This is the last unit of the team to look at, after covering the defense and the offense, and this year, we seem to have really tried to upgrade the special teams, especially the return game. Shockingly, we’ve even brought in competition for long time long snapper John Denney. There will also be competition for the place kicker spot as well, but the real competition will be for punt returner and/or kick returner. Special teams aren’t just the specialists, such as the K, P, KR/PR, there the guys who fly down the field with abandon, and sacrifice their bodies in violent collisions either blocking the pursuit, or trying to race past and disengage blocks to make the tackle.
Let’s take a look at who we’ve brought in this season, both from the draft, and as UDFA’s.
Kenyan Drake
Jakeem Grant
RB Kenyan Drake will not only be in the mix at RB, but he will also provide the team with some special teams help. Drake was the gunner at Alabama, and that’s a very important cog in the special teams coverage. WR Leonte Carroo will be in the mix at WR, but also will be in competition for KR/PR with incumbent returner Jarvis Landry. Shifty, blazing fast WR Jakeem Grant also will be heavily involved in the competition for return man, with Landry and Carroo. Landry would play every down and do every return, but that’s too much of a drain, so the Dolphins are looking to give him some help, to keep him fresh during the game. I’m excited to see if these guys can upgrade our return unit, which was pretty solid already with Landry.
K Marshall Koehn
Long Snapper Ryan DiSalvo
Punter Matt Darr
K Andrew Franks
Punter Matt Darr has proved his mettle, and will be unchallenged for the punter spot. Last years kicker Andrew Franks, who was solid last season, especially on kickoffs, now faces another contender, rookie K Marshall Koehn. Rumor has it Diggs put in a good word for Koehn and got him the in, but I can neither verify nor dispute that. Koehn (pronounced Cane) is a very versatile athlete, who also played WR and DB, as well as playing baseball, soccer and for Stanger, lettered twice as wrestler in High School. This is no ordinary kicker! Very strong leg, and regularly placed kickoffs in the end zone, he should make the challenge fun to watch this preseason.
Besides the regular position battles, I’m definitely looking forward to see how our return game shakes out, because now, my thought is Damien Williams will step aside and let the new talent juice up our return game. They are called the “hidden yards” in a game, but as we all know, strong special teams can really help out the team, both with strong coverage on kicks and punts, and electric returns, long punts, ALL play a crucial part in the battle for field position.
Go DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
If Stills plays well for us, do you guys really think I’m going to continue to say he’s disappointing, or “bash” him? C’mon, get real. I’ll give him his due, when he earns it. I’m a fan, not a sports reporter, I can do whatever the f*ck I want. lol
No
But I think “playing well” for Stills is going to be a high threshold to meet
He’s fairly inexpensive
he’s just a piece to the offense
we need speed on the field to have the whole thing work together
his production last year could have been better
but I don’t think it needs to be much better for our offsense to work well
Randy
You’ll be happy to know the defense for Stills is just as strong as it for Tannehill. lol
There’s a difference between defense and not agreeing with you…and I don’t see any horns 😂
Gase said when he came here he already liked Stills skill set and CHI tried to trade for him but we beat them to it. So Gase’s opinion on Stills isn’t anything new.
I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’re 6-1 with Albert, Pouncey and James on the field together. It also shows us that they’ve only played 7 games together in two seasons and that is what really needs to change.
Here’s one of Omar’s better articles about it. We’re a better offense with those guys on the field and Tannehill plays at a much higher level – a 107.0 QB rating in those games. The running game numbers are up as well.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/dolphins-blog/soflanews-proof-ryan-tannehill-perfo-20160405-story.html
This 6-1 record and stats that go with it are grossly skewed. It’s like a highlight stat. Why not also include stats for the games all 3 started, but played at least a half, and another stat for QB stats while all 3 were on the field?
Not sure what you mean? The stats are when all 3 are on the field which was only 7 games. Both Albert and James went down for the year with their injuries. Pouncey missed the first 5 games in 2014 off of hip surgery. I don’t think there is much to go by where they played at least a half but then came out.
Someone needs to let Suh know we have depth on the DL. He played too many plays last year, and when he got tired the line stunk.
Guess who’s not on the list?
A little respect for a change, but this is an off-season list, so a lot is based on past production.
I watched Urbik’s PC and he said he’s playing C and both G spots, no mention of tackle. Douglas is also playing all 3 positions so there’s some competition right there. I believe Turner said he’s lined up everywhere but C. I’m sure that’s what Thomas is doing as well. Not sure about Bushrod, I think he just started getting football reps. James said he’s been playing exclusively at RT. Albert is working exclusively at LT and Tunsil both LG and LT. I’m sure Young is playing both tackle spots.
