Jeff Ireland

[MIAMI54]

I think I'm starting to come around and agree that Ireland has done a good job. His track record is pretty good:

2007 – 4th round pick, Paul Soliai
Brandon Fields was taken in the 7th round, may just be a Punter, but is arguably top 3 and does wonders for the Phins for putting the other team in awkward field positions.
2008 – Jake Long taken in the first round, Philip Merling also taken the first round.
Kendall Langford taken in the 3rd.
2009 – Vontae Davis in the 1st, Sean Smith in the 2nd.
Hartline in the 4th. Chris
Clemons in the 5th, who is currently the starter at Safety. For someone who is much smaller than Bell, he hits just as hard.
2010 – Jared Odrick in the 1st, Koa Misi in the 2nd (although the Misi pick will always look bad considering Rob Gronk was taken 2 picks later)
Also, Reshad Jones in the 5th, who currently is the other starting safety.
2011 – Mike Pounce in the first, Daniel Thomas in the 2nd.
This year – Ryan Tannehill, who is off to a much better start than anticipated.
Jon Martin hasn’t been the worst lineman.
Lamar Miller in the 4th round, who has been making tons of plays when subbed in for Bush.
He also brought in Dansby. Found Wake in the Canadian League. Found the undrafted Davone Bess. Developed Kevin Burnett into something productive.
He didn't over pay for Matt Flynn...

$50+ million in cap space next year and 3 picks in the top 45 (most likely). I think he’s done alright. It’s been slow, but it’s coming together.

[Manic]

pretty sure Solia was a cam cameron era pick, and good thing for solia cus that draft class was an utter disaster otherwise
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[jrry32]

He didn't develop Kevin Burnett. Burnett was a productive player in San Diego prior to signing with Miami before the 2011 season.
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[bpastermack]

Ireland's legacy will always be tied to Tannehill. If that pick works out, then all will be forgiven. He is also someone who has actually not done too many dumb things that hurt the team long term. He has steered clear of spending big money on QB's who were average at best. Ireland's best quality is his restraint. The guy doesn't give into pressure or any kind of win now attitude.

His biggest red flags in my book were the Columbo signing when we had a big hole and lots of options and we get Marc Columbo?? And drafting Egnew this year when there were way better options like Givens who would be a perfect fit at a huge need. And trading up for Thomas last year. That was just stupid. Especially with Mallett still on the board. Other than that I have liked a lot of what he has put together and a lot of the moves he has made. Oh, and Gibril Wilson was kind of a dumb move too. All in all that's not a lot of mistakes in the whole scheme of things.

Now we find ourselves with a ton of draft picks next year, a TON of cap space in a market that finds most other teams having to make drastic cuts just to get under the cap, before they can even think about free agents. And we have a developing QB, and a budding new coach that seems to get it. I like the direction of this team, and think in a couple of years it's possible we could be thinking about multiple years with super bowl runs...
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[bpastermack]

[phinmun]

If I told you 5 years ago that we'd do this:

Free Agency:
1.) Bess - Top-tier slot WR
2.) Wake - Elite rush DE
3.) Bush - Uber-athletic RB
4.) Dansby - Top-tier ILB
5.) Starks - Top-tier DT
6.) Burnett - Very solid OLB

Draft:
1.) Tannehill - Very poised young QB
2.) Long - 4x Pro Bowler with ideal work ethic, leadership
3.) Pouncey - Top-tier C
4.) Martin - Young RT with big upside
5.) Miller - Young RB with big upside
6.) Thomas - Solid young RB with open-field ability
7.) Hartline - Football player first mentality and ideal work ethic
8.) Odrick - Above-average DE with great leadership
9.) Misi - Tackling machine & elite run-stuffing OLB
10.) Smith - Smart CB who's rarely out of position
11.) Jones - Developing young S with a mean streak


Would you have taken it?

If I told you we'd be implementing a WCO with a HC who holds players accountable but doesn't pull an ounce of spirit out of the locker-room, would you feel good about that?

If you look at this football team and think that it isn't better that it hasn't developed since Ireland has come here, I can't relate to your view. We have a superb defensive front-7. We have 2 very good pieces in our secondary. We have 2 very solid WRs and 3 very good RBs. We have a great-looking young QB.

We need a FS.
We need a WR.
We need a TE.
We need O-line.


You know what? This will be one of the best classes in recent history for teams needing elite offensive Guards. We need 2. This lines up perfectly for us! Drafting a LT to replace Long if we lose him is not going to kill us. We have multiple 2nd-round picks to do that.

We can use our 1st-round selection on either a WR or a FS, whichever is available to us. We can wait until later in the draft to try and add whatever we don't get.

We're in really good shape as a franchise for once. We have great leadership both on and off the field. Great coaches. Great systems. A few nationally-recognized great players and a wealth of solid guys who are competing like hell. We have a ton of cap space and our FAs are so good that no one on here wants to see us lose anyone outside of Chris Clemons.


If we get a new FS in round 1. A new LT in round 2. At least 1 outstanding G and finally, some help at WR, I don't see why we wouldn't be feeling high as a kite with how things are going.

Worst case, maybe we don't get the WR of our dreams and make due with a 2nd- or 3rd-round guy this year. You know what that means?

We'll be right back next year grabbing something ridiculous like Sammy Watkins.

