The 30 million dollar question this off season for the Miami Dolphins front office is not about Peyton Manning, but rather about Paul Soliai, their stalwart of a Nose Tackle.

Playing the position of Nose tackle in the NFL takes an extreme amount of strength and self control as offensive linemen are prepared to double and sometimes triple team the player in order to keep the player off of their running back or sometimes QB.

Paul Soliai is a player that has evolved over the years and was paid a handsome sum in the form of a franchise tag to make him the man that stops the run and puts pressure on the quarterback which allows hungry linebackers to shoot the gaps. 

Soliai was paid last year based on his 2010 performance and in 2011, he found his way to the quarterback and made key plays on defense. 

The question remains, has Soliai become expendable for the Miami Dolphins and can they bring in someone younger and even tougher in free agency or the draft and the answer is no.

Teams such as the Ravens and Patriots have Haloti Ngata and Vince Wilfork respectively, both players set the tone for the defense and late in the game, they are the guys grinding it out getting a timely pressure to close out with a game on the line. 

In addition, both players play in a 3-4 defense primarily.

Currently the Dolphins are slated to play 3-4, but with more 4-3 looks than they have had in previous years.

Here are some reasons for re-signing Soliai:

1. Soliai can make plays and has success forcing enough pressure in order to sack the quarterback.

2. Soliai is coming off of a pro bowl season and has stayed relatively healthy. 

3. Soliai is a stalwart defensive tackle in a defense with three down linemen, stopping the runs up the middle.

4. Despite preliminary figures on the salary cap situation for Miami, should his potential 2012 earnings exceed the 9 million the Dolphins are rumored to be under the cap, his contract can be spread out to future years.

Here is a reason for the Dolphins should not sign Soliai:

1. Soliai plays 2-3 downs.  His size and strength make him more of specialist than an everydown lineman.  He can't be there in a pass down because a quicker Jared Odrick could fill the position and make more of an impact withi his speed.

2. Soliai is expensive.  Soliai wants 25-30 million in bonus plus an annual salary.  It's a lot of risk that you pay, but could land out of shape living large with a new contract and he could slack off in his preparation.  

3. Soliai may be a pro bowler, but he is not a super bowl player.  If the Dolphins want to go to the Super Bowl, other areas such as QB, TE, OL might be a better place to spend the money.

4.  Soliai could be looking to play only in a 3-4.  A formation that is better suited for him so he can let the Line backers finish the job.  It is possible that the hiring of DC Kevin Coyle might be looking for a Tank Johnson type and bring a more Tampa 2 look with a 4-3 front in Miami.  

While Soliai in theory could be a very good signing for Miami, it would be behoove the Dolphins to look at other areas of need and say that they can't afford a player who wants a 4-5 year deal and QB money at that. 

Earlier this afternoon Adam Schefter tweeted that the Rams have had discussions with the Dolphins, Browns, and Redskins about trading the number 2 pick.

Note that the Dolphins also had the chance to sit down and interview the potential number 2 pick Robert Griffin the 3^rd. While the Dolphins originally seemed like a long shot to land RG3, buzz that the Browns might not be so hot on the young Baylor gunslinger leaves them in an interesting place.

While everyone and their first cousin knows that Peyton Manning seems like the number 1 priority for the Dolphins brass, should the Dolphins not be able to land the Sheriff, RG3 might become the backup plan.

While there have been smoke screens about the Phins wanting Manning, Tannehill, Flynn and next we will probably hear some smoke about them wanting Jay Fiedler back, the idea of drafting Baylor’s QB is an interesting one.

RG3 ran a 4.41 forty time and impressed all scouts by with his unbelievable athleticism in all the NFL combine drills, while also impressing the media at the podium and interviews. RG3 wants to give Andrew Luck a run for his money and seemed poised to be something special in the NFL.

The Rams confirmed today that the Rams will deal the pick and its just a matter of who will move up and what they are willing to give up.

Schefter said that the price tag for the 2^nd overall pick will be similar to when the Giants traded up for Eli Manning :  2 1^st round picks, 1 3^rd round pick and 1 5^th .

While some may think that is a steep price, I think it is 100% worth it for a potential franchise QB like RG3 with all the talent he posses.

The Dolphins has failed to take a risk or leap in the draft in years and there is no time better than to find your next franchise QB.

To put things into perspective, if the Dolphins traded for the 2^nd pick based on players they currently drafted the trade would look like.

