So far in 2017 FA, the Dolphins have followed their edict of keeping their own players. They have reportedly signed 2 of the key UFA’s, DE Andre Branch, and WR Kenny Stills. Exact contract details have yet to be released, although Branch was said to have signed a 3 YR contract worth $27M. Stills contract is also unknown, but guessed to be a 4 YR/$32M deal at $8M per year. Not crazy money at all for a player who was a big play guy for us.
It’s a good thing when you follow your plan, and get it done. Give the Dolphins credit. Both players seem genuinely happy to be in Miami, which is a great sign for the Miami Dolphins franchise. This is now a franchise that is a destination of choice, not just the $$$. I’m hoping the very next move, or at least one of the next moves is re-signing TE Dion Sims. Sure, we traded for TE Julius Thomas, but he’s not a blocking TE. We need Sims back.
We have scheduled to meet with former Steelers FA ILB Lawrence Timmons. Not sure I get signing a 31 YO 3-4 ILB, but Timmons is a durable, very solid player. Obviously, he’d be an upgrade, but I think it’s time to draft some LB’s. I won’t hate the move, because he’s a very good player, but I can’t say I’ll agree with it. I’m curious to see how long a contract they offer the 31 YO, maybe they have young LB’s in mind who may not be ready to rumble in ’17. We’ll have to see what goes down here.
Oh, on a sad note, we don’t have our regular 3rd or 4th RD picks in this draft.
Google Carroo . . . .
GO DOLPHINS!
Finsmob Unleashed 
Rock,
We signed Fasano! Lol
Mike E. says:
March 10, 2017 at 3:20 pm
Yessir! The franchise is turning things around
Reply
well we’ve been saying that for years
Let’s hope this year they stopped turning at 180 degrees instead of continuing on the full 360 degrees like they have in the past! 😉
Tim,
I was just joking around. You’re absolutely right in that it’s all about results. Gase has to keep this team going to the playoffs at the end of the year. Build a team that is a consistent playoff contending team and not just a one-and-done. I like most of what Gase has shown so far, but I’m not sold yet. He needs to get bettter from here. Last year should be just step one. I want to see it for a few years.
***
Hell, I thought Saban was gonna take us to multiple Super Bowls and thought he was a fantastic hire! Asshole screwed us! Missed that one completely.
I get it. Gase knows it too. He’s a no nonsense type of guy. You don’t win you suck.
dbolt48 says:
March 10, 2017 at 12:59 pm
Yep…18 spot flip for him.
A toaster and a coffee maker
That was a classic😂
Tim Knight says:
March 10, 2017 at 6:01 pm
Well Thomas and Turner must be dead rats then. LOL
Reply
So many physical gifts Turner had….and he wasted it. I really missed on him!
I don’t think either were that passionate about the game. Very laid back, hey there’s more to the world type vibes. And that’s fine, but it sucked for the Phins.
That pressed after the titans game😂 I honestly think Gase was about to Ole Yeller them.
He basically did.
Son,
I agree. All this works if tannehill can lead us to the playoffs again. It really is still about the QB
Patriots got Cooks and I don’t give a💩
Now you know why we want more corners.
Again, they basically got him for a second round pick, when the saints all along were wanting a solid first. They get a former 1st rounder, who now has 3 years of experience, and has led the team in receiving each year. They give up a late first (practically a second) and what amounts to a 15 spot trade back in the 4th. lol. Fuck that team.
LMAO!!!!
Yeah Thomas actually was the better talent, Turner had the nastier disposition, but both of them were just not passionate about being pro’s. Really sad on both their parts, both were loaded with physical gifts.
BoulderPhinfan says:
March 10, 2017 at 7:40 pm
Son,
I agree. All this works if tannehill can lead us to the playoffs again. It really is still about the QB
Again? But Tannehill hasn’t led us to the playoffs yet. Matt Moore did. I’ve read that HERE on this blog……
My asshole brother (non-fan) says to me yesterday, while we were shooting the shit and the Dolphins came up, “yeah, yeah, yeah, Didn’t Tony Saprano win more games his first year? Didn’t I hear all you Dolphins fans talking about how great you were going to be now that Fat Tuna was in charge?”
