Cowboys show how sad Dolphins have become
By RAY McNULTY
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, September 17, 2007
If the Miami Dolphins were wondering exactly how far they are from being a winning team, all they needed to do was look across the field.
At the Dallas Cowboys.
At a team that is built around talented, tough, young players like quarterback Tony Romo, running back Marion Barber and defensive standouts DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears and Roy Williams, all of whom are just entering their football primes.
At a franchise with a future.
And that's a long way from where the Dolphins are now -- which is 0-2, with an aging defense, no promising, young playmakers on offense and a 37-year-old quarterback who played the kind of game Sunday he cannot play if this team hopes to come anywhere near a .500 season.
"Any time you have five turnovers, as a team, you don't give yourself much of a chance to win . . . on the road, at home, wherever it is," Trent Green said after throwing four interceptions and fumbling away snap in his team's 37-20 loss to the unbeaten Cowboys at Dolphin Stadium. "It was a huge factor."
It was the deciding factor.
On paper, anyway:
-- Four of Green's turnovers, including three interceptions, came in the second half.
-- The Cowboys scored 27 second-half points.
But any real Dolphins fan knows better. Any real Dolphins fan knows you must look beyond the statistics, beyond the scoreboard, beyond Green's performance. Any real Dolphins fan knows it's not that simple.
Look deeper, and you'll see that this dispiriting defeat can't be hung entirely on the quarterback's right arm.
Look deeper, and you'll see what's really wrong with the Dolphins, who wasted the best years their once-vaunted defense had to offer.
You'll see this loss can't be blame entirely on Green, the Dolphins' new quarterback. You'll also see that this 0-2 start -- and all the disappointment that is sure to follow in the coming months -- isn't the fault of Cam Cameron, the Dolphins' new coach.
Just as Green took over an offense that sorely lacks the ability to run the ball, Cameron inherited a team that isn't anywhere near ready to win.
Indeed, Cameron inherited the Dolphins in decline.
It's going to take some time to clean up the mess left behind by Dave Wannstedt and Nick Saban, neither of who did anything to make the Dolphins better. And it's going to take some changes, particularly in personnel, to get this organization turned around.
"We're going to do everything we can to get these things corrected and continue to grow," Cameron said. "We're going to stick together."
Because, really, what other choice do they have? Cameron installed his system, his way of doing things. But he doesn't yet have his team, the players he needs to win.
Instead, he has running back Ronnie Brown, who has done nothing to make anyone believe he was worth the first-round draft pick -- the second choice, overall -- that Saban wasted on him in 2005.
He has a receiving corps that lacks a bona-fide deep threat. He has an offensive line that will remain a work in progress until, at least, next season. He has a starting quarterback who might not be around when this team is, finally, ready to win.
It's what Cameron doesn't have, however, that is cause for alarm.
He doesn't have anyone, on either side of the ball, around whom he can build a future.
This year's No. 1 pick, Ted Ginn Jr., hasn't done much in these first two games. Not on offense. Not as a return man. And from what we've seen so far, you can't help but wonder if he's got the pure speed and game-changing playmaking ability the Dolphins need.
And rookie John Beck, who is supposed to be the quarterback of the future, is expected to spend the season as Green's apprentice.
The Dolphins can only hope he learned plenty from Green's mistakes against the Cowboys.
But, again, you can't pin this loss solely on Green.
The Dolphins couldn't move the ball on the ground, which meant Green needed to make more plays through the air. And when Green's mistakes ended up in the Cowboys' hands, the Dolphins defense didn't get the ball back.
"That's our job," Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor said. "It's not always an ideal situation, but you've got to find a way to get off the field -- force the team to punt the ball back to you or get a turnover. . . . We didn't do that."
The Dolphins didn't do what they needed to do to win.
Green did exactly what he can't do if the Dolphins are going to beat good teams.
Like the one across the field.
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, September 17, 2007
If the Miami Dolphins were wondering exactly how far they are from being a winning team, all they needed to do was look across the field.
At the Dallas Cowboys.
At a team that is built around talented, tough, young players like quarterback Tony Romo, running back Marion Barber and defensive standouts DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears and Roy Williams, all of whom are just entering their football primes.
At a franchise with a future.
And that's a long way from where the Dolphins are now -- which is 0-2, with an aging defense, no promising, young playmakers on offense and a 37-year-old quarterback who played the kind of game Sunday he cannot play if this team hopes to come anywhere near a .500 season.
"Any time you have five turnovers, as a team, you don't give yourself much of a chance to win . . . on the road, at home, wherever it is," Trent Green said after throwing four interceptions and fumbling away snap in his team's 37-20 loss to the unbeaten Cowboys at Dolphin Stadium. "It was a huge factor."
It was the deciding factor.
On paper, anyway:
-- Four of Green's turnovers, including three interceptions, came in the second half.
-- The Cowboys scored 27 second-half points.
But any real Dolphins fan knows better. Any real Dolphins fan knows you must look beyond the statistics, beyond the scoreboard, beyond Green's performance. Any real Dolphins fan knows it's not that simple.
Look deeper, and you'll see that this dispiriting defeat can't be hung entirely on the quarterback's right arm.
Look deeper, and you'll see what's really wrong with the Dolphins, who wasted the best years their once-vaunted defense had to offer.
You'll see this loss can't be blame entirely on Green, the Dolphins' new quarterback. You'll also see that this 0-2 start -- and all the disappointment that is sure to follow in the coming months -- isn't the fault of Cam Cameron, the Dolphins' new coach.
Just as Green took over an offense that sorely lacks the ability to run the ball, Cameron inherited a team that isn't anywhere near ready to win.
Indeed, Cameron inherited the Dolphins in decline.
It's going to take some time to clean up the mess left behind by Dave Wannstedt and Nick Saban, neither of who did anything to make the Dolphins better. And it's going to take some changes, particularly in personnel, to get this organization turned around.
"We're going to do everything we can to get these things corrected and continue to grow," Cameron said. "We're going to stick together."
Because, really, what other choice do they have? Cameron installed his system, his way of doing things. But he doesn't yet have his team, the players he needs to win.
Instead, he has running back Ronnie Brown, who has done nothing to make anyone believe he was worth the first-round draft pick -- the second choice, overall -- that Saban wasted on him in 2005.
He has a receiving corps that lacks a bona-fide deep threat. He has an offensive line that will remain a work in progress until, at least, next season. He has a starting quarterback who might not be around when this team is, finally, ready to win.
It's what Cameron doesn't have, however, that is cause for alarm.
He doesn't have anyone, on either side of the ball, around whom he can build a future.
This year's No. 1 pick, Ted Ginn Jr., hasn't done much in these first two games. Not on offense. Not as a return man. And from what we've seen so far, you can't help but wonder if he's got the pure speed and game-changing playmaking ability the Dolphins need.
And rookie John Beck, who is supposed to be the quarterback of the future, is expected to spend the season as Green's apprentice.
The Dolphins can only hope he learned plenty from Green's mistakes against the Cowboys.
But, again, you can't pin this loss solely on Green.
The Dolphins couldn't move the ball on the ground, which meant Green needed to make more plays through the air. And when Green's mistakes ended up in the Cowboys' hands, the Dolphins defense didn't get the ball back.
"That's our job," Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor said. "It's not always an ideal situation, but you've got to find a way to get off the field -- force the team to punt the ball back to you or get a turnover. . . . We didn't do that."
The Dolphins didn't do what they needed to do to win.
Green did exactly what he can't do if the Dolphins are going to beat good teams.
Like the one across the field.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:50 PM
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