Miami Loses 1st round pick in 2023 + 3rd round pick in 2024

Wow.  Ross continues to fuck this team up

Tampering

WTF!!!!!!!!!!

Dammit! Come on man!

What a bunch of bullshit. This league is such a joke. The people that the league likes can do whatever the hell they want with no repercussions (Belichick), but if they don't like you they screw you at every opportunity.

And of course the NFL does this at the exact time when the Dolphins are finally starting to get some positive press for the first time in forever. Can't have that - need to push them back down where they belong. Bullshit.

So jerking off on someone that won't blow you is a slap on the wrist but trying to make your team better is punishment?

JMP wrote:What a bunch of bullshit.  This league is such a joke.  The people that the league likes can do whatever the hell they want with no repercussions (Belichick), but if they don't like you they screw you at every opportunity.  

And of course the NFL does this at the exact time when the Dolphins are finally starting to get some positive press for the first time in forever.  Can't have that - need to push them back down where they belong.  Bullshit.

Just happened to see that little gem on TV at the vehicle place I had to be at because I was informed by the officer who gave me the first speeding ticket of my life that I had expired tags, which was a bit of a shock to me seeing as I was driving a loaner. No, it hasn't been the best of days.

I didn't hear the details, but it's got nothing to do with the Flores suit at all. That might mean the NFL already knows that won't amount to anything and are punishing the Fins to appease the people demanding it. I had no idea talking about maybe hiring Payton and Brady even was tampering. EDIT: Okay, I see from the link what the NFL is talking about and if that's true Ross is a doofus.

And yes, it does expose the blatant hypocrisy of the Watson situation even more than it already had been.

so the good news is that Ross won't be involved for the next three months. i would've been supportive of suspending him indefinitely.

the taking of the 1st rounder in 2023 is complete crap - so much for all that wheeling and dealing Grier did to stock the draft shelves. and if Brady engaged in these conversations when he full well knew he was under contract to other teams, then why isn't he being punished too?

People in the PFT thread asking why Brady isn't being punished for talking to Ross. IMO they have a point.

Shit like this is why I only post with you guys and have nothing else to do with the NFL.

mercury22nathan wrote:the taking of the 1st rounder in 2023 is complete crap - so much for all that wheeling and dealing Grier did to stock the draft shelves.  and if Brady engaged in these conversations when he full well knew he was under contract to other teams, then why isn't he being punished too?

Do they still have the 49ers' first that year? According to this they still should.

JEGnj wrote:So jerking off on someone that won't blow you is a slap on the wrist but trying to make your team better is punishment?

It's all about WHEN you talk to players and coaches on other teams about coming to yours. If Ross had just waited until Payton and Brady retired he'd have been in the clear. Maybe. The NFL seems really determined to punish the Fins for "something" to look like they're not being unfair to Watson or Flores

Flores doesn't think the Dolphins were punished enough, but is claiming victory anyways...

Following the NFL’s imposition of discipline, the former head coach and his attorneys released statements. In his, the former head coach stated he was “thankful” that the NFL’s investigator found that his factual allegations were true, but Flores also noted his “disappointment” to see that the behavior he alleged from Ross was minimized:

…I am disappointed to learn that the investigator minimized Mr. Ross’s offers and and pressure to tank games especially when I wrote and submitted a latter at the time to Dolphins executives documenting my serious concerns regarding this subject at the time which the investigator has in her possession.

In addition, Flores’ attorneys released a statement “vehemently” disagreeing with the NFL’s conclusions, but also noting that the investigator “confirmed the accuracy of the factual allegations made by Mr. Flores.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/former-dolphins-head-coach-brian-171240673.html

I'm just praying Tua is a franchise QB. Losing one of our first round picks next year doesn't give us as much power to move around for a franchise QB in the draft.

i'm just gonna act like that 1st round pick would've been used on a guy like Iggy so it doesn't matter that they lost it anyways.

My thoughts:

1) Ross apparently didn't learn a damn thing from the Harbaugh/Sparano fiasco.  Hell, he deserves some harsh punishment for revisiting this territory after that alone based on the sheer stupidity of it.  

2) Flores continues to be a dick.  I can think of many times in team history that I would have gladly given up a first round pick just to get rid of the HC (Wanny, Cameron, Philbin, etc).  If that's the cost of getting rid of this petty asshole then so be it.  He'd better concentrate on his new gig in Pitt and move on if he ever wants another shot at this.

3) Tampering with Brady while under contract *in Tampa Bay* was really, really stupid.  Was he that determined that Tua had to go?  On what basis, exactly?  More than ever I want Tua to make Ross and Flores look jaw droppingly stupid.

HalCHorn wrote:My thoughts:

1) Ross apparently didn't learn a damn thing from the Harbaugh/Sparano fiasco.  Hell, he deserves some harsh punishment for revisiting this territory after that alone based on the sheer stupidity of it.  