First, let me go on record (and it is well documented in the archives) that I NEVER liked the Parcells hire in any way and was vehemently against it) but the little fucker (my brother) got me thinking about fools gold and questioning if Gase really is the man and if he can sustain success.
Damn him! He deserved every Indian burn, noogy, wedgy, swirly, wet willy and charlie horse I ever gave him!
It’s going to be in the back of our minds until we consistently win. I am just going day by day for now and the Fa so far has been good days.
We don’t know what will happen next year
But we know that every sip of beer will be exceptional taking it in
I’m be always been a Brandon Cooks fan
Tonight I’m drinking to his Achilles bursting
😂
Piggy,
I was thinking the same thing after I saw all the Patriots moves- they will need some major injuries to be stopped this year.
D says:
March 10, 2017 at 3:21 pm
Mike E. says:
March 10, 2017 at 3:13 pm
I was thinking about the Pats trade for TE Dwayne Allen, and it makes me wonder why they didn’t just draft a TE. This is supposed to be such a deep TE draft, and yet they traded for one. Seems odd
————————————
What it really makes me think Mikey, is that Gronk is pretty bad off. Allen makes sense if you are having to potentially enter the season minus Gronk, and they were pretty sure Bennett was going to price himself outside what they wanted to pay for him. So they basically had 0 true vet starting caliber players. Belichick doesnt like leaving shit up to chance so i doubt he wanted to, even if its a stud, go into the season without a known commodity.
*
I think that it is definitely that, but they also know Brady doesn’t have many years left. The trades for solid , of not spectacular veterans and their FA signings show me that the want experience on their team, and they don’t want to wait for young guns to develop. If they drafted a TE he would likely need time to develop, and they don’t want to have to spend a year or so waiting for that to happen. They are making moves to win now.
Rock,
In regards to Gase vs Sparano…Gase won w/his offensive schemes and true strategies. It wasn’t by manufacturing offense through a gimmick (WC). We literally had one of the worst offensive lines in the league this year and we were able to line up in traditional formations and run the ball which we struggled to do under Sparano, outside his final season.
Bingo. People tend to forget that the whole reason why we ran the Wildcat was because our OL was so terrible in the first two games that season.
Yep, we also had an easy schedule. Also the quarter to quarter adjustments you see from Gase vs Sparano is night and day.
That first loss to the Patriots this year is a perfect example, by the end of that game you saw Bill & Matt Patricia’s heads spinning because they had no answer for Gases adjustments. Even in that 2nd game when Miami was mounting a comeback prior to Williams fumble.
Yep
Something is going to eventually have to wrong for the Patriots. Right? Please?
We have to worry about getting better, not just to beat the Patriots, but everyone else. Just keep improving, keep bringing in talent. That’s all we can do at this point. Fate will eventually fuck the Patriots.
I can guarantee you we’re drafting a safety in this draft. Not sure where, but it’s happening
I think we go Safety in the 1st or 2nd.
LMFAO @ “google Caroo”1
I had an emotionally brutal week at work. Couldn’t really enjoy free agency that much to tell you the truth.
Mike,
You mean time Will eventually f the pats. I mean Brady won’t be playing at 50 and belicheat will retire at some point. Then maybe we can win the division again. Until then wild card is the best we can hope for.
Mike,
Obi Melifonwu looks really good. He was a solid pick before the combine (probably 2nd round), and he’s sure to rocket into the 1st now . He should be there when we pick, although I think there will be an early run on safeties.
Rock,
I think we would have made the playoffs with tannehill last year if hadn’t been injured. The playoffs appearance was tannys. Now let’s do it again this year.
I hope we get a starting caliber guard in the draft. Oh and another linebacker
I think we need to add Safety to that as well, albeit it’s not as important.
I had targeted Obi Wan the safety early on and am a little sorry he jumped out of the gym cuz i thought we could get him at 97 then but now we’d be lucky if he is still there at 54. I still want him but since we signed Nate Allen i’m not sure we need a first round safety.
