The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

Give us a vote and then give us some explanation as to why.

I voted for Ronnie Brown.

At a time where the Dolphins were incredibly desperate for structure and talented bodies, they selected a running back with the 2nd overall pick. A draft that included Aaron Rodgers, mind you. Roddy White, Heath Miller, Demarcus Ware, and Logan Mankins were also in this draft class and taken in the first round, yet the Dolphins took Ronnie freaking Brown from Auburn, and who wasn't even the top man (Cadillac Williams).

In 5 NFL seasons, he rushed for 1,000 only once (and he barely did it - 1,008 in 2006) and had 10 TDs in 2008. Other than that, his statistics are highly mediocre, and I would argue that his 1,008 yards in '06 and his 10 TD's in '08 aren't anything to write home about either. He's also had 3 season-ending injuries - for a running back, that's catastrophic.

To pile on, I can't recall 1 play that Ronnie Brown has ever had that has either changed the course of a game or won the Dolphins the game. He doesn't make SportsCenter type plays, he makes very few big plays, and he's injury prone.

For a late-round draft pick, that's OK. For a 2nd round pick, that's disappointing. For a 1st round pick, that means that you ruined your draft. How magnified is that when you're the 2nd overall pick in the entire draft?

You were golden until you included Heath Miller in that group... It's like saying "You could have had a sports car like a Ferrari, Jaguar, Lotus, Hyundai, Porsche or Lamborghini."

My vote is for the Ginn family...totally worthless pick.

Verdict still out on Odrick and Davis. Ginn at least gave us some spectacular returns. Yatil Green gave us nothing. 10 knee surgeries in 3 years... a grand total of 18 receptions and 0 touchdowns.

As bad as some of the picks have been, I've always thought we got the least out of the Green pick.

John Avery.  Not only did he wash out of the league in very short order, but the Dolphins made an (alleged) pre-draft trade-down from 18 (I think) in order to get him.  In the meantime, a super talented malcontent named Randy Moss fell to Minnesota.  Miami could've paired Marino with Moss for at least two seasons, but instead got Avery and his video game addiction.  Bad times.

Green comes in second, but what can you do?  He got hurt.  He might've been good.

Ronnie Brown belongs nowhere on this list, because as mediocre as he's been, he's also been one of Miami's best offensive players when healthy.  That may speak to the lack of talent on Miami's offense, sure, but he and Ricky have pretty much been it.  (I can't wait for the Pats to pick him up and unleash him on us in some way that our coaches never cared to do.  I can feel this coming...)

The truly sad thing is that this was a tough choice, with several possible good answers.

I ended up going with Ginn Jr, because I thought he was the biggest bust compared to the spot he was taken.  With the #9 pick he should have been so much better.  Avery was a bust too, but much further down in the draft.

I didn't pick Green because I don't count injuries against you.  It's not his fault that he was injury prone.  I felt sorry for the guy.

And for those of you picking Ronnie, I just don't see it.  No, he's never been an explosive back and yeah as the #2 pick in the draft he hasn't lived up to expectations, but he's been good at least.  Ginn at #9 has never even come close to being average let along good.  He's had about 4 nice returns in his career and that's it, absolutely nothing from the WR position.  Ronnie at least was a workhorse for years and while he's unspectacular, he was near the top in average yards per attempt for a couple years which is pretty amazing considering that he never breaks a long run.  You couldn't count on him for a sportscenter highlight, but he was good at getting 4 or 5 tough yards when there wasn't much there.  His total numbers would have looked a lot better if he could have stayed healthy, which again I don't count against him.

Jamar Fletcher.  And here's why. 

Drew Brees was still on the board.   

If ever there was a defining moment in the last 10 years for this franchise, that had to be it.

I picked Fletcher, as well.  It's one of those picks that not only didn't work out, but even if it did work out, what did you get?  Yeah, Drew Brees was on board, but more importantly, we already had Patrick Surtain AND Sam Madison at Corner.  You were picking in your greatest strength area in the first round.  It just didn't make a lick of sense.  On top of it, the guy couldn't play.