Dude, I am elated for once thinking of all the possibilities for us throughout the upcoming off-season. Practically any pick between WR, FS, OT & OG will be superb and we've got 5 picks to address those spots.

Dude, give Ireland a freakin' raise or something. This is going too well!

[fishfan4life]

I have only been a member of this forum for a short period of time and my time in here has mostly been the glass is half full type of attitude . I was on board with tannehill when people were scared to death of the rumors of us drafting him at 8 began. My biggest hope for this team was we maintained continuity and allowed a plan to be played out. I didn't care about the bs negative media attention just wanted us to rebuild the right way. That's the best plan for long term success and his picks and moves are starting to pay off and you see the reason behind some moves. All GM make mistakes and its always to point them out. I think he deserves some credit for admitting mistakes by cutting guys or releasing guys he brought in. That's a big problem chief fans are having with there GM is he doesn't cut his losses and Ireland does that.

[fishfan4life]

Although I'm not a big fan of Ross yet I think he deserves some credit for not giving in to the media and a small part of the fan base and allowing this to play out and be patient . I will also admit we still got a ways to go and things can go backwards quick . They both are not out of the woods by no means. He has a important draft next year very important to finish this job out. Of course if Ross is patient enough

[Deets]

I've liked his drafting for a while now. Compared with the drafts from 2001-2007 (among the worst in football), the drafts from 2008-2012 have been very good. Namely I look to the first 3 rounds providing talent, anything from the later rounds is just nice. Free agency has kinda sucked for Ireland, but we haven't really been trapped in any terrible contracts so its not the end of the world. Dansby and Burnett have been very nice pickups.

2008:

1st:
Jake Long - Pro Bowler, fantastic pick. Matt Ryan was the right choice but now that its in the past I can live with getting elite talent

2nd:
Philip Merling - Bust
Chad Henne - Bust

3rd:
Kendell Langford - very good third round pick. Its a shame we couldn't resign him but we were stacked on defensive line talent at the time.

Other:
Davone Bess - very reliable slot receiver. Great pick up for a UDFA


2009:

1st:
Vontae Davis - Sometimes elite, sometimes terrible for three years. I'm not going to complain on this one since we essentially got a pick only 10-15 slots lower then him for him so its like we rented the pick for 3 years. Could be worse.

2nd:
Pat White - Huge bust. Worst pick by Ireland by far.

Sean Smith - Solid guy who is establishing himself as our number one corner. His size and ability gives him a very high ceiling and hes still getting better. Nice pick

3rd:
Patrick Turner - Bust

Other:
Brian Hartline - Emerged as Tannehill's favorite target. Lacks elite measureables but is currently leading the league in receiving. Definitely a guy we're happy to have as a starter

Chris Clemons - A guy I've always liked and is proving to be a solid starter at safety for us.


2010:

1st:
Jared Odrick - Starting defensive end, one of the reasons why our run defense is #1

2nd:
Koa Misi - Starting linebacker, one of the reasons why our run defense is #1

3rd:
John Jerry - Starting guard. Has shown a lot of improvement this year and looks like he might be the long term solution at the position

Other:
Nolan Carroll - depth at cornerback, has stepped up when hes had to. Doesn't look like he'll ever be a guy who deserves a permanent starting job but looks to be a solid guy to have.

Reshad Jones - Starting safety and looking to be one of the league's rising stars at the position. Potential pro bowler.


2011:

1st:
Mike Pouncey - Starting center and top 10 player in the league at his position. Fantastic pick and player

2nd:
Daniel Thomas - Not looking so good so far. Injuries last year limited his production and hes failed to earn carries away from Reggie Bush. Now hes had two concussions this year and isn't really impressing. Lamar Miller has shown more in limited action.

3rd:
NONE

Other:
Wilson and Clay are still around and trying prove themselves...Not particularly impressed with either.


2012:

1st:
Ryan Tannehill - Won starting job as a rookie and has shown improvement with each week. Showing all the signs of being a franchise quarterback

2nd:
Jonathan Martin - Won starting RT job as a rookie and has shown improvement every week. Looks to be a very good pick and a starter for a long time.

3rd:
Olivier Vernon - Seeing some play as a situational pass rusher. Lots of potential and seems pretty favorable so far.

Michael Egnew - Hard Knocks made him look really bad and the fact that he hasn't seen the field yet confirms the fact that he isn't looking favorable right now. His talent and draft status have bought him a free pass for now. ..

Other:
Lamar Miller - Has seen limited action due to a crowded backfield but has looked very good. Might make Bush expendable for next year
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"well, they got X player I wanted but they clearly overpaid" is the battle cry of bitter and ignorant football fans

FF Member #67

[fishfan4life]

Lets not forget the best move he made was the one he didnt make and that was not signing matt flynn

[Deets]

[Maddogg]

Irelands picks are below average. I have liked my picks over that of any GM Miami gas had for the past two decades.
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[phinmun]

[SUG]

[dolphan9954]

People just have to understand that any GM is going to make a mistake. It is impossible to hit on 100% of the time. Overall you would have to be blind to say that Ireland has done a horrendous job as a GM and should be fired. Some fans are just irrational and I have said that all along. I'm going to do an Ireland breakdown when I get spare time soon.
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