I was thinking about this last night, as I pondered the great question of which Long Tunaland might take at #1 overall...This is my own conspiracy type theory as to why they may take Jake... They may take Jake as a way to control what they'll have to pay Carey when it comes time to renegotiate his contract (which is this coming year). Carey is our LT right now. Could they draft Jake and put him in at LT, moving Carey to RT to influence whether they have to pay Carey LT money when the negotiations start with him this offseason ?? They will have to pay out big bucks to whomever they choose at #1. Why not let it be a LT and the start the process to re-sign Carey as a RT ?? I know it can backfire, if as some scouts say, Jake doesn't set the world on fire at LT, but Carey's contract expires after this season. If they can lock him up this offseason at RT money, it could save them some coin. I realize that Sparano is probably not thinking this way, but could Tunaland be thinking along these lines ?? I know its far fetched, but....
Under this scenario, I have to assume that they don't have a strong conviction for any of the top 3-4 guys...
I like conspiracy theories. The more I hear, see and read this month the more I suspect Jake might be the guy. We certainly will not have a real serious clue until they call the name on draft day, which cannot get here soon enough!
I think the top 3 or 4 guys are very similar, with none having a clear cut, dominant advantage. Well, in a pinch we can always "franchise" Carey if we have improved enough to warrant it. Hmm..how about this...we put Carey at LG and pair him up with Jake Long at LT, giving us a rock solid side to run the ball? Carey could help Long with protection schemes and also tutor the lad?
If Jake's truly a left tackle that's certainly a valid option (although I'd prefer to switch Carey back to RT and have Satele play LG - that way, you'd only have to find a solid center which is a bit easier than finding a solid RT and usually takes a lower draft pick). However, this is a rather big if. There's no consent amongst scouts whether Jake will actually be able to play left tackle in the NFL. If he can't, you'd have "wasted" the #1 overall and an insane amount of guaranteed money for a good RT. I think it really boils down to the question of which side Parcells and Ireland take: the side arguing that Jake isn't a left tackle or the side claiming he is. If they think he is, I'll be very cricitcal of their decision (as I'm on the first side) but it will be the right one from their point of view. If you think Jake's a legitimate LT, you don't hesitate drafting him. I'd take him in a heartbeat if I thought so.
I agree that there is concern whether Jake is a legitimate LT, but the point I was trying to make was in regards to Jake, Chris and Glenn being about equal in both talent and money they'll get as the #1 overall pick. If they take Jake, have him penciled in at LT, it'll take a season to really figure out whether he is or is not athletic enough to block the speed rushers...during that time, they sign Carey as a LG or RT (less money) and if they have to move Jake out of the LT spot, they have the flexibility to move Carey back.. I know it's really out there, but does anyone else think that they would try to play this type of game...afterall, it's not like we're expected to even get into the playoffs, even IF the draft is phenomenal this year...
They would probably try. And Carey would probably tell them to go <insert profanity here> themselves. He has proved that he can play an adequate LT and those are a hot commodity come FA. Just take a look at how much McIntosh got and he isn't in Carey's league by far. If they tried to pay him like a guard, Carey would certainly go FA and probably get way more money than the Dolphins would be willing to match. So I think they'd ultimately have to sign him to a big tackle contract or lose him. After all, if I were Carey, I'd argue that it doesn't much matter which position I'm playing here. What really matters is what kind of contract I'd get out there.
And we also do not know what Ireland and Parcells values, which positions they think "make" a team better, if they value a do it all LT, and really value the strongest possible Offensive Line, then Long could get "just enough" extra value to us to push him past C Long and Dorsey to push him over the top and make him our pick. Tuna and Ireland and Sparano will go with their own judgment regardless of what Scouts have to say, IMO they have that much confidence in their own evaluations. And unfortunately, Vernon Carey and his agent will want LT money no matter where we play him the next year, he had a top tier season for a really bad team at LT, there will be no way to keep him and Jake Long the salary cap precludes that from happening.
I'm another guy that wants Jake to be the guy but if the main or even one of the main reasons they pick Jake is to lower the money to Carey then the whole thing stinks to me. I hope it's because they know that Jake is the best fit for this team. If not then take Chris or Glenn. I want the guy we take at #1 to start and make a difference who ever he is, I just think that guy is Jake Long. Off topic but the way Tony Sparano was talking about Samson Satele's play at center on Tuesday there is no way I see him changing that. The three o-line Tony really talked up were Carey, Satele, and Smiley.
problem with this is that someone will pay Cary left tackle money.. he graded out pretty good and you can bet his agent didn't miss that fact.
