PFT: Franchise tag in play for Sean Smith, not Big Jake

CB is a weak spot on the team, we can not afford to lose Smith. But no way he is a franchise player in my book.

 

No way I have seen Sean Smith play well enough consistently this season to place a franchise tag on the guy. Long is totally replaceable IMHO, many teams have outstanding OL's and running games with players paid FAR less than Long at LT. His injury bug has produced inconsistent running game ability on the left side not just this season but on many occasions in past seasons we haven't had consistent running lanes with Long at LT. His pass protection is good but overall I think we could build a solid OL without spending the money Long is likely to command.

Sean Smith being considered for the franchise tag makes no sense to me when my understanding (i'VE BEEN WRONG BEFORE) is that as strong as our defense has been it has been mostly in pass rush and against the run. I just don't recall our secondary being mentioned as a big reason our defense has performed so well this season, so how does an inconsistent SS justify the franchise tag? IMVHO only if Coyle/DC and Philbin feel strongly enough to put the tag on Sean, I would NOT leave this decision in the hands of Ireland.

 

You franchise Smith because your other corners are Marshall, Patterson, Stanford, and McCann, and because it's hard enough to get just one good corner in free agency.

In other words, last-ditch desperation.

 

I dont get why its thought that they would need to tag either of them. If they are liked by the team, why wouldnt they both just be offered new contracts? They might be overpaid a bit on the FA market but neither of them is gonna get #1 type money from any team. They are both good players but neither are great.

Long I think you just have to let him walk away if he wants too much money. The only way tagging him has any benefit is if you can find a team that really needs a LT and is so high on them that they would be willing to invest the kind of money he is looking for along with sacraficing a high enough pick to compensate the team. Im not really sure if that scenerio exists.

 

He's too much of a one dimensional player for me to franchise.

 

Well the Dolphin's did put themselves in this position. Sean Smith holds all the marbles now.

 

He doesn't. The team can franchise him, which isnt a great outcome for him.

 

Your right. Would look desperate at a PR stand point, but hell they stopped caring about PR seasons ago.

 

The time to deal Long was at the trade deadline. Im sure the Bears and maybe the Eagles or GB would have considered offering multiple picks probably starting with a 2.

Franchising Hartline or Long would be stupid, their cap numbers are too high and their play doesnt warrant it. Smith I wouldnt agree with franchising but I could understand it if they feel the CB market will be insane like last year when you saw a FS get 5M+ per year for his play at FS only to be used at CB....looking at you Richard Marshall.

 

Sad, so very sad, but true! You make a good point but it still hurts.

 

Long is going to hit free agency. If he's tagged, he'll sign that 15+ million tender immediately and handcuff us throughout free agency. He would then hold all the leverage and could dictate terms to us and any potential suitors.

Besides if you were a fan of another team, how would you feel if your team took on Long at 10-15 million per, with his injuries, his decline in play and give up premium picks to do so? I thought so.

 

Miami, according to PFF is 9th in the league in pass coverage. Last season, Miami finished last. This season, Miami is currently 7th in run defense, and 14th in pass rush. So, if PFF's ratings paint any sort of accurate picture, the coverage would be even better with a better pass rush.
Just for sh!ts and giggles, I'll also throw in that Miami is 2nd in overall STs and 3rd best at avoiding penalties.
Jones and to a lesser degree Clemons are much of the reason why Miami has improved so much in coverage. Jones is 2nd and Clemons is 18th out of 88 safeties, in pass coverage. Smith and Carroll have slightly positive ratings of 0.6 and 0.4. In Marshall's short time in the lineup, he still garnered the best coverage rating at 2.0.
Wilson, who has 3rd most corner snaps, has a -3.4 rating.

BTW, some dude named Davis, playing for Indy, has a +3.5 rating in pass coverage. RJ Stanford, the guy who was claimed off waivers to fill the empty slot in the CB contingent, in just 147 snaps, has managed to get an awful coverage rating of -5.4

 

I do wonder what the pass defense would of looked like this year if we had kept Davis. Same goes for B Marshall and how our offense would of looked.

I have a difficult time of making sense of either of those trades.

 

I believe those two decisions were made by Philbin..lets hope his philosophy of team chemistry is more important works out.

 

Does it not seem strange to you that a rookie HC would give up proven talent on his roster? We could of been 2-13 instead of 7-8 right now and if we were many people would be scrutinizing trading thoe two away. It was a very ballsy decision.