2) Flores continues to be a dick.  I can think of many times in team history that I would have gladly given up a first round pick just to get rid of the HC (Wanny, Cameron, Philbin, etc).  If that's the cost of getting rid of this petty asshole then so be it.  He'd better concentrate on his new gig in Pitt and move on if he ever wants another shot at this.

3) Tampering with Brady while under contract *in Tampa Bay* was really, really stupid.  Was he that determined that Tua had to go?  On what basis, exactly?  More than ever I want Tua to make Ross and Flores look jaw droppingly stupid.

Great post, Hal. You're right on with Flores - it is addition by subtraction, and our first round pick is likely going to be at the back-end of the first anyway ( ) so I'll gladly give that up to get that piece of crap out of Miami.

The NFL hates the Dolphins, but regardless: the bottom line here is that Ross is a clueless asshat when it comes to anything football-related, and he just needs to GTFO. Sell the team and go.

All the hatred everyone throws at Grier is misguided. The real problem is at the very top, with the owner. He just should not be allowed to do anything for this team except write checks.

And speaking of Grier, getting that extra first in 2023 now looks even better. So we still have the 49ers' first rounder in 2023, and we can all root for them to suck so that pick goes up.

And why does Tom Brady walk away with no penalty? WTF is that all about?

And speaking of Grier, getting that extra first in 2023 now looks even better. So we still have the 49ers' first rounder in 2023, and we can all root for them to suck so that pick goes up.

I'm thinking there are a few reasons SF could struggle - all good for us.

It's a pretty tough division, Arizona is no slouch, Rams coming off Superbowl, and Seattle won't be a gimme even without Russell Wilson.

They lost McDaniel, along with a few other coaches, and that always has a negative impact to the dynamic of a team. On offense especially.

Garropolo is on the way out, and Trey Lance is very, very unproven. A good chance with his growing pains that they will lose games they otherwise shouldn't.

I told you all back when this came to light that Ross had done it and most of you seemed to think it was just anti-Phins BS.

Anything that sounds extraordinarily stupid and deals with Ross is most likely true.

I do not think the Phins will ever be worth a darn as long as that dipshyte is the owner.

He has not learned, he will not learn, and if McDaniels and Tua struggle, then he will be right back to tampering and dreaming up another bombastic dumbarsed idea just like this boneheaded endeavor.

Ross is what is wrong with the Phins.

Everything else is just deck chairs on the Titanic.

Ross needs to have his arse beaten daily until he sells the team.

What a scumbag POS!

Maybe McDaniels and Tua can do something this year, but at this point, I am almost as concerned about the O-line as I was last year!

mercury22nathan wrote:Flores doesn't think the Dolphins were punished enough, but is claiming victory anyways...

Following the NFL’s imposition of discipline, the former head coach and his attorneys released statements. In his, the former head coach stated he was “thankful” that the NFL’s investigator found that his factual allegations were true, but Flores also noted his “disappointment” to see that the behavior he alleged from Ross was minimized:

…I am disappointed to learn that the investigator minimized Mr. Ross’s offers and and pressure to tank games especially when I wrote and submitted a latter at the time to Dolphins executives documenting my serious concerns regarding this subject at the time which the investigator has in her possession.

In addition, Flores’ attorneys released a statement “vehemently” disagreeing with the NFL’s conclusions, but also noting that the investigator “confirmed the accuracy of the factual allegations made by Mr. Flores.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/former-dolphins-head-coach-brian-171240673.html

Literally none of the main things Flores said were true. The NFL did not prove Ross was bribing him to tank games, nor was there any proof of racism. Anything he might have said about Ross talking to Brady and Payton was just kinda sorta added on. Flores didn't "win" shit, if anything this proves what a load of garbage his initial statements and suit really were. And he knows it too, which is why he's desperately pretending to be vindicated while not so subtly revealing how angry he is that his plan didn't work. Also, if Ross is talking about bringing in Brady and Payton, that's literally the exact opposite of tanking. The punishment itself isn't as severe as the NFL wants people to believe it is. A first one year and a third the next? Fining Ross what amounts to pocket change by his standards? Making him sit out for 6 weeks (same as Watson, what a coincidence)? ALL of this is being done strictly for appearances' sake to pacify the growing movement to force ALL the owners to sell so that NFL teams are controlled by a "woke" consortium. No more rich whites allowed. Except for Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos and people like them, they're just fine

Yeah it's stupid, but is this really worse than Bob Kraft being associated with sex slavery? Objectively, no way.

such an asshole. "I was so offended at the constant suggestions that I tank games that I not only didn't resign immediately after the season, but I stayed for year two, gritted my teeth through the drafting of a quarterback that I didn't want, let them pressure me into playing that quarterback against my will, stayed another year, did everything in my power to get rid of that quarterback to the point of playing Jacoby Freaking Brissett as long as I could to avoid putting him back on the field, and then, after that season---STILL didn't resign, but let them blindside me with a firing, at which time I decided to let the world know that I was completely hamstrung all along and THAT is why I failed!

