[Benimar]

I think at this stage a specific thread for the Dolphins is warranted.

The events of the last few weeks have turned the Fins from a team with a shot at the playoffs in 2012 (with the right moves), to looking like the most incompetent team in the league.

As a reminder, we have missed out on Fisher, Manning, Flynn, Smith and Winston, whilst trading our best WR to Chicago for a handful of beans. The only additions have been a backup safety and David Garrard. The way we cut Bell was also fairly classless.

Unless I’m missing something, Jeff Ireland is slowly running the team into the ground and has no obvious strategic plan in place. Our offense was poor last year and with no elite QB and WR we could be even worse in 2012. Help in the draft isn’t guaranteed as our draft record isn’t exactly stellar.

We always live in hope but does hope in this instance mean we stink so bad that Ireland is fired and we get the 1st pick next year?? Bar an excellent draft we are looking at a very long season…again!

As it’s the 1st post I thought I’d include some Twitter accounts that are worth following as a Dolphins fan:

@OmarKelly
@JeffDarlington
@SiClancy (Mainly Liverpool FC but he also writes columns for the Miami Herald)

[TaosHum]

Fair play for starting this.

Yeah things are pretty awful at the moment, but in fairness they have been like this for a while. Steven Ross isn't helping matters much either.

A good draft though and things could turn around pretty quickly. A QB is a must and the guy I like most is Weeden. Grabbing him in the 2nd round would be awesome. Would certainly have a shot at starting right away.

My confidence though that Ireland can provide a good draft is non existent however.

[davyjose]

Could ba a possibility that Miami fall to the bottom and pick up Barkley next year, which is actually a best case scenario given how poor an offseason you guys are having.

As a Colts fan I'm predicting another 1st round pick and then doing a St Louis and trading a buttload of picks for 1st. We havent even got a team.

[TaosHum]

Originally Posted by davyjose

Could ba a possibility that Miami fall to the bottom and pick up Barkley next year, which is actually a best case scenario given how poor an offseason you guys are having.

As a Colts fan I'm predicting another 1st round pick and then doing a St Louis and trading a buttload of picks for 1st. We havent even got a team.

Depending on who declares, next years QB class could be stacked with Barkley, Bray, Jones, Wilson and Murray (but I doubt Murray & Bray do). I'd be surprised that if you do end up picking in the top 5, you wouldn't find a trade partner.

Have to say I do like the way your going about your business at the moment. Your off-season moves have been good and your stayed away from over-priced/over-rated guys. A couple of good drafts and you'll be contenders again in no time.

[rosskeen]

Another long suffering Dolphins fan. There are definitely issues that need to be addressed within the organisation most notably the position of Jeff Ireland as GM.

In saying that you could argue this week shenanigans and the goings on from the beginning of the off season may be a blessing in the long term. Manning's contract was unaffordable for the Dolphins in the long run and he's one hit away from the end of his career. Flynn's completely unproven at this level. There's no guaruntee he's an upgrade on Matt Moore. Time will tell.

Jeff Fisher's record as a coach hasn't set the world alight. Solid coach yes, championships (what we're trying to compete for) well he hasn't yet. Plus we'd have Gregg Williams as a defensive co-ordinator at this stage.

In saying all this we need a strong draft in order to be competitive. The defence has a lot of young players and they really need to begin to step up, Smith and Davis at cornerback especially.

The offense needs alot of work. Quarterback is an issue we might address in the draft but I'm not sure there's a franchise type quarterback available. Tannehill seems to be a bit of a project. Personally I don't want him but it mightn't be the worst thing in the world.

Wide receiver would be the primary concern at the minute. As much as I like Brian Hartline and Davone Bess they aren't a 1 and 2 type receiver. Michael Floyd might be available at 8 and he'd be my pick.

Couple of others to follow on twitter

@BenVolinPBP - Palm Beach Post beat writer, less annoying than Omar
@thephinsider - Decent Dolphins blog

Few fans with big gobs always add colour

@TheMattyI - blogger, has an opinion on everything
@phinsspotlight - another Dolphins blogger

[Benimar]

Originally Posted by rosskeen

The offense needs alot of work. Quarterback is an issue we might address in the draft but I'm not sure there's a franchise type quarterback available. Tannehill seems to be a bit of a project. Personally I don't want him but it mightn't be the worst thing in the world.

