I think what the Dolphins are how much money can we devote to the offensive line. We already have about $50M at OT, and $25M at LG. The question becomes "how many more huge salaries can we fit on the OL?" I believe the answer is only one. That means, we can only afford Jason Brown or Vernon Carey. I think that they will each get roughly the same amount of money. If we sign Carey, we will be hoping that he will pull his head out and fulfill all that potential that he has. A dissapointment, he's still a possible Pro-Bowl RG, but only above average at either tackle position. However, that versatility is very valuable. This option would force us to draft one of the better centers coming out. I like Mack or Caldwell with Caldwell being the better value at our 2b or 3. If we sign Brown, we will get a guy that is already one of the best at his position and should be a Pro-Bowler in the near future. He would be the answer to Wilfolk, Jenkins, etc. We would have one of the most dominant lines in the NFL with the only weakness possibly being RT. This option would force us to draft a RT that has the feet to also be a back up LT as we have no one else to back up Long. Correction, draft a LT that is strong enough to play RT. I think Jason Brown is definely the better player at his position, but only marginally the better option. Do we want extreme quality at one position, or good quality at several postions. I wish we could sign them both, but I think it's too much money on the OL. Maybe this is why Carey will not be tagged?
I don't think you can spend too much money along the lines. I think it's at other positions where i think that is possible. with that said i think the interior of our line needed the most work but you never know what happens when you put someone else in at T. there were just too many injuries inside to truly judge what they could have been.
we could afford both, we just don't want Carey. Simple as that. If you watched that Ravens game then you saw both Carey and Satele getting destroyed. Parcells has already decided that he doesn't want either on the line next season. So Brown is clearly more valuable to Parcells than Carey is. IMO, of course. Could be way off.
Carey won't be tagged because this regime has a figure in mind for what he's worth and he wants to see what else is out there. He's a good tackle, but not a great one. Brown is a very good C who is bordering on being a great one..but we still don't know for sure. He represents a significant upgrade over Satele and the thought is probably that a secured interior can allow for a lesser RT, thus Carey is the odd man out, unless he comes at their price...JMHO, but I think this is very, very sound thinking if that's where they are. So to answer your question, I'd take Brown over Carey because of how much better he makes the line versus how much better the line would be with us re-signing Carey and remaining status quo...
I want Jason Brown over Vernon Carey. Brown will help our running game tremendously while still giving us good pass protection. Vernon is good but not great like Brown and the draft and free agency is alot deeper at tackle than it is at Center. Lets go after Jason Brown
I really don't believe that. We need to sign at least one good corner. I like Bodder (the guy just released from Detroit). We are looking for a stud lb, like Bart Scott (really wanted Dansby, but tagged). We're also looking for DL maybe to get bigger and stronger (bye Holiday, hello Canty?) All of this takes money. What about next year when I believe we will take a shot at a stud FA receiver. We can't spend it all on the OL. The only reason we have so much money is because we aren't paying real money at the QB position.
If we were going to sign Bodden, we'd have done it already. Today the Panthers just tagged Peppers AND signed Gross. The cap isn't that hard to work around. I don't know what our exact cap space is but I believe it's over 25 mill. I assure you, if Parcells and Co wanted to keep Carey and go after Brown they could have and still would have had money left over.
I agree with both of you. My only concern is what if something should happen to Long? Who would back him up if Carey is gone? Hopefully, if we do get Brown, we could trade Satele for a 2nd or 3rd rd pick. I personally would tag Carey for the purpose of trading him and sign Brown. I know that Carey is not worth the salary of a franchise tag. However, I really believe they just can't let him walk. We need some compensation! I think he's worth a 2nd rd pk.
I am still hoping they sign Bodden as I think he would be an upgrade over both our corners and be relatively cheap. I love what the Panthers did. They aren't letting any valuable commodities go without at least getting something in return. They signed the consistently great player and tagged the inconsistent above average to great player. I don't know if they want to really sign him or just want some draft picks. But at least now if they don't keep him, they will get some compensation. Why don't we tag Carey and get some compensation even if it's only a 2nd rd pk?
We dont feel there will be interest. Just because we have something to sell doesnt mean anyone is buying. And if nobody buys, the staff doesnt want to be stuck with that salary.
Doesn't Carey have a pretty high cap number? So really who ever comes in to replace him whether it be a center or right tackle would just be a trade off regarding the cap. This team has tried to get by with bargain basement offensive linemen but it just hasn't worked and we all know the results. The offensive line has to be a focus and not an afterthought.
