Respect the Players

[ethurst22a]

I was feeling nostalgic this morning and I went on YouTube to view John Elway's retirement press conference. This was the first time that I'd ever looked at the conference in it's entirety. When Elway was asked about the hardest hit he ever took, his response surprised me. He said the hardest that he had ever been hit was by....

Zach Thomas.

I feel that this Dolphins regime does not respect players like Zach who gave a lot to the organization or J.T. They need to respect the players. That's something that Don Shula always did. If you put on the aqua and orange in Shula's era, you got respect.

Thank God for the Dolphins Alumni which is one of the best in the NFL. They are very active. Dolphins Management needs to respect the players.

[Dave Gray]

I think that it's important to respect your players and their history, but that doesn't mean that you have to overvalue their current status.

Just because a guy was once your best playmaker doesn't mean that you OWE him anything in the present.  A contract between a team and a player is a risk for both sides.

I still think that those negotiations should happen and that players (especially those that meant a lot to your franchise) should be treated with dignity.

[Philly Fin Fan]

I have to agree with Dave's stance. The organization needs to respect the players, but they don't have to bend over backwards and cater to the every whim of the players.

I'm sure this is being brought up because you feel they "owe" something to Taylor. The organization told him they want to wait until after the draft before they decide if they want to bring him back. In my opinion, thats all they owe him.

Would you rather they sign him, and not draft a young player for the future? Remember, there's only so much money to go around, so they may not be able to do both.

Would you rather they sign him, and then dump him after they draft a young player? That seems a bit disrespectful to me.....

[gocowboys31]

I feel that this Dolphins regime does not respect players like Zach who gave a lot to the organization or J.T. They need to respect the players. That's something that Don Shula always did. If you put on the aqua and orange in Shula's era, you got respect.

Thank God for the Dolphins Alumni which is one of the best in the NFL. They are very active. Dolphins Management needs to respect the players.

I got news for you Bill Parcells dosen't give a damn about the fans or any old time players. He did the same thing in Dallas when he was hired in 03. His first order of buisness was to run Emmitt Smith out of town, because he didn't want anyone their from the previous regime who may have tried to undermine his authority. Thank god Jerry Jones had a great personal relationship with Emmitt.

Parcells was never embraced in dallas, in fact he used to bring former giants to practice instead of cowboys. When Wade phillips was hired he instantly embraced the history and former players of the team. I said it when he was hired Parcells isn't going to be around here long.

[Dave Gray]

I got news for you Bill Parcells dosen't give a damn about the fans or any old time players.

I don't know that I agree with that.  He probably doesn't care about APPEASING the fans with a bunch of pomp and circumstance, but he gives a damn about winning, which is ultimately the bottom line for the fans.

Bill Parcells has one job -- to put together a team that wins.  It isn't his job to make fans happy by keeping favorites.  He just has to win games.

[Sunstroke]

The chances of GoCowboys saying something positive about Bill Parcells is about as likely as Tepop getting a Ronnie Brown tattoo.

[jtex316]

If you're going to "respect" or "not respect" the Shula-era players, this includes your beloved Dan Marino and Don Shula himself. They don't owe them anything.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I guess this comes from having a team whose glory years are recent, but if someone was to ask Tom Brady about his opinion of Steve Grogan and Brady responded "who?"  I wouldn't give a shit.

I care about how well the players can play today, not if they know the history of a team that they probably didn't follow as a kid.