Hey for depth and a “heavy package” how about we bring back Paul Soliai and Tony McDaniel? I loved those guys when we had them and they are not THAT old now. Big Paulie is 6’5 345 @ 33 y/o and would be immovable at 3rd and short or 4th and goal. Big Mac is 6’7 305 and adept at slapping passes away at the line. He’s only 32. Neither looks done physically.
btw I am loving our new TE group. Fasano is a great blocker with very clean hands and Thomas is very athletic and just needs a friendly scheme to shine in to overcome never playing college football.
At OG I think there are 4 I like but the first might be gone. My fave is in the second round to take Dorian Johnson 6’5 300 out of Pitt, with no fat he could put on 10-15 pounds easy. Pulls well with a powerful punch. He’s a plug and play 10 yr starter. Very Good football IQ.
In the 3rd there is Asiata that I like almost as well.
He’s got some huge mitts, and long arms too. Only 21 in the BP will be failed by Son of a Son though . . .
long arms make the bench a tough lift…but I’d love a guard who can reach and hold. That is the Patriot’s Way.
“Help us Obi Meli Fonwu!” “You’re our only hope!”
Sorry for repeating that, I just LOVE IT!
LMFAO!! I didn’t catch that the first time!
Bri
hard to say with Obi – He definitely might last to the 2nd, but if there’s a run on safeties, you might be right, he may go late 1st or early 2nd. I would love to draft him though
The kid has skills AND id a physical freak. He’s freaking 6’4″!
I know man, and I’ve wanted a big safety here for a while. I wanted George Iloka a few years ago, and he turned out pretty good. I wanted Barry Church, but he went to JAX. I would have taken a look at Jon Cyprien and TJ McDonald too, but we already signed Nate Allen
Naples
Look at Alan Branch in NE playing his best football last year at 32 YO. Those old vets can get it done for you if used properly.
If we need a run stopper on short-yardage, Soliai could do that to take some of the hits off Phillips and keep him fresh to rush the passer. And McDaniel could spell Suh with not so much drop off in quality experience. He started a bunch of games for Seatlle in their best playoff years.
Boulder
I don’t know if it’s time, or just the odds leveling out, but the Patriots are going to have to take a fall. It can’t always work out for them, although it certainly has for quite some time.
I apologize, but I have to vent to you guys. I had a really rough week at work. One of my students came to me that was suicidal, one of my colleagues revealed to me that she has melanoma, a gay student of mine was crying to me about how he has been discriminated against, and one of my students was arrested for murder. Real tough week for me as all of this happened in the last two days.
Oh man, that is rough. What did you do for the suicidal student? Did you make sure they got in touch with someone?
Yeah, we talked for a while, and I asked if she’s considered therapy. She said yes, but her mom won’t take her. Sadly, that is indicative of the majority of my students’ parents- uninvolved and inattentive. I asked her if she wanted to see our school psychologist and maybe set something up once a week and she said yes. She was just crying out for help. A lot of my students knew the kid who was arrested for murder, so they were pretty upset about that as well.
I’m also a little surprised about the gay student. Kids seem to be so accepting these days. Sucks though.
Not up where I work. Small town mentality with most of the towns around there. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but my school has students from 15 different school districts that come to us.
Brian — obviously there is a real problem when talk of suicide comes up, but if it helps any males are far more to actually follow threw on it than males. Know that is sexist but the stats show that even when an “attempt” is made males complete the act like 50% of the time while women five or ten. And males are more likely not to talk about it before they try.
^ sorry…..males more like than “females”
Man Brian — if there was ever a a couple days to throw you for a loop. That those two students chose to come to you is a real testament to you as a teacher and as a person.
Thank you. To boot, I have some personal shit I’m dealing with as well, so it’s been a rough few days.
Bri
Who was the student accused of killing? Sheesh. That’s some deep stuff to deal with
It was over drugs. Someone most of the kids knew from their town. It goes pretty deep. Hardest kids I have were pulling me aside to talk about it and tearing up. I’m just glad I could be there for them.
Damn, that’s tough. God bless you man, good thing the kids have you to lean on, that’s a special thing right there.
Brian … hey man it’s great that you are there for them and that they look up to you so much that they will tell you stuff. And you seem to be saying/doing all the right things.