Going through offensive coordinators like toilet paper was ALSO their idea, not mine! I'm not responsible for ANY of our failures from 2019-2021! NONE!"

HalCHorn wrote:such an asshole.  "I was so offended at the constant suggestions that I tank games that I not only didn't resign immediately after the season, but I stayed for year two, gritted my teeth through the drafting of a quarterback that I didn't want, let them pressure me into playing that quarterback against my will, stayed another year, did everything in my power to get rid of that quarterback to the point of playing Jacoby Freaking Brissett as long as I could to avoid putting him back on the field, and then, after that season---STILL didn't resign, but let them blindside me with a firing, at which time I decided to let the world know that I was completely hamstrung all along and THAT is why I failed!

Going through offensive coordinators like toilet paper was ALSO their idea, not mine!  I'm not responsible for ANY of our failures from 2019-2021!  NONE!"

HA!!! PREACH IT, HAL!!! TELLIN' IT LIKE IT IS!!!

Typical far left thinking--it's always someone ELSE who needs to be "held accountable" while we get to break any and every law we feel like because cops are evil, or something. Rules for thee but not for me.

Also, because they're so morally depraved and bankrupt, the far left doesn't even consider any sort of sex crime to be wrong anymore, and in fact wants the rest of us to accept it as another "new normal". This is the real reason why Kraft went unscathed.

Notice how the media didn't say a damn thing about the Flores suit for months, but is now going to pretend he won it based on stuff Ross did that had NOTHING to do with Flores at all!

The players being happy Flores is gone says it all. I'll trust their response VS what the media says all day every day.

Here's one for you.........since Ross got punished for tampering.

If Flores did in fact tell Tua that he wanted Watson through the whole fiasco. Wouldn't that have been considered tampering? Weren't both players under contract during the season. Weren't both players contractually obligated to their respective teams? Don't understand!

The more I think about it, the more it is obvious that the NFL decided they had to punish the Phins in some way since it was clear that Flores's claims were nothing but a pile of crap. So now Flores somehow thinks he won and the NFL can act like they're doing something to help the league.

The reality is, EVERY team talks to agents EVERY day, and if you think they never talk about players or coaches that are under contract...well, you live in fairy tale land. Anyway you slice it, this is bullshit and just an excuse for the league to save face.

gritted my teeth through the drafting of a quarterback that I didn't want,

I still don't believe this, either. Greir is the opposite of a power-drunk GM. He will serve the head coach - almost too much - and sometimes to the team's detriment (for example, pushing back and refusing to trade Minkah Fitzpatrick was the correct move).

If Flores wanted Herbert, Grier would have drafted him. Period. Flores was on board, totally aligned with taking Tua and only after realizing "gee, young QBs don't join your team and instantly behave like Tom Brady?!" he became disenchanted and started yammering about Watson.

JMP wrote:The more I think about it, the more it is obvious that the NFL decided they had to punish the Phins in some way since it was clear that Flores's claims were nothing but a pile of crap.  So now Flores somehow thinks he won and the NFL can act like they're doing something to help the league.

JMP you are more right than you know. Flores' legal suit was a hodge-podge of latrine effluviant that he simply threw up to see of he could get any traction on anything whatsoever. despite being a load of crap, the NFL had no appetite to get into a legal battle over perceived racist hiring practices (no matter how false the allegations were) in the public eye. even though the NFL knew it would win in court, it feared losing in the public eye considering the current state of affairs and perception - and liberal leaning media. the NFL from the beginning wanted to settle this through confidential arbitration. but Flores wanted his pound of Ross' flesh. the NFL decided to proactively deal with what they perceived as the low hanging fruit: Ross tampering. the NFL is hoping they can now show a judge - "Look we did something about the "substantiated" claims, now let us go settle the other stuff (supposed racists hiring practices) behind closed doors." the NFL is sacrificing the Dolphins so they can avoid a public fight on the other issues - now matter how frivolous they are.

in the past, a tempering investigation only takes place if one team levels tampering charges against another. in this case, no team (not New England, not Tampa Bay and not New Orleans) has made a tampering accusation. the NFL took it upon themselves based solely on Flores' claims.

and now i wonder, did the Ross/Beal contact Sean Payton's agent before they fired Flores. cause that may be what really pissed Flores off. remember, this whole thing supposedly started with a "mistaken" text to Flores from Belichick - congratulating Brian Daboll on the Giants job. i think it's all a setup from the beginning.

Excellent post, merc - I think you totally nailed it. It's all a farce so the NFL ends up looking good, and the Dolphins are the sacrificial lamb.