Miami Dolphins Are An El Camino With Chrome Wheels

Miami Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland has a master plan. What that master plan is, however, is well beyond my level of comprehension.

First off, the franchise has a serviceable quarterback behind center in former Texas A&M Aggies signal caller Ryan Tannehill who showed a modicum of improvement as his rookie year progressed, but not enough in my opinion to show that he will be anything more than a game manager in the foreseeable future.

Typically, it’s sound management to build around a quarterback that has at least some star quality, suggesting he will be with your franchise long-term. Evidently Jeff Ireland sees something in Tannehill that I don’t, because the personnel moves made in recent days — one which is complete and the other rumored to be all-but-done — make my head spin.

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In signing wide receiver Bryan Hartline to a $30.775 million, 5 year contract — $12.5 million of which is guaranteed– Ireland is pegging the No. 1 tag on a receiver that has a total of 1,632 yards and two touchdowns over the past two seasons. This one makes my head spin — and not in the day-drinking semi-buzz kind of good way.

On top of this, the rumored signing of Mike Wallace as a free agent to occupy the other primary wide receiver slot is another shot in the dark. Sure, Wallace has had his moments of brilliance while with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but nothing is there to suggest he can show any type of sustainable consistency.

In short, Jeff Ireland is putting shiny pieces around a workman-like engine and hoping that somehow each will help the other rise to the occasion and ensure the offensive unit plays to its potential as a whole.

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It’s like putting chrome wheels on an El Camino, or, as we like to say in the Lone Star State, putting the cart before the horse– adding flash to something serviceable in the hope that no one will notice the combination is flat out bizarre.

That guy who lives in my neighborhood should take notes.

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Kris Hughes is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. You can follow Kris on Twitter, Google and Facebook.