That doesn't make sense, because the players see first hand. Their opinions arent formed by the media.
I think this is the fact that goes over the head of many of the posters on the board. Its not whether or not its true or not, its the media play of this and how far it goes. It implants seeds of distrust into the minds of many, and especially players & agents and can seriously affect future negotiations with possible FA's and also our ability to interview rookies next year. It also will probably make sure we don't interview "troubled Dez Bryant type players in the future, lest this scenario play out once again.
I would buy this, except for the fact that Ireland didn't apologize until after it came out that he was the one who said it.
Well, you could make the argument that if players bought into this perception enough, they might not even want to meet with Ireland. I'm sure your argument would be that they wouldn't burn any bridges and explore all options. To which I would say you're probably right. But then my argument would be, if players went into a meeting with Ireland with some kind of preconceived notion of him being an ***hole, it wouldn't take much for Ireland to say or do that might cause said player to think to himself, "This guy really is a prick."
My point is, the players aren't getting their opinion of Ireland from the media. They're getting their opinion of Ireland from Ireland himself.
As the lastest details have come out, it appears the context of the question was along the lines of: Q: Your dad was arrested for being a pimp, correct ?? (a fact already known) A: Yes Q: Your mom worked for your dad ?? (a fact already known) A: Yes. Q: So, your mom was a prostitute ?? etc, etc.... This is paraphrasing an on-air conversation (radio and then twitter) with Marcellus Wiley. Does this make the issue less sensitive, no. The fact is, Ireland could have/should have addressed it immediately after the interview that even tho some of the topics they discussed were sensitive, they had to be asked. As someone else said, committing some $15-20M to a 21 yr old kid with at least some issues with authority in college some questions have to be asked. I believe I'd be asking similar questions as well. And I certainly would not be offended if someone ask those types of questions of me, if they were contemplating paying me that much...(I just wish I had the talent (and youth) to even garner those types of questions)...
OK this story has been beaten to death. Ireland will not be fired. He has been doing a terrific job fixing this team in the 2 1/2 years he has been here. The Dolphins are relevant for the first time since Marino retired and most of it has been because of Irelands work. I hope the guy retires here in 25 years or so.
Au contraire, players these days have more access to media than ever, with twitter, iphones, etc etc. They can do an EGO SEARCH on Google anytime they want and see what is being said about them. Its not the same as it was back in Shula's days. Professional athletes are whole different animal these days.
In ten years Dez Bryant will be an afterthought on the 11 O'clock news because of something stoopid he did. While Jeff Ireland will kick off his $500.00 loafers and raise his shot of Bourbon in a silent toast and slowly smile! It takes time but there is justice in this world!
That access to the media doesn't mean they don't know what type of person Jeff Ireland is. If players are basing their opinion of him on Michael Silver hit pieces, then they probably aren't smart enough to make our team anyways.
then tell me why we didnt offer JT a contract at the 11th hour before he went to the Jets if we still thought he could play. the Dolphins said they would wait till after the draft but they had no plans for him anyways because they wanted to get younger. jt aint got it no more man and we knew it.
It sure hurt signing Dansby right? Players are not going to give a rats behind what Ireland said to Dez Bryant. If Miami ponies up a contract they will sign directly on the dotted line. Period! Future draft picks wont care even less!!
Tell us why they offered, not one, but two contracts two him since Novemeber? Tell us why they wanted him to get surgery asap after the season? Tell us why they NEVER once said he is not in our plans? Do tell, or do make things up to suit your needs but there is only one correct answer to all these questions and it has nothing to do with him being washed up. The man played well and especially since he was injured. The front office refuses to let players dictate what they do, and we all know, except you apparently, that JT was our best OLB last season.
I am not sure who I believe. Its pretty crucial info to the whole situation. Do you really believe JT signed with the Jets when he had an offer to stay with the Dolphins? I am not sure I do. Being on the outside looking in I can say this. Chad Pennington was re-signed. Jason Ferguson was re-signed. Davone Bess was re-signed. Joey Haynos was re-signed. Dan Carpenter was re-signed. Even Quentin Moses was re-signed. The only guy left out was Jason Taylor.
The only plausible explanation here is that he was looking for an uncapped payday. Thats the only way this makes sense.