So this gives us an idea of how things could shape up. Then you never know if one of the lower depth chart guys earns his way into the mix.
Albert will be the LT, James the RT, and Pounced the C. The rest need to play multiple to slide over for injury, or when backing up fill in. Good piece of info Tim.
Steve
99 out of 100 of you could not agree with me on that, and the same 99 would still be wrong. Stills sucked last year, period. Make excuses, new QB, new offense, bad offense, bad coaching, bad karma, bad stadium, bad owner, he sucked while other WR’s on the team prospered. That doesn’t reflect well for him.
I don’t think he sucked but he was inconsistent. Sucking is what Clyde Gates did. LOL
Clyde Gates did suck, but Stills doesn’t really suck. He’s got the talent, he just sucked for us. He was the least productive last year with the most opportunity, he was given the starting gig, and lost it. I don’t know what else to say, that’s how it went down man
Sucking as used here means he didn’t play up to his standard.
Since we agreed he sacked, and we’re wrong now you’re saying he was good last year?
The stats aren’t what I care about with Stills, he dropped too many passes and didn’t get open enough. I don’t have a comment on him being open and not getting the ball though, as may have been the case, based on Lou’s film study.
Gates didn’t suck as bad for the jets.
Well he’s out of the league.
Even though Stills only caught 26 passes 10 of them for were 20+ and 18 were 1st downs. If he can improve this year he could be a real good weapon.
I thought he had a few inopportune drops last year. If he gets those cleaned up I agree he can be a good weapon. he’s fast on the outside.
Yep! I not defending Stills’ performance last year, he had a few too many drops and concentration mistakes. But he can be a weapon for sure. His 47 yard TD in the Giants game came right at me, I was sitting in that endzone. It was awesome.
I know this sounds like excuses but Landry was 2nd year, Parker, Stills, Jennings and Cameron were all 1st season in Miami last year. Then you take a questionable OL, a young QB, extremely questionable play-calling and then being the worst team committed to the run game, and we expected an offensive machine but the QB held us back? I can’t buy that thinking that some fans have. I just didn’t see it that way. I saw too much disarray from too many players. Al points this out all the time. The team was not coached well last year and there was too much change in so many ways from personnel and coach firings. It was just a shit season.
The entire team was not good last year. I just want to move on and if we suck this year I give up! LOL
We have too much talent to suck.
MikeE,
Stills has a ways to go before he reaches the Teflon Don level our QB has reached.
***
I blame him for Stills’ bad performance anyway. lol
Oh brother! LOL
Do you also blame him for Stills’ drops? When Stills himself says he needs to play better…
“Agholor’s agent did not immediately respond to a request for comment. John Meehan, the owner of Cheerleaders, said he wasn’t at the club on Thursday. Neither he nor the club’s attorney, Marc Raspanti, said they were aware of the allegations.”
—
Well, there goes that case lol.
LMAO @ Randy – Well played
It was interesting that Matthews was having such a good season before he got hurt – he and Tannehill had some chemistry working together since they were drafted the same year. I just mentioned how new everyone else was with the exception of Landry because he’s special. When you don’t have good chemistry on the OL and between QB and receivers, you’re gonna struggle. Then throw in a stubborn OC who just couldn’t create a balanced attack often enough.
Let’s hope they build on the good things they did and some of the new guys who will have play important roles get up to speed sooner than later. Talent is not an issue on offense. We have a lot of it.
https://twitter.com/DolphinsRuleAll/status/741358563789025280
This is interesting, thanks for posting it Wyoming. As for those that created it, Where’s the real chart that shows the guys most likely to make the 53 and what their exp/age are? I would expect most of the guys from 53 – 90 would have 2yrs or less exp.
In any case, regarding Stills…his numbers were roughly the same as they were in NOLA his last year there.
WR who go deeper routes are more likely to experience only % in the 50-60% range at best anyway; that’s the nature of those type of WR. Possession WR and TE seem to usually have high % catch rates relative to X receivers.
2014: 15 games / 7 starts – 83 targets 63 catches 931 yds (14.8 y/rec) 3 TD
2015: 15 games / 8 starts – 63 targets 27 catches 440 yds (16.3 y/rec) 3 TD
—
Catch rate differs but as Randy pointed out, QB effect is possible
steveccnv says:
June 10, 2016 at 3:03 pm (Edit)
Sucking as used here means he didn’t play up to his standard.
************
Yes, exactly.
Mike E,
Also, regarding Matthews vs Stills, Matthews entered the NFL before Stills and had a year ahead of him in terms of experience. Carroo is talented but he is a rookie competing against a guy who has 3 NFL seasons under him. I just don’t think it’s realistic to expect Carroo to beat him out right away out of the gate. Route running is always an area new WR struggle with. I love what Carroo brings to the table and when he develops the team will likely get rid of Stills salary but that’s further down the road.
