Saban said Fins agreed to terms w/Brees; he just failed the physical

[MikeO]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/17/saban-says-dolphins-had-picked-brees-over-culpepper/

Not sure if I believe him. Would like to hear Drew's side of things

[Landshark]

I wouldn't believe him either.  This is the same guy whose famous words are "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach"

[Spider-Dan]

PFT correctly analyzed the purpose of this laughable lie:

"Since Saban never does anything without a plan, the plan could be to clean the slate on the perception that he picked Culpepper over Brees, shifting the blame to the doctors and in turning clearing a path for NFL teams that may have lingering concerns regarding his perceived preference for Culpepper over Brees to chase Saban."

[BigDaddyFin]

100% Bullshit.  Saban is trying to not take the blame for the littany of personnel mistakes he made especially in his second year.  He had total control of that franchise.

[Dave Gray]

I thought this was common knowledge from way back.  The decision for Culpepper was always a health one.

[TonyB0D]

i never was bothered that we took culpepper over brees.

at the time, the correct decision was made.

do you take the guy who put up hall of fame numbers and one of the absolute greatest seasons a QB ever had coming off of a leg injury, or the underachieving QB who was dumped in favor of a high draft pick coming off of a throwing shoulder injury?

the choice was obvious.

[Spider-Dan]

Or, put another way:

Do you take the free agent over the player that you have to give up a second-round pick for?

All that being said, I agreed with the Culpepper selection at the time.  I just think it's idiotic for Saban to try to rewrite history and make it look like HE didn't actually think that.

[CF DolFan]

I thought this was common knowledge from way back.  The decision for Culpepper was always a health one.

I would be willing to guess that we have posts talking about it at the time. The Dolphins doctors were the ones who made the decision ... or at least that's what we were told at the time.

[Phishfan]

I thought this was common knowledge from way back.  The decision for Culpepper was always a health one.

We knew it was a health decision, but this takes it a step further. I can't recall ever hearing Brees was the target but failed a physical. I seem to remember the conversation just being do you take a QB with a bad leg or a bad arm. After seeing Culpepper in action, I have no idea how he passed a physical. CF landed the best seats I have ever sat in at the stadium (thanks again) and I had a great view of watching Culpepper warm up. He thre off one leg the entire time.

[Brian Fein]

Saban is a lying scumbag.  Whatever he says, its likely the opposite is the truth.

Why is this story coming out now?  Shouldn't he be working on, oh, I don't know, beating Notre Dame?

[Landshark]

Saban is a lying scumbag.  Whatever he says, its likely the opposite is the truth.

Why is this story coming out now?  Shouldn't he be working on, oh, I don't know, beating Notre Dame?

He's probably trying to deflect the blame on someone else, seeing as this is his first trip to Miami since he walked out on the Dolphins.  I'm sure there are some Dolphins fans that are still sore over what he did to this team.

[Spider-Dan]

Saban's name has been circulating as a candidate for the Browns.

Regardless of whether or not he intends to come back to the NFL, it is in his best interest (from a negotiating standpoint with Alabama) to have as many suitors as possible.  So I think it is just as PFT said: he wants to try to cast off the cloak of failure from his time in Miami, and the first step is to shirk the blame for picking Culpepper over Brees.

[Brian Fein]

Maybe he wants to not get murdered by Miami fans when he gets back here.  Its not a secret that most Dolphins' fans hate Alabama now.

Just odd timing for the story.  Thanks for that info 6 years after the fact. 

[MikeO]

The Dolphins doctors have a long history of being poor and messing things up. As far back as OJ McDuffie (and his whole lawsuit) to this year and Art Hicks. And about a million things inbetween.

So, its not surprising the Dolphins Doctors messed this up. They have been bad for decades.

[BigDaddyFin]

I never remember any news outlet or team official actually saying "We've signed Drew Brees pending his physical."  That's a hell of a long way from "we're negotiating with Drew Brees" or even "The Dolphins are close to signing Drew Brees."  The way I remember hearing it was that Saban wanted to keep way too much control over the offense/playcalling and Cullpepper was ok with that and Brees wasn't.