It is what it is, Tuna will only offer what he feels is a fair value, if a player doesn't like the offer they can walk out of Miami unsigned to seek employment elsewhere.
I think it's a position priority thing. They obviously value LBers way more than they do S's otherwise they would have broke the bank on Rolle or Clark as well. That said any NFL player that *****es about not making enough money can go jump off a bridge as far as I'm concerned.
With prices as they are today, $5 million a year is hardly enough to put dragon meat on your families plate
Actually GERBIL is a prime example of what you get when you go cheap and second tier. We played this lowball trick with free agent safeties last year and I can honestly say GERBIL cost us the Titans, Colts, Pats, and Texans games by getting torched for loooooooooooong TDs in each of those games! I guess you guys disagree, but would rather play out a little more and have a young Probowler like Rolle back there instead of the likes of GERBIL! I wonder what Ross thinks. IS it over paying for a probowl caliber player? Or over paying for trash you have to pay millions of dollars to cut?
Yeah ... the first releases after Clark "spurned" the Dolphins was that their offer was actually higher than the Steelers and it wasn't at all about money, or using it as leverage against the Steelers. Now they're saying that the offer was lower than what he thought he was worth? If both statements are true, then he signed for much, much less than what he thought he was worth to return to the Steelers. As far as Rolle, he just seemed to be out to get the most money. In a sense, I don't blame him. But all the statements since seem to really have that as the only priority on where he'd sign, which don't come off to well to football fans.
We may have gone second tier with Wilson, but in a sense that's 20/20 hindsight. But, in no way did we go cheap.
GERBILS contract was significantly less then what the better FS got last year. Look all I am saying is that in a uncapped year the only person paying Rolle or Clark would have hurt in the pocket is Ross. Big deal he gets another minority owner and the problem is solved, any revenue generated from selling a share of the team goes to his pocket. Even in the old cap system that was not revenue they had to share. Hindsight hmmmmm I think getting cut by Oakland for the same type of performance should have been a red flag! I am sure someone around here has the vid of a rookie named Bess dragging GERBIL for 20yds. HMMMMMMMMM how far did Shockey drag him?
It would hurt more than Ross' pocket. Where do you think he would get the money to pay him? It wouldn't be from selling shares of the team. Like any business, that cost flows down to the consumer, which in this case is the fan. Yes, he played poorly at Oakland. But, you have to look more at the tape than just "he played poorly". There have been players that have been cut from poor teams for their performance before, but then thrived on other teams, whether it be due to better coaching, better system, injury-free, etc. I highly doubt the front office expected such poor play from Wilson last year, else they wouldn't have signed him. In fact, I believe he was actually 2nd in tackles behind YB for safeties when he was at Oakland. So who would have suspected that a change in uniform would cause him to forget how to tackle. Regardless though, Wilson was by no-means low-balled on his contract offer, which is what I understood your original post was alluding to.
I don't think it's so much of a position priority vs. a player priority. I think Dansby was considered a top 5 ILB by the team. He is/was a potential game changer. I wouldn't expect them to have as high a regard for Rolle or Clark, I certainly don't.
Fine the Giants didn't retain his services for the same reason and this was after they tried a position change from SS to FS. My best friend is a Giant fan and like me he played college football so he knows his ****. I got so much crap when we signed him! GERBIL was nothing more then second tier and the trifecta going for a diamond in the rough AGAIN. GERBIL, McCown, Green, Wilford etc.....
Well I don't know what games they were watching but if we had a FS that wasn't just horrible we would have won 10 or 11 games and the division!
It's not about the position. They obviously felt the need to upgrade FS when they cut Wilson. I just don't think they saw Rolle or Clark as all that great. They were good players, they were upgrades, but they weren't worthy of the contracts they wanted.
Don't deny that he is probably second tier. I agreed with you on this in my prior post. My point was I don't think that they went cheap with him.
Well if you consider that it was no where near what the going rate for a good FS was getting it adds up to second tier and cheap
Ok here is the deal Clark I am ok with not getting. Is he an upgrade yes, but he is 30 and does have health problems. Rolle we should have paid, he is young, he converted from CB to FS and made the Probowl, with our quote best secondary coach in the NFL and Nolan the sky was the limit with this kid!