Al
I don’t expect him to beat Stills out right away, what I was saying is, if Stills is on par with what he did last year, Caroo will be seeing more and more playing time, especially if he play well. If Stills plays well from the get-go, Carroo will still see the field, but not always at Stills expense.
I don’t know because I haven’t looked, but aren’t most NFL rosters full of young guys? It sure feels like rosters have been getting younger.
probably
rookie salary cap makes it more likely
The real stat worth looking at is who is the youngest team
I have no idea whether we are top half or not in that stat
I think before this season’s influx of veteran players, we were a very young team
Too young
Al, Stills’ salary isn’t an issue, he’s on a 5th rd deal. He may leave in FA next year but we could also retain him, he’s only 24. We may want to role with all our young WRs and build on it.
5th yr deal? What are you talking about Tim?
4 yr(s) / $2,354,452 Signing Bonus $194,452 Average Salary$588,613 Guaranteed:$194,452 Free Agent:2017 / UFA
Year Age Base Salary Signing Bonus Workout Bonus Cap Hit Dead Cap
2013 Contract details by year 21 $405,000 $48,613 – $453,613 $194,452
2014 Contract details by year 22 $495,000 $48,613 – $543,613 $145,839
2015 Contract details by year 23 $585,000 – – $585,000 –
2016 Contract details by year 24 $1,671,000 – – $1,671,000 –
2017 Free Agent Year 25
UFA
Contract Notes: •Proven Performance escalated 2016 salary from $675k to $1.671M
He’s still on his 5th rd deal.
What???? This is the last unit of the team to look at???? I thought Wyoming would be submitting an article on the cheerleaders! 😉
It’s about time for the Swimsuit calendar! 🙂
trotters crossed
Is any post here that has an LOL in it not up for debate, and shouldn’t be taken as a serious post?
Here’s the posts in question:
From Randy
MikeE,
Stills has a ways to go before he reaches the Teflon Don level our QB has reached.
***
I blame him for Stills’ bad performance anyway. lol
Reply
Tim Knight says:
June 10, 2016 at 3:26 pm
Oh brother! LOL
Randy’s post seems like he’s just joking around, Tim responds with a rolling of his eyes as if Randy’s post was meant to be a real opinion, but then puts an LOL at the end as if to say just kidding. So would an LOL be the same as a bless her heart? Edna is one fat pig, she eats way too much, bless her heart. Edna is one fat pig, she eats way too much, LOL.
You could say Steve is a dick. LOL – Now it’s not up for debate. LOL
See what I did there?
Randy says:
June 10, 2016 at 4:16 pm
I don’t know because I haven’t looked, but aren’t most NFL rosters full of young guys? It sure feels like rosters have been getting younger.
———————————————
We were the youngest in the AFC East in 2015, and have been one of the younger teams, but I looked at each teams roster last offseason and noticed most rosters are about the same, a few guys over 30, 15-25 around the mid 20 range and then a bunch of young guys. It’s really about all you can do, because the vet min. on 30 yr old players is so high you can’t keep them around, unless they’re good solid players.
I am looking forward to the start of regular training camp when the pads go on so these young offensive linemen can practice against the likes of Suh Cameron Wake and Mario Williams at full speed. I hope those guys continue to school the offensive line. In both ways. Beating them constantly to increase the competition level and taking them aside to show them how they beat them like Cameron Wake did with James as a rookie
I am looking forward to Carroo!
Mike, every time you write how much you like Carroo I picture Jekyll and Hyde.
I expect to see a lot of Tunsil in preseason. He should be starting at LG, then when the first team goes off the field I expect to see him playing LT. He may play 3 quarters each game. Wouldn’t want to see him on the field against some scrub grabbing and clawing, then giving him a cheap shot in the 4th qtr.
If you were the coach wouldn’t give Tunsil looks at tackle? If nothing else should get Albert hitting the weights harder.
I don’t think Albert needs any motivation. Look at how hard he worked to come back from knee surgery last year. He made it back way ahead of schedule.
By the way Tunsil has been working at both LG and LT.
Some stuff you just can’t make up — or maybe you can….this is like out of a Charlie’s Angels episode.
—————————
A rancher jumped on his horse Friday morning and lassoed a man who was trying to steal a bicycle in the parking lot of an Oregon Wal-Mart, police said.
When Robert Borba heard a woman screaming that someone was trying to steal her bike, the 28-year-old quickly got his horse, Long John, out of its trailer. He grabbed a rope, rode over to the man and lassoed him around the legs and dragged him to one end of the parking lot.
Borba told the Tribune, “I wasn’t going to catch him on foot, but I use a rope every day. That’s how I make my living. If it catches cattle pretty good, it catches a bandit pretty good.”
