The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

Sorry for being inarticulate, but this is more classic fan over-reaction and "dumb" is the only word I can find for it.

I'm not a fan on Ireland, and I certainly understand frustration with his decisions and this team.  But this newfound increase in the hatred of Ireland at this point isn't justified, in my opinion.  The reason I say this is because this is the same guy as before -- why are we pissed now?  Because of Manning and Flynn?  It sounded like we were never in the driver's seat for Manning and we have no idea why we didn't go after Flynn -- maybe they didn't like what they saw.  The guy has 2 NFL starts.  Maybe he's another Scott Mitchell.  I can't honestly believe that so many of us are upset about missing out on a guy that none of us seemed too high on to begin with.

Let's look at what he's done recently:
- Got rid of Marshall, a guy most of us were fed up with to begin with and who is in legal trouble AGAIN.
- Picked up Matt Moore, where most of us were bent, and he played above expectations.

I am not ridding Ireland of blame.  He deserves a lot of it.  But why now?  Because of Manning?  Of Flynn?  Please...

It just doesn't make sense to get all pissed off at this point, before we draft or even snap one football.

Fans have the right to protest, but it doesn't mean they're not idiots for doing so.  There is so much that we don't know.  Ireland probably blows, but this is nothing new.  The perception that he's incompetant will be his undoing (even though he very well might be incompetant.)  Those protesting, however, are only adding to the perception and making it harder for this team to perform.

Well I think fans have just reached their breaking point. If this was his first week on the job, I think you'd have a good point. But we've been waiting for him to do something smart for years now. Instead, it's looking like more of the same...

What exactly wasn't smart?

Not getting Manning?  Ireland can't MAKE him sign here.
Not getting Flynn?  What if Flynn sucks?  It seems the fanbase is divided at best (and I'd argue that most weren't very high on Flynn).
Dumping Marshall?  Every hated the guy and he's a scumbag on top of it who may miss games.  You want to build your franchise around that?

We have an image problem right now.  (Among other things.)  Getting rid of troublemakers like Marshall will help that image.  Protesting our own practice facility will hurt that image.

I am certainly willing to wait for the draft and/or some sort of explaination before I go too far with the criticism.

He has made a lot of moves that make sense and a few that don't.  Gerrard doesn't make sense only because I can't see him as a west coast QB.  Otherwise its a one year contract and we needed another vet on the roster anyway.

I agree we have an image problem but getting rid of Marshal doesn't help that. Getting rid of Ireland does. Right or wrong it's the only thing that could possibly bring about the fastest change in image across the league and by fans. People have been calling for his head for some time now. This isn't new... Just ramped up because we all wanted a QB. We missed out on any chance of an upgrade even after being promised. You can't have it both ways.

To be fair though, Miami didn't miss a chance to upgrade at QB. They missed a chance to upgrade with those specific players. Until snap one of game one, you can't pass blanket judgement on that. Who knows what will happen at the draft. -EK

We don't need to worry about a bunch of protesters hurting the dolphins image. The dolphins organization has already done that damage. It's been proven by quotes from players around the league. This isn't about Manning or Flynn. This is about sustained inept management of the Miami Dolphins over years both on and off the field across the organization. People are done.

yup getting rid of marshal our best player, my man we are the laughing stock of the NFL right now, noone wans to play here, we've missed out on 2 coaches, numerous players, we have players for other teams saying this guy is the reason noone wants to play in miami, he over here asking dez about his mom being a whore, this guy is an ass who's
 in love with ex cowboy players

^ And that's fair criticism, but he's taking flak for these moves now.  Once he was retained for this year, there's no point in losing your shit before the season.  He's here.  Let him do his thing and if you aren't happy with him, fire him at the end of the season.

