OK Dauntephiles, this is your day
I'm going to be brief and then let you guys have at it.
1. The Dolphins were correct to let Daunte Culpepper go. The guy today is still not 100 percent healthy and may start Sunday against the Dolphins only because Josh McCown, who is not exactly a stellar QB but beat him out anyway, is hurt.
2. The way the Dolphins executed the Culpepper exit was wrong. Coach Cam Cameron should have told Culpepper the team would do what was best for the team. Period. That way Culpepper wouldn't have been told he would have a chance to compete for a starting job -- which he never did. Cameron also shouldn't have embarrassed Culpepper by announcing, in front of the entire team, that Culpepper would not be playing again for the Dolphins.
3. The Dolphins should never have allowed Culpepper to go on the field that fateful minicamp day back in May only to then tell him he couldn't participate in all the drills. That led to Culpepper's infamous march off the field and the personal press releases from the QB that he handed out in the Miami locker room.
4. Why is it the Dolphins, more than any team seemingly, have players around the league that hate them? In Cleveland Brady Quinn and Braylon Edwards hate the Dolphins. Culpepper wants revenge on the Dolphins. Randy McMichael was so angry at the Dolphins when they let him go, he hung up on ME when I called him about it. He later called me back and did an interview but admitted, anything associated with the Dolphins (including this reporter) left a bad taste in his mouth. David Bowens wanted to play in New York because, of course, that gave him a chance to beat the Dolphins twice a year. Why can't we all get along?
Your thoughts?
1. The Dolphins were correct to let Daunte Culpepper go. The guy today is still not 100 percent healthy and may start Sunday against the Dolphins only because Josh McCown, who is not exactly a stellar QB but beat him out anyway, is hurt.
2. The way the Dolphins executed the Culpepper exit was wrong. Coach Cam Cameron should have told Culpepper the team would do what was best for the team. Period. That way Culpepper wouldn't have been told he would have a chance to compete for a starting job -- which he never did. Cameron also shouldn't have embarrassed Culpepper by announcing, in front of the entire team, that Culpepper would not be playing again for the Dolphins.
3. The Dolphins should never have allowed Culpepper to go on the field that fateful minicamp day back in May only to then tell him he couldn't participate in all the drills. That led to Culpepper's infamous march off the field and the personal press releases from the QB that he handed out in the Miami locker room.
4. Why is it the Dolphins, more than any team seemingly, have players around the league that hate them? In Cleveland Brady Quinn and Braylon Edwards hate the Dolphins. Culpepper wants revenge on the Dolphins. Randy McMichael was so angry at the Dolphins when they let him go, he hung up on ME when I called him about it. He later called me back and did an interview but admitted, anything associated with the Dolphins (including this reporter) left a bad taste in his mouth. David Bowens wanted to play in New York because, of course, that gave him a chance to beat the Dolphins twice a year. Why can't we all get along?
Your thoughts?
posted by Armando Salguero at 12:56 AM
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59 Comments:
i do agree with getting rid of daunte culpepper since he was not our qb of the future, but what the hell was the point of trading for trent green? we could have stuck with lemon and been 0-3 just as well, instead we trade a draft pick for what? absolutely nothing. and what the hell did we get for mcmichael and culpepper? absolutely nothing.
you could also add olindo Mare to that list of players who hate the dolphins..
Stop rustling up unnecessary conflict. Miami is already going through enough growing pains as it is.
Who cares he always was a band aid.
Now we know why Randy was working for ESPN while the real GM's were properly employed. Randy is weak and he allows the HC to dictate what he should do.
Randy should have told Cam that Culpepper was staying and he should have made a deal with the Raiders to get Moss and offered our 5th rounder for him or what ever round that was obviously higher than the pats had to offer…..
Randy seems to try and please the Coaches as if he wants to be accepted.As GM you have to do what is in the best interest of the team....
I am a Culpepper fan, so I do feel disappointed that Cam didn’t allow Culpepper to stay and compete. The fact is Miami has a history of being a pious team. Some players are not good enough for this team TO/Randy Moss. But look at Dallas and NE……
You guys write about Nick Saban and express what a jerk he was and Culpepper who is the only one with the guts to call Nick out was vilified because he let Nick have it.
The fact is Cam is a rookie HC and he is going to make mistakes but that does not justify Randy Muller allowing this to happen. I do agree that it is still too early for any of you to panic but if this season do not find Miami in the playoffs it would be wise to continue to build through the Draft.
I have no problem with Cam wanting his own QB (Trent Green) as his starter. I do agree with you that the way they handled Culpepper was just wrong. And that might have caused some current players to have bad feelings about the management. I would!
I will give Miami credit, they look good on offense, I do question what Don Capers is doing….
This Defense is not aggressive enough, they have players who can blitz and to not go after a gimpy naturally slow QB with a weak arm like the Jets QB just blows my mind.
Death to the Dolphins! Go Daunte and beat the team dedicated to the evil kindom of the Morons (or is it mormons?)