I’m really not keeping track of any of the happenings in OTA’s and when camp comes around just call me a disinterested fan because I can care less about any of this stuff anymore. Put the product on the field and perform and win games. That’s all I care about. I’m not buying any hype like I’ve heard about “leadership” and stuff like that. Show me.
Steve, I said Stills is still on his his 5th rd deal, not 5th year deal. I said he’ll be a FA next year.
Mike E still hating on Stills. I don’t get it. I thought Stills performed very well when called upon. I thought his biggest problem was that the O was not well suited for him. He is a vertical deep threat in an O that was predicated upon short timing routes. When they went deep Stills was open.
The offense had a lot of problems. That’s why I don’t harp on any one player, there was plenty of blame to go around and Lazor didn’t help the situation.
Ken, you’re correct. Stills is a player that many a team would want right now.
He was hampered by an offense that was not suited well for anyone one the way it was ran.
I’m soooo glad that that regime of Philbin, Lazor, & Coyle are history….and I’m totally excited to see how this new regime runs both sides of the ball…..how could a true Phin fan not be!?!?!
I don’t get the sourness of Lou, & OD, and some others with the, ‘all this means nothing, show me on the field first’ CRAP.
We should all be stoked after going through 4 yrs of Philbin….like Tim said earlier, this team is talent rich. The right coaching that can put it all together will come out shining in the media….just you wait and see. 🙂
I think a lot of fans are in the show me boat due to the lack of success. But that doesn’t mean we need to shit on the new team.
The one thing I agree with them is that I am not ready to anoint Gase & co as the saviors yet until they show us something. I like the hire and I like what I have heard from him but he has not coached a game yet so he needs to prove himself
Of course and that’s the way it should be. Saying show me isn’t anything exclusive. I think we’re all in that boat.
Right, I hope they all show me…..we as fans want to be in the post reg-season party.
There is now plenty of real things that we can see now that gives me excitement, based on how well we know & scrutinize this team. Most of us can see something taking shape here based on age & talent level.
Will Gase, VJ, Tanny, Suh, Tunsil, Parker, Ajayi, Alonso fall on their face? I suppose they could….But I’d realistically think the odds are going to be low.
I truly believe this team as it stands now, has a 80+% chance at going in the right direction and becoming a threat in the division.
Just found out that two guys I went to school with passed away. One from cancer who became a mountain man and lived off the land somewhere up in NY State. The other guy from a massive heart attack who loved the shore and boating etc.
It got me thinking, what is it that we’re all bickering about? As if which political party is in power changes our lives so much. Do they really? Haven’t we been there done that?
They were living their lives the way they wanted to and now they’re not. I’ve said many times before I can’t point to one thing I could do when I was a kid that I can’t do now other than maybe sitting in the back of a pickup on a main road for safety purposes or something like that. To me we have more freedoms today than back then. Much more is tolerated.
I think we’re all losing our grasp on what’s important. We allow the political machines to make us fight among ourselves when all we do is go on regardless.
getterdone: “Most of us can see something taking shape here”
***
Yep, heard that before….got another one? Lol. Just busting your chops, gdp. I’m hopeful too, but we’ve heard it all before. We won’t know anything until they start playing for real. Nobody proves anything in June. This is the time for hope because that’s all we got.
Exactly. I’m not shitting on anyone and I really like the talent the team has on it for the most part. I still think LB is going to continue to be a huge weakness for us but it’s true that we’ve heard all the stuff coming from the OTA’s before. Players talking up players, players talking up coaches, players talking up the O or the D. It’s all the same TALK. Excuse me if I don’t get excited about it. I’m hopeful as anyone else that we’ve finally gotten to the point where we go in the right direction and start to compete for the division. I’m excited to see what some of the young guys like Grant and Carroo can do on O and guys like Howard and Lippett can do on the D. Just not getting hyped up by any of the talk going on.
Did you shut the site down?
Lou bummed everyone out. JK/BB LOL
Wow this place is absolutely dead.
Nothing really to talk about right now. It’s a quiet time for football at the moment, we just have to wait for training camp to get a little bit of a feel as to what’s happening with the team
Mandatory minicamp is June 14-16. We’ll know what Reshad Jones is up to then.
Mike, is it nice by you? It’s friggin gorgeous here – 80 with a nice breeze.
NOTSportsCenter™ @NOTSportsCenter 42m42 minutes ago
BREAKING: Draymond Green has been suspended for Game 5 under the NBA’s “We Must Do Whatever We Can To Give LeBron a Chance To Win” rule
Okay, time for the allies to pound them again.
