With the outstanding defenses and the outstanding running game the Dolphins had into the early and mid 2000s, it seemed like we were always 9-7 or 10-6 and the first team on the outside looking in come playoff time. It was always perplexing as to why they settled on Jay Fiedler back then. With a defense that had the likes of Thomas, Taylor, Surtain, and Madison and Ricky Williams carrying the ball, an even decent QB could have gotten a ring.
It was coach Wanny that wasted the best years of a great defense. He really thought that Jay Fielder was just as good as Trent Green and there was no need to improve at QB. Painful memories, except that playoff win over the Colts and a last second FG win in Denver by Mare.
2001 Draft doomed us when we didn't pick Brees...i know hind sight is 20/20 but a lot of mocks had us taking him and a lot of fans thought we would take him as well. So many people saw it but not our FO. Instead we take a zone CB for our man defense.
Nope, we had a SECOND chance at Brees in 2006, but went with Culpepper instead. The death spiral began in earnest after that, minus a fluky season in 2008, and maybe another in 2016.
Shaking my head at some of these posts... You guys do realize that in 2000, the first year post Marino with Fiedler as our QB, we went 11-5, winning the AFC East don't you? In 2001, the second year post Marino, with Fiedler as our QB, went went 11-5. Pray tell....someone...anyone tell me when was the last time we won 11 games in a season? I'll do it. The year was 1992!! Now for anyone to say we screwed up by not making a play to draft Brees in 2000 is just idiotic. We had Fiedler gift wrapped to us with Coughlin's departure from Jacksonville to New York but you'll get NO argument from me whatsoever when we had a shot at him in 2006 and elected Culpepper instead. THAT was stupid but allow me this. Had we taken Brees over Culpepper, with the upper level management and coaching staff we had at the time, does anyone truly believe Brees would have flourished in such a chaotic environment? Does anyone truly believe we would have unseated the Patriots with a rudderless helm making the decisions in the front office and the awe inspiring fist pumps of Tony Sparano? I will concede this additional point however...as it was made public a few years ago. Had we signed Brees over Culpepper, it's quite possile that Nick Saban would still be our head coach.
That Week 17 loss in Foxboro with the division title on the line in 2002 still makes me sick to my stomach. Up 24-13 with 2:59 to play, David Givens blatantly pushes off and the Dolphins get called for PI, then the Dolphins melt down and lose in OT.
We had a very good coaching staff with saban. A few those guys went on to become HC's. Pointless speculation but I think with Brees we would have seen a legendary rivalry between him and Brady, and also saban vs belicheck.
It was putting the ball in the hands of Fielder that killed me the most. Would Ricky have gotten a first down with three carries? I don't know for sure, but I know the Pats would have burned timeouts and had less time on the clock. Not taking Brees in 2002 can be defended, as he had question marks that made him a second round pick, but he also struggled his first few years and the Chargers drafted Rivers to replace him. Then the light came on for Drew, but that shoulder injury again made him a question mark. Would Brees have brought stability to the Miami Dolphins? Probably. The drafting was not great when Saban was here, but that could have turned with more time. Having a QB to build around makes the other decisions easier. Of course, we might as well go back and draft Aaron Rodgers at #2 instead of Ronnie Brown and that would have solved even more problems.
We had a good defense and a great running back, the two most important ingredients to a championship football team and yet.......nothing. Its like no matter what, this team is the same every year. Its almost a curse
Yup. Next year is definitely the year. If not, the year after that for sure.......or the year after that
2000 was widely expected to be a rebuilding year after Marino and Jimmy retired, and what happened in Jacksonville. Jason Taylor was coming off of a 2.5 sack season, and we still weren't sure what we had in Pat Surtain. It was Zach Thomas, Sam Madison and an offense that people thought would just be plain awful. We had passed on the chance to bring in a proven quarterback and instead rolled with the preseason battle between Fiedler and Damon Huard. Huard clearly won, but Wanny chose to go with Fiedler anyways. Lamar Smith was a 30 year old career backup, coming off of a 205 yard season in New Orleans. And our best WR was former Arena Leaguer Gadsden, who was what he was, as maybe an ok #2 guy in an offense with a lot of other options. I had them pegged for 5-11, and expected the worst season of my lifetime to that point. Instead, they put together the best defense the team had had in decades, Smith ran the ball just well enough to chew the clock, and we were fortunate that the rest of the division wasn't very good. The 11-5 2000 season felt great, but it should have been just a starting point for the team to build upon. Obviously, they would recognize that they needed much better players at QB and WR, and focus on that in the 2001 draft, right? Everyone talks about Brees, but I wanted Reggie Wayne in the first round. HOF talent and from the U of Miami. Easy peazy. Nope! And Wanny passed on the chance to step up and trade for both Trent Green and Matt Hasselbeck. Oops! So then they blow two first rounders trading for Ricky, do zilch else, and it gradually falls apart. And has never gotten all that much better than where we were around then, while we've had to deal with the uber juggernaut in Foxboro all those years since.
