Miami Dolphin Talk

Long's departure ends Dolphins era; trade possible to find replacement; Kansas City LT Branden Albert could be an option

Jake Long signed with the RAMS, what is next for the Miami Dolphins.

By Chris Perkins, Staff writer 8:39 p.m. EDT, March 18, 2013

When left tackle Jake Long agreed to contract terms with St. Louis on Sunday night, it marked the end of a Dolphins era. Long, a four-time Pro Bowl selection and one of the faces of the franchise, held down the job since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2008.

How the Dolphins fill Long's void is anyone's guess but the possibilities — trade, free agency and the draft — are intriguing.

Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland was asked Monday at the annual NFL Owner's Meetings in Phoenix if trading for a left tackle was a possibility and replied, "All those things are on the table."

Speculation is the Dolphins could be on the verge of a trade for Kansas City left tackle Branden Albert, who is expected to sign his $9.8 million franchise tender soon and is eligible to be traded after signing. Albert was the 15th pick of the 2008 draft.

The Chiefs are believed to be listening to trade offers and such a deal could cost the Dolphins a second-round pick.

Conventional wisdom says Miami will move right tackle Jonathan Martin to left tackle, where he played the final month of the season, and find a right tackle.

Miami has agreed to terms with right tackle Nate Garner, which helps cushion the blow of Long's absence. Garner started the last four games last season after Long was injured.

Ireland also said there are "other offensive lineman out there in free agency we'll look into."

That could mean Miami will pursue free agent tackles such as Kansas City's Eric Winston, Baltimore's Andre Smith or New England's Sebastian Vollmer. Winston, who played at the University of Miami, and the Dolphins seem to have mutual interest but a deal doesn't appear imminent.

The draft remains a possibility, too. It's a good year for offensive tackles and Miami has the 12th pick in the draft.

But it seems losing Long was a genuine downer for Dolphins owner Steve Ross, who, such as Long, is a Michigan alum.

"I hate to lose those Michigan guys," Ross said. "He was a class act. He did a great job in Miami."

Long's time with the Dolphins came to an end largely because of injuries. He ended the last two seasons on injured reserve and battled biceps, triceps, back and knee injuries the last three seasons.

"He was a pillar of our team for the last five years," Ireland said.

Long's contract with St. Louis is reportedly four years, $34 million. It's not known what the Dolphins offered.

With Long's departure the majority of guys the Dolphins hoped would change their fortunes in recent years — Long, quarterback Chad Henne, Bush, cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Sean Smith, linebackers Dansby and Kevin Burnett, wide receiver Brandon Marshall, tight end Anthony Fasano — are now gone.

A few key guys remain, but Long's departure was pretty much the capper for that crew.

The lockerroom is officially under new management; the Dolphins have cleaned house.

The Miami Dolphins burst into free agency Tuesday by agreeing to terms with high-profile wide receiver Mike Wallace, the top free agent on the market and one of the best deep threats in the NFL.

Wallace agreed to terms on a five-year contract worth $65 million, with $30 million guaranteed.

Wallace more than fulfills the Dolphins' stated goal of wanting to get play-makers this offseason. The speedy free agent from the Pittsburgh Steelers, provides the downfield big-play threat Miami’s pedestrian passing offense has been missing for years.

Last season, he had 64 receptions for 836 yards and eight touchdowns. Two years ago, he had 114 receptions for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns.

The fact that Wallace agreed to terms with the Dolphins on Tuesday, the first day teams were able to sign free agents, also speaks volumes of the job general manager Jeff Ireland was able to do in recruiting the four-year veteran.

During last month’s NFL Scouting Combine, Ireland said he didn’t necessarily need to sign a big-name, high-dollar free agent. He said the goal is to sign someone who would help the team.

“If that particular player we think is going to help our football team move forward and take a big step, and if he has a big name, great,” Ireland said.

The major knock on Wallace is he has a tendency to drop passes. He had five drops through six games last season, including four in a game against Cincinnati. But that was unusual. Wallace had never dropped more than four passes in season prior to last year.

The way things appear now, Wallace will team with fellow wide receiver Brian Hartline and slot receiver Davone Bess to form the basis of the wide receiver corps for quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

The Dolphins, who began Tuesday’s free agency signing period with $31 million, are still thought to be in the running for Tennessee tight end Jared Cook, who has the skills to run the seam route (down the hashmarks) and make plays in the red zone (inside the opponents’ 20-yard line), another missing element of the Dolphins’ offense.

