-by Erick Coleman

The Sun Will Shine Again

The clouds will part and the sun will shine again in South Florida, allowing the fans of the Miami Dolphins to dance in the streets yet again. It may not feel this way now, but better days could very well be on the way. My article earlier this week outlined what I feel is wrong with the Miami Dolphins and mistakes that they have made. This article outlines the things that are right with this franchise. Not how to fix it, that would be a mistake to do. If I knew how to do that I wouldn’t be sitting at my computer in Portland, Maine and trying to figure out how to get out of my assignment to cover the Boston Bruins this week. Solutions and bright spots are in place right now, as we speak. Some of these bright spots are a direct contradiction of portions of my previous article. This is by design. Every tale has two sides, for every negative has a positive. Let’s look at those now.

Let’s start at the very top with the owner of the Miami Dolphins, Wayne Huizenga. There are fans of sporting franchises around the world that would love to have an owner such as Huizenga. In some aspects it would be easy to lob a mass accusation that all Huizenga truly cares about are ticket sales, full luxury boxes and television rights. I’m not quite so sure that an owner that only wants these things gets into a bidding war with LSU for Nick Saban. Make no mistake about the money that it took for Huizenga to lure Saban out of the comfort-laden world of college football. Miami made their offer to wrestle Saban away and it was a large one. LSU was not about to let Saban get away that easily and made an undisclosed counter offer. In true “mine is bigger than yours” fashion, Huizenga laughed – upped his offer and Miami had a new head coach. Huizenga has also spent a lot of money updating portions of Dolphins Stadium, practice facilities and other areas of need for the team that the general public wouldn’t usually hear about. Miami Dolphins players will tell you, to a man, that the training facility is second to none. Back tracking a little, wouldn’t the fact that Huizenga turned down huge national dollars in the stadium naming deal speak to Huizenga’s love of his team? Most owners, New England’s Robert Kraft included, would not turn down the millions in revenue for stadium naming rights.

Moving down the line, and skipping a step, our next target will be Nick Saban. Saban has made some poor choices in his short tenure as head coach as the Miami Dolphins, but he’s made some wise ones as well. The first is understanding that he couldn’t go it alone. Miami made a mistake a couple years back, over looking Randy Mueller for the General Manager’s position. Miami almost made a mistake in bringing in Dan Marino into a role close to that of General Manager. It was under Saban’s directive that Mueller was hired into the role that he’s in now. Mueller provides a keen eye for talent and is sharp in the war room. Saban also made a couple moves in the 2005 off-season that I personally question, however the moves do show positive motive. Dom Capers and Mike Mularkey are both former head coaches with varied levels of success at the head coaching level. It would be reasonable to argue that there were better offensive and defensive minds available for those positions; however one could argue at the dedication a head coach must feel to his position in order to hire coaches of Capers and Mularkey’s resume. You’ll be hard pressed to find larger egos than that of head football coaches, bringing in two former head coaches shows a level of dedication that some might miss. Granted it wasn’t Don Shula and Bill Parcells that Saban brought in, you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone calling for Capers to replace Saban any time soon. The safe route would have been to bring in up and coming talent; this method would have come with a built in excuse during times of failure. Bringing in two former head coaches was / is a risky move and one that should be commended. Nick Saban has also been under fire for player moves, some of that criticism is warranted and deserved. However it’s also important to look deeper than the first six weeks of the 2006 season.

The largest spotlight of them all is shining directly upon Daunte Culpepper. By brining in Culpepper, Miami has limited it’s flexibility in the 2007 draft (loss of a second round pick) and has also taken away any realistic shot at drafting a gun slinger coming out of the college ranks. Miami also brought in a solid “plan B” in Joey Harrington, a quarterback that many feel is a legit starter in the National Football League. For many years the quarterback position has been the sorest of sore spots for the Miami Dolphins and has been a direct link to critical losses in the past seasons. One position that successful teams have in common is the quarterback position. The talent level has to be there, the leadership skills, the desire to have the ball in their hands and the “x” factor. Do Culpepper and Harrington have those qualities? That is yet to be seen, but at worst people can say, “I’m not sure.” Every option at quarterback the past five –plus seasons flat out did not have it. Miami was in a position where a drastic change at the quarterback position needed to be made. It’s very clear that Culpepper was rushed into service far too soon, but he also showed sparks that would make fans hopeful that next season he’s going to be right as rain. Culpepper’s mobility is challenged, yes, but what else would you expect from a man that suffered the injuries that he did? In that aspect, he showed flashes of himself as well. Culpepper’s arm strength was everything that it was billed to be, the Houston game showed that easily. Joey Harrington has performed decently in Culpepper’s absence showing mobility, arm strength and – most importantly – a swagger in the huddle. At worst Miami will be, again, shopping for a leader under center. At best, however, the future could be bright. Very bright indeed.

Speaking of centers and the offensive line, Miami’s has been under fire. The last couple games with Harrington at QB have shown that not all ills were to be placed at the feet of this group. Daunte simply couldn’t get away. The offensive line won’t be confused for the old “Hogs” of Redskin glory days, but there is one person on that line that I feel is someone that you can be a monster line around. His name is Vernon Carey. Carey is young, improving and an animal. He’s flat out nasty and moves people almost at will. Carey has shown the ability to pass block and run block, and do it well. His efforts are easily lost along a line that has been pushed around as a group, but shouldn’t be. Carey is a pro bowl player in the making. I have a vision of Carey leading the way for Ronnie Brown for many years to come.

Ronnie Brown is a name that will split Miami fans in a hurry. Some feel that he is a bust already, some disagree. I am in the camp that thinks Ronnie Brown is a very suitable running back. Too much this season is being made of Miami’s inability to run the ball without looking at the real causes of this. It’s fairly simple, really, when a team is ineffective at passing defenses stack the line to defend the run. Miami’s passing attack has slowly improved under Harrington’s watch and the running game has started to show signs of life as well. I’m not convinced that Ronnie Brown is a former hall of fame player, but I do believe that he will blossom into a running back that defenses need to plan around. Patience is needed when speaking of Brown; a running backs toughest year is generally the sophomore effort. Williams in Tampa Bay and Benson is Chicago, two running backs chosen in the same first round as Brown, showcase this. Offensive weapons are plenty in Miami with Chris Chambers and Marty Booker. Wes Welker is quickly showing to be a find at wide out and Derek Hagan could grow into his role.

There are areas of interest in the defensive side of the ball as well. Channing Crowder is showing that he might have been the steal of the draft and is showing maturity well beyond a second year player. Matt Roth is growing steadily and is showing signs that he could be a starter in the league. Miami’s defense is aging, this is true. But putting Zach Thomas, Kevin Carter and Jason Taylor in the “old folks” home just yet would be a mistake. Miami has enough pieces in place on offense to dictate the upcoming off-season to a drafting youth movement on defense, and don’t be surprised if that is exactly what they do. A small youth infusion would be a welcome thing. Miami’s defense is still considered, in the least, in the top half of the league in all areas.

There are issues within the franchise of the Miami Dolphins that need to be addressed. In no way is this a retraction of my earlier article. However where there is darkness you will find light, one only need to open their eyes and find it.

 

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