packers11
06-08-2007, 10:43 AM
Draft Day... Think again... Look at Miami, fans and players are still ripping about the pick...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/michael_silver/06/07/ginn.dolphins/index.html
Second-guessing Ginn
Dolphins veterans puzzled by first-round selection
Posted: Thursday June 7, 2007 12:58PM; Updated: Thursday June 7, 2007 1:02PM
Zach Thomas and his wife Maritza were walking down Manhattan's Central Park South on draft day when a man on the street delivered some shocking news, early 20th century paperboy style.
"Yo, Zach, what's up, man?" the passerby asked in a concerned voice. Without waiting for an answer, he bellowed: "Ted F----- Ginn!!!" before continuing on his not-so-merry way.
The Dolphins' All-Pro linebacker wasn't positive what the man meant, but he had a sneaking suspicion that his employers, via their proxy a few blocks downtown at Radio City Music Hall, had just done something controversial with the ninth overall selection. A few minutes later Thomas's cell phone started ringing, and he and his teammates -- as well as Mel Kiper Jr., millions of TV viewers and virtually every other football fan across the globe -- began second-guessing Miami's decision to take former Ohio State receiver (full name: Theodore Ginn Jr., no F-bomb in the middle) with the bum wheel instead of ex-Notre Dame quarterback (Brady Tyler Quinn) with the golden arm.
In some players' eyes, this wasn't merely a reach -- it was proof that NFL coaches and general managers should be subject to the same drug-testing procedures as the athletes.
The Dolphins, who finally completed the long-awaited trade for almost-37-year-old Trent Green on Tuesday, clearly needed a quarterback for the future. Instead, they picked a guy who ... well, let veteran defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday tell it: "With the ninth pick they took a guy who is basically a kick returner -- a hurt kick returner. Here were are in June, and he hasn't been in camp yet. Maybe he'll come in eventually and become a better route-runner and make some plays. But I couldn't believe it then, and I can't believe it now."
Holliday's words might sound a bit strong, but his is hardly a minority opinion. Miami's best player and most vocal leader, reigning NFL defensive player of the year Jason Taylor, was similarly stunned by the pick -- not so much because he's sure Quinn will turn out to be a bigtime NFL passer (who is?), but because the whole thing seemed so illogical, especially given the potential seriousness of Ginn's sprained left foot. It didn't help that Taylor, appearing as a call-in guest on a Miami radio station minutes before the selection, had proclaimed that selecting Quinn was "a no-brainer" -- only to come off like a befuddled outsider after Roger Goodell strolled to the podium.
"You notice the commissioner kind of paused before he read the name," Taylor says. "Like even he couldn't believe it."
Neither could one prominent NFL coach with whom I spoke Wednesday. "I was really surprised," he said. " Really surprised. That's a hit-or-miss pick, at No. 9, because the foot could really be an issue."
Holliday had his own draft-day moment of revolting revelation. He was standing on the patio of his offseason home in Atlanta's Buckhead district, grilling his delectable specialty ("Best steaks east of the Mississippi," he insists), when his wife, Eboni, came rushing outside with the news.
"What did we do?" Eboni asked. Her husband nearly dropped his spatula. "About 45 seconds later," he recalls, "my phone rang. It was JT. I answered it and said, 'I know. I know. I can't believe it.'"
The sentiment was echoed by thousands of Dolphins fans who had gathered for the team-sponsored draft party in the practice bubble at Miami's training facility. It was the first major decision by new coach Cam Cameron and newly empowered general manager Randy Mueller -- the latter having been freed from the shackles of (Nick)Sabandom -- and it reeked of "We're smarter than the rest of the football world -- just trust us" bravado.
I don't fault Mueller or Cameron for passing on Quinn -- it's their job to gauge a quarterback's potential and draft value, and Mueller in particular has enough of a track record as a shrewd personnel evaluator that I tend to trust his instincts. But by picking Ginn so high, when most teams had him ranked far less favorably, the two men riled a fan base that was inclined, after Nick Saban had lied his way out of Dodge, to give the new regime the benefit of the doubt. That all disappeared a half hour after the Ginn pick when Cameron entered the bubble and basically got booed off the stage, with chants of "Brady, Brady" interrupting his brief speech.