I have been absent here for some rough times myself. My son came down to go to his best friend’s (like a half-son to me) wedding and the kid’s father died 2 days before the wedding. I’ve known the guy for 25 yrs and he just went down the last year so fast and then he was just gone.
Thank Naples.
Geez. I’m sorry to hear that. It really gives you a sense of your own mortality.
yeah at my age, mortality is not philosophical
Naples — always tough, but especially with that timing.
Ok, so, after I just brought the blog down, I’m going to run and get some things done. Gotta keep my mind busy. Go Dolphins!
You’re like Bill Belichick, depressing Dolphins fans everywhere. lol
Wow Naples, that’s awful. Ah, very sad
naplesfan2010 says:
March 11, 2017 at 10:31 am (Edit)
yeah at my age, mortality is not philosophical
******************
Not sure how old you are, but I feel the same way bud, unfortunately . . .
We are probably listed last for a reason…..but wouldn’t bringing Poe on board give us close to the best DL in the NFL?
—————————–
Jason La Canfora@JasonLaCanfora
Dontari Poe in high demand. Visits Colts Sun, JAX, ATL, OAK and MIA wants visits as well. If Indy doesn’t come correct he’ll be traveling
That would be a pretty wild sign for us. Only thing that comes to mind is, how much can you pay for 1 position? I would think we would easily have the highest at DT, probably by a huge margin. It would be nice to know Jordan Phillips could be that guy
We sign Poe and bet you we would see a lot of 5-2 sets or maybe more Suh at DE. Only way think you could justify the money and a 2nd at DT.
Poe seems a little slow for my tastes, but the man can stuff the run for sure. I’d be satisfied with him as rotation all day long.
At DT my fave FA is Bennie Logan from Philly. 2nd is Hankins out of NY Giants.
https://finsmobunleashed.com/2017/02/09/a-look-at-free-agency-part-ii/
We were talking about it yesterday, but if they do want Poe to visit would be a sign we do have another DT coming our way…even if maybe in the 5th.
Stanger
In theory, Poe would unleash Suh, and that could be fun to watch.
We’d also have the DT tandem with the least amount of letters, Poe and Suh. lol
lol….that’s got be worth an extra mil a year to make it happen. And heck yeah that would be fun to watch. If Poe comes though….my guess he is the run down guy and Phillips goes on the diet Randy wanted.
Instead of concentrating on Gase and what the team is building, Nate Allen gave some props to the factor the Phins have had going for a long time.
“I’d rather be in a more comfortable place where I’m happy and my family’s happy than the dollar signs. At this point in my career, I want to enjoy where I’m playing.”
Ted Larsen too.
“Coming back to Florida, I’ve got two kids and my wife and we’re going to able to enjoy living near the water. We’re going to take advantage of that. For me that’s awesome. Everglades. Biscayne Bay. Being able to enjoy that with my children is really important. Hunting, fishing, paddleboarding, I do really enjoy. And that’s one of the things I’ve missed, the fishing.”
Brian, that’s a lot of tough stuff you had to deal with. You’re a good man being there for all of them.
Naples, sorry to hear about your loss. I hear ya about mortality.
BoulderPhinfan says:
March 11, 2017 at 9:32 am
Mike,
You mean time Will eventually f the pats. I mean Brady won’t be playing at 50 and belicheat will retire at some point. Then maybe we can win the division again. Until then wild card is the best we can hope for.
€£¥₩
What kind of defeatist attitude is that!?! You think like that in a fight and you lose before you start. If they can’t beat the Pats in their prime, Miami isn’t worth a shit.
BoulderPhinfan says:
March 11, 2017 at 9:35 am
Rock,
I think we would have made the playoffs with tannehill last year if hadn’t been injured. The playoffs appearance was tannys. Now let’s do it again this year.
Boulder, I agree. I was just being shitty to the “haters”
Stanger
Are you implying that us dummies who haven’t yet moved to FLA ought to?
LOL — maybe that is one for all the people in my building who before lived in NJ and NY to answer. 🙂
More seriously, there are reasons why people retire here. Understand job, family and such ties. But see how you view it when you are ready to retire and can choose wherever…..taxes and property values by themselves might be more important than weather.
