Dunta Watch 2009

superbowlbound · #1 08-06-2009, 04:13 PM

I think it simply amounts to the fact that training camp isn't fun, and he doesn't want to do it. He got his feelings hurt when the Texans gave him a deal that was more than he's worth (methinks his agent was expecting a low-ball offer, as in "Dunta, whatever they offer you, turn it down. They're going to offer you less than another team. That's a fact") and then balked at letting him walk for nothing. Really this holdout reeks of, in my best cartman voice, "screw you guys, i'm going home." He's certainly not accomplishing anything from a negotiations standpoint, and as far as injuries go, his entire tender is guaranteed from the second he signs it, healthy or with a broken neck. I really do have a hard time really wrapping my head around how ridiculous dunta's behavior has been, given the relationship he's had with this team and this city for the past 5 years. "waaa, i don't wanna go to training camp!" is the only thing that makes any sense to me.

WMH · #2 08-06-2009, 04:53 PM

Rick Smith should just tell him there will be no tag next year and be done with it.
He can always change his mind later

...............

bckey · #3 08-06-2009, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WMH

Rick Smith should just tell him there will be no tag next year and be done with it.
He can always change his mind later

...............

I like this thinking.

Keith · #4 08-08-2009, 12:14 AM

Dunta speaks! Dunta speaks!!

Quote:

Robinson declared he would be on “the first thing smoking” and at practice tomorrow morning if the Texans would agree not to place a franchise tag on him for a second consecutive year.

“I’d be on the way to the airport while we were talking, and be the first one at the next practice if they did that,” Robinson said in a telephone interview from Sarasota, Fla., where he is working out to prepare for the upcoming season.

then he said...

Quote:

“We’re not inclined to agree to that,” Texans general manager Rick Smith said. “It has less to do with Dunta Robinson, and more to do with organization. We don’t feel comfortable doing that, so we’re not going to.” ...

“If Dunta were a two- or three- or four-time Pro Bowler, I’d be more comfortable with him missing training camp,” Smith said. “But he needs to be here for his teammates and for him. He plays a skilled position that the more reps, the more snaps, he gets, the better he’s going to be.

and then he said...

Quote:

Robinson said he doesn't feel like he's asking for much. "It’s what other teams do and have done,” he said. “It’s not a crazy request. I’m trying to meet them in the middle, but they won’t come halfway. I would have been at all the offseason stuff, and at training camp from Day 1 if they just agreed to that.” ...

“He said I wasn’t a franchise tag-worthy player,” Robinson said. “If that’s the case, then why pay me franchise-level money? And possibly two years in a row? Doesn’t make sense to me.”

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/6564888.html

Finally a cool article on this subject from the chron. Thank you Jerome.

Be mad all you want at Dunta, or Rick, or the sun and moon, whatever... but Dunta sorta has a point, maybe? I mean, Dunta was asking for a contract this offseason equal to what he might have earned if proven healthy. Ok, tag him. Next year, he's either already proved it and it's easier to pay him, or he isn't worth the second F-tag.

The only reason to retain the tag would be leverage for trade value. I get that. But at what cost? The Texans need to have their best team ready on the field Week 1.

edo783 · #5 08-08-2009, 01:54 AM

Give us the right to match any offer (sort of like a RFA) he gets next year and I'm good to go. I still think 9.9 million is too much, but to get the drama done and meet somewhere in the middle...

nunusguy · #6 08-08-2009, 08:31 AM

Once again, I don't think Dunta Robinson wants to be living and/or playing football in Houston, TX. Why ? I dunno, but I'm convinced its not a monetary issue regarding what the Texans are willing to pay him or anything about contract terms, its an issue about geography.

painekiller · #7 08-08-2009, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edo783

Give us the right to match any offer (sort of like a RFA) he gets next year and I'm good to go. I still think 9.9 million is too much, but to get the drama done and meet somewhere in the middle...

The union would be all over Dunta for that one.

edo783 · #8 08-08-2009, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by painekiller

The union would be all over Dunta for that one.

Yeah, I know that, just thought it would be a good PR move by the team to get that into the press and have Dunta snivel about that also and run to the league/union rules to hide under. He would just be showing more of his true colors.

itssharif · #9 08-09-2009, 03:04 PM

I apologize for my irresponsible actions of posting information that should not have been posted. The business side of football should remain behind closed doors and I should have respected the parties involved in their respect to privacy within the matter.

superbowlbound · #10 08-09-2009, 06:41 PM

I don't understand why there has been absolutely no talk of a conditional ban on using the franchise tag next year. Dunta obviously wants all-pro money. He turned down Chris Gamble's contract with his name on it, so he obviously thinks pretty highly of his worth on the field. Why the Texans wouldn't be willing to say, "fine. You start in the pro bowl, which would make you one of the top 4 corners in football, or 'worthy of the franchise tag', and we won't use it again." I don't see much of a downside here. Sure, the possibility exists that he'll achieve that incentive and walk leaving us with nothing, but I don't really see that happening. Eventually, especially as you become a really good team, you've got to let certain players go when their contract demands exceed their on-field value, for the good of the team. The way I see it, Dunta's not worthy of the franchise-tag now, nor will he be next season. I say give him a conditional promise, so that when he doesn't quite meet that standard, he has that extra motivation to get a deal done before the deadline to franchise.

He has to have learned something about the business side of the NFL through all of this. Get your butt into camp so you can get up to speed, and then go play for your new contract, be it here or somewhere else. You're not helping anyone at all by holding out right now.

Really it's that that's put such a sour taste in my mouth towards dunta. He is gaining literally nothing. All he's doing is showing the entire league that he can be every bit as stubborn as chad ocho cinco or to. That is not a positive thing.

His tender this year is a sunk cost regardless, so give him that conditional release, get him here and up to speed, enjoy his playing his heart out for a new contract for (hopefully) 19 games, and then worry about signing him long-term. Let him earn his way out of the tag. I'm not convinced that the 2010 offseason is going to be as rife with spending as some of the players may think. With an improved front 7, adding a safety or 2 in the draft next year, and we can be fine with jaques and freddy on the outside with quin and mccain as the nickel/dime going forward. Give us a healthy run into the playoffs, and the chemistry boost you get from a vocal leader like dunta will be far less of an issue, I assure you.

cadams · #11 08-10-2009, 03:22 PM

i think the key there is long term. they can change the terms of the one year franchise deal i believe.

papabear · #12 08-10-2009, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadams

i think the key there is long term. they can change the terms of the one year franchise deal i believe.

No, The franchise tag is the average of the top 5 salaries for that position or a % raise(don't remeber the exact %) over the players last year salart, whichever is higher. I might not have that 100% correct, but the franchise tag amount is set by the CBA. It's nothing the Texans have control over.

painekiller · #13 08-10-2009, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by papabear

No, The franchise tag is the average of the top 5 salaries for that position or a % raise(don't remeber the exact %) over the players last year salart, whichever is higher. I might not have that 100% correct, but the franchise tag amount is set by the CBA. It's nothing the Texans have control over.

They can agree to a higher amount and they can agree to clauses like Haynesworth got.

But the Texans do not have to agree to anything more than the CBA states.