The future is now?

DAVIE – Obviously the big news at Dolphins camp today is the possibility of John Beck starting the November 11th game against the Bills. The majority of Dolphin fans are calling for the Beck Era to begin and I agree. The organization needs to find out now if Beck is the future of this team or just a career backup. Because the Dolphins can’t afford to enter next season without knowing if John Beck is the next Cleo Lemon or the next Brad Johnson.

The names Brad Johnson and Rich Gannon come to mind when I think of Beck and I don’t think Dolphin fans would complain about having a quarterback like that in a ‘Phins uniform. If you think Beck is the second coming of Marino, Montana or Favre your wrong, he projects along the lines of Gannon, Johnson and Trent Green.

Green didn’t have a full season as a starting quarterback until the age of 26, the same age as Beck, and both quarterbacks are near the same height (Green 6’3, Beck 6’2). Continuing with Green, Beck said today that he picks Green’s brain on the sidelines during games. If the ‘Phins do have a second coming of Green that should give the Dolphins a chance at the playoffs every year. Although it should be noted that Green only made one playoff appearance as a full time starter; he did win 10 games once and split time with Kurt Warner during the Rams 2000 playoff season.

That brings me to my next point; if the Dolphins are going to roll with Beck as their starter then they need to use the draft to improve their defense. Beck is a solid player that with a good not great defense can give you a realistic shot at the playoffs every year. If you pair an efficient quarterback, good defense and a great running back then the Dolphins may even have a Super Bowl run in them.

But if you want the Dolphins to be truly great you better hope the team spends a lot of time, money and resources on making sure that Brian Brohm, Andre Woodson or Matt Ryan isn’t the next great NFL quarterback. In the NFL it’s not defense that wins championships, its great quarterbacks win championships. With a few exceptions, when was the last time you saw a great defense make a team a dynasty? The Ravens had a nice year, so did the Bears and the Buccaneers but none of them were consistently great. The Patriots and Colts have always been top-tier teams since Peyton Manning and Tom Brady showed up. If you want to be a dynasty follow this blue print: Step 1: Get a great QB, Step 2: assemble an above average defense and the rest will take care of itself.

If Ryan, Brohm or Woodson is the next great QB in the NFL, the Dolphins better take him and sort the depth chart out later. If none of QB’s in the draft is the next franchise guy and Beck looks serviceable, then take Glen Dorsey.

Informed look at South Florida Sports

SUNRISE - As you may or may not know, I cover the Dolphins, Canes, Panthers and now the Miami Heat for ESPN Radio 760. I thought now would be as good as time as any to throw my two cents in on the Heats trade of Antoine Walker and all the other things going on in the South Florida sports scene.

Pat Riley didn't like Ricky Davis in his previous stint with the Heat…apparently he dislikes Antoine Walker and his eating disorder more. Riley had issues with Davis’s lack of basketball knowledge and inability to score within the team concept (something that Davis has not improved on). Riley had issues with Walkers refusal to show up at camp in shape and ready to play, he also has had problems with Shaq’s conditioning but he’s not getting shipped out.

Riley’s plan of having a selfish talented player over an overweight one dimensional player seems logical at least for this year. One thing that will come into question was the conditional first round draft pick that the Heat had to give up to complete this deal. With the way the Heat waste draft picks on the likes of Daquan Cook and Dorell Wright at some point they are going to need to add young players through the draft, now they have eliminated a chance in an upcoming draft.


I’m at the Panthers game right now and Olli Jokinen has set two All-Time Panthers records, goals scored and points scored. Now that he holds those records it’s a safe bet to say that Olli is the best Panther in their short history. If you’re a fan of the team you better hope they make the playoffs, if they don’t your seeing Olli’s last days with the Cats.


Like I said before I cover the Dolphins too. At camp today we learned that the Dolphins are officially cursed. Zach Thomas may miss the ‘Phins London game due to whiplash, I mean come on; I’m starting to fear for my safety just being near this team.

