Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
A look back at 2013, a truly bizarre season for the Phins even by their standards. What worked and what didn't? What are the current contract situations and who is walking? I have a lot of information to put up and also to say as we look back and look forward at the Miami Dolphins.
Now so far it doesn't seem like Miami is going to let anyone go including Jef Ireland, Joe Philbin, and even others like Mike Sherman are not being shoved to the side quickly after the team kind of melted down at different points in the season from starting 3-0 to 3-4, then falling to 5-6 before winning 3 in a row and being in control of their own destiny at 8-6 despite terrible OL play much of the season. Finally they lose horrendous games against subpar teams in Buffalo as they let a 3rd string QB take them down twice in 2013, also losing to Geno Smith in the home finally, just horrific losses and yet their doesn't seem to be any panic or want on ownership in making a quick change.
Let's look back at the 2013 draft class.
1.03 Dion Jordan DE/OLB: Miami apparently doesn't know why they drafted him. I was expecting a Jason Pierre Paul type of impact and unfortunately Jordan does not do things exactly as this regime likes, at least that is how I hear it locally down here. I think it's a shame we didn't get to see more of him, when he is in the game he seems to make plays or cause disturbances for opposing QBs even if he doesn't have a lot of stats or sacks. Jury is out on this one but so far things are not good and we traded up for this guy.
2nd No 54 Jamar Taylor DB: A groin injury hampered him much of the season, I hope we get to see something in 2014 because injuries are what caused him to fall in the draft originally. So far not so much.
3rd No 77 Dallas Thomas OT/OG: Total waste of space. On a team that desperately needed someone, anyone, a breathing human just to stand there on the OL and this dope couldn't even make a snap? Frightening is not the right word but what a catastrophe this guy is and I don't expect him to make the team, if he does we have problems.
3rd No 93 Will Davis DB: Injuries got him started slow but when he was healthy he only saw special teams play and really could not help Miami out when they needed some DB help due to injuries. Some think Miami reached here to begin with and Davis did nothing to make critics feel different.
4th No 104 Jelani Jenkins LB: No real opinion as we didn't see much from him. And that leads to a greater point in all of this, Ireland had 6 of the top 106 picks in the draft or basically 2 every round and he made very little splash with any of these selections. Not sure any of these guys will be here long term.
4th No 106 Dion Sims TE: Perhaps he can develop into a TE2 behind Clay.
5th No 164 Mike Gillislee RB: No contribution during the season.
5th No 166 Caleb Sturgis PK: Dan Carpenter made the best of this situation. Sturgis is good but when the PK is the best guy in the draft class rookie season…not good.
7th No 250 Don Jones SS: Reserve player, not sure if he can develop and take over for Clemons.
Overall this draft stinks at this point and Jeff Ireland should be held accountable for it regardless of this other soap opera that was ongoing for some time this season and which I will not be discussing much. There is an entire thread dedicated to that incident and since neither player is going to be on the Miami Dolphins in 2014, no reason to really discuss them much outside of financial impact.
I am going to go over each position and the current status of the players we have under contract and who might be going bye-bye. Miami has money to spend despite Mike Wallace
Offense
QB: Ryan Tannehill-3.45M/4.05M 2015, he is under contract for 2 more full seasons. I imagine Miami will have to start making a decision after 2014 if not sooner. I don't know if you could get him to sign an extension for say $10M a season for 4-5 years, does that even make sense for Miami right now? I think it is best to ride it out 1 more season and then decide what you want to do and if he is agreeable to an extension in 2015. This all assumes that he is our franchise QB and I still don't know if we are all sure if it. We hope but I doubt we are sure right now. Still miami is gonna go with THill for now.
Matt Moore-5.5M for a back up, Miami will try and restructure or let him walk. I wish they wouldn't but you cannot pay Moore $5.5M and watch guys like Grimes and Starks just walk without getting aggressive in resigning them.
Pat Devlin RFA, not sure of the current status here but Miami is high on him. Perhaps they are ready to make him the No 2 on this team for a couple million a season. Save some money on Moore.
