IDK, how you can make any assertions as to what Ireland does and doesnt do considering he has run a total of ! draft in his career. If he is here three or four years from now and all we have done is spend high draft picks on OL and DL then I will grant you that... but for the love of god can we wait a couple of drafts to see if a pattern emerges before we say that Ireland does XY OR Z?
Ireland had official final say in only one draft, but he ran the Cowboys' drafts and often acted as the tiebreaker between Parcells and Jones. He had plenty of authority while Parcells was here in Miami, too. Let's stop with this idea that because Ireland didn't have super mega absolute utter final say prior to the 2011 draft, that he had no influence on prior drafts. He absolutely did, especially since he was putting together the information the Dolphins used on draft day to make their selections. His fingerprints are all over this roster, and we need to stop pretending otherwise.
I am sure he had input but he did not have final say so (as far as I know, I could be wrong)... you think the Fins would have drafted White in the 2nd round if Ireland had final say so? I would hope not and if he was any part of that stupidity he needs to go as well.
Was he in the office at the time? Why is he not held equally responsible? Imo it is vitally foolish to allow anyone in the Dolphins Org. to weasel out of accountability by saying "oh that..wasn't me" Colombo comes to mind, let me guess "that was Sparano"? Like Henne, why is it always something with Ireland? And I happen to like Ireland, and think the Dez Bryant stuff was pure *** hattery+immaturity on the "hores" crowd, that was 2 yrs ago...we still have Bline and Bess at Wr, he took VD and Odrick and Misi since then, are you not seeing a problem here?
We didn't have approximately 14 starters out like Green Bay did back then. We play Green Bay now...this team would get it's butt slaughtered.
Oh here we go, and MMoore "has not beaten a team with a winning record!" Point being, no one cares VDP, if you have injuries or not, you play the games if you lose then you lost.
Well if the point was being made against Armando that we need an elite QB to beat the New Englands, New Orleans and Green Bay's and someone's response is that we beat Green Bay already. It's quite a valid argument, because we barely squeaked by a team decimated with injuries. All I'm stating is that this team we have here now with this QB........would NOT beat Green Bay right now. Is there any argument that this team could right now or are we arguing semantics?
Yes. As Parcells described it after he left, and I'm paraphrasing from memory, "a kind of euphoria swept over the personnel department" after our division win in 2008. The entire department thought that the roster as constructed was already a winner. They bought their own hype and went into that 2009 draft looking for luxury items because they thought they could afford to. That's where Parcells' pick of Pat White came from. Well, that and Ireland's scouting report. Besides, there are plenty of bonehead moves made since 2008 that have nothing to do with Pat White. Not sure why you're using Pat White as the yardstick measure of Ireland's personnel influence.
No, Ireland would not have drafted Pat White...and there is the problem. White was bust, the idea behind drafting him was finding a playmaker, which was the right instinct, but wrong player. Since then...DL/OL etc etc, anyone but guys who are risky, but offer playmaking capabilities..OLinemen don't score TD's. We've lost 5 gms by 11 pts..combined, think we could use some more of those TD thingys, memo to Ireland.
Cruz was NEVER a longshot. The Giants brass loved that kid last year in camp and they hung on to him through the knee injury. We do need playmakers but if I am Jeff Ireland I am not hitching my employment status to Matt Moore's ability to improve. Weapons are a priority, probably #3 on the list after pass rushers and priority 1 is far and away upgrading QB.
While true, you don't need to field an All-Pro offensive line to have a successful, prolific offense. There is such a thing as "good enough" when it comes to the OL, as Richie Incognito at LG proves.
No you do not. having a few all-pro linemen does help. Especially ones that are not injury prone before signing.
I think you can win with Matt Moore. Just like winning, once this team, and Moore, win a game in the 4th quarter, or come from behind, or last drive, those monkey's will be off their backs and they'll come. I'm not advocating Moore is the long term answer, but I think it's pretty that at the very least, with Moore at QB, you're going to beat your bad/mediocre football clubs and with a few more players, you can beat good teams.
He was a longshot in the year he was in the draft, or else he'd have gotten picked, not allowed to go undrafted.
Yeah he was, I can recall Ck writing him up in 2010: http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2010/09/despite_brilliant_preseason_gi.html Sinorice Moss injured his knee and Cruz made the squad. Ireland is hitching his wagon to the team winning B14, no question about that, if you think a Rook Qb is going to do so, then you take him, however aside from Luckville...that guy isn't in this draft, unless you believe RG3 can pulloff a Vince Young and lead us to the playoffs as a Rookie starting Qb? Put it this way, season opens in 2012, MMoore is our starting Qb, unless Ireland pulls off a spectacular trade for a Starting Qb.
Having "a few all-pro linemen" is an impossibility unless you're the luckiest drafter in the world or you devote an inordinate amount of resources, including cap space, to the OL. Supposedly, Ireland put Barkley ahead after watching USC @ OSU, where a freshman Barkley led the game-winning drive.
