So let’s say, that just for a minute, your name is Cam Cameron. Don’t know who that is? Not surprising considering how badly his Miami Dolphins are playing this year. ‘Course, if you live anywhere in Southern Florida, you know exactly who Cameron is – the Dolphins head coach.
There you are, ten games down in the season and you haven’t a win yet to show for it. People are flocking out of Dolphins Stadium like a biblical plague of locust, direct from Cleveland, descended upon the field. How in the world do you get people in the stadium?
If, as we discussed earlier, your name is Cameron, you’ve got two aces up your sleeve and you play them one at a time. One, the starting of rookie QB John Beck, was unveiled this pass Sunday against Philadelphia. And the other, is the return of Dolphins wayward son, Rickey Williams.
Ace number 1 - Many criticized Dolphins management when the team passed on Notre Dame star Brady Quinn during the 2007 draft. Beck did his best to naysay those voices during the pre-season, tossing the pigskin for 300 yards. That’s more than any Miami QB has thrown in pre-season since the days of this guy you may of heard of – Dan Marino. But, of course, Beck was never intended to play the 2007 season - that challenge was left to the veteran hands of Trent Green.
Week 5 in the season of woe, Green is knocked out for the rest of the year with a severe concussion at the hands of Houston Texans 315-pound tackle Travis Johnson – season over. Cleo “I never heard of him either” Lemon assumes starter role and the Dolphins continue their downward slide.
You can almost hear the discussions in the background: “Enough of this already, we’ve just got to do something to get people to the stadium, to make this season interesting somehow!”
The rookie opens against Philly – Beck goes 9-for-22, 109 yards, no TDs, no picks. No interceptions, in the mind of Cameron, means this is the start of what he’s looking for in a field marshal.
"We'd like (to improve) our completion percentage, the execution of our passing game and just (have our quarterback) lead our offense. That starts with not turning the football over. That's what we need our quarterbacks to do," said Cameron in an interview with Floridatoday.com.
Article comments
1 - Mark
The surprising fact is, the Patriots have had only one concussion this year, because 70% of Patriot players are fitted with a corrective retainer like mouth guard, NFL stats confirm a drastic reduction in concussion and its symptoms. Commonly used for TMJ therapy and designed to protect the nervous system due to prior cartilage damage, not all players wear it. Hopefully Faulk has learned his lesson and will now seek help with the team dentist. NFL players are not required to wear mouth guards, new research is underway to help develop standards which should mandate the use of the Maher mouth guard, the only mouth guard ever connected with a medical procedure resulting in a reduction in official NFL statistics. Roger Goodell should be more hands on in dealing with it's inventor, his researchers do not understand the principles behind its success. www.mahercor.com