Trent Freaking Green????? Over Daunte Culpepper? I can understand if our team was just one healthy quarterback away from the Super Bowl, but come on, we aren't close to that, and we weren't even close to that anytime during the offseason. This was a losing team from the beginning, with whatever we did at quarterback. If things came together, we had a chance to make the playoffs, and we still do if things come together. But anything beyond that or one lucky playoff win? No freaking way. So why cut Culpepper and trade for Green? To groom John Beck? Simply because he's a better mentor to our young QB that we don't even know will be able to make it in the NFL? I like John Beck, I have high hopes for him, but you don't set your starting QB simply based on who's the better mentor unless you drafted some QB who everyone's saying is a sure shot to be the next Peyton. Too easily anyone can be a bust, and to make personnel decisions based on who's a better teacher is ridiculous. That said, Daunte is what, 27/28 years old? Trent green is 37? Daunte's not the QB of the future? Well guys he hasn't worked out to be, but it hadn't even been a year he was on the team. There was nothing to benefit from dumping DC, he could have easily returned to form sometime this year and have another great 10 years left in him, or he easily could just be done. But what does Trent have to offer? 1, 2 good years then he's done or he's already done. Well now we get to wait and see on the one with the smaller potential to reward. So unless we were building for a super bowl year and needed a decent healthy QB all year from game 1 there was no reason to trade for Trent. If we stuck with Culpepper, think about it, he wouldn't be playing now, we would have gotten a good look at Cleo Lemon or John Beck in games that mattered and seen what Cleo's real worth in the NFL and to this team is, or gotten to see what potential John Beck has to offer, or if he bombed at least gotten him some good first hand experience right away. Both these guys Beck, and Cleo need experience, and Trent being here is not giving that to them. Culpepper being here would have done that, and he might have just proven that he could be the QB he once was, or better. And if he didn't? So freaking what, we would have gotten our young guys at the most important position some experience, and we would been able to trade him for something, and not look like complete freaking idiots if Daunte comes back to tear up the NFL ever again. HORRIBLE horrible move, almost as bad as giving up a proven cheap winner in our system Fiedler, for what, wait, who did we put instead? That's right, nobody. Too many times people come storming into the front office making changes for the sake of making changes thinking that will fix the problems. Well I'm not against change, but you don't make changes with players unless the changes clearly make you better. There's plenty of other changes coaches can do to make his team better, changing players should be the last of them unless there is a clear cut better alternative. It takes a while for players to develop chemistry with each other, and when your'e overhauling the team and putting in a new system, its just too much to overcome to produce a winning season. And about this being a bussiness move - bullshit bussiness move then, QB is the most important position on the field, for all of the reasons outlined earlier, I rather give my money to someone that MAY have a chance to play 10 more years, then someone that MAY only play 2 more years, and again unless we needed to gather a super bowl team up this year, the few extra we save with Green and what we got back for, is not anything better then giving up the best option on our most important position.
If it's true that so many ex-Dolphins hate the organization, then you can probably blame corporate culture. And that goes right to Huizenga.
But it also makes me wonder if this is a Dolphin thing or if it happens to every team that trades/releases a player.
As for Culpepper, I never got the feeling he was a team guy. And he wasn't here long enough for me to have any emotional investment in him as a player on my team.
Cameron: I'm always willing to be patient with a new guy while he finds his legs but he ain't exactly hitting the ground running.
As is customary with the Dolphins organization, fan base and sports reporting ignorance abounds! Mr. Salguero Culpepper's lack of play in Oakland has little to do with his injury or skills and more to do with the same issues he faced here in Florida. And we all know what those issues were! During the preseason Josh McCown and Daunte Culpepper competed for the starting QB position in Oakland. For your information McCown's QB rating was lower than Daunte's, as Daunte throw for 4 touchdowns with 1 interception Vs McCown who had 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Should the opportunity arise which allows Culpepper to play Sunday the Dolphins organization, fan base and sports reporters will see first hand how good Culpepper is and will have to confront the ugly reality that he should have never been cut. Daunte's skills are far and away superior to Trent Green's. In fact comparing Trent Green to Daunte Culpepper is like comparing a flash light to a shooting star (as quoted by Keyshawn Johnson) and Cam Cameron knew, which is why he wouldn't allow Daunte to compete. But as is customary ignorance and spin will undoubtedly keep you all pacified with this losing organization as you relentlessly hold on to your fantasy, that one day John Beck is gonna ride in on his white horse and save this pitiful team. Good luck. Mr. Salguero how are the housing prices in Fantasy Land, and did you all get cable yet?
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win"
Gandhi
I'm convinced that last post is from Daunte himself. But as to why everyone hates the Dolphins, I think it's because there's a loser's mentality in the organization, and to get cut by losers is like a huge slap in the face. If the Dolphins were a better team, a more respected team, players wouldn't leave lacking respect for the organization.
Why anyone is upset about acquiring Trent Green is a mystery to me. Everyone wanted to draft a quaterback, but Duante made it clear through the press that it was his job and that he wasn't keen on grooming anyone to succeed him. Green knows exactly where he stands and accepts it. He had some familiarity with the offense and the coach. His play has been more than adequate thus far and he's getting Chambers the ball. Also, I like Mueller's draft so far. Just before the season began Mueller repeatedly said he was looking for more young defensive lineman from the waiver wire. At the time I thought we were well stocked and had a couple of young guys available (Roth, Solai, Vickerson). We had released Fred Evans but we had our veteran studs. Now we see his assessment of the need was correct. Can't stop the run and can't rush the passer. The defense is our real problem and the only one who publicly said anything to indicate the concern was Randy Mueller. The one thing I wish he had not done was trade Welker. I know we got great value for him but watching him with the Patriots is killing me.
