If Clemens show he has the potential to be a franchise QB I would have no problem seeing him start day 1.
I think it's difficult for a rookie to really show that potential for sure just from training camp. I understand your appreciation for what Brooks did last year under incredibly bad circumstances, but the only way I can see keeping him on the team is if the OL is once again so horrible that they don't want to risk Clemens getting injured behind it. I don't see Clemens starting at the beginning of the season, but if Chad and Ramsey don't work out, and the team is 2-6 halfway through the season, I would not have a problem putting him in for some on-the-job training.
I see the The Jets as having one potential legitimate starting NFL QB on the roster and that's Clemens. That tells you how highly I think our QB situation is. That said if Clemens is a potential franchise QB I have no problem with him starting by the second or third game. If Ramsey proves he is better than Brooks by all means let him start. I happen to be a big beliver in Joe Gibbs and Gibbs basically gave up on Ramsey. I have no problem starting Brooks or Ramsey for a couple of games but the sooner we find out what we have in Clemens the better.
If you read the Miami papers or listen to WQAM you would know that the earliest DC is expected back is "late" Oct
It's a coin-flip as to whether he really helps or really hurts the Dolphins in my opinion. I still do not understand why Saban felt he had to roll the dice at the most important position on the field when his team showed so much improvement last year. It was just a bad move in my opinion. Look at it this way: If Culpepper is not the man for the Dolphins they have set themselves back 2 years at least in figuring out who is.
It's a given that he'll help the Phinz in my opinion..... A bad move for the Jets, and the rest of the AFC Conference. Don't take this personally, but do you even know what a football looks like?? Comments like the one's you've made here have me seriously questioning your football knowledge. Culpepper is without question an upgrade at QB for Miami, if you still question that, you obviously need to do more homework when it comes to evaluating talent.... That's ridiculous. We picked up Frerotte last off-season, and he ended up leading us to a 9-7 record. How many season's did that set us back???...ZERO. Man, you are so clueless it's almost not even worth responding to you anymore. I've never seen such biased homerism. There's no two ways around it, Culpepper is a huge upgrade for Miami. Your inferiority complexes are becoming more and more evident in my opinion....
Is anyone really surprised by this? We knew QB wouldn't be something we would address until next year at best...
I agree with you that Culpepper is an upgrade for Miami but to overlook the "iffy" aspects of his situation is just as much homerism as you're saying about Jets fans. The fact is that while he had a great year in 2004 with Moss still on the roster, in 2005 Culpepper was god awful before the injury. It remains to be seen which Daunte Culpepper comes out to play this year, 2004 or 2005. My guess is something in between, a guy who can throw the long ball with the best of them but is prone to poor judgement on quick passes and fumbles a lot. The biggest concern about Culpepper that I see is how he reacts to life after the injury. Nowadays, by using cadaver ligaments, even three torn ligaments can be repaired well enough to play at a high level in the NFL. For most qb's who don't depend on their feet for much (Carson Palmer, for instance) this injury shouldn't affect them much in the long run. But Culpeppers history is to tuck the ball and run if the situation falls apart. Can he do that as effectively after such a serious injury and what does he do if he can't? It was obvious that Saban wanted Brees badly but just wasn't willing to pull the trigger on all of the guaranteed money Brees wanted. I think that Miami will end up regretting that as Brees' is recovering nicely and as a Patriots fan, such a smart comptetive qb would have scared me should he have signed with the Dolphins. With Culpepper, I keep thinking of his wonderlic scores (shades of Vince Young) and Daunte trying to read what Belichick's defenses are up to. I see INT's, fumbles, and Miami in 2nd place in the AFC East.
