Well, I always prefer the conventional path and early excellence. I've emphasized that countless times. You can score big when early excellence is later devalued.
Russell Wilson had 17 touchdown passes and 1 interception as a freshman at North Carolina State in 2008. That's not a typo. I remember when he ran all around the Canes in a pick-em game at the end of the season, totally befuddling the defense.
Ryan Tannehill in 2008 as a freshman at Texas A&M threw one pass. A year later, when Wilson threw 31 touchdown passes as a sophomore, Tannehill was trusted to throw 8 passes period.
Now, there are two ways to look at that. This forum, and Dolphin fans in general, prefer the version that Tannehill will catch up and perhaps eclipse Wilson once he gains experience. The way I always look at it is that there was a reason one guy was a star and the other couldn't find the field. Everything tends to drift back to the beginning. Happy adjustments fail. I never understand the popularity of happy adjustments. After they flop so often you would think the concept would lose value. Nope. The BCS idiocy of the past 15 years or so only adds to it. That system is based on adjustment, the so-called strength of schedule. Every goof thinks he can throw away the basic indications and wildly adjust based on strength of schedule. That same concept is transferred everywhere. It lends itself to vastly inferior sports analysis than my youth. After all, in that era you still had fans with a background in horse race handicapping, where the dilemma of class or speed presents itself in every race.
Wilson obviously was devalued based on height. That was a uniquely challenging variable. I heard the NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah say yesterday that the room groaned in unison at the Senior Bowl when Wilson measured barely above 5-10. Everyone was expecting tighter to 6 feet. Jeremiah said he dropped Wilson one round based on height alone. But Jeremiah also provided an anecdote, that Wilson asked for his phone number after the Senior Bowl interview and quickly texted Jeremiah, who scouted for the Eagles at the time. Wilson emphasized that he would lead the Eagles to Super Bowls if they drafted him. Personality wise, there is no comparison between Wilson and Tannehill, IMO. Tannehill could not be more robotic and boring in the Dolphin 5th Quarter shows. Only when the Martin situation surfaced did Tannehill make a positive impression behind the mike. I'm convinced Jeff Ireland never places enough emphasis on basics like that, how sharp and inquisitive a guy comes across during interviews. Not knowing the divisions would have been a red flag for me. You're going to fall behind your peers with ignorance like that.
Back to the question, I think we took the wrong guy. I love ideal variance of pace and loft, along with early excellence.
There were at least a couple of guys on Dolphin forums who campaigned before the draft for a combo of Luke Kuechly in the first round and Russell Wilson in the second round. Now that's scary. I can't remember if it happened here or on another site. Perhaps in the comments under the Draft Winds columns. I know I saw it somewhere.
BTW, the least surprising offshoots of quarterback draft 2012 are Robert Griffin's inept pocket and traffic instincts, and his often questionable comments and attitude when things aren't going well. I can't believe so many fans and analysts are surprised by either one. They were a staple of his game at Baylor dating to his freshman year. All you had to do was pay attention. I mentioned them more than once in scouting reports prior to the draft. Griffin's recent digs are no different than the whiny remarks after twice losing to Connecticut, or when Illinois pushed him around in a bowl game, or his conduct when Oklahoma State was abusing him in the first half during his final season. It's still difficult for me to believe that Griffin was named such an upstanding guy with a perfect personality for the position. That describes Andrew Luck. Griffin is erratic at best.