In the speech, Cameron promised an exciting draft class, and the team did take a quarterback with its second-round pick, John Beck of BYU. I'm told Beck looked extremely shaky at the team's recent minicamp, fumbling numerous snaps and failing to impress in general. Granted, the kid was probably nervous, and it's only minicamp. But his struggles gave veteran players -- already reeling from five consecutive seasons without a playoff berth, last year's disastrous 1-6 start (after having been a trendy preseason Super Bowl pick) and Saban's graceless cut-and-run to Tuscaloosa after only two years on the job -- one more reason to wonder what on earth is going on.
"Needing a young quarterback for the future, you'd think picking Quinn would've been a no-brainer," Holliday says. "I mean, the setup was perfect. It's hard enough to get the fans (in South Florida) to come to the games, and now you piss them off? But hey, they must have a plan."
Maybe it will all work out the way Mueller and Cameron envisioned it, and quickly. Perhaps Ginn will emulate the Chicago Bears' Devin Hester, a second-round pick in 2006 who had a huge impact as a return man, with five combined touchdowns on punt and kickoff runbacks. Unremarkable as a defensive back, Hester has since been switched to wideout, where the team hopes he will emerge as an offensive playmaker.
"Ginn Jr. needs to call up Hester and thank him," Holliday says. "I guess that's what they're hoping he'll be."
Thomas, for one, is through harping on the past. He'll form his opinions on Ginn Jr. and everyone else based on what happens when the games begin. What else would you expect from an undersized, overlooked linebacker from Texas Tech who went in the fifth round of the 1996 draft and has been one of the NFL's best players virtually ever since?
"You don't know about drafts till they play out, anyway," Thomas says. "Hell, there were 20 teams that passed on Brady Quinn -- even his own team (the Browns, who picked him 22nd overall after bypassing him at No. 3) passed on him -- and we're the bad ones?"
Not necessarily. Not yet. But you can bet the No. 1 pick in your fantasy draft that every time Quinn does something special -- or a certain Dolphins rookie fails to do so -- that dude on the streets of Manhattan won't be the only one screaming out Ted Ginn's unofficial new middle name.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/michael_silver/06/07/ginn.dolphins/index.html
Second-guessing Ginn
Dolphins veterans puzzled by first-round selection
Posted: Thursday June 7, 2007 12:58PM; Updated: Thursday June 7, 2007 1:02PM
Zach Thomas and his wife Maritza were walking down Manhattan's Central Park South on draft day when a man on the street delivered some shocking news, early 20th century paperboy style.
"Yo, Zach, what's up, man?" the passerby asked in a concerned voice. Without waiting for an answer, he bellowed: "Ted F----- Ginn!!!" before continuing on his not-so-merry way.
The Dolphins' All-Pro linebacker wasn't positive what the man meant, but he had a sneaking suspicion that his employers, via their proxy a few blocks downtown at Radio City Music Hall, had just done something controversial with the ninth overall selection. A few minutes later Thomas's cell phone started ringing, and he and his teammates -- as well as Mel Kiper Jr., millions of TV viewers and virtually every other football fan across the globe -- began second-guessing Miami's decision to take former Ohio State receiver (full name: Theodore Ginn Jr., no F-bomb in the middle) with the bum wheel instead of ex-Notre Dame quarterback (Brady Tyler Quinn) with the golden arm.
In some players' eyes, this wasn't merely a reach -- it was proof that NFL coaches and general managers should be subject to the same drug-testing procedures as the athletes.
The Dolphins, who finally completed the long-awaited trade for almost-37-year-old Trent Green on Tuesday, clearly needed a quarterback for the future. Instead, they picked a guy who ... well, let veteran defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday tell it: "With the ninth pick they took a guy who is basically a kick returner -- a hurt kick returner. Here were are in June, and he hasn't been in camp yet. Maybe he'll come in eventually and become a better route-runner and make some plays. But I couldn't believe it then, and I can't believe it now."