Armando,
The reason Daunte did not win the starting job was because he did not have enough knowledge of the playbook yet, and Josh did. How long was he there before preseason started, a few weeks, if that. So get your facts straight first before you start saying that he couldn't get the starting job, because as you are hinting he sucks. I doubt you would learn a playbook even if you had an entire year, let alone a few weeks.
Indeed a very disturbing summary of severely mishandled personnel moves. Was Randy Mueller's promotion to Actual General Manager worth anything? That list seems to fit Cam Cameron's personality and preferences a lot better. I'm surprised Mueller's not on the list himself.
this conversation is mainly about DC not TG yet everyone is questioning TG.. lets just look at last week... over 300 yrds passing. moved the offense.. got ronnie brown going in run and pass game (way to adjust coaches bout time you figured give the rock the the RB) and you guys are saying TG dont got skills. no he doesnt hes got knowledge and savwy play and moves the chains. and ragging on cam. he is doing exactly what he was paid to come here to do.. IMPROVE THE OFFENSE. ronnie w/ 3 tds and a qb w/ 300 passing yards.. id pretty much say thats good.
--CJ
I agree. Man, I was following the game stats from Cancun on my phone last weekend and I just couldn't understand the score when I was looking at the offensive stats. I thought it was wrong...
Not to mention Ronnie Brown was the highest scoring player on my Fantasy team...He scored a whopping 40 points for me. But ya...I know...that ain't no good when we let them score 31 pts. Unfortunately I have the Phins D on my fantasy team to.
Ghandi reads this blog? Wow, Mando, you have some major juice in this world -- and beyond, apparently.
ya my fantasy team did no better. goin against brown and w/ the phins d... OUCH!
--CJ
You could make the argument that just as many players around the NFL hate the Patriots for similar reasons. But they've won SuperBowls, so nobody cares. Outside of Daunte, I don't think the Dolphins handled the exits of those other players badly. And Quinn and Edwards need to get over it. Like we're the first team to ever dupe people on draft day.
Brady Quinn hates the Dolphins. This is a guy who was charging everyone $75 dollars for an autograph before he was even signed. And we should care? Braylon who (cares)? Mare hates the Dolphins because he was happy being payed so much money to sit in the sun and miss field goals,now he's missing them in NORLEANS. Daunte hates the Dolphins? GOOD, I hate Daunte. I hate him for duping Saban into thinking he could actually play football, I hate him for sucking in his only 4 starts in Miami, I hate him for yelling at Saban on the sideline,I hate him for acting like an overpaid baby, and I hate him for taking Waynes money (millions!) for nothing and turning around and saying bad stuff about the team. I don't believe for a second that Bowens hates the Dolphins. He is a second string DE who had his best days in Miami and got a raise from the Jets. Why would he hate us? That leaves one question I haven't been able to figure out, why does Armando hate the Dolphins so much? Hmmmmmmmmm,that's the real mystery.
So freaking what if Trent Green even is doing a decent job moving the offense, we're a losing team, it's a waste of a move, giving valuable time at our most important position on the field to someone that won't be around here for a while. As I said before if we had a solid team that could contend for the Super Bowl here, then its a fine move bringing him in. But we're not, so as it stand Green is just taking up space and money on the roster when theres no chance he'll be around here for very long. We need to be giving the time to someone who could potentially be our permanent solution at quarterback. Culpepper, in his short stint, didn't fill that role, but he has a much better chance of being that man simply because of age, and Trent Green has no chance of filling that role unless he becomes a miraculous exception and ends up having 10 years left in him. I'm not saying Culpepper would be that guy for us, but he COULD have been, and now might very well prove everyone wrong. But beyond the DC vs Trent issue, even if we were so keen on getting rid of DC and the team was set and convinced to go in a different direction, do it with someone younger, as Trent Green is not going to be leading us to enough victories to win anything meaningful, so who freaking cares. He is just wasting time, experience, and chemistry we could be giving to someone that may have not been the answer at QB, but COULD be the answer, when he has not shot of being that answer. I can't stress enough how much of a waste of time it is. At this point put Cleo in see how he does, if he doesn't show signs, bring in Beck later in the year, and scan around free agency or anywhere you can for a young QB that hasn't gotten a shot somewhere yet. They may not be the answers, but there's only one way to find out, and it's not with Trent Green taking up minutes just for the team to go nowhere.
Okay people....the reasons Daunte is no longer here:
1)Mobility - GONE
2)Mentality - not the best
3)Accuracy - crappy
4)Moss - In New England
5)Game - Not Cam's style
Ok, so Cam dumped Culpepper very unceremoniously. Oh well, its time to get over it. Cam wanted his own boy here and he got him in Trent Green. The Culpepper we all saw in Minnesota heaving bombs to Randy Moss on those roll outs is GONE people, he doesn't exist. He can't read defenses. (although Miami's shouldn't be tough to read this Sunday). I fell in love with the Culpepper signing initially, but wanted a quickie divorce after seeing him play Buffalo last season. It was ATROCIOUS.
