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Beck’s chances dwindling

By Edgar Thompson | Saturday, August 16, 2008, 08:45 AM

It’s been an up-and-down week for quarterback John Beck.

But that’s an improvement from his first week or so of Dolphins training camp, which was pretty much a downer for Beck.

The question now is what kind of week will Beck have next, and will it end with him still in a Dolphins uniform?

Beck heads into tonight’s pre-season game at Jacksonville on the heels of a solid couple of days of practice. When coaches let him throw the ball, he generally did it with the confidence and accuracy that had been missing earlier in camp.

By week’s end, though, Beck was the subject of an Internet rumor that he’d been released. Beck, the No. 40 pick in last year’s draft, wasn’t pleased by the report. Speaking to my colleague Ben Volin, Beck, a devout Mormon, referred the rumor as “crap.”

But there’s little question that Beck’s future with the Dolphins is in limbo as the team decides whether to keep him or six-year veteran Josh McCown.

How many snaps either get tonight remains to be seen. Coaches want to see a good bit of newly acquired QB Chad Pennington running the offense and continue to develop rookie Chad Henne.

Beck started last week’s pre-season opener against Tampa Bay and didn’t do anything exceedingly well or poorly during three series. He completed three straight passes at one point. A Bucs DE tipped one of Beck’s passes at the line, and Beck fumbled and recovered the ball on a sack.

The most encouraging thing was Beck didn’t look rattled, like he did during his rookie season when he accounted for two TDs and eight turnovers in five games.

This past week, Beck maintained his composure and made the most of his chances. Focused on Pennington and Henne, coaches allowed Beck to throw one pass during team drills Monday and none on Tuesday.

But on Wednesday and Thursday, Beck got a good bit of work and showed a number of times that he still throws the prettiest deep ball among the Dolphins four QBs.

Beck still makes some inexplicably off-target throws, probably more than his competition does. During red zone drills, he locked into a receiver and was picked off in the end zone.

But Beck did flash potential. If he’d done more of that early in camp, instead of throwing a high number of interceptions and incompletions, the Dolphins might feel a little more confident keeping him as one of Pennington’s back-ups.

Beck still might have a chance to stick around. The team doesn’t have to cut down to 53 players until Aug. 30.

But Beck’s opportunities - few and far between already - clearly are running out.

  Weren't the majority of the Beck detractors saying he was still looking like a deer caught in the headlights the other night?

Just goes to prove that when people are biased, they see what they want to see & not what is actually there. 

I posted in the "Beck not cut" thread that I was not seeing what they were seeing & this helps me believe what I was seeing was accurate.

I actually went back last night to watch the game again to see if maybe I simply was not paying attention the first time & still did not see the deer caught in the headlights look.

Beck has the talent to be in the NFL.  Its simply the matter if Miami will give him the time to develop.  They expected to much to soon, simply because he was older. 

This situation is not much different than with Jason Allen.  They threw him into a pile of sh-t & expected him to make it smell like roses.  Not gonna happen.

I just wonder if Beck will go down in what seems like a long line of players Miami has jettisoned to quickly.

So if he looks like a deer in headlights 20-25 times, and then a blog writer says that he didn't look rattled once in a preseason game, and it all goes away, eh?

You have an agenda with Beck...I understand that, and it's no problem...but please don't come up here and proclaim him to be a great QB every time he completes a preseason pass.

You quoted the line in the article that best supported your point...allow me to do the same:

"But Beck’s opportunities - few and far between already - clearly are running out."

 

So others can quote things reporters say, but I'm not allowed.  Gotcha.  We are going practice hypocrisy here.    Thanks for informing me of this.

 
   I was accused of having an agenda with Jason Allen also, but my only agenda is to point out the major flaws in the opinions on players being done wrong.

Find one place I have ever said such a thing.  You cannot, so get your fact straight before coming at me.  This is where you get asinine.   The only thing I have ever said, is to give him time to learn.  If you get by the fast food football most of you seek then you would see he had the talent to play in the NFL.  Now where he might could ascend to is unknown.



  I quoted the line to rebuked what some where saying.  Beck did not have that look the other night.

Plus, the report was about him losing his chances, but went on to say what he was not doing.  Something some posters here are hanging their hat on.

