The Sparano-Taylor meeting off on wrong foot

[Jetfan13]

Armando Salguero

Tony Sparano called Jason Taylor in recent days and with all the charm and charisma that convinces so many Dolphins to play hard 100 percent of the time, the coach told Taylor the two of them needed to meet this week.

Man to man. Coach to player.

Nobody needed to know about it, Sparano told Taylor.

And so Taylor didn't tell anyone about the meeting.

Taylor didn't tell his agent Gary Wichard. He didn't share it with any of his close confidants, either. So on Monday afternoon when ESPN senior insider Chris Mortensen reported on NFL Live that the meeting was coming this week, everyone connected with Taylor denied they knew about it because, well, they didn't.

But obviously someone inside the Dolphins organization told Mortensen. So the same organization that swore Taylor to secrecy leaked news of the meeting to the Worldwide Leader -- a figurative national bullhorn.

What is the deal with these Miami Dolphins? On the one hand, they're asking players to keep in-house matters in-house. On the other hand they're planting stories in the national media.

And what is the point? On the one hand, they seem to be reaching out to Taylor. But, in fact, by leaking the story, they have actually done damage to whatever they might be trying to accomplish. Taylor was disappointed with the team late Monday night when he learned news of the planned meeting leaked from the team after he was told to tell no one.

The Dolphins have been in lockdown mode on the Taylor issue for weeks. General Manager Jeff Ireland calls Wichard regularly every time facts about the Taylor-Dolphins negotiations -- or lack of negotiations -- get out in the media.

But Ireland is working for the very organization that slips ESPN interesting little notes -- like Ronnie Brown being on the trade block or Joey Porter not playing the rest of the season after his 2009 suspension. Granted, sometimes the information is flawed, but apparently the tuna can that is the Miami Dolphins isn't very well sealed.

The greater point is the Dolphins work in unorthodox ways. They have asked players to betray their agents -- as with the Ricky Williams contract extension that excluded agent Leigh Steinberg. And they betray their players -- as in leaking news of Taylor's private meeting with Sparano.

Weird.

The now well-chronicled meeting, by the way, is still scheduled for the next day or so. Taylor is scheduled to go out of town with his wife late in the week. (No, he isn't going to New York to sign a contract.) At least that wasn't the plan late Monday before Taylor found out the meeting was all over the Internet.

So where does this meeting go? What purpose does it serve?

It should probably start with Sparano apologizing to Taylor. The coach put his reputation on the line in asking Taylor to keep things private, but his team instead turned around and opened its information pipeline to ESPN. That cannot help the Dolphins' agenda unless the agenda is to simply make a public relations move -- one the Dolphins want publicized on national TV.

Maybe the meeting is meant to tell Taylor to go quietly into the night -- or in this case to simply take an offer from the New York Jets.

But if the point of the meeting is to be sincere and try to convince Taylor to be patient with the Dolphins, to wait until after the draft and hedge his bet Miami might want him back, this definitely is a strange way to go about that.

Strange and wrong.

[124]

With the aquisition of Marshall, Taylor may be enticed to stay.

[Green DNA]

Taylor is using the Jets to force the Dolphins hand, period. If that doesn't work, then he will sign with the Jets. Friggin douchebag.

[neckdemon]

Taylor is using the Jets to force the Dolphins hand, period. If that doesn't work, then he will sign with the Jets. Friggin douchebag.

i dont care what he's doing i just don't ever want to see this pos wearing a jets uniform period.

[DMaynard]

Taylor is using the Jets to force the Dolphins hand, period. If that doesn't work, then he will sign with the Jets. Friggin douchebag.

If it means he ends up a Dolphin instead of a Jet - glad we could help.

[Ghost]

Jets fans will boo him even if he does get a sack. LOL

[JuressigPark]

Jets fans will boo him even if he does get a sack. LOL

As weird as that sounds, that would be awesome! Just imagine, every time one of our players does good, we boo him. A) that'd be hilarious, it would motivate him to play even harder, to gain the acceptance of Jets fans. That just might work if he joins THE BEST ROSTER EVER!

[SackExchange]

Jason Taylor becoming a Jet is like Roger Clemmens becoming a Yankee. It'll never happen, we'll never cheer for him....

[newjakecity]

The Jets need to set a deadline for this weekend. In or out, we have to move on. Whatever his reasons for delaying are, he needs to s*** or get off the pot.

