A lot of the news around the Dolphins in recent years has involved the head coaches (Jim Harbaugh) and players (Peyton Manning) who turned them down. After an offseason of spending, though, GM Jeff Ireland thinks those days are gone.
"This is a place where people want to play," says Ireland. "I think that's the most important aspect of what we've accomplished this year."
It's kind of an odd quote -- wouldn't getting better be most important? It looks like the Dolphins added a lot of big-name players primarily because they offered the most money, which certainly helps in terms of getting free agents to want to play somewhere.
In any case, the Dolphins have added some big-name receivers (Mike Wallace, Dustin Keller), arguably the draft's top pass rusher (Dion Jordan), and have reason to be optimistic about a couple of young offensive players (Ryan Tannehill, Lamar Miller). Now all they need to do is win, and maybe Ireland will be right about it being where players want to play. Even if he doesn't write the biggest checks.
--Andy Richardson