Will Allen restructures deal, will remain with Dolphins

Well, with Nolan Carroll emerging we now go 4 deep at cornerback.

Well, I'm definately not worried about the CB position. Davis, Smith, Allen, Carroll, Sapp. Nicely done.

Awesome. Glad he is staying.

"brandon27 wrote:

Well, I'm definately not worried about the CB position. Davis, Smith, Allen, Carroll, Sapp. Nicely done.

Seriously, is there a better combined group in the NFL? I mean if you average them out, what team has five better?

Great! That should set us at DE and CB at least. Franchise Soliai and that will take care of DT. OLB/ILB
are alright. If we can get a deal done with Incognito the OL will be at least stable.

Doors open to bring in a playmaker in the draft.

"Garryowen wrote:

Great! That should set us at DE and CB at least. Franchise Soliai and that will take care of DT. OLB/ILB
are alright. If we can get a deal done with Incognito the OL will be at least stable.

Doors open to bring in a playmaker in the draft.

Franchising Paul Soliai is just not economically wise to do. You cannot guarantee him $12 million over a single season. He's good, but he isn't that good. Instead of taking the lazy way out and putting the tag on him, the Dolphins need to work closely with his agent to see if they can hammer out a 4 year deal. Considering that he's likely not going to sign till after the draft, nose tackle may move up the priority list on draft day. With little to no depth behind Paul Soliai at nose tackle and uncertainty over whether he will be kept, the Dolphins have to go into the draft with an idea that they may need to draft someone who can step in and replace Soliai.

"KB21 wrote:

Franchising Paul Soliai is just not economically wise to do. You cannot guarantee him $12 million over a single season. He's good, but he isn't that good. Instead of taking the lazy way out and putting the tag on him, the Dolphins need to work closely with his agent to see if they can hammer out a 4 year deal. Considering that he's likely not going to sign till after the draft, nose tackle may move up the priority list on draft day. With little to no depth behind Paul Soliai at nose tackle and uncertainty over whether he will be kept, the Dolphins have to go into the draft with an idea that they may need to draft someone who can step in and replace Soliai.

Well, I'm just saying that if we can't get a deal done. I think it's probably more wise
to get a reasonable deal done, but, who knows if PS is going to be reasonable?
Then what if his history of underproduction and over weight rear thier head after his
long term deal? Now were stuck with dead money, whereas if you have to bite down
on a bad apple for one year, at least it's only one year. Saying we need to get
a deal done and getting one done are two different things.

A CBA conscious move perhaps?

"KB21 wrote:

Franchising Paul Soliai is just not economically wise to do. You cannot guarantee him $12 million over a single season. He's good, but he isn't that good. Instead of taking the lazy way out and putting the tag on him, the Dolphins need to work closely with his agent to see if they can hammer out a 4 year deal. Considering that he's likely not going to sign till after the draft, nose tackle may move up the priority list on draft day. With little to no depth behind Paul Soliai at nose tackle and uncertainty over whether he will be kept, the Dolphins have to go into the draft with an idea that they may need to draft someone who can step in and replace Soliai.

Disagree, the Franchise designation is far far removed from actually paying them Franchise tag money, you use the tag to freeze into place, then you attempt to trade them, that is what the Patriots do, it is smart Gming.

This "either/or" line of thinking is fantasy football stuff.

IE, what Mando would think.

"KB21 wrote:

Franchising Paul Soliai is just not economically wise to do. You cannot guarantee him $12 million over a single season. He's good, but he isn't that good. Instead of taking the lazy way out and putting the tag on him, the Dolphins need to work closely with his agent to see if they can hammer out a 4 year deal. Considering that he's likely not going to sign till after the draft, nose tackle may move up the priority list on draft day. With little to no depth behind Paul Soliai at nose tackle and uncertainty over whether he will be kept, the Dolphins have to go into the draft with an idea that they may need to draft someone who can step in and replace Soliai.

What's your opinion on Paea? I hear he's a strong as a house and pretty raw, but sounds like a guy that might make a good space-eating NT

This is great news. Even if he has nothing left on the field, he is a great mentor and teacher for the younger CB's.

"KB21 wrote:

Franchising Paul Soliai is just not economically wise to do. You cannot guarantee him $12 million over a single season.

You sure about that franchise number? Historically DT franchise numbers have been towards the lower end compared to other positions. Aubrayo Franklin was franchise tagged last year at $7.003 million. Just find it odd in one season that number would jump $5 million.

Let's hope he's got something in the tank, I don't think my soul can take any more of this SS24 and Sapp coverage-tackling stuff.

"pocoloco wrote:

What's your opinion on Paea? I hear he's a strong as a house and pretty raw, but sounds like a guy that might make a good space-eating NT

Hes a beast. Hes a little undersized and probably under 300 pounds. not sure how his body would take on the extra 20-30 pounds. But he has the skill set to be a monster NT.

Lets not forget that it's also extremely rare that you can plug and play a NT from the draft. They generally take a few years to develop. Hence why teams generally convert veteran DT's instead. Sounds like a bad idea to let Soliai walk and rely on the draft for a position we'd have to rely on Starks (another bad idea) to play if it didn't work out.

