After watching last night’s episode of Hard Knocks, there were a couple of random things that stood out to me. I guess the biggest thing was the mini montage showcasing how Jeff Ireland has been around NFL players since he was 11 years old, when he was a ball boy for the Chicago Bears. Most sports online betting fans would think that if a person were involved, or doing something for such a long time, than the odds would be high that they would know what they are doing. For someone who has been around this league for 20+ years, it just seems like he doesn’t have a clue.
The two prime examples of him displaying his lack of logical thinking in making football decisions, was in the Vontae Davis and Les Brown situations. He states that first the Colts came to him, and offered a 5th and 6th rounder for Vontae, then they upped the ante to a 2nd round pick. He then goes and explains this to Coach Philbin, and says “they really need to blow me away with an offer if I am going to consider it.’ Are you kidding me, an additional conditional 6th round pick thrown in the offer, is blowing you away. I guess phins news fans should at least be thankful that he didn’t send Vontae to Indy for a 5th and 6th. Then to top it off he tells Vontae, that he thinks he is going to be great one day in this league. Again are kidding me. If you think someone is going to be great, than you don’t trade them away. Too bad we didn’t get to see the conversation when Ireland sat down with Brandon Marshall and told him that they traded him to Chicago. I bet he told Marshall that he felt he was going to be the best receiver in the league this season. Also I loved how he explained that Vontae’s waves of consistency are very up and down, and they need to be more consistent. Nice great analogy, and explanation buddy. And then to top it off, Ireland says to Davis, that the up and down waves are probably why he was traded. What does he mean by probably, come on man, your the one who traded him, you know exactly why you traded him, so be a man and tell him so Vontae can call and tell his Grandma.
Then Ireland explains how Les Brown is exactly what they are looking with his size and speed, however the problem is when he puts on the pads. That is typical Ireland thinking, as long as the guy is big and fast then lets sign him. Wait, how about if the guy can actually play football, maybe that would be the first thing he should look at when he decides to sign guys. I get that sometimes you have to take a shot on guys, but this is his MO, and it rarely works out. Here is a suggestion, start signing guys that have played football in the last few years and have been highly productive doing it.
One last thing I noticed was the talk that Philbin had with RB Daniel Thomas for being late. Phins news fans should not be surprised if Daniel Thomas gets put on the trading block in the next year or two. This is a guy, Ireland traded up to get, and now I feel like I am watching the beginning stages of what occurred with Vontae, before his eventual departure. At this rate Ryan Tannehill will be shipped off next season, because he questioned the coach’s choice of play call during a game.