So ex-Dolphins hate the Dolphins now. Is that supposed to be big news, Armando?
Do you not believe that:
Porter hates the Steelers?
Branch hates the Patsies?
Arrington hated the Skins?
Leftwich hates the Jags?
Rodney Harrison hates the Chargers?
Kendall hates the Jets?
...and the list goes on and on. Its a business people....would we not HATE the company that fires us after years of faithful service and hard work? Of course we would.
Here's to Culpepper showing us on Sunday exactly why the Dolphins cut him loose. If he lights up the Dolphins, then I will have to sit down and enjoy a nice dinner and get my large servings of CROW!
I'm mystified by so many Dolphin fans seemingly having more loyalty to Daunte Culpepper than to the Dolphins. Hey Daunte fans, why? What did he ever do for this team? I know he tried hard, and I know he was very well paid while he was here. But he produced less than nothing, and the offensive coach we've entrusted with fixing our offense didn't believe in him. Please, Duante fans, tell us WHY you are so defensive of a player that did less than nothing for the Dolphins. Because I can't help suspecting that the loyalty to Daunte, as well as all the misplaced attachment to Brady Quinn, is inspired less by their play and more by their identities. PLEASE EXPLAIN!
For the record: I love the Dolphins but, after covering them so long, I'm not blind to their long list of flaws.
Secondly, that many players have a burr on the brain about Miami is not BIG news, it is simply a fact I stated in the last paragraph of this blog entry. To quote Danny Marino, it is what it is.
Another thing: HCD makes mucho sense. Good post.
And where's my boy Jdizzle?
Dont know about the rest of you but I was real excited about DC's move to MIA last year. solely based on the fact he single handedly took my current college to Div 1 football(go knights baby). He even switched back to his old UCF number and we saw him on our field practicing preseason. My girl even bought me a MIA DC jersey. I still do not tihnk he was ready to play that early in the season, but it was a move that needed to be made. Ive got high hopes for Beck, but I have seen cleo play in person. You started him last year in that rainy ass game on monday knight the jets would of missed the play offs. We go 0-5, yank TG and trhough in cleo or beck.
Armando you know I wasn't going to miss this!!!
My favorite topic Daunte VS Trent.Who ever that was who said that Trent has proven why he was traded for is CRAZY!!! The guy has had one decent game and guess what we STILL LOST!!!! It will be proven this week when these two guys square off against one another!! I hope the Dolphins kill the Raiders, but I truly think Daunte is going to be playing with a huge chip on his shoulder!!!! Which is going to mean trouble for us!!!
Now as for the exit of Daunte this was a great example of a rookie head coach SCREWING UP and a punk GM without the balls to tell him he is doing so!!! Why invest so much time, energy and a future draft pick for a QB, when you already have one on the roster!!! If Cam was trying to improve this team he would've been using that same time and energy to trade for a STUD offensive lineman!! But instead lets settle for some inexprienced guys late in the draft which should've been focussed on Defense!!! If Cam and Randy where really looking to improve this team they should've went crazy in free agency for offensive players that can contribute now and used the draft to get the D some youth!!! But its too late for all that we're set on course to a whole bunch of FAMILY REUNIONS and FAVORITES!!!
And before anyone says it I am a TRUE DOLFHAN!!!! But that doesn't mean its ok for them to treat folks anyway that just shows our franchise has NO CLASS or sense!!!
The DC situation could and should have been handle totally different!! The reason the DC supporters such as myself are in such outrage about the situation is because our new coach lied to all the players, and fans!!! You guys are like its OK because DC is STUPID, NOT A TEAM PLAYER ETC!!! When did this make it OK to LIE!
To this day Cam and Randy are the only peolpe in the NFL that would take Trent Green over Duante Culpepper!!! So its OK to salvage the future for a 37yr old QB??? I have a question everyone keeps saying Duante is stupid, and Cam is an offensive GURU!!!! Ok if that's the case, why could'nt Cam design some of these AWESOME plays (he's supposedly known for creating)spefically for Daunte??? Thats why all the Pats offensive players look soooooooo good!! Bill designs his plays to fit his players nothte other way around!! This is turning into a book and I could go on for days I'll stop hear and wait for comments!!!!
The problem with letting Daunte go was not whether he sucked or not, not whether he's 100% or not, but the fact that this Sunday might be the first time we KNOW. In addition, it was "classless", just as McMichael being RELEASED (which I believe was the single biggest mistake), Mare, who, I agreed with, but they sugar-coated. I believe it was similair to "We want him to go somewhere so he can have some longevity" (kicking indoors). But, from what I remember we have a history of such moves. Forcing Marino to RETIRE with 2 years left. (Anyone who thinks this was a smart move, is the opposite). Surtain, Madison, Marion, Knight. (We should have KNOWN we were DONE in the secondary when they were ALL gone!) Anyone else remember Rob Konrad? Orande Gadsen, Adewale Ogunleye? In the past decade, I've seen some of the most mind-boggling personnel decisions, EVER! I have NO IDEA what the people who make these decisions are thinking. McMichael is arguably on the best 10 TE's in the league, EASY. Do you think other teams would RELEASE a Heap or Gonzales? On that note, Madison and Surtain, were in the same category...Do you remember the year Taylor AND Ogenleye had when they were TOGETHER? I know I drifted off topic, but, not so much. Whether we find out if Culpepper was a mistake or not, it proves that we have made, and continue to make THE WORST decisions in the league. If I could make and All-Dolphins team with the personnel that used to wear our outfit that are STILL in the league even we would DOMINATE, and I didn't need to see them play on other teams to know this! Also, Jdizzle, again, good point. There were a TON of O-linemen free agents this off-season, almost all of them certainly better than what we have!