RB: Daniel Thomas-1M, you might not like him but he is under contract in 2014 and Miami likes him so I bet he is back in the cuts come June/July. You also have Lamar Miller-691k, and those 2 combine equal cheap way to cover the RB spot although I believe Miami should be looking to jump on a potential free agent like a Chris Johnson. Miami also has to worry about their OL which we will get to but so far they are not pressed to spend if they don't want to.
WR: Mike Wallace-17.25M and that's not a misprint, this contract skyrockets and yet Miami can afford this. Could Wallace redo it and spread some of this out over the next 2-3 seasons? Perhaps if Miami was really in a pinch but I'm not sure they are just yet. Brian Hartline-6.2M is locked up for a few years, he did Ok but he also disappears which could be due to some horrific play calling by Sherman.
Miami is deep at WR with Brandon Gibson-3.75M and Rishard Mathews-583K/673K 2015 so they have the No 3 and No 4 WR slots filled already, they really don't need to grab a guy in the draft or sign anyone unless a steal comes along or a veteran is being overlooked for some reason.
TE: Charles Clay 673K, they have 2014 to decide if they want to lock Clay up long term. I think they probably should, he showed me some nifty moves but beyond that he has a big heart and he made plays that others can't, never gives up on a play and I would like to see him settle into the starting spot here. Dion Sims-600k, Egnew 740k, we have enough here at TE for now. Dustin Keller could be brought back for a reduced rate I'm sure but he also might want to move on, bad memories in Miami and his career may be over anyways, vicious injury in preseason.
Overall at the skill positions Miami does not need to go draft or sign anyone except if the right RB came available and they didn't have to break the piggy bank to get him. The real need on offense unfortunately is going to be the OL. That same one we addressed back in 2008/2009/2010 and spent $150M at the time over all the contracts, that is all gone and now we must rebuild this OL. LT/LG/RG/RT are all going to be open spots with only Center a sure thing at the moment.
LT: Bryant McKinnie is an UFA, he owns a house down in Miami but his exit interview did not sound good and I doubt he returns. This is a position Miami will need to draft and with the No 18 overall pick they should be able to find a starter.
LG: Nate Garner-1.8M/1.8M 2015, is he the answer at LG? I don't think so but Miami has a lot of holes to fill here.
C: Mike Pouncey-2.9M, he is an UFA in 2015, he's been linked to some off field issues, he was finger pointed behind the scenes in the bullying scandal, and he missed a couple games in season, was served a subpoena in NE, this guy is a good player but he has some baggage and I see a lot of immaturity on his part. I think i could live without him when his contract is up, I might even trade him and start all over on the OL if I could find the right trade partner.
RG: John Jerry is an UFA, this will need to be addressed in FA or the draft.
RT: Tyson Clabo is an UFA, this will need to be addressed in FA or the draft.
Defense
We are deep at DE as you will see, we need to make a move at DT, LB was a disappointment all season.
DE: Cameron Wake-7.25M, 9.8M 2015&2016, Vernon-750K, Shelby-575k, Dion Jordan 4.6M…Miami is deep here.
DT: Jared Odrick-2M, Both Starks and Soliai who made around 8M a piece in 2013 are UFA, both are going to be on a short list of guys that teams want. I don't think Miami can keep both, Starks hates management here for not giving him a long term deal and I think Soliai would be more open to coming back but they are going to want some real money and guarantees this time. Either would pair nicely with Odrick. I'm greedy and would love to see both of them back but that is probably not feasible.
OLB: Koa Misi-2.3M/4.4M 2015, Phillip Wheeler-6.4M, Jelani Jenkins 600K, Miami will roll with this again although Wheeler was a disappointment this season. Could Wheeler be cut? Misi is under contract along with Wheeler for the next 3-4 years so this is what Ireland envisioned and if he keeps his job, not sure he will turn this over. Wheeler was deemed sucker money when he signed, he did have 100+ tackles but it seemed like he didn't have a lot of impact plays.
ILB: Danelle Ellerbee-7.4M, much like Wheeler his base jumps from 2.4M to 7.4M, he was OK but IMO a big downgrade from Karlos Dansby. Jason Trusnik-1M is also under contract for 2014.