Dolphins : RG3

Rams : Mike Pouncey( 1^st in 2011) , Jared Odrick( 1^st in 2010) , John Jerry (3^rd in 2010) Nolan Carroll ( 5^th in 2010)

While Pouncey is a very solid center and Oddrick is a nice player, clearly the need for a franchise QB is the better of the two options. This is a QB driven league and with Matt Moore as your starter you clearly aren’t winning a Super Bowl any time soon.

So my friends, would you trade up for RG3 ??

2012 if off to a solid start for the Miami Dolphins as this morning they won a coin toss for the 8^th overall pick of this year’s NFL draft. The Dolphins will now be selecting ahead of the Carolina Panthers which is significant because the buzz around the league has both teams having interest in DE Quinton Coples.

Our good buddy over at the Finsider’s tweeted,

Jesse Agler ‏ @finsjesse

Fins now 2-0 in 2012 haha. Beat the Jets on 1/1 and won the toss today.

Hopefully the winning streak in 2012 will continue for the Phins and we can all look forward to another exciting season of Dolphins football.

Now that the drama of the coin toss is over it is time to focus on which players which help and hurt their draft stock in the always entertaining NFL combine.

Another small note on the coin toss is that because the Dolphins win the flip  they will now keep the special edition coin.

Phins Up

Today at the NFL combine both Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland and head coach Joe Philbin got up to the podium to speak to the press.

In contrast to how the Dolphins usually operate, Ireland and Philbin were pretty open about what the Dolphins were looking for this off season.

Matt Miller @nfldraftscout

#Dolphins will look for pass rushers and a quarterback, per GM Ireland

Ireland also mentioned how he believes the difference between the 8^th and 9^th pick is a notable one. There are 2 names that have consistently been brought up as potential pass rushers that might land in the top 10.  UNC’s Quinton Coples and Alabama’s Courtney Upshaw. Both will be strongly considered for this year’s upcoming draft. Coples has already become a favorite to land in Miami on most experts’ mock drafts.

However the most interesting talk was regarding the QB position.

Here are a couple of the most interesting quotes from today’s presser.

RT @nfldraftscout Philbin on QB: We are looking for a leader. Age doesn't matter. #Dolphins

RT @JeffDarlington Ireland leaves open all possibilities at QB: "I don't think it has to be long-term solution,can be a short-term"

While these may be smoke screen attempts by the Dolphins brass, it certainly sounds a lot like the Dolphins will be making Peyton Manning priority number 1 this off season.

Stephen Ross: Big shot billion dollar business man and owner of the Miami Dolphins doesn’t know what it means to fail. Ross is willing to do whatever it takes and write a blank cheque to any player that can potentially help bring glory back to Miami. Ross also has a burning desire to make the Dolphins succeed as a business and that means filling the stands with fans.

Jeff Ireland: Is Ireland the man calling the shot or his he Ross’s puppet ? Ireland originally brought in by Bill Parcells has the very murky reputation, granted mostly connected to off the field incidents with Dez Bryant and the belief by some of the fan base that he is a jerk.

Joe Philbin: Recently hired head coach, who has full power to pick and chose his coaching staff but will he have the same power in choosing his QB. There is still a lot of debate how the player personnel decisions will go down.

Earlier this off season there were rumors of internal battles between Ireland and Ross in choosing the next coach and similar buzz is already starting to be created over player personnel decisions in Miami.

With that being said, the big question is who calls the shots for the Dolphins? The Dolphins apparently have a well thought out plan on how this off season will go but we aren’t exactly sure what that plan is and whose plan it is.

There is no question Stephen Ross’s guy should he hit the market will be Peyton Manning. Manning can bring national attention back to the Dolphins; fans back in the stands and is an overall good business move as well as a potentially good football if Peyton is able to get back to his old self.

However, we don’t know if Peyton would be Philbin’s first choice as Flynn played in his system and it might be that familiarity that would make Joe want Flynn to be his guy. The other alternative is Philbin might be pursued into drafting Ryan Tannehill by his OC Mike Sherman.

While it’s almost a guarantee whichever decision the Dolphins chose to make they will attempt to find a new franchise QB, the big question is will the decision making process cause some issues between Philbin and the front office.

We should get a better picture of who the Don in Miami is later when free agency begins. The Dolphins front office better make sure they are all on the same page because if its just a battle of different directions to pursue it wont work

Till then,

Fins Up