Wrong. Certainly money was a factor, but not the deciding one. I think the overall feeling about Brees was bad from the start. Obviously Saban saw something he didn't like in Brees, and from what I hear they didn't hit it off very well at all. There was also Brees' injury, and although he should recover, a bum shoulder is worse than a bum knee when it comes to throwing the football. I think if Saban really wanted Brees more than Culpepper, he would have shelled out the money to get him.... Bottom Line : Saban balked at the opportunity to sign Brees. Why??...we really don't know because he's never spoken publically about Brees' visit, and what exactly transpired while he was here. I have strong feeling Saban didn't like Brees' attitude, and that changed his mind about wanting him as out QB. From the start, Brees acted as if he didn't want to play for Miami. Even though he knew how interested we were in signing him, he chose to visit New Orleans before coming to Miami, and I think that was a big mistake on his part. All it did was show how little he cared about playing for us, and how his main interest was merely the money he was destined to make.... I could care less how rival fans would have viewed Brees. Culpepper is just as dangerous, if not more. Wonderlic scores are meaningless in my opinion. Culpepper has already proven how meaningless they are with the numbers he's accumulated over his years in Minnesota. While you see INT's, and fumbles, I see TD's.....and lots of them...
I really don't think a turnover prone QB is all that much help to an aging defense. Now, it's not a given that the "bad" Culpepper will show up this season. He's just as likely to get on the field and play lights out. That's why I think it's a coin flip as to whether he hurts or helps the Fins. As to the Frerotte move not setting back the Fins, that remains to be seen. One of the reasons that Culpepper is in Miami right now is that Saban couldn't find anybody better than Frerotte to play for him last year. It's quite possible that next year we're looking at a reinjured or ineffective Culpepper and the Fins are looking around (again) for a QB. That would make both the Frerotte and Culpepper signings culprits in the Fins inability to progress.
If the money and the effect on the cap wasn't a big factor, why did Saban comment about Brees while introducing Culpepper to the Miami media by saying that a condo isn't a good buy if the mortgage is so high that you can't afford to put furniture in it? The upfront guaranteed money was BIG DEAL to Miami and if you're being honest, you know that Saban did very little work on acquiring Culpepper until AFTER the negotiations with Brees failed. Saban's actions and comments say it was Brees that he wanted and Culpepper was his fallback position. As for Culpepper's ablilities in Minnesota, I seem to remember Frerotte having a 118 rating in Minnesota in 2003 playing with Daunte's offense so it certainly wasn't all Daunte. This same Gus Frerotte had a 71 rating with the Miami offense last year. Last year, Culpepper before getting hurt is throwing twice as many interceptions as touchdowns and the Vikes are 2-5 when he goes down with Culpepper bearing a large part of the blame. Bad Vikings team? Apparently not because once he's replaced by 62 year old statue Brad Johnson the Vikes go 7-2 the rest of the way. Culpepper is anything but a sure thing at this point and Saban knows it, which is why Brees was the guy he really wanted.
Let's get one thing straight here, Miami was very interested in both QB's, not just Brees. Saying that Brees was Saban's first choice, and that Culpepper was a "fallback opition" is not true either.... I believe that from the start Saban was very intent on getting one or the other, but when it came down to it, Culpepper's attitude towards playing in Miami proved to be the deciding factor. He showed much more interest in playing for our team than Brees did during the negociating process. Not to mention Culpepper is already familiar with the offense we have in place, making him a better fit... As QB's, I wont take anything away from Brees. He's a fine QB, and should do well in New Orleans. I would have loved to have him in Miami. That's not saying I'm not extremely pleased with the addition of Culpepper though. Both of them are very talented QB's, which made both of them a great option when they became available. We just happened to choose Culpepper.... I think you're reading too much into this, and all that really matters is the pure fact that the Phinz upgraded the QB position. Pick your poison{Brees / Culpepper}, it was bound to happen one way or the other...
Let me finish this up by saying that I'm glad that you're happy with Culpepper as Miami's qb instead of Brees. As a Patriots fan, I am too. :wink:
Cool. Just remember, we've been able to beat the Patriots with Feidler / Feeley / and Frerotte in the past. Knowing that, our future sure looks bright with Culpepper...:wink:
