Is anyone else really annoyed with the really horrible job head coach and Cam Cameron and general manager Randy Mueller have done so far? Starting the Miami Dolphins off to a 0-8 season start, the worst in the teams history. They are quickly coming up on the 0-16 mark, being already half way there. The worst start to a season was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1976, with an 0-14 season, when the NFL only had 14 games per season; we don't want that on our hands, do we?
The Faults of Cameron
Cam Cameron has made some iffy decisions, hasn't he; signing Ted Ginn Jr., not giving John Beck a shot to play, signing 37 year old Trent Green, etcetera. First off, why sign Trent Green? He's 37 years old, and he sure isn't a Dan Marino, who is known for his 4th quarter comebacks. You may or may not know, but last season Trent Green suffered a concussion in the opening game, rendering him useless for the season for Chiefs. The Chiefs decided to cut their losses and trade him to the ignorant Miami Dolphins for a 5th round pick. During the game versus the Houston Texans in the 2007-2008 NFL season, Trent Green suffered a serious concussion. Now I'm not saying this is all Cameron's fault, but why did he sign Green in the first place? 37 isn't exactly the golden age to be playing football, because your bones are going to start getting weaker, including your shoulder, which quarterbacks need. There were definitely better options out there instead of picking up Trent Green. For example, we could've picked up Brady Quinn, who started for Notre Dame.
This leads me to my next point, picking up Ted Ginn, Jr. in the 1st round. Was Ted Ginn really worth the pick? Let's take a look at some of his stats:
- 778 yards for kickoff return
- 141 yards receiving
- 1 touchdown
- Most yards made were in week 5, the week Trent Green went down with a total of 36 receiving yards and 176 from kickoff return, against the #15 defense in the NFL.
- #4 in the league for yards on kickoff returns
As you can see, it isn’t the most impressive stats for a wide receiver. The 778 yards for kickoff return is actually really good, especially for a rookie. But, if you don't have anyone on the offense to convert that good return to a touchdown, it does you absolutely no good. We probably should've spent that draft pick on someone who could throw, making the best of Chris Chambers who we foolishly traded to the Chargers.
Chris Chambers was easily the Dolphin's best wide receiver, starting over Marty Booker, Ted Ginn, Jr., and Derek Hagan. For the time he was with the Dolphins this season, he had:
- 415 receiving yards
- Average of 69.2 yards per game
- Average of 13.4 per catch
- 20 First Downs
- 31 Receptions
Sounds pretty promising, huh? Well, it did, up until he got traded to the Chargers. So far, he has only accomplished the following:
Things are not looking too good for him over there, even though he has only been there a few weeks. In there 2005 season, he had his most promising season yet:
With the QB problems Miami has been having, and recently intensified with Coach Cam Cameron, Chambers has been going downhill because no one has been able to throw to him properly. As you can see, Chambers has true potential, but needs someone to throw to him. This is where Quinn could've come in; here are some of his stats from his last year at Notre Dame:
- 289 Completions out of 467 Attempts
- 3426 Passing yards
- 61.9% for completion
- 37 touchdowns, and only 7 interceptions
So as you can see, he did pretty well. I'm sure the Dolphins were expecting that Trent Green would do fairly well, but it obviously didn't work out and destroyed our season. It's not entirely smart to get a 37 year old, who was still recovering from a concussion at the time, and make him your starter. It wouldn't have been as bad if we started Quinn (if we had gotten him from the draft) and have Green teach him the ways of being a professional quarterback. Even if we didn't Quinn, but kept out Ginn pick and still had gotten John Beck, it would've been smarter to have green teach the rookie how to throw professionally than start an older QB who is injury prone.
There is also a problem growing on the defense; last year the Dolphins had the #4 defense in the NFL, this year we've completely disappeared to #23. Is Cam Cameron focusing on the black-hole of an offense he created so much that he is completely neglecting the defense? On the offseason, the Dolphins signed Joey Porter, linebacker, to start for this season. Yes, he is starting, but what is going on with the defense this season? Your guess is as good as mine, because it's being quieted up, but I would assume defense is not getting any attention this year and isn't getting as much efficient practice in.
The Wrong-Doings of General Manager Randy Mueller
On June 6th, 2005, Randy Mueller was named General Manager of the Miami Dolphins. Now you say, how could this man possibly have wronged us? It's simple: he chose Cam Cameron as the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins. On January 19th, 2007, Cam Cameron was named head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Analysis:
- Coached on San Diego Chargers as the Offensive Coordinator from 2002-2006
- Coached LaDainian Tomlinson
- Coached QBs from 1994-1996 on the Redskins
Looks like he has potential to be a good head coach, right? Wrong. Mueller screwed up by naming this man as head coach, and you'll see why.
During the 2007 draft, the two of them decided to draft Ted Ginn, Jr. Why do that when we need a Quarterback so desperately? Oh yeah, that's right; they decided to pick up Trent Green, everything is going to be fine and dandy. Here's the problem on Mueller's part: over paying Green: $13.5 million for 3 seasons. Considering Green was still coming off of his concussion, and was 37 years old at the time, $13.5 million was pushing it, and could've been used better else where. Mueller could've lessened up Green's pay and put some of that money toward Brady Quinn, who is being paid $9.2 million for a 5-year contract. Or, if you want to look at one more option, instead of signing Ted Ginn, Jr. who is being paid roughly $14 million for a 5-year contract, they could've had money to sign Quinn over Ginn for that QB position we so desperately need. Obviously there is something wrong with this coaching formula, and Mueller is doing nothing to fix it.
Looking towards the future
With in a few days of this post, Ricky Williams should hear back if he can be reinstated into the NFL. Ronnie Brown is out for the season, possibly even the first few games of next season and likely receiving a lighter work load, with a torn ACL, we look to Jessie Chatman. Who? Exactly. Well, with Ricky Williams possibly coming back, things may be looking up for the Dolphins, at least for next season. Here are some of Williams' stats:
- In 2002, he rushed for 1853 yards, with 16 touchdowns
- In 2003, he rushed for 1372 yards, with 9 touchdowns
- After returning to the NFL in 2005, and not getting as much game time, Williams rushed for 743 with 6 touchdowns
So this guy is pretty promising if we can get him back up to speed with Miami's plays. Even better for Miami, if he does come back he would be paid league minimum again because of his run-in with the law and breaking his contract policies. Unfortunately for us Miami fans, if the reinstatement does go through, Miami probably wouldn't sign him back up because of the way things are being handled by GM Randy Mueller and head coach Cam Cameron. But, if they do wise up and decide to take him back and get things back on track, we would have 2 great running backs, and it would reduce the work load of Ronnie Brown.
Here's hoping to the 2008-2009 season, and hopefully some management changes.
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