Good news Patrick Cobbs has stopped throwing his socks at me, (he inadvertently threw his dirty socks on me post game on Sunday) and we had a chance took talk. One thing about the ‘Phins, they like their back up running backs short Cobbs is 5’9 and Jesse Chatman is 5’8. Speaking of Chatman, he has lost his mind, after Sundays game he said they have never been beaten badly by a team this year (did he realize what just happened on the field), Chatman also cited the Colorado Rockies as reason to believe the Phins will finish strong this year. Good luck with that.

Thought You Might Want to Know:

--Zack Thomas, David Martin and Keith Traylor all missed practice today

Phins signed Casey Bramlet, Quentin Moses, Lance Schulters and released Jesse Mahelona.

Cobbs excited about his chance

With Ronnie Brown out for the rest of the season, running back Patrick Cobbs will now have a chance to prove that he belongs in the NFL. He took the time to talk with me after practice today.

JR – You started in the Sun Belt Conference, picked up by the Patriots and now you’re the number two running back heading into Sundays game. Are starting to think that you’re finally going to stick in the NFL?

Patrick Cobbs – Nah, I’m going to take this week like any other week, prepare to play running back like I did since week one. I mean obviously theirs a big chance I’m going to get in the game and play a bit, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

JR – Losing Ronnie is obviously a blow to the team, but in the time you got to watch him play, did you learn anything that will help you going forward?

Patrick Cobbs – Ronnie’s a freak, he’s a big guy, he’s fast, and he can do anything he wants to do as a running back. He can outrun you, make you miss or he can run over you. The things that Ronnie does a lot of people can’t do, so your more like wow, then he’s teaching you how to run. But as far as his work ethic and his studies in the classroom he’s really on top of that, so on that aspect I can learn from him.

JR – This offense requires a running back that is versatile do you feel like you can do everything that Ronnie did?

Patrick Cobbs – I feel like I can catch the ball, I feel like I can do everything in this offense. This offense doesn’t really have a prototype running back, so that makes it good for any running back.

JR – You are on special teams; does that mentality carry over to playing running back?

Patrick Cobbs – The mental part of special teams is that you get to go out and give it all you got for one play. You go out there, you bust it, you give it all you got and you get to come off. On offense if you make a good play your gonna be out there again so it’s a different mentality but its all football.

Andre Goodman Interview

With the Patriots coming to town, I thought it would be a good idea to have a talk with someone who will have to defend this high powered offense.

JR – What’s the Dolphins game plan going into Sunday against one of the top offenses in the NFL?

Andre Goodman – The best thing to do against an offense like this is to get to the quarterback, now that’s easier said than done but the key to slowing them down is pressure. In the secondary we have to maintain our coverage position.

JR – You covered Randy Moss when you were Detroit, what was that like?

AG – He's pretty different than any other receiver in the league. Even when you get position on him, he can go up and get the ball. You know that he’s good with his intermediate routes but you have to play to deep ball too and if you worry too much about the deep route he’ll kill you in the middle. He’s a double edged sword, but as a corner you still look forward to covering him.

JR – This defense has struggled to create turnovers for the past few years, is that a scheme problem?

AG – It is a little bit of the scheme, we are a pressure style of defense, which means we the corners are always in man to man. In man to man you’re trained to watch the receiver not the quarterback, so it’s hard to make interceptions when you don’t see ball coming. We don’t have the luxury of sitting in the backfield waiting for the ball and making interceptions. Our thing is to get up man to man, create pressure and in that scheme the quarterback has to make a mistake and we have to make him pay for it. Over the past couple of years we haven’t made them pay for it and that’s big, when we get our chance we have to make them pay.

JR – It hasn’t been just a problem with interceptions, the defense hasn’t created many fumbles either. Do you work on it with the Dolphins as much as you did with Detroit?

AG – Yeah, we work on it all the time and when I say all the time I mean all the time. We emphasize getting the ball out at the reception point, so it’s definitely a point of emphasis. But its not always easy to get done, some guys carry the ball loser than others at the same time our defense has to be optimistic and over the past few years we haven’t been and you can see the results.

JR – Earlier in the year you were out with an injury, Zach Thomas said he would rather be out there getting his butt kicked than on the sidelines out. Did you feel like that?

