Worth a read. Here is a snippet: http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/28/will-miami-ever-learn-the-marino-lesson/ You might want to look at the comment section as well. Some decent points are made there.
I've been saying it. I have no idea what the franchise has been thinking since 1997 when they knew Marino was coming to the end. Should've drafted one in 98 or 99, or even 00/01 after he left. There's a reason why these QBs aren't taken in the 1st round. It's hard to draft a QB later on that will become a franchise QB. It's happened before, but it's much rarer. You see just how awful history is when drafting 2nd round QBs. But, that was the Parcells way. Pick the "safe" choice in Jake Long and hope a 2nd round QB pans out rather than taking Ryan and getting a worse LT. But, LT is much easier to find through trade or FA than QB.
The only QB Miami was in position to draft in the first round in any of those drafts you named was Drew Brees. And we were picking bottom of the first round. Nobody else wanted him in the first so I don't think it was a bad decision. Considering who else we passed up, Todd Heap, Reggie Wayne, then those were the ones we could have taken. It's always easier said than done.
I know, but sometimes you need to make moves and try to trade up like the Jets did. Of those other teams since 1998 who haven't drafted a QB in the first round, they've all found one at some point. Chiefs have Cassel now, Pats have Brady, Saints got Brees, Seahawks got Hasselbeck (He may be in decline, but he took them to the Super Bowl and a bunch of good seasons), Cowboys have Romo, and the Panthers had Delhomme who took them to the Super Bowl and a bunch of playoff seasons before his decline. Dolphins just can't figure it out.
Which one of those guys was a first round pick? It's hit or miss. And looking at our surrounding talent and draft positions, we were never in a position to trade up to get a QB.
What's the point of anything we discuss here? We're not going to affect the present or the future of the team anymore than we can affect the past.
Matt Ryan can be brought up all day long but THAT year, before the draft, he was a huge question mark as far as real talent. He had a reputation as not being very accurate. I remember the debates very well. Mike Mayock was the ONLY so called guru that said he would be really good. We had an OLine that couldnt protect the QB and Jake Long was the GUARANTEED choice to make for the amount of money that #1 pick was scheduled to get. All of the chit chat is in TOTAL hindsight. Wasnt it Wanny that refused to take Brees? THAT............is the QB we SHOULD have had and most said we would draft him BEFORE the draft. Wanny is still killing this team by his bad choices. Matt Ryan would have never been a possibility for us because we would have been drafting a lot lower than 3rd, where he went.
That was Saban. One might argue that drafting Pat White rather than signing Mike Vick was similar in magnitude.
Don,t forget how many coaches we have had since then also. The end of Wanny, Jimmy Johnson, Satan, Cam Cameron, and now Sparano. 5 coaches.....all with new regimes, all needing several years to evaluate talent and lets not forget who really came out in those 10 or so years, 3 or 4 Franchise QB's and a couple are suspect like Flacco. I really don't think the guy is that great. Now Aaron Rodgers is a different story.
Wanstash passed on Brees for Jamar Fletcher. San Diego took Brees with the 1st pick in the 2nd round. I'm pretty sure Fletcher later ended up with SD via trade for a late round pick. As fate would have it Saban passed up the 2nd chance for Brees. Regardless most would have roasted Brees for not being Marino out of the box.
Boy do I hope whoever is making personnel decisions for us in 2011/2012 is aware of this. Some of us on this board having been screaming it for years. Others will defend Henne to no end and cheer if/when we do not draft a QB in round 1. Then they'll be giddy about whatever also ran QB we draft in the third round, citing examples of various obscure statistics how, "He's actually more accurate than Luck on passes over 20 yards, but less than 36!" We'll read hundreds of stats and threads like this. But some Henne defenders will hate him. They'll hate any QB who threaten their man's job. When Henne eventually loses the job to the also ran, then he'll become their guy. Until he fails. Then the cycle repeats. This is the gospel of John Beck according to Phin fans. END THE CYCLE!! DRAFT A QB ROUND 1!!!!!!!!!
You'd think that the last few FOs would have been aware of it, but GMs and coaches frequently outsmart themselves.
Then Matt Ryan gets slaughtered for 3 Sundays in a row and then no more Matt Ryan; is then declared a bust.
I'm all for taking a QB in round one, but only if there is a QB worth taking in that round. Taking a QB in round one for the sake of getting a QB in round one is the bounds of stupidity. Slim pickin's this year at QB, at least for us.