I admit, I hate these threads, because
 a.) Hindsight is always 20/20
 b.) too many people want to bring up...So,and so was still there,and we should have taken him.The problem is ...Blank...  might not be,the the guy he is now, if he would have played for the Dolphins,in our system,with our players,coaching staff,etc,etc.

Things like Dave mentioned, I can understand....

The Ronnie pick I can understand, We needed to build around,a guy that would play immediately (make the quickest impact),and most of that first round stunk....

I took Ginn, 9th over all for a kick returner...Honestly, I think he'd be best served playing on Turf,or a team that has a dome,off the top of my head,he had 2 td's @ the Jets (with the Dolphins),and one in the dome in St. louis this year.

I couldn't pick Ginn because of two things:

1) He single-handedly won a game for us against our division rival, the Jets.
2) We got SOME trade value from him.

Well I don't think he did it single-handedly, there were 10 guys on the field blocking for him.  And 1 great game out of 48 isn't that great for the #9 pick in the draft.

I could have forgiven him if he just wasn't that great of a receiver, but what I hated about him was his total lack of commitment to the team.  Running out of bounds whenever someone would get within 10 yards of him, having crocodile arms whenever a DB was in the area.  He never seemed to work hard at his profession and that I can't forgive.

I wish I had two votes.  I'd take Fletcher and Ginn; but since I only get 1 pick, I'm going with Ginn. 

My primary reason is that he was taken with a top 10 pick, and even with my limited football knowledge, it seemed liked a terrible choice (too high, he was injured, he didn't have good hands or run good routes). 

Add another vote for Ginn and his family. WR picked 9th for a team that badly needed a receiver and the dude couldn't catch a cold. I did like his return game.....when we let him return but a #9 pick is too high for a returner!!!!!!

I see a lot of votes for Green, but although it turned out bad, I don't think it was all that foreseeable.  His problem was injury.  He just couldn't stay healthy.  Unlike Ginn and Fletcher, the Yatil pick was sound in principle.

Ronnie brown made a ton more money that ginn and he wasn't very productive either.

Jamar Fletcher.

The guy cost us 2002 almost single-handedly, as Brian once pointed out.         

Ronnie Brown can't even be in the conversation, I don't think.  He didn't live up to expectations, but he ran the wildcat very successfully for 1 year.  He also made the Pro Bowl.  It might not be the best thing ever, but a Pro Bowl selection is miles and miles ahead of the other busts we're talking about.

As much as you hate Brown, he's still been our starting RB since being selected.  He gave us playing time, at the very least.

His pro bowl selection was a joke.  Ted ginn was just as serviceable as ronnie brown, but he got paid a ton less money and was 7 picks later.

Lets look at ronnie's pro bowl sham.  He was 19th in rushing yards, T8th in touchdowns (mostly cause he got all the goalline carries), 16th in ypc, and 24th in yards per game.  This was his best season, and those are his stats.  He is a huge bust.

Ridiculous. 
You seem to lock in on players and coaches that you hate and once on the tepop shit list, your assessment of their performance is skewed to only consider the negative.  It's very hard for me to take your comments seriously given the statement you made above.

907, 1008, 602, 916, 648, 734. how long do you think a running back who wasn't drafted number 2 overall with those yearly rushing totals would stay on the team.

All while splitting carries with Ricky Williams.  All but YPC would have been much higher had he been given the bulk of the work load.

Tedd Ginn never sniffed the jock strap of a pro-bowler.

I think your logic is faulty.  Since he was drafted with a high pick, he makes a lot of money.  If he was no good, he wouldn't have been paid for 6 years at this high rate.  You also conveniently leave out that his numbers were the result of injuries and splitting time with another back.   I would say that overall, Brown hasn't lived up to expectations, but to say that he is the biggest draft bust in Dolphin history is just foolish.  

If Miami doesn't resign Brown this off season, do you think another team will pick him up?  If you answer "yes", doesn't that pretty much invalidate your argument.  

