Awaiting you to point out one player ...still... just one ... that has substantially exceeded the draft slot and contributed to this team wining more games than losing ... that shouldn't be so hard if Ireland is as good as you profess.
I have seen some legitimate criticisms of specific moves. What I haven't seen is any effort to show that he makes more of those type of moves than most other GMs
Cam Wake and Davone Bess were acquired without using a draft pick and have substantially exceeded "expectations." Wake has performed at the level of a high first round pick. Bess has performed at a 2nd-3rd round pick level. But what other GM gets held to the "substantially exceeded" standard?
And when have you or anyone else shown that his overall approach or overall record is worse than most other GMs?
My issue with Ireland is you look at the talent the Dolphins have there isn't a whole lot of it. After trading Marshall the Dolphins had 5 major needs IMO. They needed a QB, pass rushing help, at least one legit starting caliber WR, a RT, and a FS. The biggest need was QB. Hopefully that was filled and if so, that's a big positive for Ireland. He drafted Martin in the 2nd round and we don't know how that's going to turn out, but at least he made a worth while investment in the position. He made half-hearted efforts at the other positions though. Chad Johnson, Naanee, and a couple of late round picks just isn't good enough when the Dolphins are so thin at WR. Westerman (who was cut) and a raw 3rd round pick isn't good enough in the pass rushing department. And Tyrell Johnson isn't nearly enough at FS, which is becoming a need position in the NFL. He has made some good moves with Wake, Bess, Starks, and some others, but there is essentially no depth on either side of the ball and that is a huge indictment of the GM. I've defended Ireland in the past, and I'm not necessarily calling for his head, but I'm not going to be all that upset if they let him go either.
Pointed that out several times in several posts now , so pretty easy for you to read and have that answered , if you want to know.
Don't hold your breath, since I've already told you that you have yet to show that's a valid and complete measure of GM superiority. It's entirely possible (if not probable) you've created an artificial measure of superiority in your mind and are touting it as a valid one. And don't bother responding, since we've already been over this.
Other GMs get held to it, but only in cherry-pick fashion, where some single player is nominated as proof of the GM's superiority in this regard. There's no systematic survey of GMs with regard to this variable.
But he has chosen players in the past who have a chance to develop at those positions. You don't have the resources to fill every position with stud players you've used precious resources to acquire. Chris Clemons, Reshad Jones, Brian Hartline, Rishard Matthews -- these guys are going to have to develop and fill those needs. At the end of the year you could be singing a different tune about how well off we are at those positions if these players develop. Then what you'll be looking at is how Jeff Ireland has made the team's play at those positions adequate with players taken later in the draft, which is a feather in his cap, not an indictment. In other words, if developmental players are currently manning certain positions, you have to give those players time to develop before you indict the GM on the basis of them. Nobody was lauding Ted Thompson for the Jordy Nelson selection until last year, his fourth year in the league, and he was a second-round pick. If Brian Hartline develops into something similar from the fourth round, you have to laud Jeff Ireland for it. Patience.
I think you have to see what you've gotten out of these guys and make a realistic projection. It's one thing to hope some of these guys develop. It's another to count on it. I think with a guy like Jones and even Hartline you have seen enough promise that it's reasonable to hope they can turn into something. Jones is a SS though, and even with Hartline, the Dolphins needed more at WR. Clemmons has shown very little reason to believe he'll ever be what you need at FS. Matthews is a 7th round pick. You can't expect that he's going to be the answer long term, let alone this year. If you want to give some of these guys a chance to succeed I'm all for that. But you need to at least bring in competent competition/replacements if they don't work out. Tyrell Johnson, Jamaal Westerman, and Legadu Naanee aren't that.
Soooo.......... Daniel Thomas is out for sunday ey ? Pretty sad if your incapable of identifying any.... or is that just a pop quiz ? The whole winning more games than losing is kind of a silly grey area, we've had poor coaching and player development etc, etc. We just haven't been a winning team from 2009 to late 2011. Bess,Langford,Hartline,Clemons,Hartline,Jones,Wilson,Clay,Devlin,Mathews..... all keepers with potential to blossom. The three best players on our team last year we're guys the GM personally scraped up from the bottom of the barrel. Wake was a canadian football star given a shot in the bigs. Bush was an injury prone scat-back we aquired for chump change, he turned out to be the best starting RB we've had since Ricky in his day. Matt Moore was a pretty damn good find for a team so desperate for QBs... especially when Henne went down. As for the topic of discussion, I think they're going to lean on Reggie this week. Miller may get a few snaps. Lane could get short yardage work and become a fan favorite ! But I expect them to use Reggie in the red-zone.
