BREAKING NEWS: Miami Dolphins and OT Jake Long have reached an agreement

[Dolphin-UK]

This is great news, because barring some really random trade back into the first round which isn't going to happen, we're not drafting Matt Ryan!

EVERYONE BE HAPPY!!!!!

[dolfan13]

he's a stud... i've been watching him for a couple of years now. fins are pretty confident that he is going to play left tackle and that's the most important thing. if he can translate his pancake blocking in the run game, and brick wall in the passing game to the nfl level at left tackle, then this will transform the dolphins offense for the next 10 years.

[TonyB0D]

let's just hope he's no gallery!

[DolFan619]

This is great news, because barring some really random trade back into the first round which isn't going to happen, we're not drafting Matt Ryan!

EVERYONE BE HAPPY!!!!!

  The good news just keeps on coming!  

[Rick]

  This is an awesome move by Parcells/Ireland/Sparano.  Jake Long has the attitude and the ability to be an all-pro LT in this league for many, many years to come.  It is a great thing that Miami finally has football people making football decisions.  Way to go Miami Dolphins by selecting Jake Long #1.  Excellent Move!!!

[gocowboys31]

Well Mel kiper and I are tied at 1. Seriously this was the obvious choice. Just don't take the entire 10 minutes to make the selection.

[TonyB0D]

guess i'm not going to the draft this year!

[DolFan619]

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_seasonticket/2008/04/fins-press-conf.html

Fins: Jake Long press conference (update)

Smart. Tough. Disciplined.

That is the new signage posted in the Dolphins auditorium.

And those are words that Tony Sparano used, in order, to describe Jake Long during the press conference.

It's not coincidence.

This was about finding a smart, tough, disciplined player.

And this was about showing that the Dolphins can again become a smart, tough, disciplined organization. This signing was as much about setting the tone, to start changing the culture, as it was about finding a perennial All-Pro.

Though the Dolphins hope they did that too.

Signing Jake Long so early, and making sure he is on camp on time, allows the new regime to make it known that things will be different around here.

It also allows Jeff Ireland to concentrate on the 32nd overall pick -- and on any potential trades over the weekend.

Long acknowledged that he needs to get used to the speed of the game.

As soon as the press conference ended, I did a live radio interview along with former University of Miami (and NFL) offensive tackle Leon Searcy, who was once a first-round choice of the Steelers. Searcy also played for Mike Maser, who is now the Dolphins offensive line coach.

Searcy has watched Long quite a bit, and has been talking him up for weeks. He believes that Long will make "five, six or seven Pro Bowls." He says that, to handle the speed-rushers, Long needs to "kickstart faster" and learn to bend at the knees rather than the waist. He said that fans should expect some struggles over the first three years, because an "offensive lineman is like a fine wine." Searcy also believed that Vernon Carey was out of position at left tackle.

When asked to compare himself to a current player, Long picked Patriots left tackle Matt Light. Long had just two penalties during his college career.

Smart. Tough. Disciplined.

That's the new motto around here.

That, as much as anything, explains the selection.

> Posted by Ethan J. Skolnick at 12:03:02 PM

[DolFan619]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/04/22/dolphins_make_rookie_pillar_of.html

Dolphins make rookie pillar of offensive line

Tim Graham | Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 03:03 PM

Meet your new franchise left tackle, Dolfans.

The Dolphins today signed Michigan tackle Jake Long to a five-year deal worth $57.5 million and immediately labeled him their left-side bodyguard.

The Dolphins have been looking for a player to fill that critical position since Richmond Webb skipped town, and while draftniks have been debating the merits of putting a rookie in the premier position on the offensive line, neither GM Jeff Ireland nor coach Tony Sparano expressed any concern about Long parking there for a while.

“There’s no secret that left tackle is a very pivotal part of your building process,” Ireland said. “It’s the most important part of the offensive line, in my opinion. (Taking Long) met the needs of our team, and it met the board value as well.”

Said Sparano: “We see Jake as a left tackle. Left tackle was our need. That’s where he’s going to be playing for us.”

Dolphins football ops guru Bill Parcells didn’t attend today’s news conference in Davie, but given his influence over both Ireland and Sparano, we can safely assume he feels the same.

“Jake was our guy from the beginning,” Ireland said. “I don’t make it a habit of telling you what’s on our board, but Jake was on the top of our board for a long time. In regard to debate, there wasn’t a whole lot. We felt comfortable about the player. We think he’s the best tackle in the draft, and we thought it was good fit for the Miami Dolphins.”

The pick also means Vernon Carey can move back to his natural right tackle position.
 

[MaineDolFan]

I can't help but find this kinda anti-climactic.

I wish this stuff would just be announced at the draft.

Oh, draft day will be climactic.  This is Miami, after all.  All this and then on Saturday we'll hear this:

"With the number 1 selection in the 2008 draft the Miami Dolphins select Jeb Parker, kicker, University of North Dakota."

[YoFuggedaboutit]

If things work out with this guy, it might not sell a lot of jerseys or put butts in the seats, but we'll be thankful in 10 years when he's still on the team.

It sold one jersey, that's for sure.

  Another great thing about this deal, is that it's less than what last year's number one overall pick got.

I've said this before in another thread, but I should put it here as well.  QB contracts are at a premium, and the Dolphins made that clear to Long.  It's unfair to use Jamarcus Russell's contract as a measuring stick.  A more realistic measuring stick would be Joe Thomas's contract.

[fyo]

Jake Long's deal is a year SHORTER than Russell's, for almost the same amount of money. I'm thrilled with the signing, but we certainly didn't get a discount.

[Phishfan]

I just hope he turns out to be as good as the last Left Tackle we took in the first round.

[Dol-Phan in Dallas]

I'll echo what many of you have already said.   I think this is a great pick.  Offensive success starts with the front line.  A great front line will make a good running back great and will give a QB the time they need to find open receivers.  It is also great that they have already agreed to terms.  So many rookies end up being useless their first year because they hold out and are so far behind by the time they report that they don't catch up til mid season.  I think this is definitely a step in the right direction for the team.

[Philly Fin Fan]

Jake Long's deal is a year SHORTER than Russell's, for almost the same amount of money. I'm thrilled with the signing, but we certainly didn't get a discount.

Not only did the Fin's not get a discount, but they are paying Long more money than Russell got. Look at the math...

The Russell deal:

The Raiders and Russell's agents agreed at midday Tuesday on a six-year, $61 million rookie contract that guarantees him $32 million

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/11/SPO4S3G48.DTL

Which means he gets an average of $5.33 million a year guaranteed ($32M divided by 6 seasons)

The Long deal:

They signed the Michigan left tackle to a five-year contract with $30 million guaranteed, and they'll select him with the top pick in the draft Saturday.

Also from the same article:
Long's total contract package is for $57.75 million, said a person familiar with the negotiations who didn't want to be identified because the Dolphins declined to reveal terms.

http://www.miamiherald.com/858/story/505577.html

So Long's deal averages out to $6 million a year guaranteed ($30 M divided by 5 seasons).

The annual contract value also averages out higher for Long:
Russell- $10 M per year ($60M divided by 6 years)
Long-  $11.55M per year ($57.5M divided by 5 years)

All that said, I am happy the deal is done and happy with the pick.