Realism and The Writing On The Wall
- Thoughts On What Is To Come
I'm reading the writing on the wall because it is screaming at me loudly. I write this post as a fellow Dolphins fan who wishes yearly for the best, but is routinely met with something far worse. I once said to a friend that a Dolphins loss is painful because is it analagous to something like this - The goal is you're trying to get into a room. The problem is that there is someone in the doorway in your way. You fight and you wrestle and you do everything you can to get in that door. You don't do enough though, you can't get through. Then the person says, ok, you tried pretty darn hard, and slowly creeps it open a bit as you sprint for the light. Just as you get to it the person slams the door in your face and you realize it's over, you've failed. The problem is this, the person trying to get in the room is you and your hopes for the Dolphins success. The person blocking your way, it isn't other teams, it's the Dolphins themselves. And there's the catch-22, you're routing and hoping for someone that continuously lets you down. Now, with that sort of bitter preface out of the way, let me tell you what I'm seeing on the wall.
One, this team is severely broken and it's a long time and a long way off from being fixed. Our holes are numerous. We're banking on a QB who came back and looked astoundingly atrocious. Our offensive line is average at best. Our WR's feature a player who has consistently underachieved and it's probably time to get some value out of him before the rest of the world catches on that talent only matters when it's combined with guts and heart, and I say this as someone who has worn a Chris Chambers jersey often, so please realize that it hurts for me too. I'm just through being an idealist. Realists are more pessimistic but it hurts them many times less when they're met with what actually happens. Our DB's are a hodge-podge of 2nd rate players. None of them are embarassingly bad, but none of them can be seen in any light as game-changers. Yeah we have some potential at safety with Bell and Allen was a first round draft pick, but to think that we can already count on these guys to make the big play, that's idealism at its best. What's sad is that these weaknesses are compromising and will ultimately ruin the chances for our strengths to be successful. Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas are hall of famers. They're also starting to creep up on age. I'm not one to argue that these guys probably have at least 2-3 good years left in them, but the problems we have as outlined already above will take much longer than that to fix. Ronnie Brown has shown flashes of brilliance, but he hasn't done it consistently and the thought that he could be a pro-bowler behind our budget O-line is laughable.
The second line of writing on this wall of the inevitable says this: Saban is leaving. I hate to say this. I am as big a fan of Saban as anyone. Most people who know me actually make fun of me for the amount of credit and belief I give to Nick Saban. However, the guy is leaving us. I hope that I am wrong, but I sincerely doubt it. Alabama would have signed a coach by this point if they weren't waiting for Saban to sign as soon as the game is over on Sunday. They have more than enough money and candidates to have hired someone by this point. They also make no qualms about saying that Saban is their man. Combined with the fact that Saban is an intelligent man with the astute ability to recognize the obvious, he knows his team is a long way off from being a winner and contendor, and Saban's pseudo-denials, and it's only the painful truth. Saban rolled the dice. He signed Culpepper, trusted the player's judgement and ultimately sacrificed the chance for a winning season. Who's to say if Culpepper may come back and be everything Nick and all of us hoped he'd be other than time. We'll just have to see, but I'd be shocked if it happens under Coach Nick Saban. My guess, we promote Capers to head coach on a trial one year period and take it from there. It's a shame, but in some ways leads to an answer to the first paragraph's points detailed above - it's time to rebuild.
When was the last time you saw a QB go from one team and be a champion, or contendor at least, on another? Don't say Brees because the Saints haven't even played a playoff game. Look at the stellar teams and their QB's. Manning, Brady, Palmer, Rivers - all drafted and built around. Even historically the same could be said - Marino, Montana, Elway - all drafted. Sure you could suggest some exceptions, the point is that the standard is to draft and build; not to gamble on a pick up and pray. Even if the Dolphins drafted a stellar QB this year with the potential for greatness, which would require a trade up in the draft - Chambers? and our first rounder? - it takes at least a few years to allow them to learn the NFL ropes and offense. By that point we'll be talking about how we have picked up a decent DB and our O line is passable but the fact the we have no pass rush and that our LB corps are thin.
Now, I'm not trying to paint an apocalyptic picture with no hope in sight, I'm just trying to be honest to myself so that I know what to expect from the future. I see this team as one who will give Daunte Culpepper one more season to prove that he can be the elite QB that a team needs to become a champion. I see some pick ups on O-line and DB in the offseason through the draft and free agency. I see a new coach in Miami with most of us left wondering what could have been under Saban. Most of all, I see myself hoping for the best and expecting something far less because I'm tired of being disappointed.
Comments are welcome.