This is my first “Post FA / holes filled Mock Draft. I went purely BPA. Whomever was at the top of the “board” I drafted. I cannot believe Howard fell from the #4 ranked player to #22!!! I could not pass. If the draft worked out for us this way I would be pissing myself and would not even care enough to change my drawers.
1: R1P22 TE O.J. HOWARD ALABAMA
2: R2P22 LB JARRAD DAVIS FLORIDA
3: R3P33 C ETHAN POCIC LSU
4: R5P22 EDGE EJUAN PRICE Pittsburgh
5: R5P34 DL DEANGELO BROWN LOUISVILLE
6: R5P40 S JOSH JONES NC STATE
7: R7P5 LB BEN GEDEON MICHIGAN
8: R7P22 CB DWAYNE THOMAS LSU
come on, no comments?
Watching a little bit of Larson and I see why the FO might like him as a RG starter. Comes from Chicago who ran a variation of Gases offense. He gets on LBs quickly as hell and seems pretty strong.
Pats made some uncharacteristic big splashy moves. Not sure what to make of that
Think they are are trying to make the most out of the Brady years. At the same time, really hoping the Browns don’t see Garoppolo as their QB to build their future on. Hoping they go Cousins instead.
Redskins are not trading Cousins
He’s still going to be a FA next year though, and will be seasoned plenty. Or maybe some other guy.
G FORREST LAMP
WESTERN KENTUCKY
54: R2P22
EDGE JORDAN WILLIS
KANSAS STATE
97: R3P33
EDGE DEREK RIVERS
YOUNGSTOWN STATE
166: R5P22
CB CORN ELDER
MIAMI (FLA.)
178: R5P34
LB BEN GEDEON
MICHIGAN
184: R5P40
TE GEORGE KITTLE
IOWA
223: R7P5
WR TRENT TAYLOR
LOUISIANA TECH
240: R7P22
LB HARDY NICKERSON
Man, I like mine much better. I picked up Gedeon in the 7th round!
I think we must have used different boards 😆. In regards to yours I worry about Davis staying healthy. I’m not a huge fan of Pocic, though he does have his fans. I worry about how Price will transfer over in the pro’s.
Really in mine, I just value Lamp so much in this draft….he’s my top OL. Then after that I prioritized 2 edge rushers to develop. It was a toss up between Rivers and LB Elija Lee for me.
If I was CLE, or any other GM, and I needed a QB, and I wanted Garoppolo, I wouldn’t give up any more than a 3rd RD pick for him. He hasn’t even thrown 100 passes in the NFL, and he played in the NE offense, where every QB looks better than they really are. WAKE UP NFL GM’s!
Nice article
http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2017/03/11/before-blasting-an-nfl-contract-as-ridiculous-consider-isa-abdul-quddus/
Definitely an excellent article.
Does make you think about the players you talk about as pieces on a game board..
dbolt48 says:
March 11, 2017 at 12:54 pm
I think we must have used different boards 😆. In regards to yours I worry about Davis staying healthy. I’m not a huge fan of Pocic, though he does have his fans. I worry about how Price will transfer over in the pro’s.
Honestly I don’t know much of anything about any of them except for what I read on here and other sites starting around free agency. LOL
I just used fan speaks Big Board and drafted the guy at the top of the board every round. they all had much better grades than the position I drafted them in so I figured it was a good draft. LOL. Besides I recognized a lot of the names so that means you guys have been talking about them. I am not a college football fan or even a football fan that matter. I am a Miami Dolphins fan.
😂
Looking like Branch is actually getting $8 mil per year. And least Sportstrac says the cap hit in 2017 is $5 mil.
————–
Multiple reports pegged the Andre Branch deal in Miami as being worth $27 million over three years. Per a source with knowledge of the deal, the base value is $24 million. The difference may not seem like much, but it’s a full million when looking at the average per year, making an $8 million deal look like a $9 million contract.
