-by Dave Gray

Zach Thomas is involved in what seems like every play. He’s all over the field. He’s recorded over 1400 tackles in his ten year career with the Dolphins. He’s been to six Pro Bowls, tied for the most in club history, and the most for any defensive Dolphin.

Jason Taylor is a beast at defensive end. Quarterbacks fear him. He’s recorded over 90 sacks in his career and has been selected to the Pro Bowl five times. He makes the man that plays at the other end of the link look like a superstar.

Both are fan favorites. Both are phenomenal.

And that’s why we have to get rid of them.

If you haven’t “X”ed the window yet, hear me out. This team has problems…big ones. It’s not the QB. It’s not the play calling. It’s not coaching. We have bad players at key positions. Our sexy positions are filled – we have big names at skill positions. We are essentially a fantasy football team. However, we lack the talent on the offensive line and secondary to win. We just don’t have the players. And without those two areas functioning, it doesn’t matter who else you have.

We’ve done some things to improve here and there. We took Jason Allen. If he pans out, they say he’ll be able to play both corner and safety. …unfortunately, not at the same time. We brought in Hudson Houck to coach the O-line, who’s been able to mold these guys a little bit, but really, how much can he do? Do you think they’re just going to have it click one day, “Oh, I’m not supposed to let this defensive lineman bowl me over? I’m supposed to push him back? Thanks, coach!” We need better players. …and not just one or two; we need to completely revamp the areas of offensive line and secondary in order to succeed.

In the new NFL, post salary cap, it’s all about the contracts. How much you sign a guy for is as important as how well they play. And between Taylor and Thomas, too much money against the cap is being spent on them. This year, Zach Thomas will cost this team more than $7 million against the cap. To give you an idea, Channing Crowder is just over a half-million. Zach is also a bigger cap hit than our entire secondary. The story with Taylor is worse. His cap number is a whopping $11.3 million, more than the entire offensive line.

Take a look at a team like the Patriots. They have perfected this new style of team management, where you work to improve your weakest link, by getting rid of your strongest ones. Every year, they are knocked for getting rid of that last guy – Willie McGinnest, Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, Deion Branch, Adam Vinatieri, and so on. …and every year they are competitive. They bring in guys on the cheap, and surround them with competence, but not superstars. The NFL is a copycat league. When something works, it’s adopted. This works…let’s get on board.

The hard truth is that this team isn’t going to win anything, with Thomas and Taylor here or not. The sooner we realize this, the better. Contracts in the NFL are not really drawn up to see completion. They’re back-weighted, so that you can cut guys when they get too costly. While our superstars still have some fight left in the them, we should consider what we can get in return – some young talent and some breathing room to improve the building blocks of the team. It seems unthinkable, but it’s something we’re going to have to consider.

Dave would love your feedback.
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The Dolphins Make Me Cry
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