I don't see what the commotion is all about. By those reactions, you'd think Ireland called another woman a whore.
The only thing I see wrong with that statement is the simple fact that he passed on a chance to re-sign Jake Long at a fairly reasonable price tag with lots of injury clauses in the deal.
The problem is he passed on Matt Ryan for Jake Long. Matt Ryan isn't elite but he's a QB you can build a franchise around. He would do it every draft, yeah we know.
It's actually a reasonable statement to make given that 3/5ths of our OL is "questionable"....I mean we have Pouncey and RI that are plugged in. After that, Martin is a question to whether he'll stay on the right or be moved to the left side, and he has room to grow in either spot. JJ might show up to offseason workouts at 400 pds, we don't really know for sure. And I don't think anyone is comfortable with Garner and/or Yeatman as starters for us at either LT or RT, whichever Martin doesn't grab.... And as to doing it all the time, I can't disagree there either...then you don't have to worry about a guy coming off his rookie contract and moving on if he chooses or wants an ungodly payday... I see nothing wrong with him either saying things like this (whether he means them or not, given that it's 2 weeks from the draft) or actually believing what he's said... I can tell you this, if he selects two OL this year and they are as good as Pouncey and Long are...You'll never hear me complain....
Based on what? I specifically remember the Chicago game with three linemen injuries and the Philidelphia game with Garner at left tackle. Those games Miami didn't have a chance in hell of winning due to terrible line play. How do you know if Miami doesn't have good linemen that they weren't a 2 to 4 win team?
But given the state of our team in 2008, would he have been as successful as he's been in Hotlanta....me thinks not... He'd still have not had any playmakers, save for a disgruntled Marshall for his tenure here..
Looking at the team record, having one of the best pass rushers in the league with having a top receiver doesn't win you many games.
Neither does having a crappy QB. They could have solved that in 2008. Besides, you need more than one guy on each side of the ball...
While I agree the statement is no reason to sign the alarms, the statement was not a great one because - It sounds like Ireland would take these guys regardless of the other players/positions he would be passing on. Showing he hasn't really moved on from the outdated Parcells "build the trenches" mentality. Shows his desire to continue playing it safe in the first round. He's trumpeting a pick of a player that he failed to retain (Long), and as CK pointed out, at a reasonable cost. Which is the very reason he has an excuse to "trench pick" high again.
I'm getting the feeling that he feels he already addressed the skill positions in free agency, and the draft will be viewed as "Lineman weekend."
Is it not blatantly obvious that they're going to sit at 12 and take a guy. Ireland is a one move smokescreen. He said I could trade down or trade up. He admitted he needs offensive line help. They like Eric Winston, they've got his agent spreading rumors that Miami will take a tackle. It's probably a wink-wink agreement, hey help us get this guy we're going to sign you soon. The guy they want is very likely Xavier Rhodes and they are protecting him with a bunch of bull**** about how he won't fit into Coyle's zone scheme with Mando. Xavier Rhodes at 12 is a big value, Miami is doing everything they can to keep him at 12 and not have a team trade ahead of them and grab quite possibly the best man corner.
lol. This hate train is just never going to stop is it? I mean no matter what the guy does, its always gonna be the same people *****ing and moaning over and over. Takes a QB, RB & TE in the first 4 picks last year...doesn't matter. Grabs the biggest FA*WR...doesn't matter. Grabs a FA TE who is a big receiver and not blocker...doesn't matter. Answers a stupid question 2 weeks before the draft that says he'd draft a Long or Pouncey again....SEE!!!!! HE HATES EVERY OTHER POSITION!!!!!!!!!! HE'LL NEVER DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Offensive line, CB, and DL are the biggest needs. Logic would dictate that those will be the positions addressed.
They are needed, but they should be looked at in the later rounds. Besides, aren't those the areas he's been focusing on since he's been here? Why are they still needed?
One interesting thing he mentioned was due to the new CBA's salary structure for rookies, he was able to pick any position at any time without the pick being considered a loser at that spot. Could lend itself to picking a safety (Vacarro?), slot receiver (Tavon), TE (Eifert) if he has they graded high enough and sees the need as large. Something to keep in mind, it would seem like an odd thing to mention unless he'd given it some thought.
Talk about a self serving (in regards to the argument you're trying to make) statement there. Actually he's addressed EVERYONE position in the draft since he's been here, so you tell me? You typically use your highest picks on your biggest needs. The biggest needs right now are CB/OL. Down the way you've got DL, then TE, WR, and HB. So tell me again why we SHOULD be using #1 and #2 on WR? Don't act as if it's a no brainer here.
Only if we assume that the guy whose pick we are defending, Jeff Ireland, couldn't supply Matt Ryan with any weapons. Do we forget that Chad Pennington went 11-5 that year? Is Chad or has Chad been better than Matt Ryan? I don't think so. Matt Ryan's first year he had Roddy White, that's it. Michael Jenkins is a #3, who's best year came in Ryan's first season. Actually, his best two years (and tied for 3) receiving was under Ryan. They had Michael Turner but we had Ricky and Ronnie.
Why should they be looked at in the later rounds??? Pretty sure his focus has been spread around. You would be hard pressed to find any focus.
Jake Long. Phil Merling, Pouncey, Vontae, Odrick. So of course our biggest needs are OL, DL and CB. Of course.
He has obviously emphasized those positions over others. They have had losing seasons since 2009. Obviously something is flawed. I'm gonna start with his draft strategy...
So you aren't really advocating anything other than the false claims? Are you sure you want to endorse that statement? Where are you going with this?
Are you trying to convince us that Jeffey hasn't invested more resources in the draft on OL/DL than WR, RB and TE? You're telling me Jeffy hasn't had any focus that any of us can discern?
Why does it matter if the resources spent on playmakers like Wr/TE are spent in the draft vs in free agency? We are allocated a specific amount of resources. Resources spent on skill position players. You can bring up things from 5 years ago and that's all well and good but the fact of the matter is, there is turnover in this league. Jake Long was a top tier LT, the fact that Miami was unable to win behind him is irrelevant to his value as a draft selection at this point, because there isn't the "opportunity cost!" factor. We have our QB of the future (whether it's 100% true or not doesn't matter, we are certainly treating him as such, as we shoudl) All things being equal, I agree wholeheartedly. You pick Skill players over trench players in today's NFL. But Miami's current CB and OL situation are cause for serious concern. You have to plug those holes. Miami has addressed the WR/TE aspect already, and now that frees them to go after key cogs to get this offensive machine going.
Why qualify that? Why not throw QB in there? WR and QB have received as many, if not more resources than any other position. Either way, nobody has actually even established why past resources used should be a greater consideration than what is actually on the roster? It is pretty imperative to establish that before even actually analyzing resource allocation.
