overestimates Dallas Thomas.

 

This

 

He's basically recounting the sins that got Jeff Ireland...I don't know what to call it because "fired" isn't what happened...pressured into promotion until he quit is more the correct description.

But a lot of what he's describing was also on Joe Philbin. Philbin was a driving force (we don't know if he was the driving force) behind jettisoning Brandon Marshall and Karlos Dansby. He sure as hell didn't put up a fight (in fact he looked enthusiastic, for Philbin) when Jeff Ireland told him during that meeting that he had an offer on the table for Vontae Davis.

 

Whatever, a lot of gm's aren't forced to work with a coach they don't like, that's a tough spot. Philbin just can't coach, I don't care who his gm was. The talent has been there, other coaches would have done more imo. Philbin is the reason we suck. He is the biggest problem, not Ireland. Who fits failbins "vision and mold" anyway? He probably doesn't even know lol. I'm sorry but I've been frustrated with philbin for a while, and the T.O in the GB game confirmed all my fears and observations, dude just doesn't get it.

 

Can't really say I blame Jackson. It's not like we're talking about anything top secret here, it's pretty obvious we haven't done a good job building a team here.

 

This just seems like needless complaining. Every team has holes they need to fill, sometimes major. There is a business side to the game and just because you drafted someone doesn't mean you can keep them. Getting 3-4 years of decent play on a cheap contract is honestly a pretty good deal most of the time. Plus, we just got a new GM last year, this article would have made more sense as an indictment against Ireland.

Let the new GM attempt to team build, but know that there will always been some hole due to injuries or money or something. IMO, we simply don't have enough elite players to make up for it.

 

Your post is spot on...except for the bolded part. We were not close to being an elite team, not at any point this season.We were close to being a good team, which is fine. I would even go as far as saying that we have not even had a stretch of games in the last 5 yrs where we could be called "elite"

 

I don't agree. Like most football fans, everyone thinks their HC is the worst. IMO, the majority of coaches in the NFL are very mediocre and often times too conservative. Philbin fits right into that pool of extremely mediocre HCs that encompasses 2/3 of the HC pool. Very few HCs are really "great". there are also a few HCs that are likely mediocre, but have an asset such as an elite QB that pulls them into a higher tier. Our team, like most teams, has some talent. but overall, we have no depth anywhere and many of our skill position players are mediocre.

 

There actually was a point this season where we were playing at an elite level. There was about a 4 game stretch (about a quarter of the season) where by most metrics we were playing at an elite level. I think during that stretch we were second only to Denver. For about a quarter of the season the D was top 2 or so, Tannehill was producing top 5 numbers (top 2 or 3 actually) and the run game was averaging about 100 yards a game. Then D and the OL fell apart which probably points to both lack of depth and poor coaching adjustments. I guess some would debate whether or not playing at that level for a quarter of the season constitutes "damn close" or maybe question the level of competition, but I would say that that constitutes being an elite team at some point this season.

 

And we're all glad you finally came around to that assessment.

 

Elite teams, to me, are teams that can play with anybody...consistently. We need all three phases, at this point, to play well or above average. We seem to lose when one part of our team(offense early in the season, defense late in the season, ST's uneven all season) does not hold up their end. Elite teams find a way,especially late in games, to make plays. While I can agree that we have shown glimpses..we are not nearly damn close...yet.

 

My argument was that we didn't know for sure because we didn't know Parcells was responsible for and what Ireland was responsible for. I always said if we missed the playoffs after Ireland's first 3 years AFTER Parcells was gone then he should be fired.

Many were also wrong about Ireland being horrible across the board. He wasn't. Also it's impossible for Ireland to suck and Philbin to suck and the team be average.

 

The only four-game period for which it makes sense to make that conclusion is when the team played Green Bay, Chicago, Jacksonville, and San Diego, and yes, I think you have to question the level of competition, with three of those teams being non-playoff teams, and the game against the only playoff team of the four having resulted in a loss. Even before the defense fell off the table, the team overall was never top-five in the league when strength of opponents was adjusted for statistically, and it finished 15th in the league in that regard.

While Ryan Tannehill improved considerably in 2014, it's going to be very difficult for any team in the age of the salary cap to be elite without elite, or very close to elite, quarterback play, and the Dolphins aren't yet in that vicinity. They would need a defense and running game similar to Seattle's to come anywhere close, and the odds of compiling a team with that level of talent across the board are obviously very slim. The only reason Seattle is able to do it is because they've had the luck of drafting a very good quarterback in the 3rd round who's still under his very cheap rookie contract, which allows them to allocate far more salary than usual to very good players at other positions.

 

Therein lies half the problem.