He wasn't cut because of the ridiculous cap hit the dolphins would have had to take.  He was splitting carries because he isn't good enough to justify giving all the carries to, and he isn't strong enough to carry the who load himself.

I don't think he is the biggest bust on this list, I think it is ridiculous that people are putting ted ginn down and ignoring brown, who was just as bad as ginn.

So who is?

Damn, this is a tough one. But in the end I have to go with Ted Ginn (explanation already given in earlier posts).  As much as I agree with Tepop on Brown, he was still servicable/ok. Really didn't equate to an absolute bust.

Man, looking through this list shows me one thing in particular:

In the early years of those picks, there was practically NOTHING available at that position.

The only WR available in '97 that made a Pro Bowl in his career was Derrick Mason (taken in round 4, so an incredible reach at #15 overall).
The only RB available in '97 that made a Pro Bowl in his career was Ahman Green, taken in the 3rd round (also a reach).
No available CB in '01 made the Pro Bowl in his career.

Still, I'm going to go with Jamar Fletcher.  We already had Madison and Surtain on the team and Madison was coming off of two straight first-team All-Pro seasons.  Furthermore, our first two picks were Jamar Fletcher and Chris Chambers; we could have used those two picks on Reggie Wayne and Adrian Wilson.

Every other player in the poll (save Odrick, who got injured) actually brought some value to the team at one point, so I can't pick them.

P.S. Drew Brees is a pipe dream; MIA would have ran him out of town in exactly the same fashion that SD did, provided that he was even able to beat Fiedler and get on the field (which I consider unlikely).

He's also responsible for being the triggerman of an offense that most of the teams in the league have tried to copy.

Sorry, your undying hatred of Ronnie Brown has blinded you.  I know you'd like to pretend that his Pro Bowl selection never happened, but it did.  And he certainly didn't make it on name recognition 3 years after being drafted.

His Pro Bowl selection elevates him above nearly everyone else on this list; facts are facts.  Comparing statistics is a rather absurd move on your part... which statistics of Ginn's are we supposed to be impressed by?  Ginn was far worse than Ronnie, and consistently crapped the bed when given an opportunity to make a play.  Ronnie may not have been spectacular very often, but his Wildcat game against NE was better than Ginn's against the Jets, and if you take away both of those games (and the '09 orange jersey game in which they both played well), Ginn did nothing but drop balls and cause interceptions.  If Ginn were to have played at a mediocre level (which is about the worst you can say for Ronnie, splitting carries), it would have been a MASSIVE upgrade.  Greg Camarillo CLEARLY outplayed Ted Ginn in his time here.

I have to go with Yatil Green or even a John Avery. Ginn did makes some plays and even made ST coaches have to account for him. Many of the others never made a difference to anyone.

Ted Ginn is the "sexy" pick cause he's recent and tied to 1-15.  He's not the biggest bust.

Dave hit the nail on the head.  Jamar Fletcher was drafted as a nickel corner at the strongest position, at a time when the team was good but there were a ton of other needs.  That draft was the turning point for the Dolphins. 

Of course hindsight is 20/20 but with a QB named Fiedler and a guy named Brees available, how do you take Fletcher?  Even his college "highlight reel" showed him getting beat on man coverage. 

And even if its not Brees, the other talent on the board at the time could have helped put the Dolphins over the edge:
Michael Bennett, Reggie Wayne, Todd Heap, Drew Brees, Alge Crumpler, Chad Johnson, Kendrell Bell, Robert Ferguson, Kris Jenkins, Matt Light...

Jamar Fletcher may have set the team back 10 years.

^^ Well I guess it becomes a question of whether your talking about the player or the pick being the worst.  It sounds like you're saying that the pick was the worst because we didn't really need him and he didn't contribute.  I was only looking at it from the standpoint of the player's impact compared to where they were drafted.  I wasn't considering whether or not I thought the choice of the player was the right one or not.

^^ you raise a good point...