Letting Paul walk would be a huge mistake. Sure he only has one season of production under his belt but the guy was dominate for us last year... You can not build a successful team by letting guys that are just hitting their prime go. Like everyone else I worry about the type of player he could turn into if he gets a big contract but this is not baseball, money is rarely guaranteed in pro football.

"Nappy Roots wrote:

Hes a beast. Hes a little undersized and probably under 300 pounds. not sure how his body would take on the extra 20-30 pounds. But he has the skill set to be a monster NT.

He's pretty much maxed out size wise.... and I probably wouldn't draft him to be a 3-4 NT. I'd go with Phil Taylor (or trade back to right before the Jets and snatch Taylor from their grasp).

Soliai is quick & agile enough to play DE ala Ngata, so drafting Phil wouldn't be overkill if we re-sign Paul. IMO. That would just mean us definitely not re-signing McDaniel. Soliai - Phil Taylor - Starks (with Odrick & Langford in rotation) would be nasty.

.......... and if Odrick is playing well, that could probably make Starks trade-worthy for a high pick or a decent player of need. Let's send him to Dallas for Dez. :shifty:

"mroz wrote:

Letting Paul walk would be a huge mistake. Sure he only has one season of production under his belt but the guy was dominate for us last year... You can not build a successful team by letting guys that are just hitting their prime go. Like everyone else I worry about the type of player he could turn into if he gets a big contract but this is not baseball, money is rarely guaranteed in pro football.

Yup..... especially at one of the more difficult positions to fill. This defense's success is contingent upon Soliai's outstanding play. W/o him, our defense won't be the same.

IMO he's well worth the franchise tag if we can't get a deal worked out (if nothing more than to allow us a smooth transition in grooming his replacement so that our team's success isn't affected by Paul's absence. And who knows, maybe another great year as a Dolphin on a "playoff?" team will keep his heart in Miami.)

I think this is exactly what the team needs; more post thirty something washouts to accompany Bell and Williams in last place, and doubtless the fact that he was very injured and hasn't played in a while sealed the deal for the Dolphins. First they make the WR coach the QB coach and now they are signing grandfathers. They are making this team a punch line one transaction at a time.

"Allen suffered tears to his ACL and MCL in Game 6 against the Saints in 2009, after which he lost his starting job to rookie first-rounder Vontae Davis(notes). Allen, who turns 33 in August, worked hard to rehab and was able to return to full drills by the start of training camp in 2010. However, he suffered a setback in the opening days of camp and underwent what was described at the time as a minor surgical procedure."

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=teamreports-2011-nfl-mia

"cobrajet wrote:

I think this is exactly what the team needs; more post thirty something washouts to accompany Bell and Williams in last place, and doubtless the fact that he was very injured and hasn't played in a while sealed the deal for the Dolphins. First they make the WR coach the QB coach and now they are signing grandfathers. They are making this team a punch line one transaction at a time.

"Allen suffered tears to his ACL and MCL in Game 6 against the Saints in 2009, after which he lost his starting job to rookie first-rounder Vontae Davis(notes). Allen, who turns 33 in August, worked hard to rehab and was able to return to full drills by the start of training camp in 2010. However, he suffered a setback in the opening days of camp and underwent what was described at the time as a minor surgical procedure."

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=teamreports-2011-nfl-mia

Nobody's 4th string corner is going to be a world beater.
If he can't play, they'll cut him.

I hope this glue's Sapp's butt to the bench, I can't take another season of watching him look lost out there on the field.

"Garryowen wrote:

Nobody's 4th string corner is going to be a world beater.
If he can't play, they'll cut him.

Boy I hope you're right. I can't figure out why they waste their time or money on these old guys. For a 4th stringer I'd get a young prospect that they could bring along and make into a starter not a "hasbeen", and if Bell doesn't go this year, I will. Lets build a team of young / fast a$$ kickers and let the old guys collected their pensions. I won't shed a tear for Allen, Williams or Bell when their replacements put us in the play offs.

"cobrajet wrote:

I think this is exactly what the team needs; more post thirty something washouts to accompany Bell and Williams in last place, and doubtless the fact that he was very injured and hasn't played in a while sealed the deal for the Dolphins.

Excellent post and point. Four players older than thirty is simply asinine! The roster is too old, time for turnover.

"Garryowen wrote:

Nobody's 4th string corner is going to be a world beater.
If he can't play, they'll cut him.

Well, what folks are missing is Coverages are as important as the passrushers, with WA coming back now they can flip SS24 to Safety, or move WA to safety on third and longs/passing downs, he gives Bowles and Nolan flexibility and provides insurance in case Smith or Davis goes down, or if both go down we'd have WA and Carroll to take their place, which would be a fine Cb duo in their own right.

People seem to have forgotten how good of a player WA is, he is also younger than Charles Woodson so the "too old" stuff is funny.

WA and Carroll means we can go 4 deep at Cb as they all can play man to man really well.