It's amazing to me how some people look at PFF as the end all be all. There is a lot to be said about continuity, tangibles, and respect. Anyone who thinks Branch is a bad or horrible DE doesn't watch football. With Suh, Wake, Branch, and Phillips the Dolphins had the 4th highest QB pressure rating even though they ranked 22nd in blitz percentage. (That's according to PFF...happy? lol)
Thats because Wake and Suh were 2 of the best at their positions. PFF had Branch rated horribly this year and literally his entire career. Not one good year in his entire career in any aspect. he is a straight up bad player. let alone a guy you sign to a contract like this. Our DL was horrible and we had 2 all pros. That says just about all you need to know about the rest of the DL. and this continued conflating of taking their opinion seriously among many different opinions with thinking of them as "the end all be all" is straight up nonsense made by PFF discreditors to discredit people who take their opinion as valuable. Believe it or not, as i have continued to argue, it is possible to take the opinion of an incredibly informed source as valuable without thinking of them as the end all be all.
So, if Suh and Wake play all by themselves they will still be the 4th ranked? Is that your assertion? Look, I'm not saying that Branch is some freak DE, or even an above average DE, however he was a part of a very good unit last year. I could drive a Ferrari and if you take the tires off it won't move. My point is that Gase and company see his worth. So far, Gase and company have driven this team into the playoffs with back-ups and injured players. Evidently they think Branch is an important piece. And again, if he is getting $9mil/season (Which I doubt) that puts him at middle of the pack in regards to DE pay.
Here is where (currently) Branch is placed in regards to contract. Explain to me why he's ranked too high.
Yup. You caught me. That's exactly what i'm saying. No, but if we had competent DE's and a 2nd DT aside from Suh we would be even better. We were that high despite the other guys, not because of them. Just about every other guy was terrible against the run, and only the DT's were good pass rusher's aside from Suh. And you guys getting caught up in the "making the playoffs" as a 6 seed is so absurd. We were not a good team last year. We had an easy schedule. We were maybe OK at best. And its awesome that we took care of business and actually went 10-6 and made the playoffs because obviously that is better than another 8-8 or 7-9 season, but we arent near the level of an actual contender. We were a beneficiary of a very easy schedule and a weaker crop of wild card teams. We were the ****ing 6 seed. How pathetic have we been that that is some huge accomplishment to be the 6 seed and get the **** kicked out of us right away in the wild card round?
Our LB's were the cause of our poor run defense. Albeit Branch is no hole plugger, but you're not understanding his position or the defense. Your post reveals that you're going off of emotion rather than objective thinking. 4 out of the 12 playoff teams ranked over .500 for opponents winning %. (Pittsburgh, Oakland, Green Bay, and Kansas City...That strength of schedule really proved them as being the best, huh? I mean, Atlanta with a .490 and New England with a .445 didn't make it to the Super Bowl, it was all a dream, because they weren't contenders because they had easy schedules, right? GTFO) The entire mantra of "Easy schedule" is crap. This is the NFL. Any team can beat any other team on any given day.
Our LB's stunk too, correct. It also was not aided by the entire right side (or left depending on which side youre looking from) of our DL being unable to stop the run. Our DT's aside from Suh were OK rushing the passer, but both Mitchell and Phillips were terrible stopping the run, as were Williams and Branch. And quick hint- go with strength of victory, not strength of schedule. Which is why im saying we were a fraudulent team that took care of a lot of cupcake games. We had by far the lowest among playoff teams at .341, the next closest being the also fraudulent Lions at .392. The next closest to them? Actual contenders in the Steelers. It's obviously not a sin to take care of the easy games. We can only play the games on our schedule. But dont act like the arbitrary cut off of 6 teams making the playoffs makes us some sort of team that is anywhere in the realm of being a super bowl contender. we are nowhere near that. We have a lot of pieces, but every team does. we have an absurd amount of holes, especially defensively, and giving a 3 yr 24 million deal to Branch, which is now what it is reported to be, to a player that is not and has never been good, is a bad deal. Stills deal was good though.