Not much football news to talk about now. I also don’t like talking politics or current events on here so not much to say right now
I’ll talk anything anywhere, but mostly filled with sadness for those who died and their families. Respect is due both the dead and those who loved them.
This world is a fucked up place.
Sure is Bri. As long as radicals are around that want to murder and cause chaos, it surely is. They need to be eradicated.
I guess Reshad is skipping the mandatory minicamp
I think that’s a bad move on his part.
Armando Salguero @ArmandoSalguero 2h2 hours ago
Report days ago that Reshad Jones might sit out season was incorrect. Undecided but highly, highly, HIGHLY unlikely.
Orange & Aqua @DolphinsRuleAll 2h2 hours ago
@ArmandoSalguero Knew that. Did it not originate from the ass-clown formerly known as Omar?
ndrew Abramson @AbramsonPBP 3h3 hours ago
Andrew Abramson Retweeted Ian Rapoport
Jones would be fined $76k for missing all of minicamp.He’d then have 5 weeks to work out a deal before training camp
That’s a lot of $$$ to miss out on for sitting out
if he increases his salary by about 200k, its probably worth it financially
but you got to think
if he is fined 76k – that all comes out of his pocket
but if he increases his salary through a holdout a lot of other people take a piece (his agent, taxes, etc.)
sure Training camp isn’t hard to make up if you succeed
but missing part of the season
That’s probably not worth it
Very disappointed in Reshad. I don’t think we should give in, he either plays for his current contract, or he sits out and misses the season. I get why he’s doing it, but a prolonged time period where he’s out hurts him and more importantly, the team.
Adam Beasley @AdamHBeasley 3h3 hours ago
One other note on Reshad Jones: He’s already the highest paid strong safety in the world other than Eric Berry, who’s on the franchise tag.
Thats not even close to accurate. He’s behind several and Cam Chancellor is almost an exact mirror of his deal.
Also he’s mot a SS, he’s a hybrid and one of the best probably in top 3 of the hybrid types.
Not saying you’re wrong, but Reshad does play in the box quite a bit and that’s why he had so many tackles and is considered a SS.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/contracts/strong-safety/
He also has the ints and plays deep enough to be considered a FS, since there is no official NFL position when it comes to stuff like franchise tag separating the two, there really is no difference in the positions either on the books i mean.
Pay the man! It’s just money…and not mine!
IMO It wouldnt be a bad business move to sing him now. I get the giving in angle but is it giving in to lock him in at a todays rate for more years? If its not unreasonable id extend him now but id write into his contract an early negotiation clause so he couldn’t afford to try it again. Maybe do part of it as bonuses for not holding out. To me its kind of silly for these teams not to do something like that anyways, otherwise you are giving the player an upper hand by giving them such leverage as counting multiple millions agaisnt the cap with potential for them to just not play/ Be smarter with your contracts NFL.
What’s this locking him in at today’s rate? He’ll just sit out again when he’s not making as much or more.
thats why i think you need to have clauses in the contract, or bonuses instead of your standard contract language (ie if we bend the rules this time, next time you try it its going to cost ya).
This aught to make it clear as mud!
Player
Team
Total Value Avg./Year Total Guaranteed Avg. Guar./Year % Guaranteed Free Agency
Eric Berry
Chiefs
$10,806,000 $10,806,000 $0 $0 0 2016 UFA
Harrison Smith
Vikings
$51,250,000 $10,250,000 $15,278,000 $3,055,600 29.8% 2022 UFA
Earl Thomas
Seahawks
$40,000,000 $10,000,000 $14,225,000 $3,556,250 35.6% 2019 UFA
Devin McCourty
Patriots
$47,500,000 $9,500,000 $22,000,000 $4,400,000 46.3% 2020 UFA
Mark Barron
Rams
$45,000,000 $9,000,000 $15,000,000 $3,000,000 33.3% 2021 UFA
Jairus Byrd
Saints
$54,000,000 $9,000,000 $18,300,000 $3,050,000 33.9% 2020 UFA
Malcolm Jenkins
Eagles
$35,000,000 $8,750,000 $16,000,000 $4,000,000 45.7% 2021 UFA
Tashaun Gipson
Jaguars
$36,000,000 $7,200,000 $12,000,000 $2,400,000 33.3% 2021 UFA
Reshad Jones
Dolphins
$28,012,000 $7,003,000 $15,000,000 $3,750,000 53.5% 2018 UFA
http://overthecap.com/position/safety/
D, all safeties play deep at some point in a game. As we know, some teams use SS/FS and others use split the field types which VJ has said he prefers. That’s why they signed IAQ because they believe he can do both and so can Jones. He did say if he realizes that’s not working the way he envisions it he could revert to SS/FS based on the strengths of the players.