That's what last year was for. Are we supposed to sit through another 0-7 start and be irrelevant 3 weeks into the season again? Obviously fans don't have control so that's really the only option but people were done with Ireland long before we missed on Manning and Flynn.

i think right now it's to the point where these guys talk like we need this and we need that only to fail miserable at trying to get them and it really looks like this guy is the reason we're not getting anyone

when players start coming out and saying noone wants to play in Miami cause of Ireland, if thats what NFL players are thinking then when does the way they think change ???

oh and alot of us were thinking this before these last couple of F ups

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-01-01/sports/fl-fire-ireland-airplane-banner-0101_1_miami-dolphins-owner-general-manager-jeff-ireland-sun-life-stadium (http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-01-01/sports/fl-fire-ireland-airplane-banner-0101_1_miami-dolphins-owner-general-manager-jeff-ireland-sun-life-stadium)

Why make a big show about going after Manning, and in the middle of it, trade away your only quality receiver?  If you know you plan to get rid of Marshall, why are you wasting time trying to court Manning?

You can apply the "what if they suck?" argument to any inexperienced player.  Flynn is the first free agent QB with legitimate upside that Miami has had a shot at since Brees.  And Ireland lost out due to half-assing the offer.

Then why did Ireland trade two second-round picks for him?

Marshall was even more troubled when Miami traded for him.  The recent incident at the nightclub, after Miami had already been shopping him, was his first transgression since he arrived in Miami (and no, I don't count being a victim of domestic violence as a "transgression").

The fact that Ireland had NO BACKUP PLAN to replace him is just icing on the cake.  Similarly, his decision to lowball Flynn (when Flynn should have been the backup plan to missing on Manning) is perplexing.  Now Miami needs a franchise QB and a #1 WR from the draft, but is slotted about 3 picks too far back to get either one (much less both).  And that's to say nothing of the gaping hole at RT (which Ireland also whiffed on in FA, mind you).

The "image problem" that Miami has is of a loutish, incompetent GM.  Marshall was not the problem, and getting rid of him for a bag of peanuts and a pack of gum just exacerbated the REAL image problem: lack of quality leadership in the front office.

I concur with Dave.  The GM had a nice draft last year picking his own players for the first time since Parcells left.  Does anyone disagree with that statement?  He made decent FA moves in bringing in the likes of Reggie Bush (good), and others that weren't so good (Colombo).

I will not complain about Flynn.  He smells of Charlie Whitehurst, AJ Feeley, and every other backup QB that got a monster deal only to fall on his face with a new franchise.

It would be nice if there were a QB in Miami's range that could solve the age-old problem, but really, the only worse thing than not addressing the QB situation is addressing it with yet another guy who'll add to the list of starting QBs since Marino.

In my view, Ireland has three problems:  One, the "your mom's a prostitute" question, which obviously hurt his standing with his peers and with players(and maybe rightfully so).  Two, his boss forced him to play footsie with Jim Harbaugh while his friend, Tony Sparano, was still employed.  Three, he only addresses the media once a year, which means we don't know him, which makes it ever so easy to turn him into a caricature.

He gets FAR too much grief about the prostitute question. He asked the guy what his dad did, and Bryant said, "he's a pimp." He asked him what his mom did and Bryant said, "she works for my dad." How is the follow-up question "Your mom works for your dad who is a pimp, so is she a prostitute?" not a logical question? It seems pretty fair to me. -EK

Thank you



It basically comes down to we're tired of seeing Miami "swing for the fences" and missing horribly with everything from the Harbaugh fiasco - present day.  Going all in on Plan A is fine, but c'mon man..have a plan B, C, D, whatever it may be.  It just seems like everyone in the front office has no idea what they're doing..as if it's been a 4 year "first day on the job" experience.  I'm tired of Miami being view as the laughing stock of the league each and every offseason.  Unfortunately, Ross deserves as much, if not more, criticism than Ireland is getting.  Even more unfortunate, an owner can not be fired.

