Typical Dolphins

Well, after what seemed like a century without football has finally come to an end. No more watching reruns on ESPN of last year’s highlights because there was no new football stuff to talk about. The NFL lockout ended recently and the season was salvaged. Only a week until the preseason kicks off and a little over a month until the real football begins.

Because of the lockout, teams were not allowed to perform any transactions that usually occur during the summer months: trades, signings, etc. Since the lockout ended, however, there has been a flurry of deals in the last two weeks.

The Miami Dolphins, coming off yet another disappointing season—finishing a dismal 7-9— are looking to become a contender this year and will need all the help they can muster in order to stay afloat in the tough AFC East Division which includes high-powered teams like the New England Patriots and New York Jets. In recent years, quarterback Chad Henne has openly failed at leading the Dolphins to anything worth talking about. After last year’s late season collapse, there was speculation that Henne would be out of the starting job come September. Several quarterbacks that would have proved to be upgrades to Henne were on the free agent market, including names like Donovan McNabb, Vince Young, and Kyle Orton. Yet, the Dolphins’ front office pulled a typical Miami move and went out and got someone who has yet to prove himself backup much less a starter: Matt Moore. Moore, who played for the Carolina Panthers last season, threw for only 857 yards and had twice the amount of interceptions(10) as he did touchdowns(5) and completed only 55 percent of his passes. A HUGE upgrade from Henne, who threw for 15 touchdowns, 19 interceptions, and 3301 yards and completed 61 percent of his passes. More like a downgrade if you ask me. The Dolphins had simultaneously been in trade talks with the Denver Broncos for quarterback Kyle Orton ( 20 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 3653 yards), but decided to get Moore.

I don’t understand the logic behind signing a guy(Moore) who is worse than the current guy (Henne) who just led your team to a 7-9 season. Ever since Dan Marino retired, the Dolphins haven’t had a stable quarterback who turned out to be successful. Thoughts of recent past quarterbacks come to mind: A.J. Feeley, Gus Frerotte, Joey Harrington, Cleo Lemon, John Beck, the list goes on and on. What do all those guys have in common? Well, before coming to the Dolphins, none of them had really been successful anywhere else. A lot of them actually rode the bench as backups on different respective teams. After years and years of making the same mistake, the Dolphins just don’t seem to understand what’s going on.

As a Dolphins fan, I hope that either Moore or Henne will break out this year and Miami will win their playoff game since 2000. I really do. But I can’t look past the fact that we haven’t really improved at the most important position in the game of football; and that’s what gets me nervous.

Until the Dolphins do become a successful team, the same three words continue to ring in my head: typical, typical Dolphins.