Armando, you're the biggest Daunte hater of em all, so it seems.
Why?
Daunte has proven time and again in preseason and now during the season that he is back physically. His performance so far this year when he has been on the field has far and away exceeded that of Trent Intercept Green. I have faith he will win on Sunday -- and I will be happy for him despite a lifelong fanship with the Dolphins (this is the first year I have ever strongly criticized the Dolphins).
Yes, Cam not only mishandled the whole Daunte thing, which not only is creating enemies around the league but within the team had to be a serious morale killer, but he was fatally wrong in his judgement of talent and whats best for the team. Please, a 37-year-old has been versus a 30-year-old superstar who was on his way to full recovery...Daunte has recovered. How much longer will Trent be throwing his intercepts?
Daunte Culpepper is an opposing QB coming to town to try and defeat our Dolphins. He should be boo'd and hated for that alone.
I hope he gets sacked 21 times to make up for what he gave us. I hope he throws another interception for a TD to Porter. I hope he fumbles three or four times and one of them is JT taking the ball from Pep's tiny hands and returning it for a TD.
After the game I won't give a camel's crap about him. Those, my dear friends, are my humble thoughts about FORMER Dolphin, Oakland QB, Daunte Culpepper.
To add, for those who have asked "WHAT O-LINEMEN COULD WE HAVE SIGNED?", Here's a short list of those who were available:
Eric Steinbach
Kris Dielman
Jordan Black
Leonard Davis
Derrick Dockery
Also, when we realized Green is failing and Traylor is done, we should have looked at TANK and LEFTWICH, but, hey, I'm just a spectator
I don't know why this has to be repeatedly pointed out. Cameron WAS doing what HE thought was best for the team in EVERY facet of his handling of the Culpepper saga. If Pep couldn't realize that, then perhaps he is not as bright as some here suggest. Cam has explained that Mueller was working on a trade. That explains EVERYTHING in Amando's (and jdizzle's) laments. When the trade fell through, they let him go. P.E.R.I.O.D. .
This has been hashed and re-hashed so many times, it looks like vomit, yet Armando calls in the dogs to lap it up.
Green has not won a game. So where is all this he's doing good coming from? The man can't beat the Jets and can't throw a deep ball. His last touchdown in the Jets game when the 4tes thought the game was sealed. Green is doing what he has always done--maintain good stats.
Never was a huge Culpepper fan. I always felt he played more with is physical tools than his mental tools. The evidence of that lies in the collapses that occurred in MN in the 2nd half of the season and in the playoffs. Teams were able to scheme more and disguise coverages that would roll to Moss and Duante was unable to recognize them.
The guy did have some awesome physical gifts but much like Micheal Vick this does not always relate to wins once teams understand how to defense them. One post said that Culpepper was not accurate, a look at his stats does not bare that out. He is pretty accurate. He broke Steve Young's accuracy record while at UCF.
Sometimes having those physical gifts goes against a player who is not willing to learn the game because things like age and injury will catch up to them. It is especially true with the QB position. In the NFL there are not very many players who are that much more physically gifted than the guy next to them. QB is a cerebral position and no matter how gifted, if a guy is not willing to learn the intricacies of the game he will not lead his team to the promised land. I don't think Daunte would have lead us there.
Whether when healthy he ends up to be a better short term option than Green is yet to be seen but either way neither is the long term solution. With that in mind I don't think he wanted to be a mentor for a couple years and that may be what came between him and Cameron.
Cameron is the coach and if the guy was not willing to understand his position on the team then the coach has to nip that in the bud or he loses the team. From outward appearances it looked like Cameron was being a jerk but I am willing to bet there were things going on behind the scenes that we were not and will never be privy to.
As to the hate thing, I would have to say that most guys don't like the teams that cut them loose. Mare has already missed several FGs but his kickoffs have surely been missed and I('m surprised no one has made note of that in the concerns with the special teams blunders. McMichael was not as good as some poster seemed to think. Ranking him among the guys who were noted is ludacris. I always called him "Ole" because of how many sacks were directly related to his waving defenders by when he was supposed to be blocking.
The Welker trade is a tough one... I love the guy but a 2nd and a 7th! Man that is hard to pass up. I just wish it wasn't to the freaking Patriots. The Welker trade pick turned out to be Satele, I believe, and if he turns into a pro bowl center then I think the trade was worth it.
Let me qualify myself here, I am a season ticket holder and a die-hard Dolfan since January 1973.
