Just a bit? Shoot, I'll try harder next time...
By all means do. Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel.
Anyways, I think Beck realizes that this is his best and only shot to grab ahold of the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback job. He knows this regime didn't invest in him, and that they recently drafted another quarterback in Chad Henne. Beck realizes that it's now or never at this point. Beck certainly has a lot more tools at his disposal this time around versus what he went in with in that first game against the Eagles. As the offensive line goes, he's got Big Jake protecting his blindside, Vernon Carey will be moved back to his natural position at RT, Justin Smiley will be at RG, and of course super-stud C Samson Satele. The only real question is at LG whether it will be Steve McKinney or rookie Shawn Murphy. Regardless, this group is more talented than what Beck had in front of him last season.
Beck's running backs last year consisted of: Ricky Williams, Patrick Cobbs, Jesse Chatman, and Samkon Gado. Ricky was supposed to take some pressure off of Beck, but Ricky and Beck only played a few snaps together before Ricky suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the Pittsburgh swamp. Maybe too much was expected of Ricky considering he hasn't played a down of football since the 2006 season with the Argonauts in the CFL, and hadn't taken an NFL snap since December 2005. Patrick Cobbs.... Well, a special teams guy and nothing more. Jesse Chatman was gimpy with an ankle injury by the time Beck got to work with him, and Samkon Gado.... Well, nice guy but just wasn't good enough. Notice who wasn't one of Beck's running backs last year? Ronnie Brown.
Yes, I understand Ronnie is coming off an ACL injury. Yes, I understand that Ronnie may not be in top form at the beginning of the season. However, I do know this. When healthy, we all saw what Ronnie Brown was capable of, and a power running game is a young quarterback's best friend. Along with Ronnie, Ricky Williams will be back. Ricky certainly will be in better football shape for the 2008 season than he was for the 2007 season. Ricky is 31 years old which is usually considered "long in the tooth" for a RB, Ricky doesn't have the same wear and tear that other 31 year old RB's do. Also, at Beck's disposal are rookies Jalen Parmele and Lex Hilliard.
The WR's should be better as well. Ted Ginn Jr. was Beck's number one target last season, and I expect more of the same in 2008. Ginn and Beck have worked together all offseason and the chemistry between those two should be above and beyond last year's showing. Ernest Wilford was a HUGE upgrade. Probably one of the least talked about offseason moves, but no doubt in my mind Wilford's impact will be felt. A huge target, reliable hands, and great in the red zone. He doesn't have the speed of Ginn, he's not flashy, but he moves those chains. A solid possesion receiver, a lot more reliable than lazy ass Marty Booker. Then there's Derek Hagan. I like Hagan, but his penchant for drops simply irks me. The best Hagan has ever looked in a Dolphins uniform was during that final drive of the Cinncinati game, when he and Beck connected on several passes, one of which was Beck's first NFL passing touchdown. How Hagan goes from being the Pac 10 Conference All Time Leader in Receptions to being an underachieving WR with a penchant for drops baffles me. It's put up or shut up time for Hagan.
As for the rest of the receivers. It's mostly a hodgepodge of guys like: David Kircus, Justin Wynn, Selwyn Lymon, Greg Camarillo, and Davone Bess. Out of that group, the one guy who probably stands out the most is former Warrior, Davone Bess. If you ever watched Hawaii football, you would know that Davone Bess caught everything that came within his grasp. As far as the TE's go. David Martin and Aaron Halterman both suck, they're gone. Anthony Fasano is a massive upgrade over David Martin and will finally get his chance to shine after being stuck behind All-Universe TE Jason Witten in Dallas. Justin Peelle, and Sean Ryan are okay. They'll mainly be utilized for their blocking abilities.
Last season, the majority of the whiny Dolphin fanbase screamed for Beck to start, while a sane few (me and few others as well) said that Beck shouldn't play at all because he wasn't ready and hasn't had a lot of time with the first team unit. Well, Cameron caved in to the demands of the whiny little bitches, as well as the media, and decided to start Beck. Well, the people wanted Beck, and they got Beck. They got a John Beck who was unprepared both mentally and physically, and it showed. Of course, Beck looked "lost", "afraid", and that "deer in the headlights" look? Who in the fuck wouldn't? Cameron failed to properly prepare Beck mentally. Beck's preparation should have began after Green went down in the Houston game. Beck should've been taken off of the scout team. Beck was ill prepared physically, due to the soft strength and conditioning program of Matt Schiotz and Brad Orht, as well as suffering the flu late in the season and losing several pounds on his frame. His first two games were against the two most blitz-heavy defenses in Philidelphia and Pittsburgh and the weather was complete shit for both games. So let's sum it all up.
- Beck was unprepared mentally due to Cameron's reluctance to pull him off the scout team. When he did eventually pull him off the scout team, Beck still had to share snaps with Cleo up until the week of the Philly game.
- Beck was unprepared physically due to a tissue soft strength and conditioning program, and a late season bout with the flu.
- Beck's first team offense was pretty much filled with players at the wrong positions, shitty scrubs, and inexpierienced rookies.
- Cameron ran a very vanilla offense and saddled Beck with piss-poor play-calling.
- Let's face it, by the time Beck came in the team had already given up the season. Hardly anybody was trying out there, it was pretty much the rookies and that's it.
- His first two games came against blitz heavy defenses, in the shittiest weather conditions possible.
I can't imagine there ever being a worse rookie season than that. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and it was painful to watch. Were there some things that were Beck's fault? Of course, I won't absolve Beck of everything. His fumblitis was and is a cause for concern and Beck would be the first to admit that. I believe in John Beck but I would be foolish to call him the answer, as would it be just as foolish to call him a "mistake." If anything, Beck is still an unknown quantity. We still don't know what he can do, because he hasn't had the proper things put around him in order to find that out. Now, I think we have some of those things that will determine as to what John Beck is.
John Beck has seen regular season action, and hopefully he can take away some lessons from the tough times and use it to his advantage. The kid is mentally tough, his freshman season at BYU was remarkably similar to what his rookie campaign with the Dolphins was like. If he could recover from that debacle, he'll recover just fine. John Beck has now been in an NFL level strength and conditioning program. He looks to be in much better shape and has added some much needed muscle to his frame. John Beck now has his chance to be the "guy." No more scout team, no more other bullcrap like that. He's working with the first unit from Day One. The biggest reason that John Beck has a great chance to succeed this year, is beacuse....
HE HAS THE DRIVE TO SUCCEED! See, you can be surrounded by the greatest collection of talent, have the best coaches, but if you don't have the will to be the best.... Then you ain't got jack!
The quarterback is supposed to be the hardest worker on the team right? Guess who was the first one back in the Davie facility, only four days after the season ended? It's John Beck. Guess who is the first one in the building and the last to leave? It's John Beck. Guess who is spending countless hours in the filmroom with quarterbacks coach, David Lee, as well as throwing over 4,000+ balls on the practice field in effort to better his footwork and have a higher release point? It's John Beck. Guess who was the one giving out pointers to a rookie and a six year veteran on the first day of OTA's? It was John Beck.
If John Beck winds up failing, at least this time it won't be because of a lack of preparation or lack of effort.
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