My problem with Jones’ holdout is he is not grossly underpaid. He’s due to make over $8M per the next two years. They keep throwing out that $7+M number but they’re not counting his almost $1M signing bonuses each year.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/reshad-jones/
I wonder how much he wants?
Anyone know?
It can’t be much more than he is getting
and if that is the case, doesn’t that make it easier to settle this?
The top paid safety annually is Eric Berry at $10,806,000. So he’s barking at an extra $2.5+M per. Only 7 other safeties are paid more.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/contracts/safety/
D says:
June 13, 2016 at 3:41 pm (Edit)
thats why i think you need to have clauses in the contract, or bonuses instead of your standard contract language (ie if we bend the rules this time, next time you try it its going to cost ya).
****
there I no clause that prevent some one from breaking
sure there c an be penalties if you breach
but there already are those clauses
and he is breaching
I think reshad is just cashing in now
I don’t know if you can expect a perennial risk (See Revis)
I think it up to the FO to either pay him or set a precedent
If it was the Steelers, they would let him sit out
I’m not sure our FO will do that though
Jones timing is pretty calculated given his great 2015 year and our lack of spending this offseason
I bet our FO pays him a little more
Tim
So bring him up to 8.5M and be done with it….lol
many teams don’t talk contracts with any player (except QBs) when there is 2 or more years left on the contract. They have to set a precedent.
But other teams do
I think maybe its worthwhile to just end this with a quick comprimise
sounds like Gronk and Edelman are gripping about their contracts as well.
Edelman I can understand, Gronk no.
Gronk:
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/contracts/tight-end/
Edelman:
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/contracts/wide-receiver/
think Gronk is already the highest paid TE isn’t he?
Guess not on Gronk
4th highest based on yearly average
but he’s not far from the top – its only 1M difference
I tend to think contract BS is part of the game now and part of the business
and I think its blows over at the end of the day
Here is a picture to help people forget about offseason drama
Reshad is an excellent player but come on man, the team sucked last year and you’re not grossly underpaid. Bad timing. How about have a great season again this year before you become a UDFA the following year. Much better chance then.
so the photo of pigs humping didn’t distract you?
GD will love this. LOL
tim,
I think Gronk wants to get paid like a receiver. I heard he skipped some of the OTAs because of it.
The game has become so specialized that position titles aren’t that defined anymore. It’s about mismatches and the players who create them. It’s something the league is going to have to deal with. Production type contracts can be tricky.
I said something like that the other night. LOL
Check this NEWS BREAK!!! We’re all going to die. There will be three choices – a heaven where everything is perfect, a hell for the bad folks, or nothing and you won’t know what is happening anymore anyway. The ultimate peace.
Not sure why people feel Reshad has no leverage considering his replacement is considerably worse in talent at the moment and would hamper the defense.
It’s a gamble of who stands to lose more. If Reshad is ok with what he’s made so far with his career earnings and is ok with paying the fine for a while, he may feel that continuing to play football is not worth it to him unless he takes a new deal now. He can walk away from the game anytime he wishes.
The Fins can’t afford to have a hole at the S position like that so it’s pretty much a gamble at this point and they would rather pay a little more im sure than deal with the headache at the position.
If they had drafted and developed players behind him, they wouldn’t need to pay for Reshad’s demands but they are in a position where a player has them where he wants them.
Here’s a dated article from PFT on holdout strategies by players.
Some of the stuff is still relevant for Reshad’s situation.
If I was Tbomb, I’d have Suh go smack the crap out of Reshad for being too greedy….Oh wait a minute..lol
Jones wants $10M per year, not sure the team breaks, but if they do he’ll get less than if he waits, so I’m OK with giving him an extension, he’s special
I see D is saying a similar thing above. I like his contract language. Jones held out before his last contract was done, so no way do I give in without it.
Jones you’re a pain in the ass, knock that shit off, if you holdout again you pay back 50% of what we paid you.
WTF!!? WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?
Piggy posts pornographic images and no one says a thing!
Those pigs are wrestling
Where is you mind pervert?
Kids or bosses might be walking by and could see that filth. This is a family sight
When it comes to NFL contracts it is all about garranteed mony. Jones has NONE left on this contract he wants “security” as if the millions he’s already made bar nothing
Yeah, that’s not it. He wants to be paying like the top safety, he did the same thing with his rookie contract. My guess is its his greedy agent.
if Rashad Jones desides that he refuses to practice or play without a big contract increase. I would go ahead and trade him. A first round pick or two second round picks.
No one is giving up that compensation and paying him $10M per year.
