Ben Volin says he is at Phins facility?

Phins let him test the market and he obviously didn't get what he was looking for, so both side try to reach agreement on a price

he should take one of those "bet on yourself" 1 year deals others have been. if he makes it thru the season healthy and plays at a high level he will be rolling in the cash next year. but he knows he's likely gonna get hurt again so he won't do it. he wants to squeeze every last penny out of this deal bc it's going to be his last one

________________________________________________________
The beatings will continue until morale improves.

If the Rams offered the same as the Phins he'll probably stay - no state taxes plus he won't have to move. A 1 yr deal would be the best thing to do to see if he is truly indeed healthy enough for a full season, which I highly doubt. I don't think he has much bargaining power plus I wouldn't want to overspend for damaged goods - his biggest paydays are behind him which he needs to realize.

berkeley223 Wrote:
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> he should take one of those "bet on yourself" 1
> year deals others have been. if he makes it thru
> the season healthy and plays at a high level he
> will be rolling in the cash next year.

That deal makes sense for him but what about us?

Wouldn't we be better off signing a RT for half the price and for a few years?

THE Truth Wrote:
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> Wouldn't we be better off signing a RT for half
> the price and for a few years?

This.

I'm all for moving forward with a younger/fresher/more athletic player who doesn't have a health question.

Supposedly Lance Louis from Chicago tore ACL by Jared Allen cheap shot, will be in next week

$1M-$2m guard solution

No, Truth, I agree with berk. Give him a performance contract with a big upper if he comes back as the Jake Long he used to be but very little if he gets injured or his production falls down.

No need to rely on being right in your future prediction if you can strike a deal like that.

My instincts would be to agree, if I had to fish or cut bait, to cut bait on Long. But if such a deal can be struck, we're protecting ourselves against him having some productivity left and not really taking that much of a chance.

The man is an all pro and was just drafted in 2008.

Simply put, it's worth the chance.

jlyell13 Wrote:
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> Supposedly Lance Louis from Chicago tore ACL by
> Jared Allen cheap shot, will be in next week
>
> $1M-$2m guard solution


Louis already visited this week

I'd rather have winston at 4mm than long at 8, if it came to it

________________________________________________________
The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Long is over the hill before his time, but he's the only one who doesn't see it. What a waste. truly sad.

Just intuition....what is probably hapenning, is that the st Louis deal is a little bit higher than ours...the issue is that jakes wife LOVES south Florida....at the end of the day....I am almost 99% certain that jake takes the dolphins offer...decision will be made tomorrow morning...it's pretty obvious...

When it comes down to it, there is a huge value that must be placed on where you live...it's called quality of life!


Let's see...

Miami, south beach vs. ST Louis? Cooooommmmmooooon maaaan!

It's a no brainer... Jake is staying in Miami.

His buddy Ritchie is begging him on twitter to stay. JL Just needs to accept that he'll no longer be the highest paid Dolphin, and in the end he'll look like the good guy here if he decides to stick around.

I'm OK with signing Eric Winston and giving Martin a chance to prove he can be a LT. But, it is a roll of the dice. Winston is good. Martin was very bad in his short stint at LT.

Vs Patriots- 1 sack, 4 hurries
vs 49ers- 1 sack, 4 hurries
vs Jaguars- 2 hurries
vs Bills- 2 hits, 1 hurry
vs Patriots- 6 hurries

That's 2 sacks, 2 hits, 17 hurries. 21 total QB disruptions, or just over 4 per game. To put that in perspective, Long allowed 20 QB disruptions in 10 games. Martin allowed twice as many QB disruptions per game than Long did. And Martin's best performance came against one of the league's worst pass rushes. Martin was better at run blocking from the left side. But, his pass protection was a real problem. That kind of performance on the QB's blind side will ultimately result in your QB getting hurt. They invested a 2nd round pick on Martin, and he's smart with really good feet. He may be able to do it. But, it is a dice roll.

The issue with Long was mainly that he was not playing at the level a guy with his salary should play at. If his salary drops to $7M a year, it seems like much less of a problem.

One word,"continuity." Jake Long's minor injuries have bothered him;nagging injuries do that and flexibility and agility suffers. What the Fins need is a solid performer at that position. IF, and that 2- letter word is BIG, can rehab himself in more than one place on his body, he could return to his earlier form. Remember, also that he's gained experience at the position. His mental awareness has to be higher than it was when he first started. I don't think the Dolphins should give up on him. There's a caveat though.

Considering all factors, his value is there. It all comes down to both sides negotiating the best deal, one that in fair to both parties. If that involves a reduction in gross pay, so be it. If it's a difference between playing in sunny Florida, where the standard of living is pretty darn good, his family likes it here, then Jake needs to do the right thing and reconsider his circumstances.

Does Jake have the attitude to show people, to prove himself on the field? No body knows. It's up to him, and of course, whether he can rehabilitate his body to play at a superior level again.

Obviously, I like the guy--so, I'd make him a fair offer, one that encourages him to prove himself with rewards tacked on for successes. I don't believe that would be a mistake.

Re-sign Long with realistic performance incentives.

Jake has always been a power footballer and since his structure has broken down his core athletics (agility, balance, twitch, flexibility, etc.) have been exposed -- sometime with really ugly looking results.

If you remember the debate when he was coming out of collage was if he lacked the athletic skill-set for LT and was better suited for RT. Bottom line, even at his best he never excelled at pass pro - and since we're obviously ramping-up our passing game he's less of ideal fit @LT than ever.

So how do you factor in (i.e., discount) how much soLong is worth to the current Miami Dolphin football team? I can't see him being worth more than 5-6mill for a 1 year deal.

Put it this way -- I'll be disappointed if we wind up giving him 8 or 9 million -- which would appear to be his basement price (which is totally laughable IMO).

I hope we aren't dropping $8M on a guy who game has diminished. This is a business, 1 yr $5-6M max, give him some incentive to show last year was an aberration

BigNastyFish Wrote:
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> Bottom line,
> even at his best he never excelled at pass pro -

Wow.

2008- #6 among LTs in pass protection
2009- #1 among LTs in pass protection, allowed just 16 QB disruptions all season.
2010- #1 among LTs in pass protection

Media reports Long is going to be a Ram. Turn the page, next chapter. Let's hope it's not anticlimactic for the team.