Quarterback controversy?
As you probably have read on The Herald website, Joey Harrington is starting today's game against the Patriots.
Daunte Culpepper will be the third quarterback. Cleo Lemon will be the backup.
This is what I'm being told about how the Dolphins will handle this budding quarterback controversy.
1. If Harrington stinks today, there's no controversy.
2. If Harrington plays out of his mind against the Patriots, coach Nick Saban will say that is the reason the team got him, but that the job still belongs to Culpepper when he's healthy.
3. The club will admit it might have made a mistake in not going to Harrington earlier. Remember that Culpepper got hurt (brusied shoulder) against Buffalo Sept. 17 and still played the last two weeks.
That is the game plan, but remember that Miami hasn't been so great executing game plans this year.
My question to you: Do the Dolphins have a quarterback controversy on their hands if Harrington plays well?
And would you give the job back to Culpepper when he's healthy?
Daunte Culpepper will be the third quarterback. Cleo Lemon will be the backup.
This is what I'm being told about how the Dolphins will handle this budding quarterback controversy.
1. If Harrington stinks today, there's no controversy.
2. If Harrington plays out of his mind against the Patriots, coach Nick Saban will say that is the reason the team got him, but that the job still belongs to Culpepper when he's healthy.
3. The club will admit it might have made a mistake in not going to Harrington earlier. Remember that Culpepper got hurt (brusied shoulder) against Buffalo Sept. 17 and still played the last two weeks.
That is the game plan, but remember that Miami hasn't been so great executing game plans this year.
My question to you: Do the Dolphins have a quarterback controversy on their hands if Harrington plays well?
And would you give the job back to Culpepper when he's healthy?
posted by Armando Salguero at 10:48 AM
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26 Comments:
Finally! I think we´ll have a totally diferent team today. With Joey starting we´ll win this game...
Diogo (portugal)
for sure they do! and i'd like to see cleo lemon before the end of the year too!is it just me or is this the most listless,predictable,impotent offence the phins have fielded in recent memory?i think both co-ordinators saban hired stink! and whoever coaches special tems should be fired!we should have expected progression this year but instead we have regression!
win this game? you on crack?the fins are in the midst of being blown out!game over at halftime!time to fire this dud of a coach and start from scratch AGAIN!
God!!!! This guys makes penalties every single play!
Yea, I told you all last week that Harrington would throw costly INT's. The O-LINE STINKS and Culpepper is not the problem
I think Joey played excellent today. I am shocked, however, by how poorly Mularkey called the plays. He tried to get too "cute", which ended up with Mare attempting a 50yd field goal off of a terrible field instead of trying to improve the field position to give Olindo a chance. Joey made good decisions, threw the ball with authority and seemed very composed. I think it is clear that a number of the sacks given up this year were because Daunte didn't know what to do or where to go.
I didn't see the game today. How did Joey play for those who saw him?
Didn't see the game either but 2 picks and no TD tell you a lot :-(
Today we have seen what Nick Saban Is all about. He is Wannstedts twin with a complex. What a joke! He's playing puntball. Why not give Mare two shots at a fifty yard field goal, I bet he makes one and ties the game. He is playing not to lose when the team is already losing. Here's a great idea why doesn't someone tell Saban "to" look at the scoreboard. The Fins are down by three and all Mularkey and Saban do is pass the ball. You would have thought they were losing by forty. Saban can say what he wants. The truth was shown today. Saban is a fraud and cannot and does not know how to manage a football game. I have tried to support Saban, but the obvious cannot be denied. with that being said I would not be saddened to see Saban hit the road. He can take Mularkey, and all of his SEC draft picks back to college because that is the only place they will ever be successful. The Fins are substantially worse than they were last year. Every other teams first round picks are contributing to the team. Has Jason Allen even dressed for a game this year. On top of this 99%of Saban's free agent signings are rejects from other teams. The only thing that I can figure is that Saban is still an assistant to Belicheck and took the Dolphins Job to make it easier for the Patriots to win the AFC East.
Scott,
What game were you looking at? Harrington play great, please. He threw 2 costly INT's that led to 14 points. That's the game right there. Next, you're going to say Joey is the second coming of Marino. Give me a break
Hey, Anonymous, I said he that I thought he played excellent, and, compared to the first 4 games with Daunte - he did. He was decisive with the ball, and only took, I believe, one sack (which was negated by a face-mask). The first Int was all on him, but the second was an unlucky bounce. Again, compare the way he played with the way Duante has played the first 4 games, plus he was on the road, against the Pats, and I think he was excellent.
Harrington threw a couple of INT's, yes, but the real reason we lost the game is
a) still giving stupid penalties - Harrington got us to the NE 2 only for it be pulled back to the 30-odd yard line. That would of got us 7.
b) bad offense calls, Olindo had a 45+ shot, only for Mularkey to run a play that loses a few yards, making it almost a 50yd effort. Olindo then missed by a yard. That would of got us 3 (see a pattern developing???)
c) What is happening to Booker, Chambers and McMicheal. If Harrington is throwing it 40+ times. These guys must do it at their end of the throw too!! Big players are continually going missing at crucial times.
I was impressed to see the Dolphins give a little fight today, unlike last weeks surrender, and at half time, the game was there to win and to be honest, without a stupid ref's call on a W.Allen pass interference, it was definetly possible... The dodgy ref call killed the game though....