Those pigs are wrestling
Come on man that’s a lie and you know it
EVERYONE knows you never wrestle with a pig.
that includes pigs LOL
Rock,
Why would you trade away one of the best safeties in the league? I don’t get why everyone is so angst-ridden by this. It’s how the NFL works. Jones is a top tier player, so he wants to be paid more. So what if he misses some OTA or practices? He’s a veteran. It doesn’t matter much. Teams can cut players any time they want. Players ask for more money when they perform well. It’s the way it goes. We aren’t gonna get better by trading away our best players.
I don’t get it either, it’s something Ireland or Philbin would do.
steveccnv says:
June 13, 2016 at 10:05 pm
No one is giving up that compensation and paying him $10M per year.
Reply
I disagree I think someone would give up the compensation and pay him that type of money he’s one of the best safeties in the league
steveccnv says:
June 13, 2016 at 10:16 pm
I don’t get it either, it’s something Ireland or Philbin would do.
Reply
Wrong it’s something Bill Belichick would do
Ken, I don’t like the precedent it sets. if I was in charge I wouldn’t go she ate with him 4 more guaranteed money over a longer contract. But if he wants something stupid like 12 million a year I would trade him. he is one of the most talented players on the team and I would not want to lose him but he needs to be there running this system to be worth what he wants to get paid
*** learning this system
speech text pretty much mangled that one
** would negotiate
Not wouldn’t go she ate.
The ONLY way redoing Jones’ deal makes sense to me is if they can save more than $6 million on a new deal by getting it done now. If he gets the $10 million per year he is seeking (too much IMO), then they will have paid him an extra $6 million for the next two years ( he’s making $7 million those years). That said, if I’m negotiating the deal, I tell him “We aren’t going to renegotiate your deal until at least next offseason. If you want to sit out the season, buy a comfy chair.”
I’ve changed my stance. Jones makes things happen out there, he’s a playa. We should try to keep him happy, and if that means paying him a little more, we should do it.
If they decide to pay him fine with me, I just don’t think he’s grossly underpaid.
Not that this means much, but it surprised me a bit . . .
This from the Dolphins website, AC in the morning
Q. Andy, who’s going to start at cornerback opposite Byron Maxwell? @bridgetbay
AC: Too early to know for sure, but second-round pick Xavien Howard will get a long look as will second-year player Tony Lippett and offseason addition Ifo Expre-Olomu. This should be one of the more interesting competitions in training camp. At this exact moment, I give Lippett a slight edge.
Here’s a good write up from overthecap.com’s founder regarding these current contract issues from Reshad/Gronk.
http://overthecap.com/negotiating-better-contracts-nfl-player/
Wow, he makes a great point
Tim
I don’t think Reshad is grossly underpaid either, but I do understand why they want to cash in when they can. Like Randy said, teams can cut you when they want, so why can’t players try to make money when they’re hot. He’s a very good player for us, so I’d rather not lose him.
All of that is true.
Players under contract can try to make more money when they’re hot, but it’s the team that has the real leverage as they can just say, then don’t play, and we’ll see how many weeks you stay out.
it will potentially hurt the team if he does that
and so, even with the leverage of an active contract, the question is, is it worth it to not give up the extra $$$ to take the risk of the guy sitting out
what does the team lose by giving up a little $ as compared to what the team loses if Jones goes through with it
to me if you weight the pros and cons
giving Jones a little more $$$ wins out everytime
Steve
No doubt, the team is well within it’s rights to refuse, but I’m not sure in this case it’s worth it if they lose the player for the entire season. The team is right, and Reshad is in breach of contract, but I think he’s worth it to give in.
Randy
I don’t get why people are so upset with Jones or this either.
I think its the modern day business of the NFL and I think Jones has an opportunity to cash in now.
He’s paid well right now
I guess he has a shot at increasing that a little
and right now I don’t see him hurting the team
This issue should resolve before we know it IMO
when things like this drag on – its bc the team and player are far apart
but his demands are pretty close to what he is making anyway…lol
its impossible to be far apart
the idea that principle should be a factor is unrealistic as is precedent
a team that has refused to work with players has never prevented other players from preventing it
in fact, they probably just hurt their chances of bringing free agents in
the solution is right there for Dolphins and Jones
everyone needs to compromise a little
and everyone will go home happy if they do that
this is no time for the organization to stand on a soapbox about contracts
these parties (the teams and the players) are sophisticated enough to know everything is negotiable if you have leverage
Agreed Piggy
Tim Knight says:
June 14, 2016 at 10:06 am
If they decide to pay him fine with me, I just don’t think he’s grossly underpaid.
—-
I think the issue is one that Rock brought up yesterday and that is that he’s only guaranteed this year’s $ amount of over $7 mill. If something happens to him and he can’t play in 2017, the Fins can cut him only taking a cap hit equal to the final year of pro-rated bonus money (~950k) and not paying him $7+ mill.