Let's address the real issue here. Anyone with half of a brain knows that Duante was not fully healed from his knee injury last year, especially Saban and the Dolphin training staff. Most teams take a cautionary approach to players coming back from the type of injury Daunte suffered and hold them out for much of the preseason. Example, when Marino tore his Achilles, an injury less severe than the 1 suffered by Culpepper's 3 torn knee ligaments, Shula held him out until the first game of the regular season. Culpepper should have been allowed to continue to rehab his knee and get prepared for the games that counted. However, his coach pushed him to get on the field as soon as possible. Some fault lies with Culpepper too, as he should have held himself back. However, it is easy to understand why he did not as he had a tremendous chip on his shoulder to prove the VIkings wrong and his coach was insisting on his need for Culpepper to take part in camp from the beginning. Furthermore, when Saban finally pulled the plug on Culpepper, he further compounded the issue by not admitting the Culpepper had been re-injured in the Bills game in which he was sacked 7 times. The last of which included a direct blow on that injured knee. This is why he had to have a second surgery that was supposedly to remove loose tissue from behind the kneecap.
Face it folks, we were lied to repeatedly by the Dolphin organization and Daunte Culpepper was held up as the sacrificial lamb to take the blame for the fall. Make no mistake about Daunte Culpepper at 80% of his ability is better than Trent Green at his current state of health and ability. The teams that Trent Green has quaterbacked have never won when it counted. Twice he has QB'd teams that had a RB led the league in rushing and scoring TD's, yet neither team made it past the 2nd round of the playoffs (and I'm probably being generous with the 2nd round). Twice he lost his job (in Washington and St. Louis) to qb's most believed to be less capable than he.
For those of you who are high on Green's 300 yd and no TD game, keep in mind that Daunte passed for 929 yds in his 4 games last year with a completion percentage of 60.4%. Tell me how many teams would be unhappy with a quarterback with those type of stats? When you compare that to Green's 1342 yds in 8 games last year and a 61.1% completion % through dump off passes to LJ and Tony Gonzalez, and consider that KC had a better offensive line that Miami, tell me who is the better QB.
If Culpepper had been allowed to compete with Trent Green for the QB spot, in all probability, Trent Green would have been cut from the team. In a phrase made famous by the immortal Larry Holmes, Trent Green cannot carry Duante Culpepper's jock strap.
Great post Julian, I'm just wondering WHERE ARE ALL THOSE GREEN SUPPORTERS????
What's with all of these people telling us to shut up and let Cam just do whatever he wants with our full support because he must know what is right? Since when ever in the NFL does more then a few coaches know whats right? We have a right to be pissed off. We're pissed off at personnel moves because we love this team and are extremely angry at the direction it has gone in. If we're rebuilding, freaking rebuild then, don't bring in a 37 year old quarterback and waste ANYTHING on him, not a single cent. I rather take C-Pepp with whatever baggage he has with him because HE HAS A CHANCE to become an answer at QB, TRENT doesn't. But its TOO late. Cut him, cut him now, move on and sign anyone younger out there and play our young guys we have. We need an answer at QB, we don't need it for this year, we need it for the next 10 years and that can't be Trent Green. That's one reason to get pretty damn angry at what was done this offseason, whether you thought Culpepper was the guy or not, Trent definitely is not, so freaking get him the hell off the field and this team, and put someone young in there. Marino was pushed out of town at this age when we weren't even rebuilding and had a solid team, yet now we're doing the opposite and bringing in someone who's not an answer at QB. Freakin ridiculous.
Us die hard Dolphans have been so caught up in the Shula/Griese/Woodly/Marino memories that we expect IMMEDIATE results. Remember how many coaches have come and gone since Shula? How can any team have any stability when there is no consistencey at the helm? Dont blame C-pep, Joey Blue Skys, the "F" brothers or Trent Green for our downfall. Obviously they have enough skill to play at a position that most of you Sunday quarterbacks dont even have the ability to dream about, so look beyond them. Last I recall, Trent Green or any other player didnt offer himself a job in Miami. Have you ever seen a fish that stinks at the tail?? Cam has been there less than a year. Give him a chance to fail before you criticise him or go apply for the job yourself Bet you wouldnt even get an interview. I am a Dolphan even through the rotten years. GO FISH!
To answer your question j-dizzle, as to where are all the "Trent Green" supporters at. It's simple, they're staying away from this thread because they're sick and tired of hearing about Daunte Culpepper! Like Armando said, this is YOUR day. The Trent Green and John Beck supporters will soon have theirs. After this Sunday, win or lose.... The whole issue of Daunte Culpepper needs to be put to rest PERMENANTLY!!!! This issue is so old, petty, stupid, and tiring, it makes me want to pull my hair out! Thankfully, I have long hair.
If Daunte does well against the Dolphins, it does not mean he would've been putting up awesome numbers if he was still in Miami. Coach Cameron's offense is WAY different than the offense Oakland runs. I hope Daunte eventually gets his career back on track somewhere, whether it be Oakland or somewhere else. As for me, I'm "rollin" with John Beck.
It would be a very bad thing to have Daunte Show up this coming Sunday and beat the Dolphins!! Period. No other embarrasment would be greater if this man returns here to stick it to us even if just for this one game. The what if's and regrets would be more than a thunderous roar should this happen. I for one would not be all to upset about it either. The Dolphins traditionally have done players dirty in the business aspect of this game and yes plenty of former players do HATE miami. As for cheering for Daunte I'll applaud his effort because he's a Florida native who really wanted to do well for a team from his home state, if you can't appreciate that dream you're a natural loser with no expectations in life and you should just do us a favor and kill yourself. Ill be detesting the Raiders while quietly throwing a C-Pep, cheerfest. Welcome back Daunte and have a good game. Good enuff to expose this coaching staff for the frauds they are, so we can call either of the Bills.