[Thai Jet]

With the aquisition of Marshall, Taylor may be enticed to stay.

I don't believe this POS was EVER going to become a Jet. He was just using us to get a new deal with the Phags.

[Jetsfan1015]

Jason Taylor becoming a Jet is like Roger Clemmens becoming a Yankee. It'll never happen, we'll never cheer for him....

Well, I'm not a Yankee fan so I have no experience with that situation but did Clemens ever publicly insult the Yankee fans while he was a Red Sox or a Blue Jay? (serious question) Whether he did or not, I can tell you that this Jets fan will NEVER cheer for that POS taylor. If he signs, I will be the first to boo him every time he is introduced and if he makes a big play for our defense, I will be sitting on my hands not cheering for him. Call me what you want but he does not deserve to wear the green and white.

[Ghost]

I hate Taylor, but I honestly think he can help this team.

1. It takes a pass rusher away from the Dolphins

2. It gives the Jets that same pass rusher.

[Stonehands]

Repeat after me: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." Please grow up! We have a player that gets so into his role on a team that he develops a hatred for their rivals....I love it. That is just the kind of guy we need on our team! Sign this beast and improve our pass rush. The rest of the babies in this thread need to grow up....they are just words.

[LWC611]

Jason Taylor becoming a Jet is like Roger Clemmens becoming a Yankee. It'll never happen, we'll never cheer for him....

LOL but wait a minute....that happened right?

[PatriotReign37]

With the aquisition of Marshall, Taylor may be enticed to stay.

The fat lady hasnt sang yet.

[Jetsfan1015]

Repeat after me: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." Please grow up! We have a player that gets so into his role on a team that he develops a hatred for their rivals....I love it. That is just the kind of guy we need on our team! Sign this beast and improve our pass rush. The rest of the babies in this thread need to grow up....they are just words.

Ok, let me try this out. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.

You know what, I do feel better. Thanks

And I still dont want that POS taylor on the Jets.

[#27TheDominator]

With the aquisition of Marshall, Taylor may be enticed to stay.

Or maybe the Dolphins will be able to weather the PR hit now that they've spent some money and made a splash. They obviously aren't in love with him.

As weird as that sounds, that would be awesome! Just imagine, every time one of our players does good, we boo him. A) that'd be hilarious, it would motivate him to play even harder, to gain the acceptance of Jets fans. That just might work if he joins THE BEST ROSTER EVER!

Or maybe he'll just sulk on the sideline in tears. It's not like it's never happened before.

[rick34125]

Jets owner Woody Johnson, GM Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan make another push for Jason Taylor

By Manish Mehta/The Star-Ledger

April 14, 2010, 11:55PM

Doug Benc/Getty

The Jets are actively pursuing Jason Taylor.

The Jets made another push for free agent Jason Taylor with an aggressive move to woo the 35-year-old defensive end/outside linebacker.

Jets owner Woody Johnson, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan dialed up Taylor

[SoFlaJets]

Adam_Schefter Cover your eyes, Dolphins fans: Before all is said and done, it sure sounds like Jason Taylor is going to wind up as a NY Jet.

[rick34125]

Adam_Schefter Cover your eyes, Dolphins fans: Before all is said and done, it sure sounds like Jason Taylor is going to wind up as a NY Jet.

i hope this works out. it makes sense for a lot of reasons.

[SoFlaJets]

i hope this works out. it makes sense for a lot of reasons.

Adam Scheffter doesn't usually tweet anything unless he knows something-he's the best there is-are you a Twitter member Rick?

[Ghost]

The signing of Jason Taylor will definitely help this team, and it will also get Miami fans mad. That always puts a smile on my face.

[SackExchange]

Well, I'm not a Yankee fan so I have no experience with that situation but did Clemens ever publicly insult the Yankee fans while he was a Red Sox or a Blue Jay? (serious question) Whether he did or not, I can tell you that this Jets fan will NEVER cheer for that POS taylor. If he signs, I will be the first to boo him every time he is introduced and if he makes a big play for our defense, I will be sitting on my hands not cheering for him. Call me what you want but he does not deserve to wear the green and white.

I'm a Yankee fan, and I found it very difficult to root for Clemens... and I'll find it very difficult to root for Taylor. But more than likely, if Taylor has few great plays or great games, Jetfandom will being going crazy for the guy. In reality, there's only a few of us diehards that won't be able to stomach it.