Al
that’s an interesting piece about contracts
but I think the writer makes a fundamental mistake
a player who decides into a contract he wants more – is advantageous to the player and the agent
maybe agents and players have the ability to add incentives to the contracts if they hit certain goals
but why would they
what you really want is the contract your player to match the market AT THE TIME the player is playing through that contract
If you negotiate incentives, certainly, they will be set by the market at the time the contract is negotiated
instead of doing that, a player like Gronk can sign a contract 2 years ago, and then 2 years later realize he is no longer the highest paid TE and should be
and then threaten to hold out
putting pressure on the team to match the market value
its really better for the player to do things this way than to negotiate a contract with incentives to reach
if you are a player you negotiate the contract as the best ___ in football in 2013
then in 2016 you renegotiate the contract as the best ___ in football if you still are
you let the market control
but if you negotiate incentives instead
what do you think the other side does?
They lower the ceiling without incentives, that is what they do
when a player who is an elite player at the position contract falls below market value
its better for the player to renegotiate
I’m not sure what they writer is suggesting is better for the player in that article
Mike E,
Same opinion here.
If the Fins want to be a winning organization, take the steps to accommodate a star player.
There is much that we don’t know as we don’t talk to the Fins front office or to Jones agent.
And to answer Brian’s question about “only if it saves the Fins money”….a deal today is 99% most likely to be cheaper in the long run.
Look at Suh’s deal now after Fletcher Cox got more guarantee dollars yesterday in a new deal ($64 mill guaranteed). Now Cox deal has a different structure where 37 mill is fully guaranteed but 64 mill is injury protected and unless Cox is cut after 2017, he will earn the 64.
I tend to agree
if management is serious about winning – you really have to work this out
and it can’t be worked out with minimal to no harm to the team getting better
a lot of winning teams don’t though. I know the pats would laugh at jones if he came to them for a increase when he’s one of the highest paid players in his position and has 2 years left on his contract
Piggy,
I think the writer (the founder of overthecap.com) is alluding to agent gimmicks (fluffing $ on back end to grab headlines and use as a tool to recruit new clients) and that players don’t get the game and then complain when they are comparing apples to oranges (per year figures being reported on new deals instead of only looking at guaranteed $ and structure of it).
The problem I have with the Dolphins is that they look at players as cogs and they do not appear to value the soft skills stuff that winning organizations put a premium on.
You take a look at the Miami Heat and how they are run…you think Dolphins management would have kept Haslem around? No way. There are other examples but I went straight to the obvious one. As Mike E pointed out, the extra dollars here or there for a top flight player is not worth quibbling over if you want to foster a winning franchise. Winning franchises take care of their best players. Guys like OV & Miller go because they are not top 10 at their positions.
I should add that to some extent, winning franchises accommodate legends as well (guys past their prime but that their contributions to being part of a winning franchise are not ignored fully). I don’t want to go back to the whole Jason Taylor thing but that’s another example of the attitude that still lingers in the Fins FO.
Didn’t they just do that with Wake?
If you really want to look at something more in depth as to how a new deal works for a player and team, then look at this article written about Harrison Smith’s new deal.
http://overthecap.com/harrison-smith-contract-analytics/
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/one-of-cubas-best-prospects-is-reportedly-now-a-free-agent-your-team-can-sign/
************************
Would be a great fit for the Mets with Wright and Duda both out for months, possibly the season. Still, not likely Mets get into a bidding war
Tim
I think what Al means is that we haven’t taken care of players like Wake in the past
I think we did the right thing with Wake
but if I’m looking at that past, I think the Dolphins play too much musical chairs with who is best for us at the moment
I’m not sure we have turned over a new leaf in 2016
time will tell
but I have been saying the same thing as what Al is saying
try to keep your vest and bring in new blood
rather than just alternating pieces every offseason
a little bit of loyalty to the vets on the team can probablhy benefit the team on the field.
This vest?
http://3.darkroom.shortlist.com/980/cd9ea6c2ae6fdd89d9baa3c35acbd21c:364ffdea8a5079465b6d891d710f6e6a/2
I was thinking more like a sweater vest
LOL
What said yesterday about the guaranteed money being done for Jones…I don’t think that’s what’s on his mind, he or his agent played this game before. I think it’s more greed. Players with 2 years left on their contracts aren’t looking for long term security, as a reason to hold out.
We know this, because Jones has said he wants $10M per year, if he wanted security he’d have just said please extend my current rate for another 3 years.
Tim,
Yes, and hopefully it’s a trend to a new Fins direction 🙂
The new regime under Tannenbaum extended Tannehill, Pouncey and Wake the last two years. The past is the past, that’s not how they’ve conducted business recently.
time will tell
Well other players are going to become UDFAs next year and the year after so some of them are going to have to be re-signed.