The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

As Dolphin fans sift through the reports, rumors, information, disinformation, misinformation and just plain lies about Miami's draft-weekend plans, now seems to be a good time to cull the facts from the myths regarding what Bill Parcells and friends are planning to do April 26.

1. The Dolphins have the first pick in the draft. FACT. It's always good to start with a point on which we can all agree.

2. The Dolphins want to trade out of the top spot. MYTH. There has been only speculation about this with nothing definitive coming out of Miami about trading out of the top position. While no team wants to take on the financial obligation that comes along with the No. 1 pick in the draft, this is the simple economic reality of the NFL today

3. Jerry Jones covets Darren McFadden enough to swap the Cowboys' 22nd and 28th picks in the first round to get Miami's No. 1. MYTH. In fact, Jones has specifically refuted this. At the combine in February, Jones said that the two teams have not discussed working a trade and that the only reason for a team to trade up for the first pick would be to take Matt Ryan, whom Jones considers "franchise material." So don't look for the Cowboys and Dolphins to swap first-round positions.

4. The Dolphins had representatives at the pro day workouts of Matt Ryan and Chris Long on March 18. FACT. The headline could read "Dolphins do due diligence." It'd be cheesy, but that's what the headline could read.

5. Miami has scheduled private meetings with all of the top candidates in the draft. MYTH. To date, Miami has scheduled private meetings with Ryan, Chris Long and Jake Long. According to their agents, no such meetings have been scheduled with McFadden, Vernon Gholston, Glenn Dorsey or Sedrick Ellis.

6. The Dolphins have room under the salary cap to keep and sign the No. 1 pick. FACT. Despite bringing in more than a dozen new faces since the start of this year's NFL free-agency period, the Dolphins are still somewhere around $20 million under the cap.

Last year's top overall draft pick, JaMarcus Russell, signed a six-year, $61 million contract with $32 million guaranteed. To avoid turning this column into a discourse on theoretical mathematics (salary-cap math), just trust me when I tell you that his contract counts just over $10 million per year against the Raiders' cap. Even if the Dolphins were to draft a quarterback with the first pick -- and pay the so-called quarterback premium -- they could make this work under the cap.

But the real fact of the matter is that Parcells is known to keep his draft cards close to the vest, meaning the chance of any meaningful information being uncovered in advance is pretty slim. Parcells has also been known to leak misinformation to the media in order to mask his true intentions and use this to his negotiating advantage. While this can be frustrating to those seeking information, it has proven to be an effective way to run a football team.

Which brings me to my final point:

7. Parcells knows more about running a draft and an NFL franchise than all the writers and fans put together.

And that, my friends, is an irrefutable fact.

^^^^^

We still need a quarterback, some linebackers, Ginn to escalate his game to where he has the potential too, and better secondary.

I'm not a draft follower at all because I barely watch College Football with the exception of the big games.

I would like to see Miami go for o-line and d-line depth. I think it's safe to say that you build your offense or defense from the interior positions first.


Same philosophy on offense. Miami drafted Mark Dennard, Eric Laakso, Dwight Stephenson with Ed Newman and Bob Kuechenberg as the mainstays.

The result from the drafts between 77 - 82 resulted in two Super Bowl appearances (1983 -1985). The next best draft was in 1990 (Richmond Webb and Keith Sims who were linemen).

Give Ronnie and Ricky a line and beef up the D-Line and Miami is on it's way back to prominence.

loud mouth Mark Gastineau when the Dolphins played the Jets.

Games are won and lost at the point of attack.  That is on both sides of the line.  Beef up your line and you can win with a game-managing QB.  Case in point... the 2000 Baltimore Ravens winning a Super Bowl with.... TRENT DILFER??

Two words:

Brad Johnson

Oh, and the Super Bowl XXXVI champions didn't exactly have a great quarterback either, although he's developed quite a bit since then (but is still massively overrated).

That Manning guy this year... well, he's not exactly a great quarterback in my book. He pulled a "Dilfer" (i.e., to quote you, "just didn't make too many boneheaded plays").

