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.
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