Dolphin Fans Assess Jeff Ireland

There has been a lot of debate on Jeff Ireland’s ability as a GM, but little in the way of real objective information that could lead to a conclusion. As a Dolphin fan I am very emotional about our team and at times I allow this to cloud my objectivity. When I feel this happening I try to get coldly analytical and look at pure data. What follows is a chart tracking every personnel move Jeff Ireland has made in his first 4 years.

 

I would like to follow this up with an article on what I think this data means, but before that I would like my fellow Dolphin fans to review the data and see what perhaps I did not correctly assess.

V=Value, in this column I placed a value on the player based on the priority they were acquired. A high dollar free agent would be a 5, a street FA would be a 1. The trade value is based on what was given up for the player. The draft value was based on the round of the selection, a number 1 draft pick would be a 5, a second would be a 4, etc. then from 5 to 7 a 1.

 

G=Grade, in this column I placed the value on how that player performed trying not to associated it with the V column so as not to cloud the data. A starter was at least a 4 and a good player was given a 5. A player that got on the field but maybe not a starter was a 3 and a player that was a poor performer was 2, etc.

 

From that point I simply subtracted the Value from the Grade and was able to get a number. Anything positive is good and anything negative is bad. I would like each of the Dolphinshout readers to take some time with this chart and discuss in the comments section what you agree or disagree with and since this is a spreadsheet, I will change it based on your consensus.

 

In the end I hope we come out with an assessment of Jeff Ireland based, not on emotion, but on the true value of his performance. This is your chance to take an objective look and allow us to come to a factual conclusion.

 

 

	GRADING JEFF IRELAND - V = VALUE, G = GRADE
	2008
V	FREE AGENT	POS	G	V	TRADE	POS	G	V	DRAFT	POS	G
1	Matt Baker	QB	1	5	Jason Ferguson	DL	5	5	Jake Long	OL	5
2	Trey Darilek	OL	2	3	Akin Ayodele	LB	3	4	Phillip Merling	DL	2
1	Junior Glymph	LB	1	5	Anthony Fasano	TE	5	4	Chad Henne	QB	3
2	Joey Thomas	CB	2					3	Kendall Langford	DL	4
1	David Kircus	WR	2					3	Shawn Murphy	OL	2
1	Sean Ryan	TE	1					2	Jalen Parmele	RB	2
5	Ernest Wilford	WR	2					2	Donald Thomas	OL	3
3	Charlie Anderson	LB	2					1	Lex Hilliard	RB	3
3	Josh McCown	QB	2					1	Lionel Dotson	DL	2
5	Justin Smiley	OL	3
5	Randy Starks	DL	5
3	Reggie Torbor	LB	3
2	Boomer Grigsby	FB	2
1	Keith Davis	S	1
1	Dave Rayner	K	1
2	Nathan Jones	CB	2
1	Tab Perry	WR	1
3	Chris Crocker	S	3
2	Will Billingsley	S	2
3	Steve McKinney	OL	2
5	Yeremiah Bell	S	5
4	Greg Camarillo	WR	4
3	Patrick Cobbs	RB	3
3	Michael Lehan	CB	3
3	Ike Ndukwe	OL	3
65			58	13			13	25			26
	SCORE	-7			SCORE	0			SCORE	1
	2009
V	FREE AGENT	POS	G	V	TRADE	POS	G	V	DRAFT	POS	G
2	Tearrius George	LB	2	4	Tony McDaniel	DL	4	5	Vontae Davis	CB	4
1	Ethan Kilmer	S	1					4	Pat White	QB	1
4	Cameron Wake	LB	5					3	Sean Smith	CB	4
5	Gibril Wilson	S	2					3	Patrick Turner	WR	1
3	Joe Berger	OL	2					2	Brian Hartline	WR	4
5	Jake Grove	OL	3					2	John Nalbone	TE	2
4	Eric Green	CB	1					2	Chris Clemons	S	3
1	Jy Bond	P	1					1	Andrew Gardner	OL	3
3	Jason Taylor	DL	4					1	J. D. Folsom	LB	1
4	Yeremiah Bell	S	4
5	Vernon Carey	OL	3
4	Channing Crowder	LB	3
3	Quentin Moses	LB	2
2	Ike Ndukwe	OL	1
46			34	4			4	23			23
	SCORE	-12			SCORE	0			SCORE	0
	2010
V	FREE AGENT	POS	G	V	TRADE	POS	G	V	DRAFT	POS	G
5	Karlos Dansby	LB	4	5	Brandon Marshall	WR	4	5	Jared Odrick	DL	4
3	Richie Incognito	OL	4	2	Pat McQuistan	OL	2	4	Koa Misi	LB	4
3	Cory Procter	OL	2					3	John Jerry	OL	3
1	Montavious Stanley	DL	1					2	A. J. Edds	LB	2
1	Marques Douglas	DL	1					2	Nolan Carroll	CB	3
1	Charles Grant	DL	1					2	Reshad Jones	S	3
2	Bobby Carpenter	LB	1					1	Chris McCoy	OLB	1
1	Clifton Smith	KR	1					1	Austin Spitler	ILB	1
1	Jeron Mastrud	TE	2
18			17	7			6	20			21
	SCORE	-1			SCORE	-1			SCORE	1
	2011
V	FREE AGENT	POS	G	V	TRADE	POS	G	V	DRAFT	POS	G
1	Pat Devlin	QB	1					5	Mike Pouncey	OL	5
4	Kevin Burnett	LB	3					4	Daniel Thomas	RB	3
2	Jason Trusnik	LB	2					2	Edmond Gates	WR	3
1	Ronald Fields	DL	1					2	Charles Clay	TE	3
3	Marc Colombo	OL	1					1	Frank Kearse	DL	1
3	Jason Taylor	DL	4					1	Jimmy Wilson	CB	3
1	Kevin O'Connell	QB	1
1	Ray Willis	OL	1
1	David Nixon	LB	1
1	John Matthews	WR	1
1	Tyler Donohue	OL	1
2	Larry Johnson	RB	2
1	Gerald Alexander	S	1
2	Will Yeatman	TE	2
2	Dante Rosario	TE	2
3	Will Allen	CB	3
3	Igor Olshansky	DL	3
2	Steve Slaton	RB	2
3	Matt Moore	QB	4
1	K.J. Gerard	CB	1
1	Marvin Mitchell	LB	1
2	Ryan Cook	OL	2
2	Nate Jones	CB	2
43			42					15			18
	SCORE	-1							SCORE	3
	TOTAL FREE AGENT				TOTAL TRADE				TOTAL DRAFT
	SCORE	-21			SCORE	-1			SCORE	5
					TOTAL SCORE	-17