It is getting better, the defense was exceptional (again)and Wes Walker is nothing short of outstanding (Pro Bowl??), but this is not enough to save this season.
With NE now 3 games ahead and this division unlikely to get a wildcard, it's all over, and the blame falls on Mularkey and Saban's shoulders....
The controversy is not with the quarterbacks......
I think Joey looked great....one INT his fault, the other was not....he got rid of the ball....looked decisive....lets start him next week.....
Please, the people who said Harrington looked great sound real stupid! You folks are grasping for straws. If Culpepper put on the same exact performance as Harrington, you all would be screaming for his head. I am a long time Dolphins fan and realize that the Phins are in a rebuilding performance and should stick with Culpepper and let him play his way back to his All-Pro self. The Dolphins offense only scored 10 pts and had a total of 280+ total yards. That does not sound outstanding to me.
Harrington was better on short week of practice AT NE than Culpepper was at home vs Tenn and against Houston.
I think the entire Culpepper injury thing was pretty convenient after the debacle in Houston. Harrington is going to be the QB for this team. He was WAY better than Culpepper - Only 1 sack allowed (taken away due to penalty) and that was all Harrington.
Culpepper is just bad anymore, chalk it up to a mistake. And EVERY coach makes them so get off Saban's back side for awhile he is our best shot of not only winning but winning a SB in the next 5 years.
Don't think we have a championship calliber QB on the team, but Harrington deserves the chance to prove that wrong just as Culpepper has proven he is not.
We are in DESPERATE need of a big time OLT, #1 CB, and QB and other role players. Nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get ALL of those in 1 or 2 years so have to show some patience.
For toay though, Harrington showed he is the QB of the team for this year at least.
Completely different team today. Actually showed some life on offense. Harrington looked great and the team seemed to respond. We should have won this game.
I agree with Dan Marino who said on NFL Today that Harrington looked "fairly sharp out there today" and should be given the nod as Starter next week VS the Jets. Dan also said the #1 positive was having a guy who can "get the ball out of there" quick. Meaning not stand there flat footed like U No Who.
I liked Joey's poise and he throws a real nice ball. He showed a tough attitude after they got down by 13 points - leading 2 scoring drives. Game should have been tied at halftime except for Mare's problems. Team bogged down in the 3rd quarter with drops and penalties - not all Harrington's fault.
There are INT's and then, there are flat out giveaways. One of Joey's picks was a mistake, yeah, a defender was shadowing the play. The other was a ricochet off Welker. Daunte's picks have been plain horrible throws right at the worst moment. PS- Culpepper commits about 2X the turnovers per game as Harrington, going back all last year - check stats.
Wow, I didn't see a lot of sacks, the 2 picks weren't that bad of throws. I gotta say (reluctantly) Joey is currently the better option. The D did pretty good. Its a shame they didn't walk away wiith a win. The interference call was totally B.S. and probably decided the outcome of the game. The refs should be hung out to dry.
Ok, I would like to point out a couple of things. First, any NFL quarterback can get the job done if they have the right players. Just look at Rex Grossman. Two years ago he was struggling to be a backup and now he's throwing 3 TD's a game. And lets not forget the fact that Trent Dilfer is setting at home right now with a super bowl ring. Daunte Culpepper's problem isn't physical. It's mental. He just doesn't have any confidence in himself. Go back and look at his face after a play the last couple of games, he looks like a kid who lost his lolly pop. Harrington played with confidence, he made some amazing throws, and his arm strength was far superior to Culpepper's. He did make some mistakes, and he over threw Chambers twice. But I would challenge anyone who said he stunk. Joey should play untill Daunte shows he is able to handle the pressure of being an NFL QB.
Culpepper injured? At least Saban realizes Daunte can't play at this level. Now if he would do the honorable thing and resign, we could begin to rebuild.
i hate to continue to be a saban basher,but what else can one do?where there any other teams interested in either one of these qb's? i think they both could of been signed as free-agents and not cost them anything!this season is turning into a nightmare far worse than anyone imagined!
The offence looked better in this game than they have all season against much weaker opponents. To me you have to go with Joey give him more reps and see what happens.
Having watched JH here at Oregon, I wouldn't mind him finally finding a spot for Miami. Joey believes in himself (I think he was an overachiever in college, so far nothing to dissuade that notion since he's been pro.) I'd love to see him meet his goals and begin playing pro football at a championship level.
culpepper is nothing without moss.
the games prove it.
pro bowl qb??? that is a joke. doesn't take a genious to see, it is not just his knee. he flat out would be selling insurance by now if not for moss. saban needs to sit him for the rest of the season.
Culpepper is a fluke... if he had any talent he would produce as Drew Brees. I never wanted Culpepper here because he was not impressive. He reminded me of Terry Bradshaw, if he did not have the team he did, you would have never heard or remembered him. If you watched the preseason, you would have known Culpepper was not the man you want or capable of leading your team to victory. He was constantly under and over throwing the ball. If he was not doing that his accuracy was to hell. If he is going to worry about protecting his knee, then he will never be anything. You have to play hard and as you did before his injury. Look at Drew Brees, he had a rotor cup injury. Do you see him holding back with his arm? Of course not. That is why he and the Saints are productive and we are not.
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