Originally posted by DrAstroZoom
I'm going to reserve further comment until he signs. If he does, I'll write a column then.
Until then...read this:
Impressive Offseason Earns Wannstedt High Marks
By DAVE HYDE (Exclusive 'Fins Insider column)
On-line polls. On-air debates. They're all here, even as the Dolphins are still off the field for another six weeks.
The quarterback controversy is an animal unlike any in sports, but let's hold off on getting too carried away with this one. Brian Griese played it smart in his opening news conference, saying he doesn't know the system or the players and that makes it "kind of ridiculous" this late in the off-season to project himself as the starter.
That's what Dave Wannstedt wanted to hear. It's what the Dolphins coach demanded at the start of the Griese negotiations.
"That was important,"' he said. "I wanted to make sure we were on the same page as far as what we expected."
We can debate from here to the opener on who is a better quarterback, Fiedler or Griese. Both have been functional in their careers. Neither has done enough to show they're special. But what you can't argue about as the last of the off-season headlines gets written with Griese's signing is how smart the Dolphins brain-trust went about these past several months.
They shored up problems. They got veteran talent. They didn't blow the salary-cap budget for years to come.
As bad as Wannstedt was last December is how good he was this April and May. That doesn't erase December. That will hang over him like a guillotine until he changes it on the field. And it should. That's the reality of the business.
But this off-season put him - and his players - in the mindset to look ahead, not behind. A Griese here, a Junior Seau there allows the Dolphins players to nod their heads and say this year can be different. Good change was made.
Wannstedt was asked whether the Dolphins got "lucky" with some players being available, like Griese and Junior Seau. But let's be clear on something. You can question Wannstedt's on-field tactics and year-end results. But he has maintained a program that players want to come to.
Griese could have gone to Chicago instead of Kordell Stewart. And made a lot more money. Seau could be closer to home in Arizona and earned a much bigger salary. Both came to the Dolphins, because they see this team as close and because Wannstedt's coaches and players sold them on it.
It was Mike Shula, a fellow Miami Columbus High alum, who initially took the lead in recruiting Griese. When Shula left for Alabama, Wannstedt took the lead in talking to him. You can't overlook the sales pitch that went on here.
You can question whether they upgraded enough at wide receiver. That's the big wonder, and
getting Oronde Gadsden back or not won't change it. Left tackle? That didn't cost them the playoffs, and if they weren't going to get a proven player of impact (Wayne Gandy, Kyle Turley), why bother with overpaying for a maybe?
You can also scratch your head over the draft-day dealings that resulted in trading picks and spinning their wheels by getting so little in return. But the positives far outweigh the questions of this off-season. Here's a top-five of off-season moves based on positional importance and what they bring to the roster:
1. Griese. No question here. After last season, the backup quarterback was going to be the most important signing, no matter who it was. If it was Neil O'Donnell or Akili Smith it would have been the most important, though in a red-flag kind of way. At the least, Griese is the perfect insurance policy for Fiedler. At best, he rejuvenates his career, returns to the 19-touchdown, four-interception quarterback of 2000 and jumps over Fiedler.
2. Sammy Knight. As last season got uncovered in recent months like an archaelogical dig, it became clear that coaches thought Arturo Freeman's play was a problem. And with Brock Marion getting some age on him, it became necessary to get a proven player back there. Knight gives that. New Orleans didn't like his speed, and that's the question. But this is the New Oreans staff that gave up on Ricky Williams, too. Knight gives proven impact from a player in the prime of his career.
3. Junior Seau. This is the kind of move the old Raiders became famous for. Getting a creaking veteran. Eking out another good year, maybe two from him. And letting his veterans smarts and locker-room presence sift to everyone. The question remains how much gas is left in Senior Seau's tank, and the Dolphins addressed that by saying he's not an every-down player anymore. Seau for Derrick Rodgers at a slight upgrade in price? It's a no-brainer.
4. Derrius Thompson. He caught a lot of passes for Steve Spurrier last year in Washington. Spurrier doesn't want him anymore. That's interesting. Spurrier loves speed receivers, and Thompson has plodding speed. What the Dolphins needed was a big-play presence out of a receiver. The hope remains Chris Chambers fills that, because they got improvement - not game-changing impact -from the off-season.
5. Terrell Buckley. Great guy. Great teammate. But whether he fills the all-important nickel-back role has to be seen. This is the position that cost the defense dearly last season. The Dolphins staff figures someone - Buckley, Jamar Fletcher or Omare Lowe - will come out of it. Maybe they'll use Freeman as the fifth defensive back in some cases.
