A new angle on the Marshall trade

[Spider-Dan]

As I was reading several recent articles, the following scenario occurred to me:

The front office may have come to the realization very early on that they were unlikely to land Manning, that they weren't going to make a strong push for Flynn, and they weren't going to trade up for RG3... in other words, that they were not going to make a serious move to address the QB position.  This decision would have two ripple effects:

1) whichever journeyman QB they throw out there is unlikely to produce a career season for Marshall, so his trade value (as a Dolphin) is at or around its ceiling
2) Marshall, having already expressed frustration with the lack of upgrades at QB, is even more likely to engage in shenanigans when it turns out that his general for the 2012 season is Matt Moore, David Garrard, Alex Smith, etc.

Therefore, based on the regime's (questionable) decision to do nothing at QB, it only made sense to get rid of Marshall right now for as much as they can get for him.  Many of us looked at the Marshall trade as the first salvo in blowing up the team and giving up on 2012, but in fact, it may have been the last domino in the decision making process.

[MikeO]

It was reported that the the main reason for the trade was the new coaches felt they couldn't implement the new offense they want to with Marshall and all his "on the field baggage." Like  yelling at Quarterbacks on the sideline, yelling at coaches on the sideline, throwing the WR coach under the bus in the media like he did last year, calling out the  offensive gameplan in the Sporting News and all of that stuff.

[Brian Fein]

And smacking women around in night clubs.

and dropping more TD's than he caught

and the 11 million dollar price tag

[suck for luck]

Haven't you heard? Ross wants to win NOW!

[Phishfan]

Wow, I'm impressed Spider.

[Spider-Dan]

And smacking women around in night clubs.

They were already shopping him before this happened, so that's not a valid excuse.

and dropping more TD's than he caught

Marshall still caught more TDs than anyone else on this team.  If someone who drops 7+ TDs still leads your team in TDs, what does that say about the state of the rest of your receiving corps?

and the 11 million dollar price tag

This is probably the most accurate point.

[JVides]

If a 6'4" wideout with great run after the catch skills (the run people over kind) somehow doesn't fit your scheme, which is designed for big wideouts (at least it seems like the big WR is always the linchpin of the west coast offense), then I have to say his departure must have been a "we're sick of your act" move, plain and simple.

I agree that his value today is probably as high as it will be, given he'll soon be 28 and he's a headache and he's got less than stellar QBs throwing his way.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

If a 6'4" wideout with great run after the catch skills (the run people over kind) somehow doesn't fit your scheme, which is designed for big wideouts (at least it seems like the big WR is always the linchpin of the west coast offense), then I have to say his departure must have been a "we're sick of your act" move, plain and simple.

I agree that his value today is probably as high as it will be, given he'll soon be 28 and he's a headache and he's got less than stellar QBs throwing his way.

The initial outrage on this board over the low value recieved for the trade reminds me of the intial posts I saw on the Patriots board regarding the trade of Moss for only a third.  In time it became apparent that such a trade was actually a very good deal for the Patriots, even though there was quite a bit of outrage over it when it was first announced.

Time will tell here too, if the Dolphins made the right move or not.

[Doc-phin]

My understanding is that Marshall struggled in the mental aspects of his position.  He relied so heavily on physical ability that he supposedly would ignore the proper pre or post snap read and go for the route he wanted.  This isn't so good for the kind of offense we are installing.

He will do best with a QB that works with him enough to know his tendencies.  We haven't had this in Miami.

[Pappy13]

The front office may have come to the realization very early on that they were unlikely to land Manning, that they weren't going to make a strong push for Flynn, and they weren't going to trade up for RG3... in other words, that they were not going to make a serious move to address the QB position.  This decision would have two ripple effects:

2) Marshall, having already expressed frustration with the lack of upgrades at QB, is even more likely to engage in shenanigans when it turns out that his general for the 2012 season is Matt Moore, David Garrard, Alex Smith, etc.

I completely agree. In fact I suggested this myself back when Marshall's trade was first announced. "I've kinda come to peace with the fact that the Dolphins aren't going to fix their QB problem this year and that would have just meant another year of Marshall complaining about the QB, so time to move on."

[Diehard_Dolfan]

My understanding is that Marshall struggled in the mental aspects of his position.  He relied so heavily on physical ability that he supposedly would ignore the proper pre or post snap read and go for the route he wanted.  This isn't so good for the kind of offense we are installing.

He will do best with a QB that works with him enough to know his tendencies.  We haven't had this in Miami.

If this was the case... the letting him go was a proper move!   I hear Philbin's offense is all about timing routes... you can't have a receiver doing his own thing when your QB is throwing timing routes!!!!

[CF DolFan]

The initial outrage on this board over the low value recieved for the trade reminds me of the intial posts I saw on the Patriots board regarding the trade of Moss for only a third.  In time it became apparent that such a trade was actually a very good deal for the Patriots, even though there was quite a bit of outrage over it when it was first announced.

Time will tell here too, if the Dolphins made the right move or not.

That's pretty much every deal. We as fans have the luxury of saying whatever we want and then never having to recant. It's one of the best things about being a fan. Bitch and moan with no accountability. If we traded three first round picks to move up and draft Tannehill most people would scream bloody murder. If he turned out to be the next Tom Brady we would just say where can I get his jersey without any remorse of what we had said. It still wouldn't stop us from bitching next time. 

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

If we traded three first round picks to move up and draft ... If he turned out to be the next Tom Brady.

Quite a bit off topic, but.....

If you trade three first round picks to draft him, then he can't be the next Tom Brady.  Maybe the next Peyton Manning but not the next Tom Brady.  We can debate ad nasium who is the better QB.  But one thing I think is beyond debate is that Tom Brady is the greatest player (at least in the superbowl era) realitive to his draft position.  If you were to list the all time greats Tom Brady makes the list very few others on the list would not be 1st, 2nd or 3rd round picks. 

That is one of the things that makes Tom very special.  He wasn't drafted and handed the starting QB role.  His rookie year he was 4th on the depth chart and worked his way up to be the back up.  And then when the oppertunity presented itself he made the most of it. 

I have more respect for players like Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Warren Moon, Kurt Warner, Matt Cassel etc. than players like Randy Moss, Vince Wilfork, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino etc.  Guys that had to fight just to get a shot to be on the field.

[CF DolFan]

No I get your argument. I ws pointing to Brady's and his team's success.

[Fins4ever]

And smacking women around in night clubs.

and dropping more TD's than he caught

and the 11 million dollar price tag

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I like it. Straight to the point. You forgot that he is a distraction in the locker room and on the field. See Keyshawn Johnson early in career.