LCB: Brent Grimes is an UFA and made about 6M last season. He proved he is all the way back from his achilles tear that ended his run in Atlanta previously. Miami needs to make him their #1 guy to keep IMO. I would prefer they not franchise tag him and instead find something he can agree to. Maybe around $8M-$10M a season, however many years. He makes it hard for teams to want to throw his way and despite lacking some serious size which makes it hard for him to bring down big WRs, he makes enough plays to where he never gets picked on. Jamar Taylor is the next option on the list, Miami cannot go into 2014 with Taylor as a realistic starter, not on what we have seen so far.
RCB: Dimitri Patterson-5.4M, his season was cut short. He is a total tease, looks great one week then gets hurt then he is back making big plays then he is hurt again and lands on the IR for the season. He costs a lot of money, Grimes made about the same and look how much better his game is. The other guy is Nolan Carroll-UFA and Will Davis behind that. So if Miami does not bring back Carroll or Grimes they are going to be shopping in the off season. I don't like any of what was drafted last season which puts a lot of stress on the entire DB unit.
FS: Chris Clemons-UFA and I don't know that Miami will try to resign him. Jimmy Wilson-650K is all they have behind him and I'm not sure he is ready to start. Don Jones a rookie in 2013 could also be called on but that would be a project for sure.
SS: Reshad Jones-3.6M/7.75M 2015. And who could forget Michael Thomas-495K who will be signed thru the 2014 season before Miami decides if they want to keep him for the long haul but no one will forget that interception of Brady anytime soon.
So on defense we are loaded at DE, could make life easy if we sign 1 of the 2 UFA Defensive Tackles and also Brent Grimes because Miami has the money to do it. They are in the top 10 for money available against the cap so they are OK plus they can free up money like Matt Moore and apply that on top of what they have to spend. My question is how did this team not do more in 2013? Is it as simple as bringing everyone back for another year? I am not sold on Kevin Coyle yet as the DC, he was a DB coach in Cincinnati for basically 12 years. 2000-2011 and what did Cinci accomplish during that time? I question why this unit underachieved and so I must focus on coaching. Is Philbin the right guy? Should Mike Sherman still have a job?
We have a lot to talk about, I hope you find my OP a good start and we have a lot to discuss in terms of draft and also leadership which we will get to in many of my upcoming posts.
Cheers
Now so far it doesn't seem like Miami is going to let anyone go including Jef Ireland, Joe Philbin, and even others like Mike Sherman are not being shoved to the side quickly after the team kind of melted down at different points in the season from starting 3-0 to 3-4, then falling to 5-6 before winning 3 in a row and being in control of their own destiny at 8-6 despite terrible OL play much of the season. Finally they lose horrendous games against subpar teams in Buffalo as they let a 3rd string QB take them down twice in 2013, also losing to Geno Smith in the home finally, just horrific losses and yet their doesn't seem to be any panic or want on ownership in making a quick change.
Let's look back at the 2013 draft class.
1.03 Dion Jordan DE/OLB: Miami apparently doesn't know why they drafted him. I was expecting a Jason Pierre Paul type of impact and unfortunately Jordan does not do things exactly as this regime likes, at least that is how I hear it locally down here. I think it's a shame we didn't get to see more of him, when he is in the game he seems to make plays or cause disturbances for opposing QBs even if he doesn't have a lot of stats or sacks. Jury is out on this one but so far things are not good and we traded up for this guy.
2nd No 54 Jamar Taylor DB: A groin injury hampered him much of the season, I hope we get to see something in 2014 because injuries are what caused him to fall in the draft originally. So far not so much.
3rd No 77 Dallas Thomas OT/OG: Total waste of space. On a team that desperately needed someone, anyone, a breathing human just to stand there on the OL and this dope couldn't even make a snap? Frightening is not the right word but what a catastrophe this guy is and I don't expect him to make the team, if he does we have problems.
3rd No 93 Will Davis DB: Injuries got him started slow but when he was healthy he only saw special teams play and really could not help Miami out when they needed some DB help due to injuries. Some think Miami reached here to begin with and Davis did nothing to make critics feel different.
4th No 104 Jelani Jenkins LB: No real opinion as we didn't see much from him. And that leads to a greater point in all of this, Ireland had 6 of the top 106 picks in the draft or basically 2 every round and he made very little splash with any of these selections. Not sure any of these guys will be here long term.