I'm not gone on any of the QBs that we have a shot at getting. Part of me believes we should just stick with Moore for this year and go all out to get an elite QB in 2013, be it through draft position or trade.

Like you, I think we need to go WR in the 1st round, and possibly take another in the lower rounds. It is a real area of weakness for us.

[TaosHum]

So with little over two weeks remaining till the draft, is everyone sold on the idea of Tannehill becoming a Dolphin? Or does anyone thing Ireland may go in another direction?

[Benimar]

Originally Posted by TaosHum

So with little over two weeks remaining till the draft, is everyone sold on the idea of Tannehill becoming a Dolphin? Or does anyone thing Ireland may go in another direction?

I think Ireland wants Tannehill. I'm not sure about him, he seems to be one of these players who have jumped up in the draft since the college season ended, so taking him at 8 might be a reach.

Also, hes only played 17 games at QB in college, so is still a 'project'. My gut says wait till next season to draft a QB.

This is Ireland though so there is no way of knowing what he's capable of doing!!

[rosskeen]

I'm certainly not sold on Tannehill and definitely not at 8. His performances against the better college defences left a lot to be desired. (Too many turnovers- if we'd wanted that we should have stuck with Henne)

Ireland has refused to overpay for quarterbacks up to this point so I'm not convinced he will draft him. No one has any idea what Ireland, Ross and Philbin are thinking. Everyone seemed convinced they'd take Flynn and they passed.

Moore and Garrard offer two solid if unspectacular starters for the next year. We can get the pieces in place now and find a quarterback next year who's the equal of Tannehill if not better.

Top priority in my mind is getting a number one wide receiver. I know Philbin likes to use his WRs in different ways but with Hartline and Bess as the 1 and 2 receivers we'd certainly struggle. And if one of them was to pick up an injury we'd struggle.

[TaosHum]

Originally Posted by rosskeen

I'm certainly not sold on Tannehill and definitely not at 8. His performances against the better college defences left a lot to be desired. (Too many turnovers- if we'd wanted that we should have stuck with Henne)

Ireland has refused to overpay for quarterbacks up to this point so I'm not convinced he will draft him. No one has any idea what Ireland, Ross and Philbin are thinking. Everyone seemed convinced they'd take Flynn and they passed.

Moore and Garrard offer two solid if unspectacular starters for the next year. We can get the pieces in place now and find a quarterback next year who's the equal of Tannehill if not better.

Top priority in my mind is getting a number one wide receiver. I know Philbin likes to use his WRs in different ways but with Hartline and Bess as the 1 and 2 receivers we'd certainly struggle. And if one of them was to pick up an injury we'd struggle.

I'd agree on Tannehill, no-way is he a top 10 pick in my book and I wasn't overally impressed with what I saw of him either. I guess though it will come down to what Mike Sherman thinks and whether he feels he can be a franchise QB. If they are sold on him and think he can be a top QB at the next level, then fair enough I can go along with it.

With news circulating that Wake may hold out unless he is given a new contract, it couldl alter the way they go in the draft. Considering we were already in need of a rusher alongside Wake, him holding out could be a disaster. Thus they might well go after Coples or Ingram at 8.

I'm not sure we have enough cap space to pay Wake what he will be asking for.

[rosskeen]

I'm not sure if the Wake situation will alter the way we look at the draft because he need another DE anyway. To let Wake get away would be suicidal. He's one of the most productive ends in the league when you include QB hits and pressures. One of our few remaining Probowl calibre players.

As I understand it there are negotiations ongoing to restructure a number of contracts including Jake Long's which would save us cap space which we need to sign draft picks and resign Wake. Wake's currently earning a ridiculously low amount and given his contribution over the last couple of years it's only right that he's rewarded.

I think drafting a DE at 8 would be a very real possibility especially the two mentioned. Once again, I'd prefer them to Tannehill.