To be fair....my criticism isn't new......I have been calling for them to shitcan him for the last 3 years.  I think he is an inept douche and the Phins will continue to be a mediocre at best franchise until they part ways.

On Marshall:
I'm glad Ireland got rid of him.  6 TD's, 18 drops, 11 million dollar salary, and possibly facing a suspension.  Take away the name, and you'd cut that guy too.  Good riddance.

On Manning:
He just got a better offer somewhere else.  Not much you can do.  Its a future hall of fame QB looking for a job, and Denver had WAY more cap room to play ball.

On Flynn:
This guy is the perfect candidate to be the next Dolphins' bust.  I am glad we didn't go hard after him.  Next year, you'll be saying "he was supposed to be so good and he's really just a bum!"  If his former coach didn't think he was worth fighting for, then he's not worth it.

On Alex Smith:
Same as Flynn, minus the "former coach" part.  This guy has struggled mightily in the past and is coming off his only non-horrific season since he was drafted.  What makes you think he's worth a damn?

On Garrard:
Big deal.  You need a body to fill space.  He's here as an insurance policy.  Last year everyone said "Matt Freakin' Moore?" and now that move looks pretty solid, if you ask me.

On Y.B.:
OK, this one I'm a bit upset about but you can see the case of why.  He's the oldest guy on the defense, and taking up a lot of cap space.  Would I have rather seen them renegotiate him?  Yes.  But with Rashad Jones waiting in the wings, making a lot less money, and younger, maybe they thought he wasn't that much of a downgrade at that position to fill in, with more up-side.

Overall, these guys know what they're doing.  You gotta let them work.  The constant criticism isn't going to help matters.  When do you begin trusting what these guys are doing, and just let them do their job?

We went all in on QB's when..and I'm going to get hell for this but I'm going to say it anyways..we have more pressing needs.  Dumb.

Marshall - Who do we have to replace him?

Flynn - you can say that about anyone and he has given you no reason to believe that. It's just easier to assume.  he was the best option available and relatively cheap at that. BTW ... why does everyone say coach didn't want him? Got some inside info? The only actual reports say he kept calling him to reassure him we were interested and to hang tight.

When they actually get us a winning season and give us some hope that the team hasn't regressed every year.

Exactly


Clearly not everyone knows how to do their job.  You ever go to a restaurant and order no onions..and your meal comes with onions?  Ireland and Ross keep getting the onions after specifically asking for no onions. 

I think I need to re-emphasize:  Ireland was only given the big boy pants after Parcells left, so I am judging him more on the last year than I am the previous few.  I see the following:

Free Agency:
Reggie Bush - Not a bad pickup.  More than serviceable.
Kevin Burnett - Looked shaky for a while, turned out quite good (106 tackles).
Marc Colombo - An unmitigated disaster.
Matt Moore - Turned out to be a nice pickup.
Channing Crowder - Addition by subtraction had less tackles in 2009 & 2010 (51 & 39, respectively) combined than his replacement, Burnett, had in one year.

NFL Draft
Mike Pouncey - Solid pick
Daniel Thomas - Looked good when healthy
Edmond Gates - Jury is out
Charles Clay - Solid pickFrank Kearse - Did he make the roster?  Who cares.  7th rounder
Jimmy Wilson - Had some solid moments.  Could be solid going forward.  Solid 7th round gamble.

Who cares?  He's a problem and a huge cap hit.  Others will step up, maybe they draft someone, we don't know yet.

If his former coach wanted him, he'd be a Dolphin right now.  They would have made it happen.

His former coach does not have final say over personnel decisions.  Ireland does.

You may recall that this was a significant factor in why Jeff Fisher is not the coach in Miami.

But they DIDN'T go all in on QB's.

They would have gone all in on Manning if he asked, but he never did, he was never interested in coming here.

They clearly DIDN'T go all in on Flynn or he would have been a Dolphin today.

It's hard to say what they offered Smith if anything.

