Expectations for Miami’s Chambers may be too high

By Adam Best  |   Monday, June 04, 2007  |  Comments( 15 )

Miami Dolphins
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According to the Miami Herald, Dolphins wide receiver Chris Chambers recently pinpointed "a lack of continuity in the offense and trust" as the cardinal reasons he went from a being a Pro Bowl wideout to not even the best pass catcher on his own team last season.

When Chambers says the word "trust," make no mistake about it -- he is referring to ex-Dolphins head coach Nick Saban, who was not only a defensive-minded coach but also a coach who didn't exactly reach out to his players very well. In fact, he even seemed to distance himself from his pupils quite a bit.

Miami's new head coach, Cam Cameron, is the anti-Saban -- he possesses an upbeat demeanor that both players and the community have instantly connected with. You get the sense that he really wants to be the coach of the Dolphins and a part of the community, and he isn't just around to win games and collect fat paychecks.

Add in the fact that Cameron's biggest strengths -- his knowledge of the offensive side of the football and maximizing offensive personnel -- address the Dolphins' biggest weaknesses, and it's easy to see why Chambers is on board.

Fans should curb their enthusiasm, however, before they expect Cameron to single-handedly help Chambers reclaim his elite status. Cameron's receivers never really put up true Pro Bowl numbers when he was the offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers, despite better complementary players surrounding them than Chambers will have this season.

Wideout Keenan McCardell had 917 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns in '05, and fellow WR David Boston had 880 yards and seven touchdowns in '03. No San Diego receiver ever posted totals of at least 1,000 receiving yards or 10 receiving touchdowns during Cameron's tenure, and typically those numbers aren't even enough to warrant Pro Bowl consideration in today's NFL.

Running back Ronnie Brown and tight end David Martin are the players most likely to reap the benefits from Cameron's arrival, not Chambers.

Additionally, Chambers has suffered from the "lack of continuity" he referred to -- four different quarterbacks have started during the Dolphins' last 17 games.

It's fine and dandy to point to quarterback play as the primary reason for the slippage of Chambers' game, but is the Dolphins' QB situation going to be any more stable this year? The two quarterbacks most often penciled in by the media to start for the Dolphins next year at quarterback -- Daunte Culpepper and Trent Green -- only played 12 regular-season games last year combined. QB Cleo Lemon only played in four games last year. Between the three of them they barely played a 16-game NFL season in 2006. Rookie John Beck has never thrown an NFL pass. It's hard to envision QB being any more stable in '07 than it was in '06, and that should continue to hold Chambers back.

Maybe Chambers' position change -- from the Z receiver to the X receiver -- causes a slight increase in production. Maybe Cameron helps him put up numbers similar to the above-mentioned campaigns by Boston and McCardell. Maybe Culpepper or Green even establishes Chambers as his go-to guy early in the season, slowly building a nice quarterback-receiver rapport. Even if all those hypothetical do come true, don't except Chambers to match the 1,118 receiving yards and 11 TDs he posted in '05 or making the Pro Bowl in '07.

Chambers played too poorly last season, and his situation hasn't changed enough to expect that much from him in '07. His numbers in the upcoming season will be better than last year's, but just not as much better as fans might hope or expect.

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CommentsComments: 15  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
The Boz		10:02 AM
06/04/2007
Even before his "breakout season", Chambers never really looked like one of the elite class of WR's in the league. Blaming Saban...
No.2
IZ		11:00 AM
06/04/2007
Who does Chambers blame for his dropped passes on short comeback routes? I dont care for all the excuse making and finger...
No.3
phintim		11:15 AM
06/04/2007
Chamber will be fine once we get a good coach and keep him for awhile. They have changed so many coaches and offensive...
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