 

So Who Are The Fools?

Once the Free Agency period kicked in, so did the talk about how stupid the Dolphins Management and owner is. We heard past and present day players bash Ireland. We saw a small group of fans picketing at the Davie complex. While most of us listened, watched, and read what the sports media reported. They reported half truths and did there usual sensationalized stories about things they knew little of.

When Warren Sapp reported that Joey Porter, Channing Crowder and Ryan Clark felt that no players wanted to deal or play for the Dolphins. Did the NFL Network check into why those players would say that after 2 of them were cut from the team and the other player (Clark) was turned away, because the Dolphins felt he was using them to get a larger contract with the Steelers.

Then we had the dealings with Peyton Manning where he never met with the Dolphins at the Davie complex. At the end of last year Ross said he would pursue a Franchise QB. Shortly there after Mannings Camp let it out that he would be willing to play for less money, so Ross and Ireland went after him because he was after all willing pay for less, and the Dolphins only had about 15 million dollars in cap space to get him. When it was clear that Manning wanted to be the highest paid QB in the league, Manning looked at the cap space Miami had and ruled the Dolphins out of the picture. The media was right there at that time to once again bash Ireland and Ross over something they had no control over.

None of this excuses Ross for the way he handled the search to replace Tony Sparano after the 2010 season. That made the team look like we were under the Big Top of a PT Barnum Circus. Well let me tell you, Ross and Ireland are not alone.

After years of success Robert Irsay and his cronies has turned the Colts into the new Circus Masters. In one year they went from winning 10 games to winning 2. Their owner has taken to twitter and made a fool of himself. He insulted his QB that led his team to a Super Bowl win and countless playoff wins. RG3 will not give him a private workout because he doesn't want to play for the Colts and Irsay.

Then we have the Jets. Who have a QB problem and are trying to make it go away. Just like Ross did with TS the Jets are doing to Sanchez. They extend his contract and then trade for Tebow. Their clubhouse is a mess. The locker room as taken the lead from its HC. Making bold claims that they can't backup. That has led to players not only taking shots at each other in the locker room but on the field as well.

We will know take a look at the Cardinals another team that needed Peyton Manning. If you want to look at a team that is mismanaged they could take the cake. They went after Manning when they were millions of dollars over the cap limit. They signed Kevin Kolb earlier to a huge contract for a player with hardly any experience for the contract he signed. Not unlike what the Dolphin fans wanted Miami to do with Matt Flynn. How did that turn out for the Cardinals?

Seattle signed Matt Flynn for 3 years and $28 million and they are still looking to grab a QB. As their HC raves about having Flynn under contract, why are they looking for a QB early in the draft ? They can pick up someone later in the draft to develop.

I won't even touch the New Orleans Saints and the Bounty. Nor will talk about Spygate that helped the Patriots to 3 SB wins.

Now if you think the Miami Dolphins are alone on the train of stupidity I can assure you the Cabose is full of mistakes that have been made by the Owners and General Managers in the NFL.