Fleeced! First by the Pats, Then by the Eagles

Jimmy Bourbon

6 years ago

Fleeced! …FIVE former Dolphins in the 2018 Super Bowl

The 52nd Super Bowl features the Patriots dynasty and the revived Eagles. Both of which fleeced key players from the Dolphins to build their own teams.

The Patriots won 2 of the last 3 Super Bowls and seven consecutive AFC Championships. They’re the odds on favorite to win the Super Bowl …again. The best bookie website software on the market opened the line at -6. It’s currently at -5.5 for the Patriots. Fleecing the Dolphins helped make them what they are today.

Chris Hogan is a “burner …incredible athleticism” Belichick …but we waived him

The Dolphins know the Patriots all too well. We not only play them twice a year, we also gift wrap them some of their best players. The list of former Dolphins, traded to or poached by, the Pats is nauseous. Most can remember the godawful Wes Welker “trade”. But you need only look at Sunday’s AFC Championship game to see the fleecing continues. Pats WR Chris Hogan, previously waived by the Dolphins, is a starting WR on the Pats 2018 Super Bowl roster. He’s not the only one.

You might think the fleecing is a two way highway …but is it? We waived WR Chris Hogan. He starts for the Patriots in the 2018 SB. In contrast, they waived G Ted Larsen. He started for us in the 2017 flop. You be the judge of who got fleeced?

Both teams fleeced the Dolphins in the “Sheep Shearing Super Bowl”

Alas, the Patriots are not the only ones fleecing us. The Super Bowl bound Eagles sheared us in a major trade in 2016. Indeed, they did it again in 2017. Two years ago, the Dolphins traded draft picks to the Eagles for CB Byron Maxwell and LB Kiko Alonzo. The Eagles used our draft picks to trade up and take QB Carson Wentz.

Both Maxwell and Alonzo started for the Phins in 2016 in a 10-6 season. Carson Wentz started for the Eagles in a 3-13 season. Although you might think the Phins got the best of the Eagles in that trade, it didn’t last. Maxwell was cut halfway through the 2017 season. Then Alonzo was moved to OLB in 2017 and proved unable to cover on passing downs. Alonzo could possibly be cut in 2018 …except his contract would cost more in CAP than cutting him would save.

On the other hand, Carson Wentz played a huge part in getting the Eagles to the # 1 seed in the NFC. Wentz remains in the running for the NFL MVP Award, despite being injured late in the 2017 season.

Maxwell is gone. Alonzo can’t cover. Wentz is MVP? …we got fleeced!

All of a sudden, in the midst of what was already a poor season, the Dolphins traded Pro Bowl RB Jay Ajayi to the Eagles. The Eagles gave us a paltry 4th round pick in return.

Eagles Ajayi had 99 total yards against the Vikings, their #1 RB by far

Ajayi gave a huge boost to the Eagles running game. In effect, he carried them all the way to the 2018 Super Bowl, despite losing their franchise QB, Carson Wentz.

The Ajayi trade revealed a potential Dolphins star in RB Kenyan Drake. However, he was already here. The question is, can Miami use that 4th round Eagles pick to find another Pro Bowl caliber player like Ajayi? Or will it be another draft bust that can’t even get on the field. As of today, it looks like just another fleecing.

Miami Must Learn From Our Mistakes …do I hear an Echo here?

Above all, Miami must be the primary benefactor of every player transaction. That is to say, all the way from the waiver wire to the final trade day drama, we must benefit from the move. Else we shouldn’t move them. Although that would seem to be simple common sense, the evidence suggests otherwise. It starts at the top. Mike Tannenbaum and Chris Grier must do a better job. Finding and keeping guys that fit best in Gase’s system. The best teams repeatedly succeed in player evaluation. The Dolphins need to do the same. Ultimately, we must stop being the team that always gets fleeced.