4th No 106 Dion Sims TE: Perhaps he can develop into a TE2 behind Clay.
5th No 164 Mike Gillislee RB: No contribution during the season.
5th No 166 Caleb Sturgis PK: Dan Carpenter made the best of this situation. Sturgis is good but when the PK is the best guy in the draft class rookie season…not good.
7th No 250 Don Jones SS: Reserve player, not sure if he can develop and take over for Clemons.
Overall this draft stinks at this point and Jeff Ireland should be held accountable for it regardless of this other soap opera that was ongoing for some time this season and which I will not be discussing much. There is an entire thread dedicated to that incident and since neither player is going to be on the Miami Dolphins in 2014, no reason to really discuss them much outside of financial impact.
I am going to go over each position and the current status of the players we have under contract and who might be going bye-bye. Miami has money to spend despite Mike Wallace
Offense
QB: Ryan Tannehill-3.45M/4.05M 2015, he is under contract for 2 more full seasons. I imagine Miami will have to start making a decision after 2014 if not sooner. I don't know if you could get him to sign an extension for say $10M a season for 4-5 years, does that even make sense for Miami right now? I think it is best to ride it out 1 more season and then decide what you want to do and if he is agreeable to an extension in 2015. This all assumes that he is our franchise QB and I still don't know if we are all sure if it. We hope but I doubt we are sure right now. Still miami is gonna go with THill for now.
Matt Moore-5.5M for a back up, Miami will try and restructure or let him walk. I wish they wouldn't but you cannot pay Moore $5.5M and watch guys like Grimes and Starks just walk without getting aggressive in resigning them.
Pat Devlin RFA, not sure of the current status here but Miami is high on him. Perhaps they are ready to make him the No 2 on this team for a couple million a season. Save some money on Moore.
RB: Daniel Thomas-1M, you might not like him but he is under contract in 2014 and Miami likes him so I bet he is back in the cuts come June/July. You also have Lamar Miller-691k, and those 2 combine equal cheap way to cover the RB spot although I believe Miami should be looking to jump on a potential free agent like a Chris Johnson. Miami also has to worry about their OL which we will get to but so far they are not pressed to spend if they don't want to.
WR: Mike Wallace-17.25M and that's not a misprint, this contract skyrockets and yet Miami can afford this. Could Wallace redo it and spread some of this out over the next 2-3 seasons? Perhaps if Miami was really in a pinch but I'm not sure they are just yet. Brian Hartline-6.2M is locked up for a few years, he did Ok but he also disappears which could be due to some horrific play calling by Sherman.
Miami is deep at WR with Brandon Gibson-3.75M and Rishard Mathews-583K/673K 2015 so they have the No 3 and No 4 WR slots filled already, they really don't need to grab a guy in the draft or sign anyone unless a steal comes along or a veteran is being overlooked for some reason.
TE: Charles Clay 673K, they have 2014 to decide if they want to lock Clay up long term. I think they probably should, he showed me some nifty moves but beyond that he has a big heart and he made plays that others can't, never gives up on a play and I would like to see him settle into the starting spot here. Dion Sims-600k, Egnew 740k, we have enough here at TE for now. Dustin Keller could be brought back for a reduced rate I'm sure but he also might want to move on, bad memories in Miami and his career may be over anyways, vicious injury in preseason.
Overall at the skill positions Miami does not need to go draft or sign anyone except if the right RB came available and they didn't have to break the piggy bank to get him. The real need on offense unfortunately is going to be the OL. That same one we addressed back in 2008/2009/2010 and spent $150M at the time over all the contracts, that is all gone and now we must rebuild this OL. LT/LG/RG/RT are all going to be open spots with only Center a sure thing at the moment.
LT: Bryant McKinnie is an UFA, he owns a house down in Miami but his exit interview did not sound good and I doubt he returns. This is a position Miami will need to draft and with the No 18 overall pick they should be able to find a starter.
LG: Nate Garner-1.8M/1.8M 2015, is he the answer at LG? I don't think so but Miami has a lot of holes to fill here.