Actually it was Wanny too. We could have drafted Brees but we went with someone else. we could have drafted Boldin, but went with someone else.
Did you want Ryan before the draft? There was only one person that ever pushed for it from my recollection... that was adamprez. Nonetheless, who's to say Ryan would have done the same here? Hard to complain when you got an all-pro offense tackle out of the deal, it's not like we whiffed on the pick.
Everyone has those type of mistakes. You're being ridiculous. Just ridiculous, there's no other way to put it. I am not defending Wanny's draft choices, but you're pulling so much hindsight bull**** it's not even funny.
I'm getting tired of the Matt Ryan whining. He had a lot of issues coming in and we were coming off a 1-15 season with zero talent. We went BPA and went went with the safe pick. Yes, hindsight says we should have taken him but we didn't exactly get a scrub with our pick.
Dude, I was correcting a wrong post. You see that thing above my words? yeah, that's called a "quote" I didn't bring up hindsight in a vacuum. Funny, You enter a thread with a title that CRIES out hindsight (marino lesson) then cry about hindsight. Dude.
We already had a good LT. Vernon Carey. He graded out well that year. So while we didn't whiff, we didn't need to either. Plus, the LT position is so highly overrated it's ridiculous. The LT is only 1/5 of a unit, the QB 100% of a unit. go check the past 5 super bowl winners and find how many elite LTs there are, and how many elite QBs. I didn't push hard for anyone, but I did like Ryan. I watched every game of BC for two years before his draft (my boss is a BC alum)and liked the kid big time. Fact of the matter is, we could have, and should have, gotten him, if only because our QB situation was dire. Our LT, not. And I find it humorous you denounce the FO and coaches, by asking if Ryan would have done the same here. All the more reason they need to go.
Should have drafted Ryan.... Unfortunately we went stop gap with Pennington and went back to him two seasons later. Bad move all around.
Ryan Leaf was a first round QB. So was Alex Smith, Matt Lienart, Vince Young, Mark Sanchez, Brady Quinn, Byron Leftwich, Kyle Boller, Rex Grossman and Jamarcus Russel. Drafting a first round QB doesn't automatically fix our problem.
Your first statement looked like you were correcting someone, however your second statement... looks like you were insinuating poor draft choices by using hindsight. There's no need to explain what a quote is. In fact, it's insulting that you even did...
That's what happens when someone says I'm being ridiculous AND i'm pulling hindsight bullshart. After two insults I would like to think i've been afforded one I corrected him by stating we passed on Brees (wanny did) overruling spielman. I bring up boldin because ... it's the exact same thing. Spielman overruled by Wanny. It was to refresh everyone's memories.
For the things I was talking about your post... "Matt Ryan over Jake Long" and "We could have drafted Brees but we went with someone else. we could have drafted Boldin, but went with someone else." it is very safe to say it wasn't in the wrong of me to consider it hindsight material. But whatever, I'm done with it... I'm not wasting my time with something that happened in the past and will never change.
I was doing some research and after watching the videos of Mallet from Arkansas, I do think he might be a viable 1st round option if we are in a position ot draft him. What I would like to see happen... The Miami Dolphins have been good to Chad Pennington and he in turn has, in my humble opinion has demonstrated loyalty to the team and the organization. I say if Pennington does indeed retire as all indications point to, hire him as our Quarterbacks Coach, draft this kid Mallet and as Indianapolis did with Manning...as Atlanta did with Ryan...throw him to the wolves...baptism under fire, with Chad Pennington guiding and mentoring him along the way. My nocturnal emmisions dream would be to get Dan Marino out of the broadcast booth and on the sidelines as our QB coach, but I think I'd have a better shot at nailing Rosario Dawson or Eva Mendez than to have that wet dream come true.
They are legitimate franchise changing mistakes. Large enough mistakes that the "hindsight" argument really does not even apply. Brees was considered by most analysts to be not only one of the best player left on the board during that draft but one of in not our biggest area of need. The Fletcher pick over him was absurd, completely absurd. Then picking Culpepper that also included losing a draft pick over taking Brees for free was one of this franchises most crippling decisions ever.
That attitude is probably what caused this franchise to go GM'less for decades. Reviewing the mistakes of the past is crucial actually. It's a valid discussion point.