AG – You never want to sit and watch your team struggle and even if you’re in there and you’re just 50 percent it’s always better playing. No true competitor wants to watch the game from the sideline, regardless of the injury or injury history you want to play.

JR – Your teammate Lorenzo Booker talked about his worries that the team may not know how bad he wants to play. Is that something as a teammate you can see his desire?

AG – It’s obvious, very obvious, Lorenzo is a very good athlete and a nice resume coming out of college. Football players want to play, true football players want to play, you can read guys who just want to get by and he’s not one of them.

A few minutes with Lorenzo Booker

This season Lorenzo Booker has struggled to find any playing time for the 0 and 6 Miami Dolphins. Despite his lack of playing time, Booker has remained confident about his skills and optomistic about his future.

JR - Coach Cameron said that you might get a shot to play wide receiver, is that something you’ve done before?

Lorenzo Booker – Yeah I like playing receiver, weather I’ll be activated…I don’t know, I have no idea and I don’t really worry about that to be honest with you. Because it’s not my decision, all I can do is go out and work hard and let the chips fall where they may. I would be taking away from my focus on the field if I start working about things I can’t control.

JR – You’re right next to a guy (Ted Ginn) who was only returning kicks a few weeks ago and now he’s a starting receiver does that give you hope?

LB – That’s all I can do is work hard in practice and hope one day they say this guy can help us we’ve got to get him on the field and until they feel like that this is where I’ll be.

JR – You feel you can help the team right?

LB – Of course, if I told you I didn’t they’ve drafted the wrong guy. I hurt so bad (not playing) that I just want to run out there and smash straight into a wedge. It’s the hardest on game day when everyone is suiting up and you want to suit up and help your boys. You want to go to battle with your boys, we’re in the locker room praying…and I’m in sweats, that’s when it’s the hardest. During the week your so busy with practice you don’t even have time to think about that to be honest with you.

JR – Is it even harder sitting out and your team is 0 and 6?

LB – Oh yeah, because as a player you always feel like you could’ve done something. If they were winning it may be a little bit different but then again I doubt it. I would probably want to get out there more, as a competitor I always feel there’s something more I can do. But right now all I can do is practice and get those guys that will play ready.

JR – All those lines, Zach (Thomas) said that he would rather be out there getting beat and playing bad, than on the sidelines. Do you feel like that too?

LB – Yeah, because there’s a feeling of letting the guys down, when your boys are out there hurting and they’ve got their pads on and they look at you all clean. You don’t want them to feel like you don’t want to be out there with them and that’s what it come down to. You want them to know I’m willing to die for you, just like you are for me, when your not playing there is always a little bit of wondering what the guys are thinking. Do they understand that I would much rather be out there than right here, that’s what it come down to. First and foremost we play for each other; these are the guys out there dying with me in that heat so I don’t want them to feel that way.

JR – Any similarities between Cam and Bobby Bowden?

LB – Not really, Cam’s much more aggressive and that’s what I like, he’s a gambler. He’s a cut throat kind of play caller and that’s what I like. On this team there is no difference between offense and defense we want to go out there and hit you in the mouth and that’s what I like about it.

3 Questions with Ronnie Brown

DAVIE - After Bill Belichick called Ronnie Brown the best offensive player in the NFL I thought it was a good time to ask Ronnie a few questions.

JR - Belichick called you the best offensive player in the NFL, what does a compliment like that mean to you, coming from a coach who obviously has some talented players?

Ronnie Brown - That's a great compliment for me especially coming from a coach of his caliber as far as some of the guys he has seen and the guys he's around now. It's the seventh week of the season and I'm sure he's seen a lot of guys, just to have a compliment like that it tremendous but at the same time I still have to work. Hopefully he will feel the same way after we play him this week.

JR - Your on a roll right now, is the success your having helping you stay focused and within the offense try to top your performance each week?

RB - I thinks so, on this level your only as good as your last game. Obviously I want to build each week and try to put my team in a better situation. Hopefully I continue to grow as a football player and mature because I still feel like I have a long way to go on this level. I still feel like I haven't accomplished much on this level as far as being one of the top guys, I still feel like I have a lot to prove from that standpoint.

