First off...
There alot of players in the league who didn't suceed first time around but finally put it all together in another team
Name me some quarterbacks. Better yet. Name me some first round quarterbacks that were a BUST for the team that drafted them, and found a home on a new team and did well. I can think of three guys offhand who fit the same bill and did NOT resurrect their careers and two of them happened to be guys the Dolphins signed to try and do just that. Cryan Leaf, Jim Druckenmiller, and Cade McNown. Garbage on their first team, garbage on every team since. Can you think of any first round QBs who were terrible and cast out from their first team and then made it with another team? I know Brett Favre doesnt fit cuz he wasnt terrible with the Falcons and a lot of teams still wanted him (and I dont believe he was given up for a low draft pick either). Vinny Testeverde was never really terrible in his career before he had a career year with the Jets. Jeff George...well, thats a pretty well-documented dismal career right there. I think Tommy Maddox is the only guy who fits (I thought he was drafted high, wasn't he?) and he's had to bounce around a couple of leagues for years before he finally had a good year.
Second off, we're talking about our primary backup QB job. You asked me why I'm so quick to dismiss Smith, and I ask you why you're so quick to dismiss Sage Rosenfels. Because by signing Smith, the only SMART thing to do with him is have him be the 3rd QB while he learns the offense and learns the nuances of the position because I think we can all agree he's got a lot of learning to do. It would be EXACTLY like it was with Cade McNown and Jim Druckenmiller. They'd ride the 3rd string pine for a year and learn a bit and in the meantime try and show us what they can do.
Are you honestly, honestly trying to say that you would actually entrust Akili Smith with the primary backup quarterback position? Do you remember what happened in the six games Ray Lucas had to step in for Jay Fiedler? We lost 4 of those games and subsequently missed the playoffs and a GOOD chance at a title. So now our answer for the backup quarterback spot is AKILI SMITH??? Thats even worst than heading into a season with Ray Lucas. At least Lucas had started in a bunch of games and actually had a modicum of success in the NFL. Akili Smith, admittedly a guy who would need to learn a lot from Norv Turner, has not. And one freak play Jay Fiedler goes down, and Akili Smith is the guy that steps in?
On the flipside, what do we know about Sage Rosenfels? Why would we think he would be any different from Ray Lucas. The guy has not had any experience starting in the NFL and everyone (including and especially coaches) admits that he still has a lot to learn as well. So he steps into his first game as starter in the NFL, and how can we be sure that he wouldn't be as nervous and easily excitable as Ray Lucas was when he was stumbling over himself and fumbling handoffs and tossing the ball right into defenders' chests. Remember, Ray Lucas in practice looked nothing like the Ray Lucas we saw in games. It was all about how he reacted to the gameday experience, not about his talent. I think in order to protect this super bowl run we need a primary backup QB who has started in this league and who has succeeded, maybe not someone who can do it all themselves cuz that would be starter-quality, but someone who can run an offense and not get overly excited or fvck everything up. Those guys to my knowledge, are Brian Griese and Neil O'Donnell.
So basically if Akili Smith were to be in our plans, I see these as the only even possible options.
Option #1. Cut Sage Rosenfels, Akili Smith is our #3 QB and we get Griese/O'Donnell to be an EXPERIENCED primary backup for us.
Response: Why? Once again, you ask me why I'm so quick to dismiss Smith, and I ask you why you're so quick to dismiss Rosenfels before we've even given him a legitimate shot!
Option #2. Keep 4 quarterbacks...we sign Griese/O'Donnell, sign Akili Smith and have both he and Sage Rosenfels battle it out for #3 and #4 positions
Response: We've got such tough competition at so many spots I personally don't think we can afford the luxury of 4 quarterbacks...nor could we probably afford it on the salary cap.
Option #3. Keep Sage Rosenfels, sign Akili Smith and let them battle it out for the primary backup spot.
Response: Ok first off Sage would probably win this easily. If we do this, how could anyone say we have fixed the problem at backup quarterback that cost us the PLAYOFFS and possibly cost us a CHAMPIONSHIP run last year? Big fat F goes to the front office for bungling if they did this. And if Akili by some miracle of miracles won the job ahead of Sage Rosenfels, still your entrusting our primary backup QB job to a guy who can't read defenses, needs to learn a LOT more to be even serviceable, a guy who got beaten out easily by JON KITNA in Cincinnati. And since when is Cincy's offense bad? Last time I checked they had perennial thousand yard rusher Corey Dillon there, Peter Warrick who (while still not worth the #1 pick in draft) is a serviceable WR, and the exciting Chad Johnson who caught for like 23,000 yards this year. Not an all in all bad offensive line either. So why isn't Akili Smith beating out Jon Kitna in this offense again? Why is it that Akili Smith is failing where Jon Kitna is succeeding?
Akili Smith...just doesn't fit.