Perhaps after they gathered the collective minds they realized that JT wasn't the player they wanted here. I said all along we will be drafting youth on defense. I still think he is done but to pin that as the only reason go back and read. I said he was self important all along. Age was an issue and so was the drama. rest assured if JT comes back here and pulls a Daunte and plays a great game against the Dolphins you will be here to tell me about it as far as our best OLB not a tall order considering the lot i mean porter who couldn't move charlie anderson quentin moses wake an OLB who didn't play the position taylor by proxy bro
Impossible. They may implement a "strong worded" Policy, but there is no way in hell they take picks from us. Much worse questions by many more people have been asked than to a guy with character issues by Jeff Ireland. Funny how the people who used to do this and aren't in the business anymore are supporting him, because they know how this game is played. The NFL wants this to go away. And it should. Its silly. Just as the "Numbergate" and "Zachthomasgate" and Jasontaylorgate" are all foolishness. There are about 3-4 numbers on this team retired. Because ex players get their feelings hurt, I couldn't care less. If a player leaves for more money, I couldn't care less. I only care about the players here...not the old ones, not the ones who went to other teams. Jeff Ireland has ONE responsibility. ONE. To get good players on the football team. Thats it. I don't care what he asks or who he asks about if hes getting us better football players. He has no responsibility to Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor, Dez Bryant, or even Marino or Shula. If hes worried about that, hes not worried about making us as good as we can be NOW! And that is all that is important.
This is the truest statement ever uttered. I read an article somewhere about this.... Its crazy. I said once that I thought Shula hung on too long and Marino covered up a bunch of his problems. You would have thought I was Robert Maplethorpe. I said that JJ should have jettisoned Marino when he got here and got "his" QB. OMG...it was as if I whizzed on the Holy Grail. These are my opinions about a football team. Why so many are hung up so long about things that happened so long ago.... I want this team to win....NOW! I am not concerned with how many wins Shula has or how many TDs Dan threw for. That doesn't help us win. PS...I named my son after Marino, so I was plenty a fan.
I'm waiting for our Super Bowl win, and hearing some of you people saying "Well, winning the Super Bowl is great, but I really wish Ireland had more class then I could enjoy it more." I won't hold my breath.
Not to be too cynical, but seeing as how it's been 37 years, I wouldn't be holding my breath for a Super Bowl win either.
Don't bother telling me, tell the mass media. You can type as many cute closing statements as you want, it's not going to stop them from being done with this story until they are done with it. I'm thinking this weekend will be the end of it, and we can move on with our lives. But if Jeff Ireland behaves like this again, the media will be all over him like flies on ****. The same way they would be on Tiger Woods or Ben Rothlisberger if they got caught whorin or rapin again.
I'm not comparing the behavior of Ireland to Woods or Ben. I'm comparing the media coverage. These three have all been pegged recently in the media as being certain types of characters - ***hole, manwhore, rapist. Ireland much less than Woods and Big Ben, but it's still been a major sports story. If any three of these revert back to their "old ways" the media will be all over them. And therein lies the problem. Whether you feel Ireland's question was appropriate or not, he will be pressured to not engage in this type of behavior with players again. If being an *** is part of what makes him an effective GM, then it's a problem. So everyone here can make succinct, simple observations about whether it was right, wrong, no big deal, etc. But the fact will remain that no matter what your personal feelings are on the matter, this has been and continues to be kind of a big deal as far as the media is concerned.
I respect all opinions & our 1st Amendment right to free speech having said that it is what it: hypocritical, ridiculous, not in our interest to pursue my last post on this annoying waste of time
I don't have to go back and read. I recall what you have said, and you're right, you did. BUT it's the after JT signed posts that have you insisting you were bashed for saying he was done and then you try to use the front office as your defense. You have a consistancy in calling out a bunch of posters to be picking on you, or following as you so put it. AND if you go back to the day he signed, you will see that I posted that I hope this is the year he shows he's done, like some have stated he already is. I don't throw jack squat back in peoples faces to make a point unless it is brought on to me. However, you CLEARLY like to do it and have done it many times to try and prove you've been correct. So stop calling the kettle black killer... I sincerely hope that Jason Taylor totally sucks this year. I won't be saying oh man Killer was so right. I'll just be happy that a New York Jets player is sucking. BUT to this point, he has had only one bad season, and he was also injured that year. Other than that he has played GREAT for many years, and last year he was good even though he was playing way out of position and also hurt.
Yeah! I don't care if he has sex with little boys as long as he delivers a championship team!! The end justifies the means!!! That is me being sarcastic by the way.
I didn't think I had to stipulate that I was referring to any legal means. Yes, lets not use AK 47s to shoot other teams players to win games. I should have known that big red and others who were comparing (the medias reactions) what Ireland said to that player vs guys who rape and serial adulterers that I needed to keep everything at the elementary level. Sorry. I'll be considerate of you in the future and simplify all of my posts! Thats me not believing how some people think!
I apologize if I came across as harsh or went too far. I was just trying to point out the way you go about business is just as important as the end result. Please excuse me if I'm mistaken but what I got from your post is you don't care about anything except winning a championship. Well I care about winning a championship too. However I also care about our former players and the history of our team. I care about how "Numbergate" and "Zachthomasgate" and Jasontaylorgate" will affect our locker room and our ability to sign free agents. I care about the image of the Miami Dolphins. I don't want to root for a team that is considered classless. What you call silly and foolish I call important. The older I get the more I realize the end doesn't justify the means.