  Yes, he opportunities are running out..  Why?  Because it appears most expect experienced play from an inexperienced player.

People will see what they wanna see.  Once you hit them with the Men in Black flashy thingy and let them watch the guy with an open mind, they might see something they didn't expect.

People who want Beck gone will focus on the bad and dismiss the good as anomaly.

To all the Beck haters - just try to give the guy another shot.  You may think he sucks, but you may also be wrong.  It is possible.  Forget what you saw last season, judge SOLELY based on what you see tonight.

(of course there's a snowball's chance in hell of any Beck haters saying anything good about the kid but it was worth a shot)

  Beck sure looked pretty fuckin scared when he fumbled (again) and got sacked....is this another one of those "bash John Beck Blogs" because it seems pretty posititve towards Beck?  Maybe the reporters are calling it as they see it...maybe John Beck has been the worst Qb in camp and that is what they have been seeing....maybe, just maybe ;)

Oh, please...I never said you couldn't quote an article, please don't be so boo-hoo melodramatic here.


That'd make a nice cliche' soundbite, but it means nothing. He doesn't have the talent to play in the NFL...or ya know what? He'd be playing. He's not...he's sliding out the back door with his mediocre talent in-hand. By this time next season, there won't even be much mention of Beck's ever having been here.


Goofiest of all your comments to this point... "Most" people's expectations have nothing to do with Beck failing here. Parcells-Ireland-Sparano's opinion is the only thing that matters with Beck's future in Miami, and your continued atttempt to blame fan and media comments for it is nothing short of pure insanity.

  How in the heck can you think you see that? 

He got sacked.  That will happen to every QB from time to time.  They blitz & he had no where to go & he was trying to find a way out.  What do you want him to do, just stand there like an Indian statue without trying to dodge defenders?   Talk about grasping for something negative to write about.  Someone smacked the ball out of his hands.  His fault for that, but again that is not something new to Qbs. 

Maybe they are, but I find it hard to believe that he is still on the team if he sucks as badly as they are writing.

The mistakes I see Beck making are the same mistake a majority of inexperienced Qbs make.   Learning to play Qb in the NFL is not a quick study thing for most college Qbs. 

Guess you fooled me with your comments then, by reading between the lines it sure said that, but I digress.

Having the talent & being up to speed are two different things.   The problem is fans/media think all players come into the NFL as dominate as they were in college.  Its a whole new level. 

For a QB the offense is harder & the defensives are more complex.  It takes time to understand & process these things into split second decisions.  Some do it quicker than others.


It is very clear in the moves they have made that Beck was never wanted in Miami under these guys.  He is not their type QB, which is understandable.    Why they are hanging onto him is something of note IMO.  If they thought he was not capable of playing in the NFL, then they would have cut him a long time ago & especially after signing Pennington.

I'm knocking the fans/media for not understanding that those 3 like bigger stronger QBs like Henne.  Its not that Beck sucks, its he is not the QB they want.  Is that hard for some to understand?

You keep saying that Beck clearly doesn't have what it takes and that we should make way for Henne, but has Henne's camp/preseason looked any better than Beck's did last year?  I don't remember any particular criticism of Beck from you then.

Why are you so confident that Henne is indisputably the better future option for the Dolphins?  For all we know, he could look worse in a regular season game than Beck did.

Henne has a stronger arm, a more accurate arm, better composure and pocket presence...the little things that distinguish a QB with a solid NFL future and one that probably doesn't. I can't imagine anyone watching both of them under center for more than a few snaps each without clearly seeing the extreme difference between the two.

Why does it have to be Beck or Henne?  Why can't it be Beck and Henne?

  That is what I've been saying.  For some reason some Miami fans think that they have to bash Beck, because it appears Henne is better.  However, lets see Henne when the real games start, before declaring him the next best thing.

I figure Beck has the most value between him and McCown in the long run. Keep developing him, and release the older man.

Can someone tell me how many plays John Beck participated in tonight?

  None, the same as McCown.

  It dosen't appear Henne is better....Henne IS better...Why keep a roster spot for Beck when he will never be a quality starting or backup NFL QB?  You have 53 guys busting there arses for those roster spots...they should go to the players who perform the best...Beck has performed the the worst of all the QBs in camp.
   
