- Joined
- Apr 29, 2003
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I really like our QB situation, now. It's clearly better than at any time since probably 1994 or so (Dan's last really solid season). Let me start from #3 to #1.
#3 - we will have a good TC competition between Cleo Lemon, Brock Berlin and Justin Holland. From all that I've read, Holland is a young guy with a lot of potential - at least as far as throwing. If he shows the mental and psychological abilities to handle the NFL game, he would be a solid #3 for us. Obviously, Saban has some belief in Lemon, but I'm not sure what to think of him. He does have some athleticism. Nevertheless, we have a good group at #3 from which to choose.
#2 - Harrington is not a great QB. But, a few things are clear: a) he was under a lot of pressure in Detroit that he will not feel here; b) he had perhaps the worst organization in the entire league above him; c) injuries to his WR's hurt; d) he is better than any QB the Dolphins have had in the interim between Marino and Culpepper. I'd rather have Harrington at backup than any other QB starter we've had since Dan retired; e) he's still only 27, so he's really not even at the age where a lot of QB's come into their own. For a 6th round pick, I think he'll be an excellent acquisition; f) finally, the coaching here will be a better situation than he's had since he came into the league. With all that, I've never felt so good about QB since Dan was here.
#1 - Culpepper - now that Harrington is in the fold, we can be more cautious with Culpepper. I'm all for giving him time even if his progress is great and even if he "seems" ready at the start of the season. I'd like to give him 4-5 weeks at least. Maybe even wait until the bye week, before starting him. Not that Harrington is going to be all-world. But, he will be better than Gus, imo. As to the Culpepper recovery, I remember a slew of glowing reports about how well McGahee was progressing and yet he really wasn't truly 100% until his 2nd year (about 1 yr & 8 months after the injury). Obviously, Culpepper is not going to have to have the same abilities that McGahee requires at RB, but his instincts will push him to run a lot and that could cause trouble if he reinjures himself or if he's not fully recovered.
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A couple of asides:
If we can continue to shore up some other spots - namely, OLB and a #2 RB, this may be the most complete team the Dolphins have had in many years.
I'd still like to see the Moore trade go off to NO and I'd love to see us somehow acquire Bennett. Perhaps we could trade or #7 and Travis Minor. Bennett would be great at 8-10 carries a game, with pass catching abilities, familiarity with the offense (from his Linehan days in Minn) and game breaking speed.
#3 - we will have a good TC competition between Cleo Lemon, Brock Berlin and Justin Holland. From all that I've read, Holland is a young guy with a lot of potential - at least as far as throwing. If he shows the mental and psychological abilities to handle the NFL game, he would be a solid #3 for us. Obviously, Saban has some belief in Lemon, but I'm not sure what to think of him. He does have some athleticism. Nevertheless, we have a good group at #3 from which to choose.
#2 - Harrington is not a great QB. But, a few things are clear: a) he was under a lot of pressure in Detroit that he will not feel here; b) he had perhaps the worst organization in the entire league above him; c) injuries to his WR's hurt; d) he is better than any QB the Dolphins have had in the interim between Marino and Culpepper. I'd rather have Harrington at backup than any other QB starter we've had since Dan retired; e) he's still only 27, so he's really not even at the age where a lot of QB's come into their own. For a 6th round pick, I think he'll be an excellent acquisition; f) finally, the coaching here will be a better situation than he's had since he came into the league. With all that, I've never felt so good about QB since Dan was here.
#1 - Culpepper - now that Harrington is in the fold, we can be more cautious with Culpepper. I'm all for giving him time even if his progress is great and even if he "seems" ready at the start of the season. I'd like to give him 4-5 weeks at least. Maybe even wait until the bye week, before starting him. Not that Harrington is going to be all-world. But, he will be better than Gus, imo. As to the Culpepper recovery, I remember a slew of glowing reports about how well McGahee was progressing and yet he really wasn't truly 100% until his 2nd year (about 1 yr & 8 months after the injury). Obviously, Culpepper is not going to have to have the same abilities that McGahee requires at RB, but his instincts will push him to run a lot and that could cause trouble if he reinjures himself or if he's not fully recovered.
----
A couple of asides:
If we can continue to shore up some other spots - namely, OLB and a #2 RB, this may be the most complete team the Dolphins have had in many years.
I'd still like to see the Moore trade go off to NO and I'd love to see us somehow acquire Bennett. Perhaps we could trade or #7 and Travis Minor. Bennett would be great at 8-10 carries a game, with pass catching abilities, familiarity with the offense (from his Linehan days in Minn) and game breaking speed.