While I'm a bit down on Ireland atm, I'm not buying into that one either. Suspect it was the wildly wrong dude who said that stuff.
Given the realities of the draft claiming that you think the #2 prospect at a position will be better than the #1 prospect really isn't something that should be regarded as heresy.
The way the title/url is set up, it looks like a blog. Not sure if Herald editors edit blog posts so it may be published directly.
That is correct, a game from 2009 became the difference in Ireland's mind between Matt Barkley and Andrew Luck. Not the triple OT game from 2011 where they matched up with each other and Luck came out ahead, but a game from Barkley's freshman year. This is our GM's thought process. The "Save our Dolphins, fire Jeff Ireland" banner cannot fly soon enough. It's posted to Miamiherald.com's sports section, not Armando's blog. The issue is Ireland's underlying reasoning for rating Barkley ahead of Luck, namely the questionable vehicle by which Ireland arrived at the conclusion that Barkley > Luck. Frankly it seems to be more of a contrarian position than anything having to do with serious evaluation, though it does show that Ireland has done his homework by (presumably) watching all of Barkley's games.
I don't believe it is true. There is no reliable source saying it, as far as I'm concerned. If Ireland ranked Barkley ahead of Luck, he was not the only one, and IF he did it was based on more than one game as a freshman being the deciding factor.
Well, what we all know about Mando is that virtually every piece he writes is simply opinion pieces...nothing based in fact except what fact he spins to make his point. This isn't what I want from my team reporters...tell me some facts about what the inside of the Fins brass is doing, don't give me all speculation, that's what many fan forums are about... Really, we all have opinions. This one isn't exactly anything earth shattering or anything that we haven't see on this board multiple times from various posters...I think he's right about Moore, but that's my opinion too. I hope I'm wrong... The fact is that there won't be any changes to this team until after the last game... We all want Ireland/Ross?whoever to fix this team. Heck, we're just guessing at this point to think that Ireland will have a hand in it at all. For Mando to state that we need a better QB to jump start this franchise is pretty much the pot calling the kettle black... Moore has played better than expected....yes. The question is if you could transplant Moore to the pasties or the packers, would those respective franchises be as well off ? The answer is no. Would they still win some games and be in contention...probably so... This team might or might not HAVE to have a better QB than Moore to succeed but without better talent around him he's sure not to succeed. The question that Ross and Ireland are contemplating now (outside of what hc to choose to run the franchise), is "Would it be better to sell out the picks necessary to get what many consider an elite prospect and neglect getting the necessary talent around whoever that elite QB is or better to add talent around Moore and continue to search for the right 'elite' QB..." I don't think there is a clear cut and dried answer to that right now. All Mando did was say what we've seen on this board from various posters for years...me included probably...
Supposedly....what ?? Where'd this info come from ?? Sounds a lot like conjecture to me. Ireland's been around long enough to base his evaluations on more than one game in a guys career...that sounds ludicrous to me...who'd believe that a guy who's gotten to Ireland's position would make a determination on ANY player in this fashion, much less so a QB, the pinnacle of what could be of his career in football ?? Bah...Humbug...
As far as I am concerned, Ireland must go. Those on here who defend him do so by stating he has only been in charge of one draft since he has been here. How in the world can anyone know this for a fact? He has now been the GM of the Dolphins for the last four years and he should be held accountable for the talent, (or lack of talent), on the Dolphins since he took over as the teams GM. This season is going to be the worst season the Dolphins have had since their 1-15 season in 2007. Yet there are many on here who seem to think that the talent today is better then it has been over the last four years. The Dolphins record this season proves otherwise. The talent on the Dolphins is merely bad to mediocre for the most part and that is the reason the Dolphins will finish LAST in the AFC East this season. For Ross to keep Ireland as the GM of the Dolphins only means that the Dolphins will continue to remain a bottom feeder in the NFL for several more years. The fact that so many on this forum are willing to settle for a Matt Moore as the QB of this team in the future, shows how Ireland has been able to dupe some fans into accepting mediocrity as the goal for this team. To many on here, they are upset at my negative attitude toward Ireland, Ross, and the play of the team. Well two 7-9 seasons followed by this season makes me negative toward this organization. After the last decade of decisions, and losing seasons by this team, I am negative because I expect more from a team I have spent years following and over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars purchasing seasons tickets and traveling to many away games. I refused to purchase season tickets this season because Sparano and Ireland were not fired after last season. While I would love to return to the stadium next year and enjoy the excitement of the game, live. I will not purchase season tickets or travel to another away game until Ross finally gets rid of Ireland. Hopefully after this season is over, Ross will hire a coach who will demand that Ireland must go before this coach will take the job.
I agree. Well said. Ireland should be held accountable as well, if reports of him being the reason we lost Harbaugh are true as well then he simply must be fired for us to get a quality coach.