 

Your argument is semantics:

 

I don't agree with this. I mean it sounds nice but I don't think it really holds up to scrutiny. I agree that Ireland was OK as a talent evaluator -- his draft record doesn't really compare unfavorably to most other GMs -- but I think your criticism of him as a team builder is a little off. I don't think he was a great team builder, but it's not because he was ignoring the preferences and schemes of his coaches. He generally drafted guys that fit the apparent demands and schemes of the coaches. Of the guys he drafted the only ones that seem on their face to not be scheme fits were Pat White and Dion Jordan, and the White pick was apparently a Parcells thing and the Jordan pick was widely reported as a consensus decision of the scouts and coaching staff. For Sparano, Ireland generally focused on the trenches and got a number of quality bigs -- Long, Odrick, Starks, Pouncey, etc . He got two quality corners in Davis and Smith and they are guys who were not scheme-specific. He also got a quality safety (RJones) and a talented TE (Clay). In the latter half of Sparano's tenure, there was a focus on more chunk yardage plays and Ireland brought in Marshall, Reggie Bush, Gates (ill-fated, but an attempt at a big-play speed guy). When Philbin came in, the focus moved to Philbin's offense and Tannehill, Egnew, Miller, Wallace, etc. were logical attempts to fit Philbin's scheme. Egnew didn't pan out, but it wasn't because he wasn't a scheme fit. In the meantime, a lot of talented players were jettisoned due (apparently) to preferences of the coaching staff, e.g., Davis, Smith, Long, Bush, Dansby, Marshall, etc. If you plugged those guys into this roster, it would be a pretty good team.

As it is, this team was basically a .500 team during Ireland's tenure despite bad and/or inexperienced young QBs and very mediocre (to be nice) coaching. That wouldn't have been the case if the "team building" was truly as bad as you suggest. Ireland certainly didn't do a great job and made his share of mistakes, but he's really not the one most responsible for the problems with this team.

What do you think where the picks or FAs that were made as if Belichick was the coach instead of Sparano/Philbin?

As for Hickey, he used premium resources to rebuild the OL (highest paid FA and a first round pick) and really didn't have to do much to the secondary, which was quite good in 2013. He could have kept Clemons and Carroll (two relatively young, healthy guys) instead of getting Finnegan and Delmas and it probably would have costs less too. The "fixing" of the secondary was a problem of his own making.

 

I am on the Philbin sucks side.

 

Why? Why can't they just get lucky?

 

It's possible, but this team really hasn't benefitted from a whole lot of the typical forms of football luck (unusual percentage of fumble recoveries, opposing teams dropping passes or missing easy field goals, bad officiating, etc.)

 

What do you not agree with exactly failbin isn't a good head coach? Give me a break, I don't care what you think about 2/3 of the HC pool. Like Adam Shein said, "Philbin is not a good head coach". If you can't see that, then I guess that's why you, and the so much of this fan base blame everything on the man that contributed to the construction of the vast majority of this team. Lead by Ryan Tannehill. And Mr. Queasy, what a joke.

 

No, but I think for the most part, luck in player acquisition is the biggest area to get lucky in. Its very likely that Ireland was a bad talent evaluator, and really just lucked into Cameron Wake and Ryan Tannehill, two guys who provided a lot of value to the Dolphins this past season.

I don't necessarily believe that to be true, I was merely pointing out that IMO you can have a bad HC and a bad GM and still end up with an average (or even good) team.

 

I love this website. Lots of Ireland defending kooks like me! Soooooo much better than finheaven, bunch of Miss Nancy's over there.

 

Which stretch specifically? And I'm in the camp playing elite for 4 games doesn't count as being elite. Geno Smith in the last 4 games of last season played at an elite level with I think 100 QBR or higher (let me go calculate)

105 QBR with a 9.18 ypa. If you take out Minny he's at 115 QBR Lol.

 

I got nothing against finheaven, I still lurk over there. Most of us got started there before this site was created. Hell I've been a member there since way back in 2000.

 

Like Channing Crowder said on the Q, we not a good team, we a dangerous team. We can f*** with a NE and slaughter a SD, but also get pounded by a NY. Life as a Dolphins fan.

 

I don't like the managers or whoever is running s*** over there. They ban people for little things and send arrogant messages but when one of their website donating memebers talks s***, it's all good. They're douch bags and I'm not the only one with problems with them.

 

Agreed. And I don't think it's impossible for both to "suck." Sucks to me, isn't just 2-14. It's 8-8 and always missing the playoffs.

It's possible Ireland compiled an 8-8 team and Philbin coached them exactly to 8-8. He doesn't get more out of his players, and Ireland wasn't supplying it. If Ireland provided a 12-4 team then you don't need great coaching. Ireland did not give Philbin a 5-11 team that he coached up to 8-8 for example.

The thing is, it's all on Tanny. It's the single most important position on the field because you can beat up on the inferior teams and hang with the tougher ones.

 

Ryan Tannehill was the best, most patient move this organization has made in a long a** time. Thanks Cleveland and Washington lol, I was ecstatic after the 7th pick that year. Oh and btw if we trade or cut him I'm out, Dolphins fan my whole life but I just couldn't handle getting a franchise qb and letting him leave without good reason.

 

I'd be back though after whatever cancer drove him out and then eventually died in Miami. Hopefully that day never comes.

 

Welcome to the thephins.com

 

2016 seems so far away...

 

the last time we went 10-6 or better was when ? Sparano was no better then Wanny or Jim Bates at least Bates was interesting the idiot Sparano loved field goals and fist pumps. Dave's weakness was he was not a good gm and was never on the same page as Speillmen . Saban never wanted to be here , Cam Cameron was a horrible evaluator of talent. Sparano didn't want to win bad enough Philbin cant coach and s a horrible talent evaluator.

the efc north is up for grabs , the afc east is constantly won by the patriots every year , and quite frankly I am sick of this division and to make matters worse Buffalo has passed us by and the jets may pass us by .

Ross only bought this team to run it into the ground for tax purposes . a good owner would never allow players quitting like they did .

we have been having record 8-8 -7-9 and occasionally win a 9 win but we will not be be in the playoffs until we get a great coach its that simple.