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| Did Cameron just say Ginn when he really meant Quinn? |
A Disturbing Day for Dolphin Fans
Patrick Tarell, April 30, 2007
The Dolphin draft may not be remembered for the players who were
picked but for the one who was not. The draft was considered to have two
top flight quarterbacks in JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn. Russell was
clearly an unusual talent with the size and arm strength that comes around
once in a decade. The Raiders wasted little time in snapping him up with
the number one pick.
That left Quinn on the board and the general consensus that only WR
Calvin Johnson, LT Joe Thomas and possibly DE Gains Adams rated
higher on most draft boards. With the Lions and Browns picking second
and third respectively and both teams in need of a QB it looked as if Quinn
would be gone by the forth pick. But the Millen led Lions decided to pick
Johnson, the third WR drafted in 1st round in four years by the Lions and
perhaps the most talented player in the draft. Cleveland now had the
opportunity to pick Ohio native, Notre Dame bred, Charlie Weiss coached
Brady Quinn or the franchise left tackle from Wisconsin. As the Dolphin
faithful held their breath, the Browns picked Joe Thomas and there was a
glimmer of hope that Quinn would fall to the Dolphins’ number 9 pick.
The possibility QB loving Jon Gruden could opt for Quinn at number four
was intriguing but proved unfounded as the Buccaneers went with speedy
Clemson DE Gains Adams. With the number 5 pick the Cardinals pulled
what many thought was a reach in picking LT Levi Brown from Penn State.
There was plenty of pre-draft speculation that Levi Brown would go to the
Dolphins at number 9 but this writer did not see one mock draft, excluding
Rick Gosselin from The Dallas Morning News (that guy is uncanny) who
picked Brown to go this high.
Only Washington, Minnesota and Atlanta stood between Miami and the
golden boy from the land of touchdown Jesus. Washington having spent
two years grooming former 1st round pick Jason Campbell was not in the
market for a QB and opted for LaRon Landry the best DB in the draft. The
intrigue began anew as the Vikings went on the clock but Minnesota had
invested a 2nd round pick the previous season in Tarvaris Jackson. Brad
Childress liked what he saw in Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson and pulled
the trigger. Surely the Michael Vick led Falcons were not going to invest
the eight pick in a QB and the excitement in Dolphin Land rose to a
fevered pitch as Atlanta chose Jamaal Anderson, DE Arkansas.
The Tarell Brothers were off the chart dancing the high five shuffle as the
Marinoless years of Fiedler, Feely, Frerotte, Culpepper and Harrington
were finally a thing of the past. Venus had aligned with Mars, the
anticipation mounted as the commissioner made the slow walk to the
podium. “With the number nine pick in the 2007 draft The Dolphins
select… Ted Ginn Jr. WR Ohio State.”
We had been transported to a Pacific Island Atoll and the latest nuclear
bomb had just been tested the force of which was felt in every NFL starved
living room. “Ted Ginn?” I heard myself ask to no one in particular. “Ted
F-ing Ginn? A kick returner who was injured celebrating in the endzone?”
Not even Gosselin could see that coming. The crowd gathered at the
Dolphin draft party greeted new coach Cam Cameron with a New York
sized Bronx cheer while my brothers and I hurled obscenities like bricks at
the figure standing on the stage. We know now that the cosmos had made
a quantum shift and it was not Venus and Mars that aligned but Neptune
and Uranus.
Pat.Dolphin and AFATT Says So...
Patrick Tarell, April 30, 2007
The Dolphin draft may not be remembered for the players who were
picked but for the one who was not. The draft was considered to have two
top flight quarterbacks in JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn. Russell was
clearly an unusual talent with the size and arm strength that comes around
once in a decade. The Raiders wasted little time in snapping him up with
the number one pick.
That left Quinn on the board and the general consensus that only WR
Calvin Johnson, LT Joe Thomas and possibly DE Gains Adams rated
higher on most draft boards. With the Lions and Browns picking second
and third respectively and both teams in need of a QB it looked as if Quinn
would be gone by the forth pick. But the Millen led Lions decided to pick
Johnson, the third WR drafted in 1st round in four years by the Lions and
perhaps the most talented player in the draft. Cleveland now had the
opportunity to pick Ohio native, Notre Dame bred, Charlie Weiss coached
Brady Quinn or the franchise left tackle from Wisconsin. As the Dolphin
faithful held their breath, the Browns picked Joe Thomas and there was a
glimmer of hope that Quinn would fall to the Dolphins’ number 9 pick.
The possibility QB loving Jon Gruden could opt for Quinn at number four
was intriguing but proved unfounded as the Buccaneers went with speedy
Clemson DE Gains Adams. With the number 5 pick the Cardinals pulled
what many thought was a reach in picking LT Levi Brown from Penn State.
There was plenty of pre-draft speculation that Levi Brown would go to the
Dolphins at number 9 but this writer did not see one mock draft, excluding
Rick Gosselin from The Dallas Morning News (that guy is uncanny) who
picked Brown to go this high.
Only Washington, Minnesota and Atlanta stood between Miami and the
golden boy from the land of touchdown Jesus. Washington having spent
two years grooming former 1st round pick Jason Campbell was not in the
market for a QB and opted for LaRon Landry the best DB in the draft. The
intrigue began anew as the Vikings went on the clock but Minnesota had
invested a 2nd round pick the previous season in Tarvaris Jackson. Brad
Childress liked what he saw in Oklahoma RB Adrian Peterson and pulled
the trigger. Surely the Michael Vick led Falcons were not going to invest
the eight pick in a QB and the excitement in Dolphin Land rose to a
fevered pitch as Atlanta chose Jamaal Anderson, DE Arkansas.
The Tarell Brothers were off the chart dancing the high five shuffle as the
Marinoless years of Fiedler, Feely, Frerotte, Culpepper and Harrington
were finally a thing of the past. Venus had aligned with Mars, the
anticipation mounted as the commissioner made the slow walk to the
podium. “With the number nine pick in the 2007 draft The Dolphins
select… Ted Ginn Jr. WR Ohio State.”
We had been transported to a Pacific Island Atoll and the latest nuclear
bomb had just been tested the force of which was felt in every NFL starved
living room. “Ted Ginn?” I heard myself ask to no one in particular. “Ted
F-ing Ginn? A kick returner who was injured celebrating in the endzone?”
Not even Gosselin could see that coming. The crowd gathered at the
Dolphin draft party greeted new coach Cam Cameron with a New York
sized Bronx cheer while my brothers and I hurled obscenities like bricks at
the figure standing on the stage. We know now that the cosmos had made
a quantum shift and it was not Venus and Mars that aligned but Neptune
and Uranus.
Pat.Dolphin and AFATT Says So...
| AFATT Grade for the Dolphins 2007 NFL Draft - C- Click on any logo to read individual draft reports |