Before you put too much stock in that article, here's another from Florio, at The Sporting News: http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/art...y-quiet-during-first-few-days-nfl-free-agency Check out #7: "the Giants decided it would be wise to pay a guy who isn't regarded as one of the top safeties in the NFL as if he were" In one place everyone is saying we wouldn't pay for top talent, but in another the Rolle is basically overpaid. Every story has at least two sides...... I personally think the Giants waaaay overpaid, but only time will tell if he was worth the money.
No, it wasn't cheap. He signed a 5-yr, $27.5M contract, with $8M guaranteed. And it was front-loaded. Either way, that averages to over $5M/year for a "second tier" FS. To me, that's just not cheap. And it's more than what was offered to Clark this year.
And this plays into the thought that the front office is willing to pay a player what they think that he's worth. Not any more and not any less. And if it isn't good enough, then they move on. I, for one, really like that policy.
Still not what the top safeties commanded in free agency 2009. Either way even the friggin Bidwells beat our offer for Rolle! They are the cheapest owners in the league, year in and year out they have the lowest payroll. They felt Rolle was worth it and that is saying something. I just don't let the trifecta determine what a players value is.
I'm not nearly as high on Rolle as you are. I'd rather draft E. Thomas than sign Rolle. I don't think Rolle has much chance of ever being a top 5 S in this league and I wouldn't want to pay him like one.
Am I saying I know more then them? NO I am saying I don't just use them as my only source of NFL value! You know there are 31 other teams in this league and every year multiple teams seem to think a player has more value then our FO.
You're right and in a year or 2 they will be gone! I will still be a fan, and many other fans will be left with a bad taste in their mouth because the blind loyalty and faith the put in Parcells a football mercenary!
I don't believe you should be putting words in my mouth. Blind faith? Come on now. Because I'm willing to see the results before I claim the team is messed up? I've been a fan since the 70s, through good and bad teams, but moves don't always work out as expected, so judging prematurely seems wrong to me. Obviously we disagree though.
IMO, the Giants offered him a contract for more than what he's worth to make sure that he signed with them over us. He basically asked the same from Arizona (contract-wise) before free agency and they decided not to pay him that. So, either they also didn't think he was worth it or were just unwilling to pay him what he thought he was worth. In this case however, IMO it's just overpayment, not paying him true value. And this happens every year with various teams/players as teams will overpay to ensure that they get their player. But, it seems like we have a little more control in this regard in that we won't overpay to ensure that players sign, but we are willing to at least pay what we think they're worth.
Sorry I was not attempting to put words in your mouth or single you out! I was referring to a large percentage of Dolphin fans that put blind faith in Parcells. It wasn't a jab at you personally!
Clearly NY put the same emphasis on signing Rolle we put on signing Dansby. Hence both teams scored the players they coveted the most. As for Clark, not sure what to make out of it. Does seem his story now contradicts what was initially reported. Honestly, I think he was using the Dolphins to up his value with Pittsburgh from the very beginning. I don't think he ever really wanted to leave. As for Wilson, and the train wreck that whole situation turned into, well...it's history now. Time to move on. I'm hoping the FO learned something from the experience, and will apply it to future decisions. Regardless, their MO does seem to be to approach each/every opportunity judiciously. And, I think that's the right thing to do. Less chance of making a mistake by being more deliberate and calculated in your player personnel decisions IMO. Will they still miss on some guys? Yeah, I'm sure they will. But, my hope is their approach will result in more hits. JMHO...
No worries! you actually seem like the type of Dolphin fan I would enjoy splitting a couple of buckets of beer on draft day with! We are all fans and want the team to get better, we just have different views on how they should do it!
Beg to differ missing on GERBIL has us looking for a FS again. Missing on Wilford still has us searching for 1WR and using 2 draft picks last yr Missing on McCown cost us draft picks in White and the Thigpen trade Taking Eric Green instead of paying the extra 250k for Bodden had us draft 2 CBs when we could have drafted something else
Good for us. We broke the bank on the player we needed. Rolle and Clark never excited me much anyway and would only have been happy if we got them for a bargain.
I was unclear in my post. What I meant was that if we are judicious in our contract offers and we have to then cut that player later for whatever reason (e.g., Wilson), the impact or cost of that contract is not as bad as if we had overpaid. Not good either way, but imagine having to cut Rolle next year and it's impact. So, what I'm saying is that it could be worse.
Me thinks they both protest to much. Not enough money, to much money, really who cares. I say don't let the door hit your backside as you tuck your tail and walk out the Exit door! See ya, bye!