For those wondering how he's playing- freaking good. I'm watching him now blast DE's off the line, can't believe how quick he got to the second level on one play. He still doesn't have great balance, but that's Jake. Don't kid yourself- he would have made a HUGE difference on the Dolphins this year. I'm surprised at how powerful and quick he looks this year- given the last couple of years I didn't expect that.
Yea, we'd be much better off performance-wise with him at one T spot. Even Jake from last year was still better than what we've put out this year (and I even still have hope for Martin at either T spot).
He looks more athletic that I remember him in Miami, feet look particularly quick. He was to the 2nd level in a flash in one play that I saw late 4th quarter, impressive for such a huge guy.
I guess someone's gotta be that guy. Why is this still being talked about? I mean, I know why: our offensive line sucks. Long is not on the Dolphins and how he is playing with the Rams (good, bad, or otherwise) is irrelevant as to how he'd help the Dolphins because him playing for us is no longer happening. It's time to cut the loss and move on IMO.
First time I've seen a thread started about Jake Long in a long while that actually talked him up. Usually the threads were to self-congratulate based on what a wise decision Miami made not to re-sign him. Which is interesting since I think the Dolphins front office would tell you privately and publicly that they had a competitive offer on the table and he just chose to leave. What keeps me up at night is the fact that the margin against the Bills and Ravens was so small, and arguably against the Patriots as well, that the Dolphins could theoretically be 6-1 right now with Jake Long.
He cost the Rams a penalty while driving for a TD tonight. They had to settle for a FG. They just lost to a lucky Seahawks team.
Well, I guess that I was reminiscing abut Tannehill getting his a** handed to him yesterday, and wondering why that was the case. Then I saw Jake Long dominating against an outstanding Seattle defense a few minutes ago. Jake Long wanting to get the hell out of here is still relevant in my book- he got away not because we couldn't afford him, but because he just didn't want to be here. In my book that's relevant. "What had caused the Dolphins some discomfort was Long missing two games in 2011 with back and bicep injuries and the final four games of last season with a triceps injury. With that in mind, the Dolphins were wary about paying too much for Long, and they ended up using money that might have gone to him on several other key free agents. "It really didn't even bother me," Long said when asked if he was disappointed the Dolphins didn't look to put up a bigger fight to keep him. "It was a personal thing. I was going to choose where I wanted to go and I wanted to be (in St. Louis). ... I like Coach (Jeff) Fisher. I like this team. It was the right choice for myself at this point. I'm very happy with the decision." http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/artic..._had_little_chance_of_re_signing_him/14389424
... or if Clabo had played as well as he did in Atlanta... or if we hadn't lost Keller possibly... or had a healthy Wake, or... or... or...
None of us fans really know exactly what Miami offered him, other than the vague term of "competitive offer". If the truth were ever truly known, I'd say we'd find out the Rams offered more guaranteed money and Long went with the money, no matter what else he may say to the media. What else could he say anyway? "Well, I really wanted to stay in Miami, but their offer just wasn't as good"? His comments about St Louis being the right fit for him, etc etc, is a euphemism for St Louis put the best deal on the table. That is what made StL the right fit.
I'd actually feel better if that were the case. My guess is that he was somewhere between mad, pissed and miffed and the coaching staff/FO and maybe he was tired of getting dumped on when his play suffered due to injury. I've read that article about Miami having no chance to resign him a couple of times- my guess is that he liked Jeff Fisher and the Rams orginization quite a bit more than Philbin, Fisher et al. The part about liking Jeff Fisher in the article somehow strikes me as a jab at Philbin, that's just a guess and initial reaction. Same story, Fox version: http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/nfl...says-Dolphins-had-little-chanc?blockID=933235
the pass was incomplete, and the penalty was declined, he didnt cost them anything. However, GET OVER JAKE LONG, HE DIDNT WANT TO PLAY IN MIAMI.....
I don't think that was Jake's fault. The Rams called a play that had a 2-man read, both to the right side with the TE and FB running a corner and out route respectively. Seattle had that marked, and someone (Bruce Irvin?) basically had a free run at Clemens, so he started rolling left, and Jake, noticing this as his man had started to pursue toward the action on the play, took off and tried to block downfield. Clemens started running (I thought he could have scored), then threw the ball away very, very late.
Long: "Yeah, (the Dolphins) definitely did (make an offer). But, in the end, I know what it was. I wanted to be (with St. Louis)." Which says to me that the Rams offered a better deal. I think most fans want to complicate the issue. Had the Dolphins made a definitely better offer, he'd still be in Miami. Maybe, just maybe, the guaranteed money was the same across the board and he chose St Louis. If we knew that to be true, and we don't, then yes, I'd say he preferred St Louis. Otherwise, as far as I am concerned, he preferred the better contract offer.
