Originally posted by PhinKev
I know some of you are going to flame me for this, but hear me out. As a long time Dolphins fan, I have to be honest and not pretend this all worked out. Lets just stick to the facts:
1. Gardner is a Talent.
No one can argue about this. Good DLine is hard to find and Gardner was and is one of the best at filling the middle. Anyone that thinks that throw off from Carolina is the same talent is just a big homer.
2. It wasn't about his back.
It was never about his injuries. Anyone who says that the Phins were worried about DG's avaliability and could not take the risk that he would be hurt is missing reality. The Dolphins already gambled when they gave DG the contract. That ship has sailed. He was going to eat a huge amount of salary cap no matter what.
After you already are paying the guy, you try to manage him to use him as effectively as possible. This is what the Phins were doing by moving him to End. Cutting him for injuries makes no sense at all.
Before: DG costs money and plays at least some.
Now: DG costs money and plays not at all.
With the added negative that the Dolphins have excellerated the cap hit so that over 6 million counts against the cap next year. It is a financial disaster. 6 million and no one to show for it.
3. Wannstedt blew it:
The bottom line is that Wanny couldn't keep the team together and felt that he had to cut Gardner to keep the team unity.
That's a huge failure for a headcoach. Todays headcoaches have one basic job: Keep the big egos in line so that they perform on the field. Phil Jackson is no great Xs and Os guy, he just keeps them focused on the court. Even JJ, not a great technical coach, but he knows how to handle the players to gety them to perform.
Wanny has Turner calling the offense, and a good defensive coordinator, all he has to do is keep the team focused and together. He blew it.
Remember: Gardner was never a problem when being managed by JJ. It was Wanny's job to keep Gardner on the field.
Bottom Line:
Was DG a head case? Definitely.
Was he causing problems? No Question.
Should the Head Coach have handled him better from the beginning to keep the best talent on the field?
Absolutely. That's why Wanny failed and the team is going to be paying for it for years to come.