JR - The coaches say they see a lot in Hagan and Ginn, what do you see at practice from those guys?

RB - Derek has been around for a couple of years and he's grown a lot. As far as Ted, he's shown that he's matured a lot since week one. He's getting better in returns and special teams; obviously I think he has some ability to be affective. So I'm very confident in those guys and their young, and Ted can run and Derek's a big physical guy. So I have a lot of confidence in those guys and hopefully they will come out and play with that confidence and if they do that they'll be more than O.K.

I'm Chris Chambers?

DAVIE - Dolphins wide receiver Chris Chambers was traded to the land named after a whales vagina on Tuesday, otherwise known as San Diego. I couldn't imagine a better situation for Chambers, he goes to a team that has legitimate playoff chances, he has a bye week to assimilate to the offense and he has a legit quarterback to throw him the ball. Not to mention the Chargers run a similar offense to the Dolphins, fantasy owners like myself are thrilled with this move.

Mueller and Cameron have made their bed with this class of rookies, if Ted Ginn and Jon Beck don't succeed then Cam and Randy are gone next year(maybe earlier). By trading away Chambers Ginn is thrust into a position that just last week they Dolphins didn't think he was ready for.


Notes

--Trent Green is looking more and more like a coach, Wednesday he was at practice wearing shorts and a shirt and teaching the third string center how to snap the ball.

--Ted Ginn was running as the number two receiver on the first team offense, you have to wounder if Cam and Randy traded away Chambers in hope of proving Ginn is ready to play.

--Zach Thomas was not in pads today, he was walking around a practice without any obvious injury.

--Jason Allen may get some playing time now that Donovan Darius was released and Courtney Bryan was on the scout team today.

--Dolphins put Chase Page on IR and signed Derreck Robinson and Jesse Mahelona, both are defensive tackles. Mahelona played at the University of Tennessee and spent last season with the Titans. Robinson played college ball at Iowa and spent '05 and '06 with the San Diego Chargers.

Coco Puffs

SOUTH FLORIDA - I know that's not an official dateline, but its an accurate description of this blog.

I have now official covered every team in South Florida as a reporter for ESPN Radio 760 and apparently I'm so good at it that I'm now covering multiple teams in a day.

WEST PALM BEACH - Today started in West Palm at the ESPN radio studio, where I had the chance to produce two riveting fishing shows (well maybe to the listeners). It's always hard to enjoy a show talking about nothing your interested in especially after waking up at 4 40 a.m. !!!

At 9 a.m. the Saturday Sports Page got rolling and Mike tried to talk as much baseball as possible in the five minutes of on-air alone time.

CORAL GABLES - Arriving to the 'Canes a little late turned out to be a blessing because I got a five minute reprieve from the mind numbing "action" that was taking place formally know as the Orange Bowl (now its just a bowl of something).

Kyle Wright was average, he made some big throws like his touchdown pass to Sam Shields, and he made some bad plays, like sliding short of a first down and killing a critical second half drive.

The defense was pushed up and down the field in the second half, and Calais Campbell was nowhere to be found (except on the sidelines trying to pump up the sparse crowd). In fact the only 'Canes defenders that did show up were Tarvares Gooden and Bruce Johnson. And Eric Moncour did make some big plays, tipping away a forth down try from Georgia Tech and later laying a big hit on the quarterback.

The problem was the 'Canes had too many blocking penalties and were fooled too often by misdirection plays on defense. The Yellow Jackets scored two touchdowns on a naked bootleg.

One bright spot would be Shawnbrey McNeal, he had a 39 yard touchdown run and would of had a 41 yard run if it wasn't for a holding call.

After the game Shannon preached accountability for this years team and the hope that new recruiting classes will provide the talent that this group does not have.

SUNRISE - I am now at 12 hours of work and at least I have the freezing Bank Atlantic Center to keep me awake. I'll confess I'm not a huge hockey fanatic, but I enjoy seeing games in person and the Panthers are the only team in South Florida that I like.

