Look at the Dolphins now: 6-8 with an aging defensive front seven and Joey Harrington as the QB. Quick fixes just don't work in the NFL unless you are getting the absolute last piece of the puzzle and have very few other questions hanging over you. Even then you run the risk of a Vinny-Achilles type injury blowing you up and resetting the odds on you. I looked at the Dolphin's acquisition of Culpepper for a second round pick as a very high stakes gamble, capable of either helping them or hurting them alot. This is what the deal has turned into for them now: 1. Another year on a bunch of players like Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas wasted. 2. Another season in which no long term answers at QB were developed. This makes how many years since Dan Marino retired that the Dolphins do not conclusively know who their QB is going into next season? 3. A high draft pick that could have been used on a defensive player for the front seven is now in Minnesota. I just look at what happened to the Dolphins in this whole sequence and it reminds me strongly of the Bill's lunacy with Losman and McGahee a few years ago. Both of those players may well turn out to be well above NFL average, but the cost of acquiring them in terms of real and deferred value was huge, and the Bills are no better off now than they were when they made the picks in terms of their record or prospects.
I would agree with you but unfortunately Drew Brees wasn't supposed to be the Last piece of a Puzzle yet he's out there Lightin teams up w/ a rookie reciever, a 7th round receiver, an Undrafted receiver and a rookie RB.. He was a Quick Fix but 95% of the time i'd agree with your statement :wink:
There were a lot of people on this board (myself included) wondering why the Dolphins would pick Culpepper over Brees. We're still wondering.
Logically you would prefer a qb with a knee injury of a shoulder injury. But all things equal I never liked Culpepper and Brees has become an elite qb. No matter what happens the decision to give up a 2nd round pick and an extention for Culpepper over signing Brees was the wrong decision and will set them back. They are living off of their defense right now which isn't getting any younger.
I was thinking the same exact thing. There is usually an exception or two that emerge. It doesn't happen all that often though.
It was a risk either way. So it's not like it was a no-brainer. Bree's was coming off shoulder surgery, so that was just as much of a gamble as well.
I was cautiously optimistic that Culpepper would never really get back in form and I had no idea what to expect from Drew Brees. I'm certainly happy with the decision Saban made. On a side note, when I do the ESPN coaches rating votes(I have done it 2 times this year I think) I always have to approve what Nick Saban does since the FINS SUCK!
AJ Feely was alot cheaper and he gives you the same results as far as wins and losses as Daunte so I don't know about that. The dolphins have made some of the worst tdades in history the past 5 years- Ricky Williams for multiple 1st rounders, AJ feeley for a 2, Lamar Gordon for a 3 and daunte for a 2.
The thing I keep coming back to is that Miami as an organization is delusional. They really think they're a good team when in fact they haven't really been worth anything since Jimmy Johnson left town. That's what explains the incessant trading of draft picks for "the last piece in the puzzle" when in fact the box is lying on the floor with pieces scattered all over, a few probably lost for good. It's 50/50 that we're looking at the Dolphins in 5 years and they look just like the Jets of the mid 70's.
If anyone had watched tape of Culpepper in Minnseotta, it was blatantly obvious that he is a QB who just had to toss the ball down the field to let his receivers make plays on the ball. He didn't have to read defense, audible, change protection, or anything. He is a below average NFL qb.
Hindsight is always 20/20... I don't believe Brees would be dominating in Miami like he is on the Saints as I don't think QB is the one and only problem. I think in the end it came down to money, the Saints offered more than the Phins were willing to or could give a QB coming off an injury to his throwing arm. Also Saban seems to have a thing for players who "want" to play for the team and Culpepper wanted it more than Brees did. A healthy Culpepper next year who will be more comfortable running with the ball will be far more effective then the still wounded, oft hesitant Culpepper behind a dubious oline of this year. Still I'm hoping for a rookie QB finally :grin:
other than the fact that they are both QB's, there isn't any similarities between the acquisitions of Brees and Culpepper or the motives behind them. after Miami's strong finish, the Fins obviously thought they were a QB away from being a contender, enough so to trade a high pick for Culpepper. NO stuck last year, needed a QB and signed the best available...hardly the actions of a quick fix. just because it has turned out well doesn't mean it was a quick fix, unlike what Miami was obviously attempting to accomplish with the trade for Culpepper.