[JaMarcus Hustle]

There are at least 7/8 better QB prospects eligible for next years draft that are superior to Tannehill. Dolphins would be mad to draft him imo. Stock up on other needs this year to add to what is already a pretty talented team, pull the trigger on a first round QB next year and you've instantly got one hell of a situation for whoever it is to step into.

[TaosHum]

Originally Posted by JaMarcus Hustle

There are at least 7/8 better QB prospects eligible for next years draft that are superior to Tannehill. Dolphins would be mad to draft him imo. Stock up on other needs this year to add to what is already a pretty talented team, pull the trigger on a first round QB next year and you've instantly got one hell of a situation for whoever it is to step into.

Even though I totally agree that there are at least 4/5 other prospects that could declare next year that are better than Tannehill, I dont think that should influence this years draft TBH.

Reason being is that Ireland is under pressure, so another poor season (and no QB in place) could spell the end of him in Miami, thus next years draft will have no interest to him. At least if he drafts Tannehill, it may convince Ross to give him another 2/3 years as to allow for Tannehill's development and to give Ireland a chance to build around him.

I'm not sure if the Wake situation will alter the way we look at the draft because he need another DE anyway. To let Wake get away would be suicidal. He's one of the most productive ends in the league when you include QB hits and pressures. One of our few remaining Probowl calibre players.

As I understand it there are negotiations ongoing to restructure a number of contracts including Jake Long's which would save us cap space which we need to sign draft picks and resign Wake. Wake's currently earning a ridiculously low amount and given his contribution over the last couple of years it's only right that he's rewarded.

I think drafting a DE at 8 would be a very real possibility especially the two mentioned. Once again, I'd prefer them to Tannehill.

Hopefully Wake and the Fins can get a deal done and with it only being April time should not be a problem. But like you said, some re-working of some other contracts is necessary, as I think the Fins only have around $6.2m left in cap space, with the draft still to come.

Even with a deal getting done with Wake, I would love to see the Fins going DE at 8. I would prefer Ingram but I think if Ireland was to go DE, it would be Coples IMO. Also think Weeden or Osweiller (who has just visited the Fins) in the 2nd would be better value than Tannehill at 8. But Osweiller would be a huge risk.

[HigginsJ]

Are all Dolphins fans completly against Matt Moore QB'ing this year. I havent seen too many Dolphins games but anytime I have seen Moore ( even in his panthers days) he has always seemed like a very capable QB.

Is Tannehill really that big of an upgrade over Moore?

If the Dolphins take Tannehill (or even have to trade up to get him) who is he going to throw the ball to. I think if a rookie QB was starting for the Phins he could struggle badly ala Gabbert for the Jags this year.

Would sticking with Moore and loading up talent on the roster not be a better suggestion?

[UnitedIrishman]

Originally Posted by HigginsJ

Are all Dolphins fans completly against Matt Moore QB'ing this year. I havent seen too many Dolphins games but anytime I have seen Moore ( even in his panthers days) he has always seemed like a very capable QB.

Is Tannehill really that big of an upgrade over Moore?

If the Dolphins take Tannehill (or even have to trade up to get him) who is he going to throw the ball to. I think if a rookie QB was starting for the Phins he could struggle badly ala Gabbert for the Jags this year.

Would sticking with Moore and loading up talent on the roster not be a better suggestion?

That's what I would've thought. Only seen him in a few games last year (including one against the Jets where he was poor enough - Revis had Marshall in his pocket all game) and he seemed decent enough.

Not brilliant but just decent enough and with Garrard now on the books, I'd imagine the biggest area of need would be WR given Marshall went for pretty much peanuts given he was their No. 1 receiver.

Surely picking up Michael Floyd would be a better option even though Philbin indicated he's unlikely to go WR first.

Edit: Also meant to say, another reason they'd be mad to go for Tannehill so early is the fact he's not all that much ahead of the rest of the pack. RGIII and Luck are top quality prospects, then there's about a draft round of difference before another QB is decent enough. Tannehill vs. very good defenses (as has been mentioned on here) has been questionable.