I recently got the opportunity to chat with the Miami Herald's Greg Cote, who covers all of Miami's sports teams, including the Miami Dolphins. He also regularly updates his blog, which I'd highly recommend for you all to check out frequently. We talked a little Dolphins football, of course. Here's how it went:
My opinion of Cameron has only begun to form. I liked and still like the hiring; it was time for an offensive coach. He certainly seems better suited to the job than his predecessor in terms of personal and public relations. I liked the Joey Porter signing. I am not as approving of the coach's handling of the Culpepper situation, or his seeming fascination with Trent Green. Seems to me, given the quarterback mess, that Cam needs a good draft to rekindle a sense of momentum.
What do you think of the moves that the front office has made so far? In particular, the signing of Joey Porter and the releases of several past starters.
I liked the Porter signing a lot. I think, in losing Randy McMichael and Wes Welker, that Miami lost a big chunk of offensive production not yet replaced, which is a concern.
If YOU were GM, what would YOU do in round 1?
I might make a serious effort to package picks to move up high enough in the first round to draft Brady Quinn -- or at least explore the feasability. Otherwise, at No. 9, I'd probably lean to Levi Brown, the Penn State tackle. To me, you target a dire need in the first round; you don't draft someone less needed because he rated a spot higher on your board.
There was recent talk that the Rams would have an interest in Ricky Williams if he gets reinstated. If he does get reinstated, where do you see Ricky playing? Will he be Ronnie's back-up here in Miami or will Mueller shop him around?
I'm big on Miami welcoming back Ricky presuming he is reinstated. Doesn't mean you don't listen to trade offers. But Williams and Brown worked very well as a tandem two years ago, and this offense needs all of the weapons it can muster.
What is your take on Miami's current QB situation? Is Daunte Culpepper done in Miami? Is Trent Green really the solution? Is Cleo Lemon good enough to at least be a solid #2 QB? When all is said and done, what QB do you think will be Miami's starter in week one?
Cameron, to me, is giving up on Culpepper too soon, if a decision to trade or release him already has been made in advance of him presumably being 100 percent healthy by summer. I'd take a healthy Culpepper over an aging Trent Green in a heartbeat. Green would be a stopgap. Miami still would need a QB for the future, whether they trade-up for a shot at Brady or select somebody else in the second round. Lemon, to me, seems like a No. 3 guy. Miami's opening day starter will be Green if I had to guess.
Interesting stuff. I'd say I agree with his belief that a healthy Culpepper is much better than Trent Green. The thing I wonder, though, is if he will ever be healthy again. Now, if the Dolphins were able to get Brady Quinn, then I'd feel a lot better about keeping Culpepper around because we would at least have our QB of the future. This season could be rough, though, if we didn't land Green and Culpepper was unable to make it back to the field, because we'd suffer through Cleo Lemon as a starter while Quinn took some time to sit and learn. But like Greg said, I think that, at some point, Green will make it to Miami and all of this DC health talk will be moot.
Again, we'd like to send out another big "thank you" to Greg Cote for taking time out of his busy schedule (NFL Draft, Miami Heat playoffs) to provide us with some insight and opinions!