I have mixed feelings about Branch. As a first reaction I think 9/year is too much. I see him as a poorman's Vernon with less ability vs the run. Last season at times he played well but at times I would have beaten him with a stick. His edge setting was especially worrisome and while the amount of pressure generated was good he didnt finish, 5,5 sacks is just not good enough. Danmarino makes a good point about the importance of the unit though, there arent clearly better free agent available (nick perry played OLB in green bay, he isnt a sure thing and would likely command more money) and above all DE is a high priced position (last season Vinny Curry had a similar extension while producing less than Branch). It's a good thing that the contract is short and we'll see how much is guaranteed, that makes a difference in determining if it's a good contract or not, imho
Turns out reports of the specifics of Branch's deal weren't explained properly. http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article137350933.html "And Branch agreed to a three-year, $24 million deal that also has incentive clauses so he can earn up to $3 million more if he becomes the second coming of Reggie White. (Branch at $8 million per year is way more palatable than at the $9 million per year first reported nationally)."
8 mil per year for branch is still grossly overpaying him. I just hope the deal is backloaded with not too much guaranteed money up front. Sent from my F3111 using Tapatalk
I think it's the market. Also, I think the team is trying to lay some groundwork that pays off later with other players across the league. The linked article suggests that Miami is trying to change the perception among players that we're an organization that takes care of their own but also gives reclamation projects a chance and if you succeed, you'll be rewarded. Couple that with Gase and the after football business stuff Ross is doing, we're going to become a target destination for players.
That makes more sense now. Couldn't quite understand why he was getting more than Stills per year across the deal.
If the Dolphins could have brought in someone like Calais Cambell or if they can get Fairley (Not sure what is status is following yesterday) I would have been ecstatic! However, Branch has shown flashes of being really good. He will never be Cam Wake et al good, but claiming that he is "horrible" or doesn't deserve middle of the road pay is absurd. I touched on this, and FinD reiterated, the Dolphins FO/coaches are trying to build something. They are trying to make the Dolphins a good place to come play. Loyalty, continuity, respect will all go a long way in regards to players coming here. Hell, it looks more and more like Stills possibly took a small pay cut to stay. That would have never happened 2 years ago. Branch was part of a very good front 4 last year. He's young, and there are many reports that he is very well liked by teammates and coaches. It's been said that he's a high motivator and pretty smart. He's still young and has shown flashes of being a good, solid DE. The Dolphins have now retained their starting DL from last year. A VERY good starting DL. Anyone who is angry about that doesn't understand football.
That's actually a really good article. And it pretty much confirms what some of us have been saying about the culture changing. It also brings up another point. The Patriots. Do people think the Pats are really that much more talented than the rest of the league? Of course their cheating and coaching makes a big difference, but I propose another difference maker: Player intangibles, team culture, team continuity. Players WANT to come to New England. The typical Pats player is NOT the best at anything. They are well rounded, solid, smart, selfless, and hardworking. If the Dolphins can bring in players like that, and Branch, Stills, and Wake (to name a few) are exactly like that, maybe they can start a decade or longer string of success.
To see what's the market we have to wait to see how the prices will go. Comparison of previous contracts has limited value due to capflation and natural fluctuations of the market. How much will DE be paid on the market? I like the 8x year more obviously and the incentive makes me think that the team is aware of the possibility Branch feels satisfied with himself so they are trying to push him.
It wasn't an over reaction, the contract is for 27.75 million in total over 3 years with 3.75 million in incentives, 17 million dollars guaranteed which means branch will make about 8.75 million first two years. We are now paying branch as much per season as olivier vernon got in free agency last year and vernon is a better de than branch. No matter how you try to look at it we are way overpaying for branch who is a mediocre and inconsistent players. He is a flasher who will make one great play then dissappear or play poorly for a dozen other plays. Sent from my F3111 using Tapatalk