I can admit that I was okay with him leaving. I can also admit that I expected the contingency to have more depth. Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tapatalk
And why was that? Why didn't he want to play in Miami? If he hated the humidity and loved St. Louis that's one thing. If he had issues with the FO or coaching staff- let's face it, this team has been a mess for years- that's an entirely different matter. If so, why did he want to bolt? I'm guessing from what I've read that Jake Long feels a little bit as if he ESCAPED Miami- that's concerning imo, and I'd like to hear more of why that was, but I'm not so sure that he'll talk about it in detail.
I just read that situation differently. Also, iirc, he didn't even give Ireland a chance to make a final offer- if Jake Long was all about the money why wouldn't he wait for Miami's final offer before making a decision?
I'm guessing it has something to do with building the case on why Jeff Ireland's decision making and talent evaluation(or lackthereof) has hurt this team. This is one in a long list of examples.
Get over it people. Hes gone. Stare at your Jake posters all you want in your bedroom, write about him in your journal.....fact is, hes not on this team and won't be a for a long time...if ever.
As mentioned, he did not want to play in Miami. This is like starting a thread about Peyton Manning looking good in Denver. Have you watched him in any other games this year? He's given up quite a few sacks and definitely cost the Rams a TD against the Panthers. Had he actually resigned with us, there would have been threads complaining that we didn't let him leave.
As it stands right now the sin was less letting him go and more not replacing him better. He looked like the old Jake Long(sans penalty) for the first time in quite a while last night, but I'm not really convinced that's going to stick.
personally could care less that the Jake Long left the Fins... for whatever the reason was. I think the Rams made a huge mistake giving that money and that will be proven out over time.
How about stepping outside of the box, out of the realm of simplicity for a second? And I'm not talking a major leap here, just something a little beyond "Jake no want to play here, it no important". We paid Jake a ton of money for five years to play down here- he wanted to bolt and iirc he didn't even wait for Miami's final offer. The question is why. And if you want to ignore that question then go ahead, but that approach is about as simplistic as those who said that we're 3-0 our offensive line must be ok. The truth often lurks beneath the surface- I'd like to know why Long left, because the chances are that if it was some combination of Ireland, Philbin, Dawn Aponte or just the organization as a whole, it's going to happen again. Players come and go, especially in the recent years of free agency, but I'm getting the sense of players WANTING to get the heck out of Miami. Years ago Wes Welker was asked about leaving Miami for New England- he practically gushed about New England and spoke of Miami with words and body language that were reminiscent of a jail break- and we're probably a worse franchise now than back then. I would love to hear, in detail, why Jake Long left Miami. If we heard the true story then we'd probably have a much better idea of how this franchise operates, whether or not it is in good hands and to what extent Philbin, Ireland et al are part of the problem or part of the solution. Also, watching Long play last night was a good reminder of why I prefer to keep my own council, right or wrong, for the most part. Because Jake Long was outstanding, and from what I saw I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be in consideration for a Pro Bowl berth. Huge, powerful, quick feet, dominating- Jake Long. For those who are saying that he sucks this year I would suggest you watch that game- Jake Long kicked some butt last night. There was no comparison between how he played and what you'd see of Martin, McKinnie and even-gulp- Clabo. The last two are retreads, but as to Jonathan Martin, he's not even in the same class as Jake Long, not even close. The only thing that I can think of that they have on common is a balance issue.
I watched the game last night and 1 game does not make a season nor does it make him worth his contract. Did you watch his Dallas game? The one where he was benched? If there was a major problem inside our organization it wouldn't just be Jake Long leaving and not coming back, it would be everyone.
Its completely relevant to talk about Jake Long leaving Miami because our offensive line is worse without him. We drafted a dud in Martin as insurance in case Long didn't accept whatever deal we felt like giving him. We actually thought we'd be fine with Martin and Clabo.....I repeat.....we actually thought we would be fine with Martin and Clabo....and this is with a 2nd year Qb that we are developing. Most teams would have given Jake Long a decent contract before he hit the open market but we actually were OK with him leaving because we thought we could just replace him with Martin (who has never shown himself to be even a consistently competent LT in the NFL). So yes it is a relevant conversation because the idiots that made this decision are still here. Talking about moves Wannestadt didn't make or made isn't relevant but talking about moves that Ireland and/or Philibin and our team made is relevant. If you don't want to discuss Jake Long then don't read a thread about him. Personally I really like Jake Long and wish him the best. He played great here, got injured and we/he moved on. I can live with it but I didn't like it at the time and still don't like it. He was a number one overall pick that we basically just let walk away over a very modest contract, its never sat well with me. I'm glad he is playing well, good for him. I hope the guys we have step up and play better. But as was stated so well earlier in the thread, if our offensive line plays even just a bit better in a couple of games we are 6-1 or 5-2 and making reservations for the playoffs. That is relevant to the topic of this years Miami Dolphins.