- rdoser
- Thoughts On What Is To Come
I'm reading the writing on the wall because it is screaming at me loudly. I write this post as a fellow Dolphins fan who wishes yearly for the best, but is routinely met with something far worse. I once said to a friend that a Dolphins loss is painful because is it analagous to something like this - The goal is you're trying to get into a room. The problem is that there is someone in the doorway in your way. You fight and you wrestle and you do everything you can to get in that door. You don't do enough though, you can't get through. Then the person says, ok, you tried pretty darn hard, and slowly creeps it open a bit as you sprint for the light. Just as you get to it the person slams the door in your face and you realize it's over, you've failed. The problem is this, the person trying to get in the room is you and your hopes for the Dolphins success. The person blocking your way, it isn't other teams, it's the Dolphins themselves. And there's the catch-22, you're routing and hoping for someone that continuously lets you down. Now, with that sort of bitter preface out of the way, let me tell you what I'm seeing on the wall.
One, this team is severely broken and it's a long time and a long way off from being fixed. Our holes are numerous. We're banking on a QB who came back and looked astoundingly atrocious. Our offensive line is average at best. Our WR's feature a player who has consistently underachieved and it's probably time to get some value out of him before the rest of the world catches on that talent only matters when it's combined with guts and heart, and I say this as someone who has worn a Chris Chambers jersey often, so please realize that it hurts for me too. I'm just through being an idealist. Realists are more pessimistic but it hurts them many times less when they're met with what actually happens. Our DB's are a hodge-podge of 2nd rate players. None of them are embarassingly bad, but none of them can be seen in any light as game-changers. Yeah we have some potential at safety with Bell and Allen was a first round draft pick, but to think that we can already count on these guys to make the big play, that's idealism at its best. What's sad is that these weaknesses are compromising and will ultimately ruin the chances for our strengths to be successful. Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas are hall of famers. They're also starting to creep up on age. I'm not one to argue that these guys probably have at least 2-3 good years left in them, but the problems we have as outlined already above will take much longer than that to fix. Ronnie Brown has shown flashes of brilliance, but he hasn't done it consistently and the thought that he could be a pro-bowler behind our budget O-line is laughable.
The second line of writing on this wall of the inevitable says this: Saban is leaving. I hate to say this. I am as big a fan of Saban as anyone. Most people who know me actually make fun of me for the amount of credit and belief I give to Nick Saban. However, the guy is leaving us. I hope that I am wrong, but I sincerely doubt it. Alabama would have signed a coach by this point if they weren't waiting for Saban to sign as soon as the game is over on Sunday. They have more than enough money and candidates to have hired someone by this point. They also make no qualms about saying that Saban is their man. Combined with the fact that Saban is an intelligent man with the astute ability to recognize the obvious, he knows his team is a long way off from being a winner and contendor, and Saban's pseudo-denials, and it's only the painful truth. Saban rolled the dice. He signed Culpepper, trusted the player's judgement and ultimately sacrificed the chance for a winning season. Who's to say if Culpepper may come back and be everything Nick and all of us hoped he'd be other than time. We'll just have to see, but I'd be shocked if it happens under Coach Nick Saban. My guess, we promote Capers to head coach on a trial one year period and take it from there. It's a shame, but in some ways leads to an answer to the first paragraph's points detailed above - it's time to rebuild.
When was the last time you saw a QB go from one team and be a champion, or contendor at least, on another? Don't say Brees because the Saints haven't even played a playoff game. Look at the stellar teams and their QB's. Manning, Brady, Palmer, Rivers - all drafted and built around. Even historically the same could be said - Marino, Montana, Elway - all drafted. Sure you could suggest some exceptions, the point is that the standard is to draft and build; not to gamble on a pick up and pray. Even if the Dolphins drafted a stellar QB this year with the potential for greatness, which would require a trade up in the draft - Chambers? and our first rounder? - it takes at least a few years to allow them to learn the NFL ropes and offense. By that point we'll be talking about how we have picked up a decent DB and our O line is passable but the fact the we have no pass rush and that our LB corps are thin.
Now, I'm not trying to paint an apocalyptic picture with no hope in sight, I'm just trying to be honest to myself so that I know what to expect from the future. I see this team as one who will give Daunte Culpepper one more season to prove that he can be the elite QB that a team needs to become a champion. I see some pick ups on O-line and DB in the offseason through the draft and free agency. I see a new coach in Miami with most of us left wondering what could have been under Saban. Most of all, I see myself hoping for the best and expecting something far less because I'm tired of being disappointed.
Comments are welcome.
- rdoser