He gets $6 million to sign, a $2.9 million fully-guaranteed base salary in 2017, a $7.9 million fully-guaranteed base salary in 2018, and a non-guaranteed $6.9 million base salary in 2019. Throw in $100,000 in annual workout bonuses, and the total is $24 million.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/03/11/andre-branch-actually-gets-24-million-over-three-plus-incentives/
Mike E. says:
……Fate will eventually fuck the Patriots.
———
The Pets have been doing this shit for nearly 20 years, fate ain’t doing squat. These guys either made a deal with the devil, or they have blackmail pictures of God naked and doing the nasty with Courtney Love.
Hopefully Belicheat will retire sometime in the next decade.
Somebody needs to get Bill Belicheat a date or a hooker, if he discovers sex maybe he’ll give up this whole football thing.
R7P22 was traded Rock but I like your selections
And yeah I like yours better than DBolts lol. Sorry DBolt. 🙂
Eat a Penis 👍😂
This is horrible!
@MoveTheSticks: Getting a bunch of texts from scouts at UW & it sounds like Sidney Jones suffered a significant lower leg injury. Feel terrible for him.
DBolt I’d be worried more about Davis than Anzalone, but Davis should fully recover, I just don’t know if he is 100% ready by OTAs. I think he will before TC but probably at best
Honestly I like Anzalone as a player more than Davis. Both guys injury history scares me. Davis also scared me in the fact when he plays in a game where his DL goes against an OL of equal or greater talent he gets neutralized pretty easy.
I like Davis the athlete and his twitch of nastiness…but I question his natural instincts and his ability to get off blocks….many which he runs into by his own doing.
I am so glad we re-signed Branch. This article show what kind of person he is:
http://www.miamidolphins.com/news/article-1/Dolphins-Are-Like-Family-To-Branch/4ecb1338-c2fb-4a00-b5f7-96143bd46d5d
Read that earlier. Good to see he lives a pretty modest life and just wants to take care of his mother
I’m not as high on Lamp as you as DBolt. I think he is a top OL prospect but I have several players I’d take over him at 22. However if he was BPA I’d feel fine selecting him there unless I could get a trade back, because i think you could still get him later
That’s fine….in all honesty my theory is DE & LB is good quality through 3rounds, while I’m not as high on the OG depth. I think Lamp also has separated himself from on all the other OG’s. Now if we signed another starter at OG in FA I could possibly go a different direction.
Not at all scared of Anzalone’s injury history. It’s completely blown out of proportion. Davis’ is a little more concerning to me but again only if we need him to start day 1. If not then his would be OK as well.
Did you know that the year Anzalone graduated HS he was the number 2 LB recruit in the nation? Just behind Jaylon Smith, and just ahead of Jonathan Allen who I guess was a LB in HS.
He was a pretty good running back also. Similar to when L. Arrington came out of high school
Anzalone as a pure player is someone I love as a LB. Can play all 3 spots, but it’s his play recognition and little thing like locking out OL with his arms so he can make the play.
I think his play recognition is pretty good. Might need polish but it’s about as good as most the top guys this year. They all have touches of inconsistency. Even Cunningham who I think is possibly the top play recognition guy this year
Yep.
I think OG is pretty deep as well. It’s a good draft for us. Need positions are deep talent positions
Right now OG I don’t know how good I feel about that. I have a feeling that we’re going to see a big run on interior lineman early due to some of the recent FA contracts which is why I don’t feel comfortable waiting until RD3. Like I said though, if we get one more FA OG who can be a quality starter then I’d be more comfortable.
What I do like about Lamp is that he is one of the nastiest guys in the draft. He has a lot of Richie in him
Just whips whoever is put in front of him.
I like Lamp a lot as well. Wouldn’t mind him at 22 at all.
Feel bad for the kid.
That’s harsh. At the same time leaves me thinking what round he will go. We could take him with say the comp pick in third even if he is not ready till 2018.
We have come a long way!
No more tray abuse!
“doesn’t rain as much in South Florida as it used too”
I just don’t think we need to spend a first-round pick on a guard we don’t need it all first round pick offensive line
It’s still a big need, and if the right player is there, just like any other position of need, we’ll take the best one. If that’s Forrest Lamp, so be it.