Sentinel: Fins spending nearly 2X on Defense

[jlfin]

Based on what? Are there any statistics that you can provide or is it just your opinion? I remember one of the reasons we got Burnett is to get a LB that can cover TE's.

Can you provide stats to prove otherwise? He has always been considered a very good all around LB a solid cover LB and never considered a liability in the passing game. That's why he was so coveted when he became a FA. I'm too busy to look up stats, it s not my thing. This site is purely entertainment for me. I have a real life outside of Finheaven.

[Dolph N.Fan]

8.5 million for one of the best linebackers in the league who is the leader of our defence and is playing great is fine.

Dansby is constantly underappreciated on this forum.

Probably cause he's getting paid way more with Miami than he did in Arizona except he left all his playmaking ability in the desert. Miami didn't sign Dansby to just be solid. They signed him to be the turnover creating linebacker he was in Arizona. Could be just one little reason why he's "under appreciated"...you know when he signed that big contract Dolphins fans had high expectations for him.

[Spesh]

I don't think it is a "no-brainer that Richard Marshall has to be released at this point of the offseason, or at all. A $5.8 million cap hit for Marshall is high for this upcoming season, I agree with that, but that was also part of how the free agent market works. Players always get overpaid to be able to secure their rights. It is why a guy like Mike Wallace is going to be getting a $10+ million a year contract when his playing worth doesn't match that cost, just how free agency works. The Dolphins currently have $44 million in cap space and a cap savings of only $3.4 million at this point is not really needed.

Marshall is an above average cornerback and he had some respectable seasons with the Cardinals and Panthers before signing here. He got hurt here last season, that happens to players during their career. It wasn't like the Dolphins signed an injury plagued cornerback since he hadn't missed a game his previous 7 NFL seasons. If Smith doesn't re-sign or get the franchise tag and you cut Marshall to save $3.4 million, that leaves the Dolphins with Dimitri Patterson and Nolan Carroll as the top two cornerbacks. Granted the Dolphins can sign and draft replacements, but why create another hole just to save a few million when the team already is loaded with space? If you sign free agent cornerbacks and draft some who can replace Marshall than you can make a decision to cut or trade him.

Its the attitude of "its not needed" that prevents us from making any moves 3 years from now. Nothing happens in a vacuum. I know many like to pretend Irelands last offseason was brilliant because he was able to sign players even without any cap space, but the fact of the matter is we had no cap space because we screwed the pooch in years past. While you may have to overpay to get certain players, you have to accurately view the situation. You cant pay top dollar to a player who is undeserving of that contract. Not to mention Marshall was somewhat of a luxury signing, as we already had better corners on the team...until we made room for Irelands free agent. If that $3.4 million were to prevent us from signing, say, Jennings or Wallace, suddenly its very needed and has a very real impact. Just because that impact is delayed 3 years from now doesnt mean its not felt.

He got cut from the Panthers and the Cardinals let him walk. Keep in mind, the Cardinals let him walk after he played at least part of the season at a position better suited to his talents: safety. As the Panthers had been slowly building back up their defense(and now offense) and the Cardinals are completely rebuilding, that neither team wanted him back is telling. Its easy to say Marshall had a bad year because he got injured, but even before his injury he was a liability. Between regular season and preseason, he played in 8 games(7 if you want to discount the final preseason game, which he played but not for long). He wasnt good. Anyway you want to cut it, he was adequate at best...and thats a bit of a exaggeration.

Even if we keep him, we still have a hole at corner. You cant keep bad players just to have a roster spot taken. There are to many decent players just waiting for a chance to play to justify holding onto a bad player. The fact that those players would not be asking for $6 million a year is also incentive to get rid of him. And holding onto Marshall just because you absolutely screwed up in the past(example: trading Vontae, relying on Smith) is the epitome of idiocy. Its making a bad situation worse. Ireland screwed up with signing Marshall to that big a deal. Continuing to pay bad players in order to save face is one of the reasons we keep losing.