Some questions about your assessment:
1) From all of Cameron's comments about Ginn, the main reason we drafted him is for his return capabilities. That is questionable. Would the Dolphins have traded their first round pick for Devin Hester? A top 10 pick for a return man? Most of the over the middle catches Ginn made were on slot plays, quck slants and sit down routes. He has not shown the ability to go 'over the middle' as most analysts have pointed out.
I hope he proves to be a great asset to the team but if he ends up being a 3rd WR and a GREAT return man then this pick is a BUST. Do you agree?
OK......I think what Cameron said viz a viz his return abilities was more about the fact that he was standing on a podium at the draft party, met by a cavalcade of boos. I certainly don't think that was what he was expecting and I think he essentially was highlighting that the immediate return from Ginn will come in the return game. I think his return abilities certainly played into why he was picked - why wouldn't they, considering he's probably the best return man to ever come out of college - but quite clearly he's going to have a significant offensive impact, at flanker, in the slot, as a TB, QB, etc. In terms of his ability over the middle, I think this is being seriously overplayed. Plaxico Burress doesn't like going over the middle either. When does Marvin Harrison go "across the middle"? Marvin runs shallow crosses, slants, quick ins, etc. The self same routes that Ginn ran very succesfully at OSU. As for him being a 3rd round WR and a great return man and it being a bust, quantify "3rd round WR" for me.
2) John Beck. His extremely low release point is a concern. Res Grossman struggles with this same issue and he has a higher release point than BEck. NOt to mention, considering the number of people of who questioned Brady Quinn's capabilities against top flight defenses, BEck never played against one and he had trouble putting points on the board against BC and Arizona, that's right BC and Arizona. THe concern I have with this pick is that it seems like Cameron islooking for the next Drew Brees. A smallish QB with a below average arm who is accurate and heady is the exception to the rule, not the model for what you go after. I hope BEck turns out to be a Drew Brees type QB but we shall see.
I don't think Beck's release point is an issue. It's higher than Phil Rivers' is for example. His delivery is also smoother and the release is quicker than Quinn's and indeed Grossman's. Beck also rarely locks onto a reciever. He's a master manipulator of the defense, by the way that he sets his shoulders and uses his eyes. Very few of his balls were knocked down at BYU, so I don't see an issue. As for winning against big teams, lets contextualise that some. He was throwing to street FA Johnny Harline and Bryce Mahuika and Saia Hafoka, who last time I looked, weren't a threat at the top of the 2008 draft board. He still completed 69.3% of his throws, and he ranked second in the country to Colt Brennan in passing efficiency with a rating of 169.1. He also ranked in the top five passers in the NCAA in nearly every major offensive category: points responsible for (19 ppg.), total passing yardage (3,885 yards), and passing yards per game (323.75 ypg.). That is not even mentioning Beck tossed an eye gouging touchdown to interception ratio (32 touchdowns: 8 interceptions) and the aforementioned completion percentage of 69.3 percent. The guy nearly averaged a first down every time he completed a pass this season - 9.3 yards per completion!
As for him being smallish with a below average arm.......he's 6'2 and the below average arm thing, I'm just not buying 1 iota. He has a very strong arm. People talked about JaMarcus Russell’s arm strength, well, sitting on his knees from the 47 yard-line John Beck once tossed a ball through the uprights in BYU’s indoor practice facility. Arm strength is the least of his worries.
3) The Dolphins could have drafted Brady Quinn - Tony Ugoh - Samson Satele - Yamon Figurs and addressed the same needs with even more emphasis ont he DOlphins most pressing needs. Not to mention, you can insert Sidney Rice, Dwayne Jarrett or Steve Smith as the 2nd pick. Phil Savage, Bill Polian and Ozzie Newsome all valued the players that I just listed. That is a lot of NFL knowledge going against who the Dolphins picked.
Come on, every team values players differently. And you're assuming that Quinn, Rice, Jarrett and Smith, Ugoh and Figurs are all going to be great successes and that Ginn, Beck and Booker aren't. I'm not buying that either. There's also a lot of knowledge going WITH the Dolphins picks, so.......
Everything I just wrote is strictly from a personnel perspective/opinion but one final point, from a business perspective (perhaps Huizenga's perspective), yesterday was a complete disaster. Just horrible. If the Dolphins had taken Quinn with the 9th pick, the franchise would have had the entire community filled with hope and promise. Ticket sales and marketing dollars would have skyrocketed in the short term. Every kid in South Florida would be clamoring for a Quinn jersey for at least the next 2 years. That is without him doing anything on the field, any success and the sky would have been the limit. The Dolphins had a chance to put a face on the franchise and passed.
As evidenced by Huizenga's comments yesterday, Cameron and Mueller's evaluation skills are now officially on watch, let's hope they are right and the DOlphins start to flourish, it will be disappointing if Dom Capers and the defense carry this team to 8-8 records for the next 3 years.
Fortunately, football is about winning games and not selling tickets. And calling Saturday a "complete disaster"......I'm sorry mate, I'm not sure how you can say that? Because a few morons started booing the head coach? That makes it a disaster?
And I don't think Cameron or Mueller's evaluation skills are anywhere close to being "on watch". When you draft 10 players, all of whom might make the roster and then bring in 14 more FA's, with at least one kid - Mkristo Bruce - who has a great shot, then a few booing idiots and clueless espn commentators - step forward Mark May and Sean Salisbury - hardly put Cameron and Mueller on watch.