 

I agree, so apparently you are also a very wise man.
IMO, it is stupid to get rid of good players unless you already have their replacements in the bag. IMO, this team could have likely made the playoffs with those 2 on the team this season.

 

We know for sure how the Davis trade came about. That was not a Philbin decision. He may have went along with it, but it isn't like he went to Ireland and said trade this guy, he isn't good for team chemistry.

 

He was demoted to 2nd string by his coaches, he had work ethic issues acknowledged by his coaches, attitude ones as well, if the call from the colts was random, and they offered the pick, you don't think Ireland went to Philbin with the scenario to see if he would endorse the trade based on what he had seen from vontae?

 

We saw it materialize on HK. Basically what you said. They obviously jumped the gun on Vontae. It was a poor decision, IMO.

 

How did they jump the gun? And I don't think anyone would classify his play as good this year.

Imagine if he played that poorly in Miami this year, what would his trade value be now? I feel iucky we got a 2nd.

 

How many of his games in Indy did you watch completely this season?

 

1, does that mean he had good season? His value still a 1st or 2nd rounder to you?

 

If you watched just one game then what are basing your comment on that he had a bad season?

 

His numbers and the evaluations of people reporting the games.

I'll take your avoidance of my questions as yes his value isn't as high as a 1st or 2nd anymore. Good trade.

 

Someone could make a killing selling maudlin Princess Diana-style commemorative plates with the kind of baffling sentimentality attached to the time Vontae Davis spent here.

I'm thinking airbrush a shot of Davis looking like a big dumb manbaby, throw in a bunch of lens flare, and a caption like "The #1 corner of our hearts" or "2009-2012- A talent...wasted"

 

I was thinking little orphan Annie but that works too.

VD is the new Yeremiah Bell.

 

It's the "Wannstedt effect". Have 2-3 draft classes that disappear and it puts you in a state where we are now. Middling, irrelevant.

 

You choose to ignore PFF's rating of him for this season. He has done far better in coverage than any corner Miami has. His rating in coverage is +3.5. Smith and Carroll are +0.6 and +0.4. Wilson is -3.4 and Stanford is -5.4. Out of 214 corners to play a down this season in the NFL, Stanford is 194th in coverage. Davis ranks 37th in the league in coverage, Smith is 54th and Carroll is 55th.
It does not matter if he is worth a 1st because he was not traded for a 1st. Is a good starting corner worth a 2nd? That is what he is and the answer is YES. Looking at how our corners have done this season, we damned sure could have used him and IMO the trade was hasty and ill advised.

 

I thought this last yr when JJerry filled in for Long and did as well as he had been doing up to that point in the season.

Would love to keep him, just $$$+performance just does not justify retaining him.

 

Someone could make a killing selling commemorative plates of Jeff Ireland to all of you blind Ireland loyalists too.
Davis is the starting corner on a playoff team and played better than ANY Dolphins CB this season. Miami could have used him. Our defense would have better with him on the field. Not having him and Brandon Marshall, and not replacing them with similar quality probably kept the team out of the playoffs.

 

PFF isn't the be all and end all. Also, playing better than Miami's CBs doesn't make someone else a good player.

How was it hasty and ill-advised? He was a 2nd string CB who put himself on the bench with his play and immaturity. You can say all you want about not having any depth to make that trade but it was before Marshall got hurt.

What was Patterson's rating last week?

 

When in doubt make rash generalizations

I'm sure VD was a big part of Indy going to the playoffs too lol Ridiculous.

Hey let's throw Brandon Marshall in too just for good measure.

 

Keep in mind this is the same VD that Brandon flippin' Marshall called out for being unprofessional.

I liked VD's game, thought he was physical and created TO's, he is also wildly immature

 

I'd trust PFF's eval of a player over whomever you were going by.
Yeah he was 2nd string in the preseason but that does not mean he'd have stayed there. The 3rd corner on a team usually plays a lot of snaps anyway. Wilson plays almost as many snaps as Soliai and more than Misi.
Patterson was a +1.3. Highest among our DBs and 4th among all defenders. He was a good pickup. I spent a lot of time focusing on him at the snap and he played equally well inside or outside IMO.

 

My post was no more a generalization than the one I replied to. I didn't say how big a part or not Davis played. Thanks for putting words in my mouth. He is a starter on a playoff team, so he did contribute and I'd guess Indy is glad to have him, and he is glad to be there.

 

You cannot let a talented young left tackle go without compensation. You just can't.

I hate to draw a line in the sand. But it's that sort of stupidity that I can't stomach anymore as a fan.