C: Mike Pouncey-2.9M, he is an UFA in 2015, he's been linked to some off field issues, he was finger pointed behind the scenes in the bullying scandal, and he missed a couple games in season, was served a subpoena in NE, this guy is a good player but he has some baggage and I see a lot of immaturity on his part. I think i could live without him when his contract is up, I might even trade him and start all over on the OL if I could find the right trade partner.
RG: John Jerry is an UFA, this will need to be addressed in FA or the draft.
RT: Tyson Clabo is an UFA, this will need to be addressed in FA or the draft.
Defense
We are deep at DE as you will see, we need to make a move at DT, LB was a disappointment all season.
DE: Cameron Wake-7.25M, 9.8M 2015&2016, Vernon-750K, Shelby-575k, Dion Jordan 4.6M…Miami is deep here.
DT: Jared Odrick-2M, Both Starks and Soliai who made around 8M a piece in 2013 are UFA, both are going to be on a short list of guys that teams want. I don't think Miami can keep both, Starks hates management here for not giving him a long term deal and I think Soliai would be more open to coming back but they are going to want some real money and guarantees this time. Either would pair nicely with Odrick. I'm greedy and would love to see both of them back but that is probably not feasible.
OLB: Koa Misi-2.3M/4.4M 2015, Phillip Wheeler-6.4M, Jelani Jenkins 600K, Miami will roll with this again although Wheeler was a disappointment this season. Could Wheeler be cut? Misi is under contract along with Wheeler for the next 3-4 years so this is what Ireland envisioned and if he keeps his job, not sure he will turn this over. Wheeler was deemed sucker money when he signed, he did have 100+ tackles but it seemed like he didn't have a lot of impact plays.
ILB: Danelle Ellerbee-7.4M, much like Wheeler his base jumps from 2.4M to 7.4M, he was OK but IMO a big downgrade from Karlos Dansby. Jason Trusnik-1M is also under contract for 2014.
LCB: Brent Grimes is an UFA and made about 6M last season. He proved he is all the way back from his achilles tear that ended his run in Atlanta previously. Miami needs to make him their #1 guy to keep IMO. I would prefer they not franchise tag him and instead find something he can agree to. Maybe around $8M-$10M a season, however many years. He makes it hard for teams to want to throw his way and despite lacking some serious size which makes it hard for him to bring down big WRs, he makes enough plays to where he never gets picked on. Jamar Taylor is the next option on the list, Miami cannot go into 2014 with Taylor as a realistic starter, not on what we have seen so far.
RCB: Dimitri Patterson-5.4M, his season was cut short. He is a total tease, looks great one week then gets hurt then he is back making big plays then he is hurt again and lands on the IR for the season. He costs a lot of money, Grimes made about the same and look how much better his game is. The other guy is Nolan Carroll-UFA and Will Davis behind that. So if Miami does not bring back Carroll or Grimes they are going to be shopping in the off season. I don't like any of what was drafted last season which puts a lot of stress on the entire DB unit.
FS: Chris Clemons-UFA and I don't know that Miami will try to resign him. Jimmy Wilson-650K is all they have behind him and I'm not sure he is ready to start. Don Jones a rookie in 2013 could also be called on but that would be a project for sure.
SS: Reshad Jones-3.6M/7.75M 2015. And who could forget Michael Thomas-495K who will be signed thru the 2014 season before Miami decides if they want to keep him for the long haul but no one will forget that interception of Brady anytime soon.
So on defense we are loaded at DE, could make life easy if we sign 1 of the 2 UFA Defensive Tackles and also Brent Grimes because Miami has the money to do it. They are in the top 10 for money available against the cap so they are OK plus they can free up money like Matt Moore and apply that on top of what they have to spend. My question is how did this team not do more in 2013? Is it as simple as bringing everyone back for another year? I am not sold on Kevin Coyle yet as the DC, he was a DB coach in Cincinnati for basically 12 years. 2000-2011 and what did Cinci accomplish during that time? I question why this unit underachieved and so I must focus on coaching. Is Philbin the right guy? Should Mike Sherman still have a job?
We have a lot to talk about, I hope you find my OP a good start and we have a lot to discuss in terms of draft and also leadership which we will get to in many of my upcoming posts.
Cheers
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