The Dolphins seemingly have placed a premium on improving their passing offense.

Last season, Miami was 26thin passing offense; two seasons ago they were 23rd.

Last year, Miami was 27thin scoring at 18.0 points per game; two seasons ago they were 20th at 20.6 points per game.

Wallace should help improve those numbers. And his ability to get open deep should open up underneath routes for Bess and the tight ends. The attention Wallace commands should make life easier for Hartline on the other side.

The fact that Wallace is an established deep threat should also help Tannehill in his second year in the league.

 Ireland and the Dolphins still have to make a multitude of other acquisitions via free agency and the draft for this to be declared a successful off-season, but Wallace’s signing gets things off to a bold and dramatic start.

The conventional wisdom around the league right now is that teams looking for quarterback help in the offseason aren’t going to have much to choose from.

There’s no standouts coming out of college, no one’s sure what the 49ers and Seahawks will do with Alex Smith and Matt Flynn and there aren’t any clearcut starters headed for free agency other than Joe Flacco. Flacco’s not getting there, of course, which means that lesser names like Matt Moore could be in high demand due to the dearth of supply on the market.

Despite that, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that Ryan Tannehill and others from the Dolphins have been reaching out to Moore to try to sell him on the idea of staying in Miami. Getting Moore to pass up at least a shot at a starting job will be no easy task, especially if Jackson is right about one of the teams that might have Moore on the radar.

Jackson writes that Browns offensive coordinator Norv Turner is a “big fan” of Moore, a theory that has some support in the Chargers’ 2011 pursuit of Moore before he wound up signing with the Dolphins. That scenario is very similar to this one as Moore passed on a chance to back up Philip Rivers so he could play behind a far less secure starter in Chad Henne.

by JameyEisenberg

The zone read has become the latest trend in offenses. Last season, Washington’s Robert Griffin III and San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick excelled in the scheme, and its use is expected to continue to grow. Philadelphia, with new coach Chip Kelly, and others copying the success of Washington and San Francisco are likely to integrate the look into their playbooks.

Tannehill has the athleticism needed for the scheme to work. He played wide receiver for the first two years at Texas A&M and could be a threat running.

But he doesn’t have the experience running the ball that others have and may not be the ideal fit. During his last year at Texas A&M, Tannehill ran 58 times for 306 yards. Griffin III ran 179 times for 699 yards and Kaepernick ran 173 times for 1,206 yards in their final seasons in college.

Tannehill, the eighth pick in last year’s draft, started all 16 games as a rookie. He completed 58 percent of his passes and threw for 3,294 yards. He also tossed 12 touchdowns (versus 13 interceptions). He ran 49 times.

The Dolphins ranked 27th in total offense last season.

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So now I am inclined to believe there is at least SOME truth to the "Dolphins going to the read option offense in 2013.
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The NFL is a copycat league and with the read-option working so well for teams in 2012 it will be even more popular this Fall. Oddly enough it was the Miami Dolphins who started the famous “Wildcat” offense in 2008 when Ronnie Brown was torturing defenses and now they’re visiting a new fad.

With the 2013 offseason moving right along talks are beginning to circulate about Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins planning on implementing the read-option. I fully understand the direction of the team as they have the quarterback capable to do so and the offense was dreadful scoring a lousy 18 points per game which was 27th in the NFL in 2012.

The Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers all used the zone read in 2012 and had plenty of success doing so as they all made the playoffs–something the Dolphins have done all but once in the last decade.

I think this is a match made in heaven especially if the club decides to let Brian Hartline go and not bring in one of the top free agent wide receivers currently available as the talent pool will be shallow in Miami. This would give the Dolphins leverage moving forward and be able to give the AFC East a run for their money with a new flavor on the offensive side of the ball.

For those of you scoffing at the idea of Tannehill running with the likes of Robert Griffin III and Colin Kaepernick take a look at the statistics as the eighth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft has the skills to run this system. In his senior season with Texas A&M  Tannehill rushed 58 times for 306 yards and that same season Griffin rushed for 699 yards on 179 carries–that gives the former a considerable yards-per-carry advantage over the 2011 Heisman winner.

Make no mistake Tannehill can throw the long ball and was a wide receiver for his first two years as an Aggie so he definitely has all of the skills necessary to run this particular scheme.

There will definitely be some growing pains for the second-year quarterback but, it’s time for a new regime in Miami and perhaps this offense get them to double digit wins for the first time since 2008.