But, even still, I don't think Ted Ginn was the worst PLAYER on that list.  He had issues with focus, suspect-to-terrible hands, but had speed for days, and had above-average skills in the return game.  Plus, I'll never forget the play where he beat Revis on a bomb for a TD on Sunday night.

Jamar Fletcher NEVER made a single play, and you only heard his name when he blew a coverage.

set the franchise back ten years. Give me a fucking break. Lol.

Jamar Fletcher was also taken 26th, whereas Ginn was taken 9th.  I guess I just expected more from Ginn. 

And it's not entirely true to say Fletcher never made a play.  He is in fact credited with 10 passes defensed, 2 picks and 55 tackles as a Dolphin in 3 years.  It's not much, but is it less than what Ginn accomplished from the 9th slot in the draft?  It's a tough call no question, I said initially there were several good candidates which is the really sad thing.

Making my pick based on how much production the Team received from the player, my pick would be Green.  If you want to exclude him because of injuries, and pick based on onfield play my choice would be Ginn.

As for Ronnie, he wasn't deserving of an overall #2, but that's where the Fins pick was so I'm okay with it.

The thing about Ginn is also this:

I AGREE IT WAS A TERRIBLE PICK.

But, we did need a receiver.  We didn't need an undersized speedster with bad hands (especially at 9 overall), but we did need to fill a slot at that position.

That's why the Fletcher pick baffled me so much.  Even if he'd turned out to be a really good player, he wouldn't have made an impact for several years, because we had two Pro Bowlers at the starting spots.  I remember hearing them call out his name (I was listening to the radio) and being completely baffled.

Here's the thing:

On Avery we obviously needed WR help, and there was a monster available in Moss.  I remember thinking a slow motion "Noooooooo!" as the Dolphins drafted down and again as they picked.  I felt the same way about Fletcher, and then again as Peyton Manning pumped his fist with happiness as the Colts drafted Wayne.

I specifically remember knowing that both of these picks were terrible mistakes as the picks were made.  I am no NFL genius, but I knew, in my soul, that Moss and Wayne would be great WRs (I knew Andre Johnson would be, too.  That kind of talent is just that obvious).

If my dumb ass can tell a guy's going to flop, and there's an infinitely better option available, then that pick is in the running.

^ Moss was a easy guy to pass over.  A ton of other teams did, as well.  He was a headcase and disciplinary problems were what turned people off.  It wasn't a question of his talents.  I think that it's hard to look back on that decision as bad, since we have access to the results.

^^^Yes and no.  He was (and is) a headcase, but the talent was stratospheric.  Kind of like when Warren Sapp fell 12 spots because of a failed drug test for pot.  Seriously?  Pot?  Moss was known as enigmatic, but not as an overall "bad guy".  Just as this past offseason most of us could look past Dez Bryant's "character issues" to see amazing talent, I could see past Moss' as well.

Again, I use that example because at the time, even dumb-ass old me knew the team was screwing the pooch, so to speak.  If it's obvious to me at the time, then this is a mistake.  If Merling doesn't pan out, I say too bad.  I wanted Calais Campbell instead, but was OK that the Dolphins went with Merling.  I was NOT OK that the Dolphins passed on Moss.  I was not OK that the Dolphins passed on Wayne.  To an extent, I was not OK that the Dolphins passed on Wilfork to get Carey.  Were I a Lions fan, I would've been freaking out that the team chose Charles Rogers over Andre Johnson.  I just KNEW in my sould that these guys were better (while I'm on the 'Canes, I knew Ed Reed would be better than Roy Williams - the safety -, knew Edgerrin James was better than Ricky Williams, and knew Clinton Portis was better than William Green).  Sometimes you just know...

While Reggie Wayne is a stud WR, I wonder if he would still be as highly regarded if Jay Fielder was his QB instead of Peyton.  Similarly, maybe Chris Chambers would have been a stud if he were drafted by the Colts.

I'm starting to think the team is poison and ruins good players...

Green is the only one in the ROD