Talking Points: Miami Dolphins should find a way to bring back LT Jake Long http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/thed...should-find-a-way-to-bring-back-lt-jake-long/
Before I get all up in arms, I'd be curious what the offer was. Top 10 LT money? Top 15? For all the public knows, we offered him something fair, and he and his agent didn't agree with that.
Eh, 'Mando of all people, along with OmarK had good takes on this one. Basically, Ireland is content with letting the market set the price for most of the FA's, Bush at 4.5 millie, Long at 11.2 when the mkt is around 8 million etc. Risky though, basically this will also mean we will not be very attractive to non Dolphins FA's as now we won't set the mkt to sign them. Arguably we may see the same old parade of FA's just not signing here, the good ones come off of the board quickly, if you won't set the mkt they will sign with someone who will.
It could work out, it just depends if he is willing to set the market for say..Wallace. If not, FA means what it has meant for us, good, not great, signings.
Every year Ireland will create more holes than he can fill...I wouldn't be surprised if he lets a few starters walk and try to fill starting spots with a couple of draft picks. He better stop that cycle.
Before anyone gets upset or thrilled, the article said: Armando called it "somewhat of a low ball offer". That also happened earlier in the season which means we knew about it already.
Unless Jake Long can clearly demonstrate whatever issues are behind him and he's healthy, he's not going to get the biggest contract for an offensive tackle this off-season, much less overall. Ryan Clady, Andre Smith, Gosder Cherilus, Will Beatty, Sebastian Vollmer, and Branden Albert are all due to be free agents. None of them besides Clady(whom I doubt will make it) have hit the same upside as Long, but they all played quite well last season and don't have the baggage. If Long wants to be the highest paid, he's going to be pretty ****ed over in the game of musical chairs.
Smith was arrested for having a pistol at the airport recently. I can see where Ireland is coming from on this, and semi agree with it, but if we want to add people he'll probably have to set the market to land them.
Sounds like we are not over paying, which is good. Its not like we don't pay people, we just don't overpay people. Spoiler Not like we ever overpaid guys like Grove, Wilson, Dansby and probably Richard Marshall, oh and Ernest Wilford.
Curious to know what Long and his agent perceive his worth to be as opposed to what Ireland thinks. While I think there'll be suitors for Long, I'm not sure if any team will rush to shell out 11-12 million per for someone who is showing signs of being a risky proposition. My bet is that Ireland will let Jake and his agent get a few feelers for his market, then work from there. If Jake wants top dollar he might have to sign a "prove it" type of contract that pays off with a roster bonus in a few years.
And there is the dual edged sword, aside from Marshall, who was injured, were those "Parcells" signings, or "Ireland" signings?
That lowball thing is old news. The Mando article is from a few weeks ago. At this point the Dolphins should be exploring keeping Jake, but shouldn't be overspending to keep him IMO. Just too much of a risk.
Agreed. Ryan Clady already turned down an offer from Denver this past summer - obviously that was after Peyton Manning, so it could have been "low-balled". However, with the season he just had, I think it might be tougher to bring him back for Denver without using the franchise tag. I wonder if they can even afford to use it on him.
Especially with the other FAs that should be on the market, or Reshad Jones. We can put that money to better use.
Ireland's first date with his wife, he pulls up outside a Taco Bell first just to let her know not to expect too much. Once she gets the message, he drives her to a fine Denny's. One with checked tablecloths. Gotta keep the pimp hand strong, right Jeff? Maybe he asked Dez about his mom because Jeff was recruiting something other than football players. This post has been all over the place.
Seriously, the only chance Long returns to the Phins, imo, is if he cannot get cleared by other teams' medical staffs.
The problem is, when you are not accumulating talent quickly enough, you need to augment your bad picking skills by overpaying a couple people.. otherwise you will always lose talent just as fast as you try to acquire it and never improve. Another hole to fill.
Thank God this title wasn't what i initially though. "Jake Long reportedly snowballed by Miami Dolphins" The idea of Ireland and Long... (warning. offensive.)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowballing_(sexual_practice) Erg.
See how that works? And hope people note, Ireland has not exactly been racking up Td scoring playmakers via the draft, yet he has not paid large $$$ for a Td producer, he traded for him..and even then Marshall was 50-50 on catching said Td throws. I suspect Jake walks, suspect he plugs a LT hole on a team that loses their LT, suspect further we are more likely to see a trade then draft guys to develop.
If that was an in season offer...I can't see it going up with yet another injury. Long is starting to look Boselli to me.
This. I love Jake Long and is be thrilled to see him back but the reality is that from a team building standpoint it doesn't make sense to have a LT making 11 million. We run a west coast offense, primarily 3-5 step drops and play action. We play in a division that has lacked elite pass rushers for several years. An elite LT is more of a luxury than a necessity, so paying top dollar for one could be viewed as cap mismanagement. We could sign a "good" LT and use the savings to beef up other areas, and be a better team for it.
What Ireland is doing makes sense, in that the cap room should be used to sign people who will produce touchdowns. Sometimes you need good, not necessarily the best, and it's seriously questionable whether Jake is the best anymore.
The 'lowball' offer was probably more in line with what Long is currently worth than what he wants to be paid. The article quoted the Dolphins source who noted Jake's massive professional ego. That one way he proves he's the best is by being the highest-paid. The Dolphins need to be smart on this. This team needs playmakers more than they need offensive linemen. As Armando noted, the Dolphins went 4-2 without Long. That includes a competitive game at San Francisco where we saw the worst of Jon Martin yet the game was still competitive. Martin can and should improve this offseason.
I think Long is in for a rude awakening, funny thing is if he was drafted with current model, he wouldn't be "used" to having such a big contract and probably would welcome the 8mil a year. All relative, but in reality he probably takes a little step back based on where he aligns in the market. Hopefully his ego processes that reality soon.
It might be time to start taking a harder look at LT Eric Fisher from Central Michigan, who is dominating the Senior Bowl. That or take your chances with martin going back to LT, all of course if Long walks.
keep Martin at LT and let him grow, sign Vollmer to RT. go with youth and health over Long. if the market drops Long's price, then we can sign him.
There is absolutely no way you can come up with a coherent, well-reasoned method of analyzing the success of draft picks that Jake Long is a bad pick. That's ridiculous.