Tommy, this is by FAR the rare exception, and not the rule.  That year, the Ravens had one of the greatest defenses the game has EVER seen, and Dilfer just didn't make too many boneheaded plays.

You just proved my point.  You own the point of attack, you can win with a game-managing QB. 

The Dolphins will draft Matt Ryan with the fist pick.  MYTH

^ I agree with you.  Although I'm not sold on Beck, I think it would be a massive mistake to draft a QB first round.

For a billonth time I say yes to Matt Ryan.
We need a francise QB, and this is our best beat.

Why do we need a "Franchise" QB, whatever that is anyway? It didn't help the Pats this SB did it? 

It sure helped the last 3 Superbowls they played in though................ ::)

So did that system and all its players. Denver's franchise HOF qb was 2-5 in SB's. Hell even a HOF qb does not mean you will get to, or much less win a SB.

So did that system and all its players. Denver's franchise HOF qb was 2-5 in SB's. Hell even a HOF qb does not mean you will get to, or much less win a SB.

John Elway was 2-3 in Super Bowls. 

Let's see theres
Troy Akins, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Breet Farve, Tom Brady, Payton Manning,Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubauch, John Elway, who in the hell need's a franchise qb like the ones I mentioned ?

Let's see theres
Troy Akins, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Breet Farve, Tom Brady, Payton Manning,Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubauch, John Elway, who in the hell need's a franchise qb like the ones I mentioned ?

20 million under the cap...  I wish I had a better understanding of how good or bad this is.  I am happy they explained the cap number for Russell, but I still don't really have a feel for what kind of money it would take to sign everyone from this draft.

I wish I knew some sort of average (and maybe the high and low) of what cap money was spent for last years draft class.  You have to assume that this year would be a little higher the way trends have gone.

Last year we set aside about 7 mil to sign the whole draft class so you can see the difference it makes.

^ I agree with you, I just don't think Ryan is the guy we are looking for.  Maybe we can find a gem in the later rounds, or next year will have a better QB pool.

I'm not sold on Ryan and for the record I don't think Parcells is either. He's trying to pump up interest for that #1 spot. I'm holding out hope for Colt Brennan in the later rounds but he does not fit Parcells profile for a QB at all.  But unless Beck did something Horribly wrong.........and I don't see anywhere where he did, We won't be taking a QB in the 1st round. But taking some insurance on day 2 would be wise.

From what I read it did not sound as if Colt did well enough at the combines to get rid of the tag he earned in college by playing in an ungodly weak conference that his team could not even dominate while racking up those crazy stats.

Parcells is a little overrated in the draft imo. He passed up on the most legit LT prospect ever (the big bust being Mandarich) in Orlando Pace for just 3rd and 4th round picks...traded again because he didn't like Walter Jones.

Both where future HOFers. I consider Parcells that year to make one of the worst decisions with the #1 pick. With the way scouting has changed today, there is no way you can mess up that badly again and lose that much value in the Draft.

FACT: Chris Long is a lock at #1.

No doubt Parcells ain't perfect.  Nobody is. The draft is such a gamble that in my eyes as long as you are successful 50% of the time your the goods. I mean out of say 10 Picks you hit on 5 players that are still on the rooster after 3 years.  Looking at Miami's draft record the past 10 yrs........50% is a HUGE upgrade.

You could argue they hit on 7 picks (Covert, Gault, Richardson, Duerson, Thayer, Bortz and Dent), with the remaining 5 as busts.

So they hit on their top 4 picks? That's pretty much perfect.

Calling the remaining 5, drafted mid-4th and down, busts is ridiculous. You can't be a bust if you were drafted in the fourth round, much less the 12th.

How true. Growing up near Chicago as a Bears fan, we always pointed to the 1983 draft as the huge draft that made the 1985 team what it was.

^ It's hard to "hit" when you change coaches,and philosphies,and direction every year or two..... But that's another arguement...

^ It's hard to "hit" when you change coaches,and philosphies,and direction every year or two..... But that's another arguement...

then what was Wannastadt's excuse?

Wanny did have a vision and philosophy....A good defense, Jay Fiedler at QB, a good ball control running game

I don't know whether to laugh or cry...

then what was Wannastadt's excuse?