I think that Harbaugh was probably always more interested in the 49'ers job than the Dolphins job, but Ross taking Ireland along on his trip to meet Harbaugh certainly didn't help Ross in enticing Harbaugh to take over the HC job with the Dolphins. I don't see any top tier coach wanting to come to the Dolphins to work with Ireland. Ross needs to wake up and see that Ireland is the problem and not the solution, or he will be lucky if the Dolphins sell 35,000 season tickets next year.
That would be a mistake imo, if a HC does not want to work in Miami, then fine, their choice, meanwhile the organization has to remain intact. My beef with Ireland is his lack of an eye for playmaking talent, acquired cheaply. Way I see it, any room temp IQ GM can draft Linemen, or Cb's, and have good success, but the more you draft them the less opportunity there is to draft Elite playmaking talent.
I think a lot of high quality coaches would love to coach in Miami. I just don't think many of these same coaches want to be stuck with Ireland as the person selecting the players they are forced to coach on the field. Since Ireland became the GM four years ago the Dolphins have gone 11-5,7-9,7-9, and 5-10, so far this season. This clearly shows that the man responsible for selecting the talent for the Dolphins has been doing a terrible job. Four years with the same regime and the Dolphins are going to have their worst record since their 1-15 season in 2007. The team is loaded with players who don't show up in big games and can't seem to play for four quarters. While coaching is part of the problem, Ireland selected all these players and he must be held accountable for the fact that the Dolphins have regressed every year since they won the AFC East Division in 2008.
1. Have you never worked for anyone? I have sat in plenty of meetings in which the direction of a department was being discussed and my boss listen to my input (and the rest of his subordinates) and ultimately did what he wanted to do. 2. No, he is not equally responsible because he was not in charge. I cant fault him for the bad picks any more then I could give him credit for the good ones. 3. All I am saying is that NO ONE outside of the Fins front office really knows what happened. Ireland may be at fault for some of the past draft mistakes... Then again I suspect Bill P had a lot more to do with the crappy drafts and poor structor of the team then anyone else. 4. Columbo was on Ireland... even IF he did it at Tony's request. There is no getting around that for Ireland... Just like he is responsible for having Moore and Burnett on the team (see how that works?) 5. I am not understanding this one... 6. Your are talking about drafts that occurred before he was fully in charge. Can not give Ireland credit or blame for anything that occurred before he was in charge. I am not saying he didnt have input because I firmly believe he did. I am saying he was not making the final decision and we have no idea how the drafts of FA signings would have played out if he was. ULTIMATELY, what I am saying is I would like to see more of a body of work before I start saying that Ireland has a pattern in any direction. I am NOT saying that you are wrong... I am just saying that you are premature in your judgement.
Please explain where and when he was wrong. Generic disdain does not a coherent counterargument make.
You know I love to come in here and read stuff but IT CRACKS me up when fans think they have some kind of in as to what or how decisions are made by our front office. Unless one of the group members happens to work for the Fins we are ALL in the dark as to what really goes on behind closed doors... and just because someone reads something on the internet... it does not make it true!
As I keep stating, Ireland has been the GM of the Dolphins for the past FOUR years. So he has already shown his body of work and this body of work has led to the Dolphins being one of the worst teams in the NFL. Why any real Dolphin fan would want Ireland to continue to remain in control of player personnel decisions is beyond me. Actually I think a lot of these individuals wanting Ireland to remain as the Dolphins GM are not really fans of the Dolphins to begin with. I think we have a lot of closet Jets, Patriots, and Bills fans on this forum who want Ireland to stay so the Dolphins remain a doormat in the NFL.
In title but it is pretty clear that Bill Parcells was running things in Miami until last season. lol, I think I am a Dolphins Fan... maybe I am really a Jets fan...
While I hold Ireland responsible for the entire team makeup, since he has been the GM four all four years. The fact is that if you are only going to hold him accountable for this season, because Parcells was no longer with the team. The Dolphins this year will end up with their worst record in the last four years in this season. So obviously based on the belief by you and others who share this belief, the Dolphins have only gotten worst since Parcells departed and Ireland has taken over completely. I realize that some fans on here blame all the problems on the field on Sparano, and are giving Ireland a pass, while blaming all the personnel mistakes on Parcells. I just happen to think that Ireland is not capable of building a championship quality football team. Heck, I don't even think he is able to build a mediocre team. I was a season ticket holder for forty years. I have talked to many of the friends I developed over all those years at the stadium and 95% of them want Ireland gone as the teams GM. The few who support Ireland basically are like you and they blame Parcells for the personnel problems on the team. These few people who support Ireland want to give him at least one more year to show what he can do. The rest of us have already made up our minds concerning what Ireland can do. We feel all Ross will accomplish by keeping Ireland is prevent the Dolphins from hiring a quality head coach. Letting Ireland continue to make all the personnel decisions will also mean that the Dolphins will remain a lower tier team for the foreseeable future. The sooner the Dolphins get rid of Ireland and hire a GM who can actually select quality talent, the sooner the Dolphins can start making the playoffs once again.
