Dolphins Fans: Come In Off The Ledge
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins decided that they didn’t want to bring Matt Flynn into the mix for QB. Honestly, I was both shocked and not surprised. Yes, both at the same time. The reality is that I simply have no idea what game Jeff Ireland is playing but I do know that if the Dolphins truly wanted Matt Flynn, believed in Matt Flynn, he would be a Miami Dolphin instead of a Seattle Seahawk.
Where the process went wrong I can’t tell you. Did Jeff Ireland try and play poker with Flynn’s agent and got caught bluffing? I don’t know the answer to that either and we never will. What did transpire is what amounts to a 19 million dollar 3 year base salary for Flynn with 10 million guaranteed and the possibility of earning another 8 with incentives. A doable contract for Miami.
So what gives? Flynn was familiar with Joe Philbin and vice-versa. It was a perfect fit for a Dolphins team who has not had anything close to a franchise QB since Dan Marino. Are we to believe that Joe Philbin went to Ireland and said, “Sign this guy, he is who I want” only to hear Ireland say, “I’m not paying that guy top dollar”? Are we to believe that the Dolphins kicked his tires to see what he was demanding and what his worth to the team was and they decided that the value they had was finite?
Most believed that the Dolphins should tread on Flynn based on the recommendations of Joe Philbin. If Philbin wanted him, then we should defer to that judgement. The same could be said about today’s revelation that the Dolphins simply were not offering enough thus showing that their impressions of him were lukewarm. Of course that is only one of many avenues that could easily be the truth. Jeff Ireland could have simply blown it.
One thing is for certain without a doubt, future free agents are not going to want to come to Miami. Ireland’s stingy approach to money and the perception of his “low-balling” tactics will start steering free agents elsewhere. The Dolphins are on the verge, if they haven’t already, become that team who simply refuses to play players what they are worth, instead opting to only play what Ireland thinks they are worth.
That’s not going to win you games and it’s not going to win you fans. Matt Flynn is not a Miami Dolphin and maybe that decision will look brilliant next season like the Kyle Orton non-trade last season. Either way, the Dolphins should probably let someone know what is going on, because this team isn’t winning any popularity contests…on any level. For now though, we simply don’t know the rationale behind today’s news. So it might be a good idea to come back off the ledge…just a wee bit.