First off, this isn't a bash John Beck or Cleo Lemon thread. I've been hearing more and more talk recently from some who are angry that we did not start John Beck for the rest of the season to see what kind of football player he is. I felt that way initially and was pleased when I heard he would start his first game against the Eagles. He had decent outings for a rookie QB against the Eagles and Steelers, but regressed badly against the Jets and the Bills.
Say what you want about Cleo Lemon, but he gave us a better chance at winning a game in 2007. It was obvious from his first play from scrimmage at Buffalo when he rolled away from the pressure and threw a bomb to Ted Ginn Jr., which led to our first TD. Poor Beck was totally shellshocked and couldn't even hang on to the football. After the second loss to Buffalo, it became apparent that we would be really hard pressed to win a single game during the 2007 season. It was clear that John Beck wasn't ready yet and Cleo gave us our best shot at winning a game, and that he did. I'll be damned if I was going to sit back and watch a shell-shocked rookie QB lead my beloved Dolphins to an 0-16 record. This team has been through so much turmoil over the last six years that a winless season would have been absolutely unbearable. I dreaded it every Sunday night after loss after loss, thinking, "My God...when is it going to end???" I really think that if John Beck had started the remainder of the season, we wouldn't have won a single game. Not a knock against Beck, just another damning indictment against Cam Cameron in not having him even close to ready to play.
So would I liked to have had John Beck get more experience last season? Absolutely. Had we already won a game I would have been all for it. But the best franchise in NFL history deserved better than being both the only team to ever go undefeated as well as the only team to have ever gone 0-16, all for the sake of seeing if a 2nd round pick can play. I can live with that.
Say what you want about Cleo Lemon, but he gave us a better chance at winning a game in 2007. It was obvious from his first play from scrimmage at Buffalo when he rolled away from the pressure and threw a bomb to Ted Ginn Jr., which led to our first TD. Poor Beck was totally shellshocked and couldn't even hang on to the football. After the second loss to Buffalo, it became apparent that we would be really hard pressed to win a single game during the 2007 season. It was clear that John Beck wasn't ready yet and Cleo gave us our best shot at winning a game, and that he did. I'll be damned if I was going to sit back and watch a shell-shocked rookie QB lead my beloved Dolphins to an 0-16 record. This team has been through so much turmoil over the last six years that a winless season would have been absolutely unbearable. I dreaded it every Sunday night after loss after loss, thinking, "My God...when is it going to end???" I really think that if John Beck had started the remainder of the season, we wouldn't have won a single game. Not a knock against Beck, just another damning indictment against Cam Cameron in not having him even close to ready to play.
So would I liked to have had John Beck get more experience last season? Absolutely. Had we already won a game I would have been all for it. But the best franchise in NFL history deserved better than being both the only team to ever go undefeated as well as the only team to have ever gone 0-16, all for the sake of seeing if a 2nd round pick can play. I can live with that.
