“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”

By Joe Mayes  |   Friday, June 06, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Miami Dolphins
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!
It takes time to accurately determine the success of an NFL team’s draft. Some pundits insist it takes three years to know whether a team met its pre-draft goals. However, we at RealFootball365.com are always looking at things from different angles, which means it’s time to evaluate how the Miami Dolphins did.

The first step in analyzing a team’s draft is to compare its pre-draft objectives with its actual picks. Below are the Dolphins’ stated needs going into the draft:

Left tackle: A consistent blindside protector is a priority.
Linebacker: Youth and depth are needed as current linebackers get on in years.
Wide receiver: No. 1 wide receiver is good, but the talent quickly thins out afterward.
Quarterback: How far can the current QB take the Dolphins?

At first glance, it would appear that the Dolphins did a decent job of addressing these needs by drafting tackle Jake Long, defensive end/linebacker Phillip Merling and quarterback Chad Henne with their first three picks in April’s draft.

However, upon closer inspection, the four pre-draft goals above were not from this year's draft. Instead, they were from 2003. The linebackers in question were Junior Seau and Zach Thomas instead of Jason Taylor and Joey Porter. The No. 1 receiver of five years ago, Chris Chambers, has been replaced by Ted Ginn, Jr. And, as is the perpetual rite of spring since the retirement of Dan Marino, the same questions surround John Beck that Jay Fiedler faced in 2003.

So how’d the Dolphins fare in 2003?

Of Miami's nine players chosen in the 2003 draft, only safety Yeremiah Bell -- a sixth-rounder from Eastern Kentucky -- remains on the roster. The Dolphins did not find their franchise left tackle in sixth-round pick Tim Provost. They drafted no quarterbacks in 2003 and Eddie Moore, Wade Smith, Taylor Whitley, Donald Lee, J.R. Tolver, Corey Jenkins and Davern Williams have all left Miami. None of the nine ever made the Pro Bowl.

Which means the Dolphins haven’t made much progress in the past five years. Or, as Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr said in 1849, “Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.” What does that mean? The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Of course, the 2003 draft was done under the Dave Wannstedt regime. That was five coaches ago. Since Wannstedt left in 2004, Jim Bates, Nick Saban and Cam Cameron have all taken their shots at running the team; now Tony Sparano will get his chance.

But the revolving door on the head coach’s office is, in itself, quite telling. The franchise has been in a state of flux for a half-decade. Five years, five head coaches.

And the same four as-yet-unanswered draft questions remained from the '03 draft to the '08 draft. Dolphins fans obviously hope they're not seeing the same four questions -- and five new head coaches on the scrap heap -- after the 2013 draft.
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

About Joe Mayes

Joe Mayes is an award-winning writer with credits ranging from national sports columns to local newspapers and commercial and technical writing. Joe is the host of "The Morning Wrap," a morning drive-time sports talk radio show on WTKE-FM in Northwest Florida.
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report