Tonight the 'Cats got off to an early 4-1 lead and Vokoun looked good for the second straight night, improving his record with the team to 2-2 (Cats are 2-3 overall). They ended up adding a few more goals in the third and won 6-4.

The best part about the Panther games are the commercials that run on the floating scoreboard (does that have an official name?). My favorite is "Get to know your Florida Panthers", to understand why you must know who Oli Jokinen is. If you don't, he is a nice guy, but looks like a villain from a James Bond movie and he haunts my dreams every night. So this crazy Finish player does the "get to know" segment and in his best Drago impersonation he deadpans "Coco Puffs" to the question "Whats your favorite cereal." That is classic because I always love when hockey players are forced in front of cameras, they are the most akward people in the world when forced to "act".

Thats it, I'm out 15 hours is too much.

Vokoun Wins

Sunrise - Tomas Vokoun had his first shut-out of his Panthers career tonight and he looked like the guy they traded for. Vokoun made a total of 28 saves which included stopping a barrage of shots at the end of the game from the Devils to preserve the shut-out.

The Miami Dolphins started in early September and they have zero wins in five tries, the Cats started in October and already have one win in three tries. The next big question is "will the Heat, who have not started the regular season yet, have their first victory before the Dolphins?" I'm betting that they will.

I would also like to point out that the PA address guy at the Bank Atlantic Center (where the Panthers play) is an outright liar. First he always adds an extra player to the assist stat (later changed by the official scorer) and he just makes up any number over 10,000 for the attendance at home games. This is not a practice reserved for the Panthers, the Florida Marlins have perfected this art and the Miami Dolphins love to say "sellout" even though there are thousands of empty seats.

The Heats already on Walker

Miami - After Dolphins camp yesterday I made my way down to the "Triple A" arena to cover a mundane preseason opener for the Heat. At least that's what I thought, don't get me the wrong the game was very boring and I don't know or care who won. After the game is when things got interesting.

As I strolled into the media room for Pat Riley's press conference, I'm thinking this is going to be boring and probably not even worth using later. Boy was I wrong, Riley walks in and makes a few "blah,blah,blah" comments about the game, Riley then turns his attention to a reporter.

It's important to keep in mind that there are about five of us there when I tell you this. Riley starts lecturing the reporter about an article he wrote for the Sun-Sentinel about Antoine Walker's weight problem. Riley believed that the quotes, although accurate, were used in a context that was not in tune with how he said them. Riley was smug, saying that he did us a favor and decided to be candid about Walker...and this is how we repay him. And how as reporters we take things out of context and use them the way we want...and so on. After his lecture Riley walks out and we make our way to the locker room.

The locker room was a little hostile, way to much for a preseason game, as soon as we walk in J-Will yells at a reporter for shooting him in his "drawers" (FYI, when was the last time you saw anything but a head and shoulders shot of an athlete).

Walker did the stand up thing and talked to the media, resulting in a confrontation with the reporter about his weight. Walker again was polite but was upset at the constant shots this reporter had been taking about his weight. The tension got to a point where the interview was stopped, but again Walker was a professional and continued to talk.

I'm not a Walker fan, I don't think he is a good player anymore but I will give him credit for being a professional and acting with class in a tough situation.

After hearing the pre-game press conference Riley was referring to I feel that the article is somewhat inflammatory and misleading and the headline is ridiculous.

As for the game:

Shaq played and played well, he looked healthy and ready to go.

Smush Parker played alot of two guard with Wade out.

Long term solution

DAVIE - Trent Green is likely done as a player with the Miami Dolphins, he suffered the most severe concussion anyone can and at the age of 37 playing for an 0-5 team, there is not much to come back to.

As for the future of the 'Phins one thing is certain, it does not include Cleo Lemon. Cleo is a very good back up, but there isn't any scenario where he is willing to serve as a back-up to John Beck. There is no obvious animosity between the two players but Lemon wants a chance to start or at the very least a chance to back-up another veteran QB.