I hope these "experts" post their very insightful opinions on Monday when the Dolphins send Culpepper back to that stationary bike he likes to ride so much.
Go Cam!!
Go Fins!!
Guess what folks- QB is not our problem. Green and then Beck? Fine. No problem. Offense, for the first time in a long time, will not be our problem.
Aging D? Terrible secondary? Yielding 31 points to the Jets? Problems.
I love the passion in this thread but I have to stay away. Thats because I really didnt want C-Pep, Green, or Quinn. I had my wagons hitched to Brees. I know he is having a bad year which he seems to have every other year. Yet his good years are spectacular, and he is still young. I think fin fans would have embraced him whole-heartedly and he would have brought stability to a position lacking since Marino retired. I almost cried the day we took C-Pep instead of Brees and though I have slight hope for Beck I think passing on Brees will haunt this organization for years to come.
Now I am hitching my wagons to the idea of drafting Tebow in 2009. Our team will still probably suck so there is hope we are drafting high enough. By that point Cam will be gone and hopefully Coach Cowher will want to bring in someone like Big Ben which would be Tim Tebow! Daunte Fizzle I want what your smoking thinking we are going to sack C-Pep 21 times or even twice. Have you seen how piss poor our pass rush is this year? We couldnt even get to gimpy immobile Pennington with the Jets crappy O-line. Props to the guy who mentioned Woodley. Thought I was the only one who remembered him.
Reading these rants as a true dolphins fan leaves me amused yet puzzled. Did no one see Ronnie Brown's numbers?? Over 200 yards?!Feed him the ball, just like you would any star running back. Maybe he is not a star yet, but if you give the back the ball like he was chosen for (2nd pick of the draft, above Cadillac and Cedrick( what are they doing), you may have results. I am totally in agreement with Marc about the quality of players we lost, and with how we let Daunte go, and especially about our defense (has to be the coaching with all the talent we have).Keep the faith fans, we are not far off.
oooohhhh...Daunte broke Steve Young's collegiate accuracy record...wowwww!!
In the NFL, Randy Moss helped maintain a level of accuracy. Whats happened to Culpepper SANS Moss and post knee injury?? Thank you.
Now watch this bum come in and have a "perfect game" ratings-wise.
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My take on the qb situation is the following:
The fins were in a bad position because with Daunte was the odd man out between Trent (present), Cleo (back-up present) and Beck (future). They obviously thought Green would be a better MENTOR than Daunte would be. That coupled with the fact that in my opinion, they want to go with Beck soon (next year probably) meant they didn't want to deal with handing the job to Daunte and then stripping it from him the following year. He would've never gone for that and it would've been a big p.r. nightmare.
I agree they couldve handled Daunte's dismissal better, but whatever. I'm giving Cam passes on stuff this year because he's never been a head coach in the NFL before and like alot of people on this team, are learning on the job.
All that said, as long as the fins end the year progressing, the team will be in a better situation for the following year, when they can address the real problem: LACK OF TEAM-WIDE TALENT. We have no depth thanks to hardly any draft picks panning out and despite some of our big names on the team, need more talented, young contributors. That, above anything else, is the reason we're 0-3. Plain and simple.
Why was the "Morons or is Mormons" allowed to be posted? That is a discriminating remark. I am Mormon, and it shouldn't have been allowed on this post.
Culpepper is going to light this defense up for 45 pts! Can't wait to see the look in Cam's face in the post game news conference.
Dumbte Culpooper sucks. He's fat, lazy, selfish, and stupid. He is a team cancer. He sucks.
I hate Dumbte Suckpepper.
Did it ever occur to you that maybe any player cut/traded/passed up in the draft is going to resent the team that did it, and it's not a Dolphins-specific issue? Nah, probably not.
-- Bebo
Julian is full of beans. Sacrificial Lamb? Bwa Ha Ha ha.
Here are career stats for DC and TG – not counting this year.
DC 277.5 yards/ game. TG 251 y/g. This includes rushing, where DC is clearly superior WHEN HEALTHY. Passer rating, DC 90.8, TG 87.5. Touchdowns per interception - DC 1.54, TG 1.55. Yards per attempt DC 7.69, TG 7.64.
Passer rating – DC 90.8, TG 87.5.
In 84 games started, DC fumbled 84 times, losing 35 – OUCH! In 107 games started, TG fumbled 58 times, losing only 7! So, the statistics are remarkably similar, except Green turns the ball over MUCH less often. To put it another way:
Green has lost one fumble per 15.3 starts. That's pretty close to once a year! Culpepper loses a fumble every 2.4 starts, pretty close to seven times a year. Since EVERY coach stresses the need to control the ball and NOT turn it over, this is an important statistic which more than offsets Culpepper's small advantage in any other career stats.
The overall theme of Armando's Blog here is the Dolfins organization.