   If Pennington goes down with an injury early in the season ( before Henne is ready, although he might be ready sooner then we think) Miami needs a backup QB who can move the offense....At least Josh McCown has proven he can do that in the NFL...Beck has proven nothing...notta....zilch..... No matter what,  McCown and Beck will both be history after this year....HENNE will be Miami's QB for a long, long time....In a year or two, Beck and all of his potential will be out of the NFL. ;)

Never?  If you are that good, then why are you not in the NFL working as a GM or some type of scout?.

I'd say there was a time someone said Rich Gannon would never be a quality starter or backup.  He just went on to be NFL MVP.  Same was probably said about Kurt Warner also.  What did he do?  Oh yea.  Two time NFL MVP.

I'm encouraged by Henne, but unlike some.  I want to see him with the real football players playing & when something is on the line.  When they are blitzing him & using defensive schemes to confuse him, before I start jumping for joy.  He has a very nice arm on him though & again I'm encouraged with his ability.

  So you should cast inexperienced players aside, simply because they are not NFL ready yet?  Wonder why SD kept Drew Brees for 3 years?  They must have been stupid for doing so. 

How many times have you seen Beck this year?   Teams keep players all the time who did not out play someone older.  Why?  Because they develop them into players & one of the reason Miami is where they are.  They started going for the quick fixes & stopped developing talent.


  That is why Miami is the fourth team for McCown in 4 years.  Because he is proven.  Gotcha on that one.  I think he has proven to be a very avg to below avg. Qb.    Every other team, just did not know what they had with him.  A proven Qb that can move the offense, teams always let QB like that go.

  You are finally correct.  Beck has proven nothing, just as Henne has not proven anything.   It will be best for Beck if Miami lets him go.

So are you comparing Henne's performance in this year's camp/preseason to Beck's performance in last year's regular season?   Again, as I recall, Beck reportedly looked very good in last year's camp/preseason.

Don't you think that you should see Henne play in a real game before you declare the competition over?

None I believe  ;D

Zero, none, nada.  And that pretty much says what the new regime thinks of him. 

By that "logic", they think the same of McCown.

Henne is our back up AND he earned it. thats right he stole it from the others. ;D

As a long time fan It has been a long time coming for Henne. Is he gonna throw like Dan .....NO...........Break records like Dan.............NO.........Bu t is he going to be a good quarter back for the Dolphins I say yes...Even the announcers called him an nfl qb. And they were pulling for jax. :)

If you think there is a competition between Beck and Henne at this point, then I don't think you've been paying attention this preseason. Beck is headed out in short order, and Henne is the future QB of this franchise. Tuna-Ireland-Sparano have made it clear to everyone but the "Beck didn't get a fair shot" stalwarts that he's gotten as much of a shot as he's going to get.

On topic we keep Beck and send mckown down the road. Unless we are paying Beck more? Then its visa versa....

Please do not make two and three posts in a row.  Please try to put it all together in one post.

Thanks.

It can be - and it SHOULD be.  If anyone thinks Beck is "done" and McCown isn't, I will laugh at them.

The discussion isn't Beck or Henne, the discussion is Beck or McCown, and there's no way I think we should keep McCown.

To me, Beck is the emergency guy that could be good 2 or 3 years from now.  Stash him on your roster, bury him on the depth chart, let him develop on his own time, WE DON'T NEED HIM TO PLAY RIGHT NOW!  On the other hand, McCown is a 4-year vet on his 4th different team.  Not one team has found him worthy enough to renew.  Not to mention, McCown is a bigger cap hit and higher salary than Beck for the next coupla years.

This is a no-brainer to me.

  McCown is a 7 Yr vet.  Spent his first 4 Yrs with the Cards.  Then Det., Oakland & now Miami.

Whatever. ;)  I was too lazy to go check but I thought that sounded wrong.  Doesn't change the fact that he sucks though.

Wouldn't surprise me if they cut them both loose and brought in someone else. 

...that is, unless he isn't.