So how did they go all in on QB's? If there's anything you can blame them for it's NOT going all in on QB's.

Not to mention they refused to talk to the Rams about trading up because they are upset at Fisher. That is silly!

Because they only acknowledged getting a QB in free agency!! 

I'm so fucking sick of hearing about the QB position..everyone makes it sound like the team is/was one solid QB away from getting a Super Bowl when it's the FURTHEST thing from true.


Failing to address the right side of the offensive line, a decent pass rush, a new WR, safety help, while all the while talking about Peyton, Flynn, Smith, Garrard means you went all in on a QB and missed out of getting some other talented players to fill your OTHER needs.



Am I the only one noticing this?

Um...who was doing all the talking? I haven't heard a word from Ross, Ireland, Philbin or anyone else from the Dolphins talking about QB in the last 2 weeks. So you're saying that because a couple months back Ireland and Ross saying they had to upgrade was going all in? I'm sorry, but I can't agree. Just because the media has been telling you for a solid month that Miami was all in doesn't mean they went all in. That's on the media.

In Miami's eyes they did address the right side of the line when they re-signed Lydon Murtha to $1.9 mill and brought in Hicks. Along with Jon Jerry that is your fix I believe.

I've been making comments about this as well. The media is as big a problem for the organization as anything else.

Handling the media is a job an organization has to deal with. Miami has been poor in this regard.

It goes hand in hand.  When information "leaks" to the media, i.e. teams interest and whatnot.  So if Miami had true interest in anything other than a QB, we would know about it.  Granted Eric Winston did come in for a visit, but it was shunned due to the Peyton sweepstakes. 

LOL Maybe that was true at one time, it's not with this regime. Perhaps Miami hasn't been the greatest at dealing with the media, but that doesn't mean it's any less true that Miami has been thinking about more than just a QB. It's apparent they have been, it's just not what the media is interested in.

i don't understand how anyone can honestly defend ireland at this point.

he has built a roster that is consistently below .500, and that is cap poor to boot. in a league that legislates parity, ireland somehow constructs a roster that talent wise can barely muster 7 wins.

folks say, well he had a good draft last year... well when you have a team that manages to go 7-9, i would hope the least you can do is find starters in the draft.

it's going on what now, 5 years with this parcells model. what's it going to take to build a roster capable of competing in the playoffs? 3 more years? 8 years total to build a team that can win? at this rate, maybe in another 20 years he can build a roster that can contend for the super bowl.

fact is in today's nfl, you bring in competent folks that know how to build rosters and you can very quickly turn your franchise around into a contender. the dolphins on the other hand choose to live this parcells dinosaur model, searching for "value" acorns that barely make any impact on wins or losses. on the other hand, franchises like the dunkos bring in competent front office folks to build a team into a super bowl contender in a 2 year time frame.

I think trading up would have been silly.

^^^ Why? RG3 or Luck would have secured your QB position for a decade+.

^^^ I'm still not completely sold on RG3. Something in my gut tells me one of these guys is not going to be the savior (I'm trying to avoid the f QB word I think is overused) and my gut tells me it will be RG3. Now he may end up being a starting QB for quite some time, but I'm not sure he will live up to all the picks it will took to move up and get him.

I'm with you.....IMO with 1st round QB's,seems like when there are 2 or 3 of them drafted...It seems a bit rare they're all good.(not counting last year,too soon,but off to pretty good start)..(Rivers,Manning,Roethlisberger) the last one...

I wonder if a bit of it is...Guy A. was Awesome last year....Guy B. is a lot like him,but had better college,or perceived as a better player ...Guy B. gets drafted much higher,because of Guy's A. success in the league...

Sorry for the hijack....

I think some of the stuff Ireland has been criticized for is of his own doing,and rightly deserved.Other stuff,he doesn't get credit for,like not trading for Orton even though it seemed as the vocal minority wanted it....Unfortunately,I feel more bad than good (overall even with Parcells here)