With that in mind, the Phins will not start Beck until after their bye week. You have to understand that since the start of the regular season Beck has been running the opposing teams offense for the scout team. To throw him into this situation as a starter would stack the odds of success against him. Beck will now have the chance to run about 20 percent of the teams plays each week and get comfortable for his eventual start on November 11th at home against the Bills.

Draft Watch:
The best player in the draft Darren McFadden plays a position that Ronnie Brown is playing at a Pro Bowl level right now. I've heard some fans say they want a two headed monster at running back, which is a great idea, but a luxury that is afforded to good teams who don't have multiple gaping holes like this team.

Glen Dorsey was held in check against a good Florida team but a top five pick should come up big in big games.

A pick that would not garner alot of excitement but would make a ton of sense in Jake Long from Michigan. If John Beck is your quarterback of the future then you need to protect his blind side and Jake Long is that man, it's a safe and solid pick in the top five. More than anything else the Dolphins need a prospect that has the odds in his favor to be a big time player.


For all your fantasy football owners out there I have one message for you, start Kellen Winslow.

Last week Ownen Daniels had 6 catches for 96 yards against the Phins and this is a copy cat league. Teams now know they can run or throw on the Dolphins, especially to the tight end. I would also play Jamal Lewis, but I think Winslow will get the most value against a team that is relying on Joey Porter or a injured Channing Crowder to cover him.

FYI
John Beck practiced with the scout team and Marty Booker took snaps as what looks like an emergency quaterback situation. Strange plan by Cameron, not having what would seem to be your number two QB (Beck) takes snaps with the offense seems like a bad idea.

Derek Hagan and Rodirque Wright were both at practice but were limited.

Waiting

Davie - If Jon Beck does have to wait for an entire season or two before he gets his chance as a starter, he only has to look a few lockers down for advice. Trent Green holds the distinction of waiting the longest time to start (five years) of any of the 32 quarterbacks currently starting in the NFL.

The Dolphins traded a 2008 draft pick to the Kansas City Chiefs, that much we know, but what escalates that pick from a four to a five remains a mystery. The pick becomes a four based on "performance" and "playing time", which are very vague terms. Logic tells you that if Green plays all 13 and stays on pace to throw for over 3,000 yards and 18 touchdowns, then the 'Phins will give up a 4th round pick. Lets say the Dolphins will finish with one of the worst records in the NFL, so were talking about a difference of 32 picks.

The Raiders took Michael Bush, who once was a projected first round draft pick, with the first pick in the fourth round. The jury is still out on Bush, but he's a good risk that could pay huge dividends for Oakland, as risk the Dolphins can't take because no matter what they are short a pick in this years draft.

When you watch Sundays game, make sure to keep an eye on Matt Schaub, the 26 year old starter for the Houston Texans. He is the exact same age as your "quarterback of the future" and was available for the Dolphins taking. The cost? Ted Ginn Jr and his one catch and John Beck and his zero career starts. For a team like the Dolphins who have shown no ability to evaluate collegiate talent, Schaub and his 101.2 QB rating look like a good idea.

One more Texan to watch, Amobi Okoye, the 20 year old defensive tackle of the Texans that was taken one pick after Ted Ginn's family. Okoye has four sacks and 10 tackles, the entire Dolphins defense....five sacks.

Vendetta

MIAMI GARDENS - VENDETTA, sounds like a really cool X-box game (could be already I don't know), but it was actually the best word to describe Daunte Culpepper's performance on Sunday.

Culpepper's numbers weren't spectacular, but as Bruce Willis has shown us in many Die Hard movies, you don't have to be glamorous when getting revenge. Culpepper gritted out his most impressive performance in years on what looked like pure hate. Yeah he only threw for only 75 yards and ran for a pedestrian 28 yards, but he scored all five Oakland touchdowns.

You knew from the start of the game that Culpepper was ready to play, he lead his team on the field by sprinting 10 yards in front of his team with his hands in the air welcoming the boos. After one of rushing touchdowns, Culpepper danced across the end line pointing at his knee and giving the O.K. symbol to anyone who would look.

Sunday was like something out of a first rate action flick, the only way this story could have ended better would have been Culpeeper driving away in his black SUV saying arrivederci bastardo's.