Again, before you anoint Henne as the new face of the franchise, you might want to wait for him to actually play in a regular season game.  I can't believe that any of the anti-Beck (or pro-Henne) people can have such short memories; I mean, it's not like we're talking about a situation 10 years ago, when we had a 2nd round pick that was a second-tier QB prospect, brought in to be the new franchise QB, who looked impressive in camp and preseason only to disappoint when put in for real.  It was last freaking year!

Like the saying goes, those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.  Perhaps you should consider that Henne might pull a Beck out there and stink it up, in which case I'd rather have two prospects to develop than one.  We have two baskets here, and one is certainly shinier and newer than the other, but it still doesn't mean that we should put all of our eggs in it.

It would be one thing if Henne was JeMarcus Russell, or Matt Ryan, or something; when you spend a high first on a QB, you have to ride him to the bottom.  But we spent a higher pick on Beck (40) than we did on Henne (57)!  I'm not saying that means we need to make Beck work, but I am saying that Henne is far below the level where he is entrenched as the prospect.

As for how this relates to McCown... let's be honest.  There are anti-Beck people, there are pro-Beck people, and there are anti-McCown people, but there are no pro-McCown people.  The people who want to "keep" McCown really just want to get rid of Beck.

With Pennington holding down the fort, Miami just needs to keep Beck and Henne and dump McCown. Given, Beck hasn't showed much of anything, but the pivotal year for a QB is his third one. A year from now, if Beck is still lost and unproductive, cut him and draft somebody else. I expect Pennington to start for the Dolphins next season too. He signed a two-year deal and he's a Parcells guy. Somebody will have to beat him out of that job, and I don't see either one doing that anytime soon.

Key point missed in this statement is that there were two different "we's" involved. The Cameron We and the Ireland-Parcells We.  All We's are not created equal...

There was another difference between the two selections as well... When Henne was drafted, I gave it my Sunstroke Clairvoyant Seal of Approval, and when Beck was selected, I threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Bottom line is that, regardless of what arbitrary point in a draft these two were selected, Henne is a better QB than Beck. Spin all the angles and numbers all you want, but in the end, it all comes down to that one simple truth.

  You obviously have never seen Chad Henne play....he's good!! ;)

I am more excited about the phins QB prospects than at any time since Marino. I like Pennington's experience, knowledge and I am not too worried about his arm strength. I also really like the potential that Henne and Beck give us ... two younger QBs that are talented (don't care what you say about Beck). If they can be given a chance to develop and don't have to be thrown to the wolves like Beck last year then either one might develop into our future qb and maybe the other as a decent backup. McCown has had chances albeit crappy ones but has never shown much ... why bother? If Penny gets hurt which is possible then we can insert Beck and then sign someone the next day. If we get through this year without an injury and the same scenario happens then whomever is showing better progress can be used (this gives Henne his full year of just learning the ropes) ... which is what should have been done with Beck. He has accuracy and arm strength but he is afraid of getting killed like last year and someone needs to teach him to get rid of the ball faster. C-pep had the same issue when the o-line dripped like a $5 ho and he got his @$$ handed to him. He wasn't a saviour with the Raiders but wasn't horrid like when he was here.

Take the $2.5million hit and cut the clown.

  He's certainly better than Brady Quinn.

^^^^^^ ;D ;D ;)

Zach and JT were Jimmy Johnson "we's".  Ricky and Vernon Carey are Wanny "we's".  Ronnie Brown, Channing Crowder, and Will Allen are Saban "we's".  Samson Satele, Ted Ginn, and Joey Porter are Cameron "we's".  Does it really matter which coach acquired whom?

I thought I made it clear that I was not using draft placement as an argument to keep him; I was simply pointing out that if one considers a #40 pick to be easily discardable after 5 games, then one should not consider a #57 pick to be entrenched as the future.

Ultimately, I think it comes down to this:

1) Beck's first camp/preseason was not noticeably different than Henne's has been
2) It is entirely possible that Henne may fold at the helm of a sorry team, just as Beck did
3) (most importantly) Since Pennington's signing, McCown carries no value to this team

If you want to argue for cutting both McCown and Beck (and picking up someone else as backup), fine.  There's definitely an argument to be made there.  But to cut Beck and keep McCown is just absurd.  McCown brings nothing to the table; he has nothing to teach Henne that Pennington can't teach better.

^ Excellent post.  However, there are some people who are so entrenched in their hatred of Beck and/or love of Henne, they just cannot see us keeping both of them.