Agree, but I also agree with the O.P. I couldn't help but think of how much I miss Jake Long watching him last night. 5th round pick Zach Stacy had a huge game yardage wise against a great defense and I think the credit should go to Jake Long for that since most of those runs were on his side of the line. It really made no sense to me why we didn't retain Jake Long AFTER going out and getting Wallace, Ellerbe, etc. The flury of offseason suggested win now to me so wouldn't Jake Long have been a part of that? Anyway though like you said..Neither here nor there at this point, it is what it is...We suck.
Yeah, keep going with that one as the Dolphins push for the NFL record for sacks allowed and continue with their marginal run blocking. Tannehill is getting pummeled. Jake Long played excellent football last night, and he would have made a HUGE differece for us. I can't think of another player that I'd rather give the extra money to to have him back here. If you don't think that Jake Long is worth his contract, especially to us with our OL performing a monumental flop this year- I would strongly disagree with that.
Overpaying for Wallace instead of Long could be the final nail in Ireland's coffin. Not to mention not doing both with all of the cap space we are carrying. I don't think it will be. Defense is getting healthy for the softer part of the schedule. But, it's a relevant question to ask. I liked Wallace, however it's clear that the o line needs to be better for him to be really effective. Anyone think the o line wouldn't be better with Jake? Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2
I'm going by what I've seen, and last night he looked great. On a different level than than OTs we have in Miami, not even close.
Jake Long SHOULD be better than Jonathan Martin.....first overall pick, first free agent big contract year....monday night football. Thats what the Rams paid for. The sad part is, you're looking at one game, and forgettin the other 7 where he was severly below average and not worth close to the money he is being paid.
I love all the proof everyone has here that we "didnt pay long".....you all know free agents are free to go, and dont have to sign in Miami just because we say so. Show me where, proof, that we didnt offer to pay Long.....if not then the "Ireland paying Wallace over Long" BS is just that.....Bull.
Agreed, and the domino effect of Long walking has been huge- LT is now marginal at best with Jonathan Martin and RT has been a disaster. I could see us being 5-2 if we had kept Jake Long- to me, the OL has been the major failure of the team this year. I wouldn't have started this thread if I wasn't really, really impressed by how he played last night- Ireland went on an on the last few years about the importance of key positions, how did he do? LT- Jake Long gone, OL is a mess DE- he got Dion Jordan, good move CB- Davis and Smith playing good ball for other teams QB- Tannehill regressing, in large part due to the fact that he's getting hurried and pummeled on a regular bases behind a putrid Offensive Line. WR- Wallace is a flop so far, I never expected him to be physical like Brandon Marshall, but his style of play is turning out to be more like Ted Ginn, who was run out of town in part for that. As has been said before though, who's playing better now, Wallace or Ginn? Can our FO people choose and retain the right talent, can our coaching staff develop that talent and get the best out of them? I think that those are relevant questions.
This is it. If the line had of been serviceable this season we'd probably shrug our shoulders and move on. The poor line play drags this up again and again. However, one game doesn't make a season. He's not been that great so far this year.
If I had to guess, Jake moved on because he sensed he was not considered the long term solution at LT in Miami. Given his injury history and performance over the past three years, I would worry about him being a long term solution as well. He may have played well last night but his season has been up and down this year, much like its been over the past several years. Suggesting he is playing at a pro bowl level because of last night's performance is a kin to suggestion Wallace has played at a pro bowl level based on his game in Indy.
Our offensive line IS bad......Jake Long has been bad for the money hes being paid.....Jake Long signed with St Louis instead of us......the rest is hyperbole.
I wrote overpaying for Wallace. Not paying Wallace over Long. They chose to overpay for a WR, and not a LT. Those were not mutually exclusive choices with the salary space available. You're either not comprehending what your reading, or making a sraw man. I never mentioned not offering to pay Long. They should be saying we had a better offer than the Rams, not a "competitive" one. I think Wallace looks better right now if we had kept Long. #edit: wait I did write instead of. My bad. I did then mention that they cap room for both. The failure was my writing not your reading. Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2
This is what you said "Overpaying for Wallace instead of Long " To me, thats saying they overpaid for Wallace instead of Long. Meaning it was one or the other. instead....means there was a choice. You may not of meant it that way, but this is a message board, these are words, context and perception defers.