The Daunte debacle was a fundamental failure of the Team organization. From the team doctors blowing the health checks to the public relations nightmare in handling his release. It is ironic that Coach Cam comes across as such a decent, concerned guy...and then proceeds to stumble around the issues of health, performance, and compeition with Trent. I was surprised by his handling of the situation. It almost seems like he was distracted/blinded by his boy Trent waving his arms and causing a commotion....
The Fins need a quarterback of the future. Daunte was not it...Trent Greeen is not it. Period. It remains to be seen if Beck is "it", but the way things are going we may get to select a top 3 QB in the 08 draft. That would be interesting....Oh, and they also need stud OLmen, fresh blood DLmen with motors, Seriously upgraded DSecondary, and maybe a nasty athletic tight end.
I am afraid that the ownership has given the fan base quite a lot of frustration over the past 10 years, with a lame Draft history, weak trade values, and coaching/GM personnel decisions. The CamRandy thinktank needs to get things straightened out in a hurry. The Defense sucking wind has a real potential to deflate this team..no one predicted that, and losing with a bad defense to boot is really hurting the players morale (I think) and fans patience (I know).
I am rooting for the Fins up here in the Devil's Den of Boston MA. We all know the Pats team is a well oiled machine...and that starts with the management. They got coaches and a system that takes no crap, has a plan, and puts a premium on execution as a TEAM. Hope the Dolfins get some of that secret sauce soon......
Except for this week, I hope Daunte Culpepper does well in the rest of his career. As far as replacing him with Trent Green, it was the smart thing to do. Apparently Cam has an intricately timed offense that requires a qb that can make decisions quickly and read defenses well. That is not Daunte. Duante likes to scramble and let the play develop.
Should Cam have thrown out his entire offense to accommodate a qb that may still have been gimpy? No. Since the offense was learning a new system, it's smart to have a qb that is familiar with it. Now we have 2, Trent and Cleo. It's the same thing Linehan did with Frerotte when he was here.
Daunte's trade could have handled better but it looks like if he were told up front he would be traded as soon as we got Trent, he probably would have emailed the world about his impending availability. And the Chiefs would have held onto Green much longer while demanding a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick for him.
As far as Wes Welker comments, he was a restricted free agent that the Dolphins asked a 2nd round pick for after offering him a $1.3 mil, 1 year contract. Nobody thought anyone would offer a 2nd for him. New England did and in the end also gave up a 7th and are paying $18 mil of which he got a $5.5 mil signing bonus + salary this year and $3.5 mil next year if he's on the team. Considering he's Brady's 2nd favorite target with 221 yards receiving in 3 games, I'm pretty sure Wes will be with them next year. Would the Dolphins have matched that contract? I say no. So all you Wes whiners, stop crying about the trade.
Interesting thread. Setting aside some of the raw emotion on display here, let's set the record straight on Culpepper. First, in seven seasons in Minnesota, Culpepper was popular with fans and reporters as much for his personality as his playing. In 2004 he had his best year and earned his third trip to the pro bowl. That was Randy Moss' worst year as a Viking, as Moss missed three games due to injury, and limped through many of his other
starts.
In 2005 the roof caved in on the Vikings. They started the season without Moss, without offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, without backup quarterback Gus Frerotte, without the original whizzinator running back Onterrio Smith, and missing three starters on the offensive line, including pro bowlers Matt Birk and David Dixon.
With a makeshift offensive line and the offensive line coach pressed into double duty as the offensive coordinator, the Vikings were awful. On October 6 the infamous Vikings boat party happened, and on October 30 Culpepper suffered his devastating injury.
Even though Culpepper was acquitted of any wrongdoing when he got his day in court, he was nationally humiliated for 9 months. So 8 games into a new season, Daunte went from being a sought after star for national television commercials to being a tainted has-been athlete. Predictably, the tragic reversal affected his psyche as well as his body.
Miami needed a quarterback. They had a chance to take injured Drew Brees or injured Daunte Culpepper. They were badly outbid by New Orleans for Drew Brees and decided to risk a smaller amount of money on Culpepper. The gamble didn't pay off. Miami fans never had a chance to see either the personality or the skill set that made Daunte popular in Minnesota.
People are looking for some kind of vindication of either Culpepper or Miami in Sunday's game. It will be neither. Both have a long way to go to return to their former glory and one game won't tell that story. Meanwhile, to those pathetic posters who use this forum to express your hatred for a
player because he didn't heal as fast as you wanted him to, seek counseling.
All I'm going to say is hahahahahaha I told you guys months ago Trent Green SUCKS, but you so called sports experts thought he was your savior, you idiots didn't even wonder why KC didn't want him, instead settling for a journeyman like Huard, well C-PEP got his just do's came into Cam's house spanked his team and scored 5 TD, what did Green do throw 5 INTS or maybe got sacked 5 times, this entire organization is getting just what it deserves embarrassed week in and week out, now I'm sure some of you brillant sports critics will come back with your arm chair, never played a down of football wisdom but I won't be back to this blog therefore let me apologize in advance that any response to this blog will not reach me. GO DOLFANS 0-16 the only organization to go both undefeated and winless, time to get the paper bags out until CAM is ran out of town cause CAM SUCKS, TRENT GREEN SUCKS & together they SUPER SUCKS
Scored on 4 consecutive possessions- great but how about a touchdown?
Good- let the other guy make all the mistakes
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