Holliday's words might sound a bit strong, but his is hardly a minority opinion. Miami's best player and most vocal leader, reigning NFL defensive player of the year Jason Taylor, was similarly stunned by the pick -- not so much because he's sure Quinn will turn out to be a bigtime NFL passer (who is?), but because the whole thing seemed so illogical, especially given the potential seriousness of Ginn's sprained left foot. It didn't help that Taylor, appearing as a call-in guest on a Miami radio station minutes before the selection, had proclaimed that selecting Quinn was "a no-brainer" -- only to come off like a befuddled outsider after Roger Goodell strolled to the podium.
"You notice the commissioner kind of paused before he read the name," Taylor says. "Like even he couldn't believe it."
Neither could one prominent NFL coach with whom I spoke Wednesday. "I was really surprised," he said. " Really surprised. That's a hit-or-miss pick, at No. 9, because the foot could really be an issue."
Holliday had his own draft-day moment of revolting revelation. He was standing on the patio of his offseason home in Atlanta's Buckhead district, grilling his delectable specialty ("Best steaks east of the Mississippi," he insists), when his wife, Eboni, came rushing outside with the news.
"What did we do?" Eboni asked. Her husband nearly dropped his spatula. "About 45 seconds later," he recalls, "my phone rang. It was JT. I answered it and said, 'I know. I know. I can't believe it.'"
The sentiment was echoed by thousands of Dolphins fans who had gathered for the team-sponsored draft party in the practice bubble at Miami's training facility. It was the first major decision by new coach Cam Cameron and newly empowered general manager Randy Mueller -- the latter having been freed from the shackles of (Nick)Sabandom -- and it reeked of "We're smarter than the rest of the football world -- just trust us" bravado.
I don't fault Mueller or Cameron for passing on Quinn -- it's their job to gauge a quarterback's potential and draft value, and Mueller in particular has enough of a track record as a shrewd personnel evaluator that I tend to trust his instincts. But by picking Ginn so high, when most teams had him ranked far less favorably, the two men riled a fan base that was inclined, after Nick Saban had lied his way out of Dodge, to give the new regime the benefit of the doubt. That all disappeared a half hour after the Ginn pick when Cameron entered the bubble and basically got booed off the stage, with chants of "Brady, Brady" interrupting his brief speech.
In the speech, Cameron promised an exciting draft class, and the team did take a quarterback with its second-round pick, John Beck of BYU. I'm told Beck looked extremely shaky at the team's recent minicamp, fumbling numerous snaps and failing to impress in general. Granted, the kid was probably nervous, and it's only minicamp. But his struggles gave veteran players -- already reeling from five consecutive seasons without a playoff berth, last year's disastrous 1-6 start (after having been a trendy preseason Super Bowl pick) and Saban's graceless cut-and-run to Tuscaloosa after only two years on the job -- one more reason to wonder what on earth is going on.
"Needing a young quarterback for the future, you'd think picking Quinn would've been a no-brainer," Holliday says. "I mean, the setup was perfect. It's hard enough to get the fans (in South Florida) to come to the games, and now you piss them off? But hey, they must have a plan."
Maybe it will all work out the way Mueller and Cameron envisioned it, and quickly. Perhaps Ginn will emulate the Chicago Bears' Devin Hester, a second-round pick in 2006 who had a huge impact as a return man, with five combined touchdowns on punt and kickoff runbacks. Unremarkable as a defensive back, Hester has since been switched to wideout, where the team hopes he will emerge as an offensive playmaker.
"Ginn Jr. needs to call up Hester and thank him," Holliday says. "I guess that's what they're hoping he'll be."
Thomas, for one, is through harping on the past. He'll form his opinions on Ginn Jr. and everyone else based on what happens when the games begin. What else would you expect from an undersized, overlooked linebacker from Texas Tech who went in the fifth round of the 1996 draft and has been one of the NFL's best players virtually ever since?
"You don't know about drafts till they play out, anyway," Thomas says. "Hell, there were 20 teams that passed on Brady Quinn -- even his own team (the Browns, who picked him 22nd overall after bypassing him at No. 3) passed on him -- and we're the bad ones?"
Not necessarily. Not yet. But you can bet the No. 1 pick in your fantasy draft that every time Quinn does something special -- or a certain Dolphins rookie fails to do so -- that dude on the streets of Manhattan won't be the only one screaming out Ted Ginn's unofficial new middle name.