I think he'll be a top 12 LT eventually and no higher than that which is fine as long as the rest of the unit is strong. I'd rather have a full line of guys that are at least average across the board, playing well together than having a huge hole at one spot.
We have a far better chance of winning the division than St. Louis does... but Jake didn't decide based on winning. We have his family (wife Jackie) and friends (Richie and his Dad) hoping Jake stayed in Miami... but Jake didn't decide based on friends or family. We have great weather, a community he has been a part of, and teammates he has been with for years... but Jake didn't decide based on the weather, the community ties or his teammates. Jake Long made a decision solely based on dollars, and as such, put all other values aside. Which is what will make it easier for fans to put Jake aside. Bye jake. Enjoy your money.
Don't panic yet. Wait till we see if a RT is signed before the draft. I had a gut feeling the second Martin's name was announced as our pick last year that he would be our LT of the future for better or worse. The rest of the UFA tackles will start going off the board this week I'm guessing.
Yes. just like draft picks. Because a GM's job performance will be based on decisions he has to make before the events actually happen. He has to project the future performance of players. Welcome to every decision every GM has had to make, ever.
Believe me, I hope you're right. I'm more than OK with Martin as left tackle. I've said all along, it isn't fair to judge his rookie season as his talent ceiling.
1) I guess I was wrong about Jake choosing the Rams for the money. Does he seriously think they can make the playoffs with the Seahawks and 49ers in their division??? 2) This is disturbing, because it is true: "Given the Hall of Fame-type trajectory of the first three seasons of his career, it's stunning that Long never made it to a second contract with the Dolphins."
Damn, I'm most disappointed I won't be able to special order a CharlieDoodle jersey. Would've never had to buy another one again after that. lol
Ryan Tannehill says hello. How 'bout we let Tannehill vs Ryan decide whether or not Long over Ryan proved to be the right decision. Not to mention, when Matt Ryan retires and Atlanta is looking for a new QB we'll STILL have a few years left of Tannehill, so it all balances out. If Tannehill wins us a SB(s) then passing on Ryan might still prove to be the best decision. More inside the box thinking from you I see.
I wish Jake Long and his family the best, with that said. We will move on and I'm glad we are not paying all that money on him. Like the direction this team is going in. Strong draft at the tackle postion and we still have cap room to sign a FA tackle if needed. I like Martin upside, lets hope he hits the wieght room hard.
I would not put too much stock into what he said. Players always say its not about the money is the contracts are close and they always praise the new team and city. Him saying there was a higher phantom offer on the table is a little unusaul but may have been nothing more then a stunt that his agent put him up too in order to drive up the price for his other clients. My guess is that the Dolphins offered something like $8M and that was enough to make him think it over but not enough to get him to stay. I also wonder if he thinks he has better chemistry with Fisher then he has with Philbin.
not that big of a deal. this is why we drafted Martin, to prepare for this. While Martin will never be all-pro, I do see him becoming a servicable LT.
Well hopefully we'll win, but I almost guarantee Jake won't be winning. With SF & Seattle in your division.....good luck for the next 4 years vying for a WC at best. This guy turned out to be a greedy *******. Got one of the last HUGE rookie deals, then we got only 3 seasons out of him, and then wouldn't give us a hometown discount. **** him, and **** Parcells for taking him over Ryan.
not sure about that, I would think we have to pay more, as these agents will think we're desperate now.
Look at all the jilted brides. Did the guy ever not give 100% of what his body would allow while here? In a business were careers are short sometimes you have to cash in.
This is way more the dolphins fault than Long. A player should always look to get his money can't fault them on that with the toilet paper these contracts are made on
If Ireland misses on Winston or another quality LT/RT what good does it do us to have signed Wallace ? Tannehill running for his life or worse injured because Ireland couldn't put together an OLine in 6 drafsts despite using 2 #1s and a #2, with one of them being an overall #1.....that is just incompetence.
Not hanging this on Jake at all - he has to do what's best for his family, and I don't blame him. At the same time, I don't blame Ireland if these numbers are correct. Can you imagine if Jeff paid Jake $9M a year over 4/5 years, and Jake never recovered, simply having seasons similar to the last two over and over again? We'd say "man, he should never have signed Jake to that big deal, what an idiot." I applaud Jake for giving us every opportunity to try and bring him back, but I also applaud Ireland for having the balls to draw the line in the sand and say, it's either this, or move on. If everything is as its reported that is. Will miss Jake, but I understand why he's gone.
However its looking more & more likely, meaning Ireland will have drafted 3 out 6 of his 1st round picks on OLinemen, and its still not going to be one of the elite units in the NFL. And it will also mean that once again he will have failed to draft a 1st round impact skill player to the team. And people still defend him.....
Yep the excuses for the Ireland apologists are running out.....this is more and more nothing but Ireland players & decisions.
Which is the greater part of being a GM. So far Ireland has been mediocre at best, hence our mediocre record.
I really don't have a big problem with this, Long's play has diminished the past two years, and we don't use a blocking scheme that fits his play. People yell yeah, but he was our #1 pick! But they forget to look at everything else. Let it play out and lets see what happens!
I know the guy has been a bit banged up recently, but I think we're really going to regret this decision. We've finally gone out and acquired talent at the skilled positions on offense, and now the OL is basically nothing but Pouncey. What really frustrates me here, instead of adding some young, talented playmakers we can grow, we're going to end up drafting a tackle at 12. I dont see the team viewing Winston and Martin as solutions to the tackle positions. I'd be shocked if that's the route they go. Just seems like a big step back... I'll reserve total judgement however until the solution to the newly created problem arrives. Just hate creating new holes, when we already have a bunch to fill.
That means there are very few successful first round picks. Far less than half. (That's a stupid way to look at things)
The consensus seemed to be that we were having a good FA period so far, but now that we didn't overpay for Long it's suddenly "bad Ireland" time again? We had a figure we wouldn't go above for Long (and Cook) so we didn't get them. Can't win them all...and you don't want to if it puts you in salary cap hell.
I dreamt that Jake signed with the Rams and I wake up to this? Am i still dreaming? I can't say I'm devastated, but I'm definitely not happy. Another hole to fill.
Sorry Phinsational, your crusade is over.... Nice work though, it is awesome that you had responses from Jackie Long, and were all over Twitter. And of course best of luck to Jake is St Louis.
Long went where he wanted to go and there's nothing wrong with that. Ireland offered what he thought Long was worth and not a penny more, and there's nothing wrong with that. I don't blame Jake and I don't blame Jeff. In reality, Jake is less suited for this offense than he is for St. Louis. I wish him all the best... ...unless they play us, then I wish our pass rushers leave footprints on his chest.
If Miami really wanted him back, he'd be here. We had the cap space to do it. We obviously had our price set and weren't willing to budge. I think the Rams overpaid. It's going to be more obvious because of the the division he's in. The Seahawks and 49ers are going to own him.
This is a big blow to Ireland's plan...Yes, there are other options (Vollmer, Winston, draft), but like most, I'm a bit concerned about last years' Martin on the left side...perhaps he's making himself ready to take on the left side, we'll see. He didn't embarrass himself there last year, but he didn't distinguish himself either... The argument can be made that Long didn't fit into Philbin's ZBS and be right, but he's still, when healthy, an elite player we'll miss. It'll be fun watching to see what Irish does now... As to Jake, good luck and hope the Rams get the Long of three years ago and not the one from the last few who's body breaks down late in the season...
I agree we'll miss him, but they didn't create a new hole...that hole was there from the time the last game was played in 2012...we just haven't filled it yet...