Good Post ... and for all the Ginn/Beck haters, noticed Quinns game stats? Not the greatest ... and they have a better team; Ken Dorsey's stats were better than his in the last game.

OK, I have to disagree a little bit here. 

1.  Beck's first preseason/camp was WAY different than Henne's.  Beck's first camp/preseason was much more relaxed, not as intense, players were not held accountable for their mistakes, and the starting RB was returning kickoffs. 

2. You're right, it is possible, but not likely.  Henne is much tougher mentally than Beck will ever be.  Plus, he played in a Pro Style offense in college, whereas Beck played in a West Coast offense and never faced a good defense. 

3. While McCown's value has greatly diminished, I can see the team keeping him over Beck on experience alone.  Both QB's suck and will never be starters in the NFL again, but McCown is a 6 year vet and, worst case scenario, can come off the bench and finish the game if the starter is hurt.... something I wouldn't trust Beck with at all. 

yeah, me too

Translation: "I hate Cam Cameron!"
 
Tommy's a future teller now.  He can determine the probability of Beck's development 2 years from now!

A rebuilding team ALWAYS keeps older, more experienced, lower potential players around for "experience alone."  ::)  Experience doesn't put points on the board.

Think, Tommy, McCown offers nothing to the team.  Stop trying to bash the kid just because of your hatred of Cam Cameron!  We all know you just want to post "Another blown draft pick by Cam!  You suck Cam!" ::)

I never said cut Beck and keep McCown. Cut 'em both for all I care. Neither looks like a QB we want to keep around...

I never said Beck could be cut simpy because of his draft position, or that he should be cut at all. I said he sucks as a QB...

Basically you've had a couple of good rambles on things you seem to think I said, but actually never did.

Um, yes.  Actually it does.  Give a blind man a whiffle ball bat and toss him pitches, let him swing.  Throw him 100 and, sooner or later, he'll hit one.  Satele was that "one."  Ginn could develop into the next Joe Horn and he STILL won't be worth the draft position wasted on him.  Joey Porter was a mistake and a disgusting one at that.

When you're talking about the 40th and 57th overpick in the NFL draft - the two coaches staffs would have made significantly different choices in those situations.

Parcells never would have wasted the 40th pick on a guy that wouldn't have made Michigan's squad as a walk on (Beck).  That pick would have been used on a player that had a chance to contribute.

...and Brandon Fields would be what, exactly?  The new regime seems pretty comfortable with him, too.

I mean, if you want to bash Cameron, that's fine and all, but I don't think the draft is the place to do it.  I'd say his lone draft stands up pretty favorably to almost any other MIA draft in the last decade.  Look for yourself:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-miami_dolphins_draft_database,0,6521781.htmlstory

Given that we have no idea what the 2008 class will really look like until they get on the field, it's a little early to start throwing around accusations of blind men swinging wildly, unless you're ready to paint every other MIA coach with the same brush.

So you don't think a 4-time Pro Bowler would be worth a #9 pick?  With that kind of criteria, the last 20 years of drafts have resulted in exactly two worthwhile picks at #9: Richmond Webb (7 Pro Bowls) and Brian Urlacher (6 Pro Bowls).  Kind of a harsh standard to hold Ginn to, don't you think?

As far as Porter goes, the current regime seems to think he's worth keeping, so I'm not sure how much there is to say on that.

This is the same Chad Henne that couldn't pull out a win against a I-AA team, while QBing a BCS team that was ranked 5th in the nation.  I don't think we want to start throwing around college resumes.

Lest I be misinterpreted as a Beck fanboy:

All things considered, I'd actually prefer Henne to be the one to pan out.  He's younger, bottom line.  But I'm getting tired of the perpetual cycle of $NEWQB as the messiah while $OLDQB is the useless leper.

Let's actually see what Henne can do before we start tossing a second-round draft pick to the wind (with 5 whole games of playtime).  Is that too much to ask?

It's like people don't even consider the possibility that Henne could come in and look just as bad (or even worse!) than Beck did.

Henne already has an advantage over Beck - starting offensive players around him.  The Dolphins team around Henne this season is oodles better than the offensive skill set Beck had to work with last season.