Brown comes to play, but Culpepper makes Dolphins pay

By Hugo Guzman  |   Monday, October 01, 2007  |  Comments( 12 )

Miami Dolphins
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On a day in which Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown appeared to cement his status as a true workhorse, all anybody could think about is what might have been. And what might have been was scoring left and right all afternoon long.

Oakland Raiders quarterback Daunte Culpepper made Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron look like a fool on Sunday, throwing two touchdowns and running for three more, while his counterpart, Trent Green, sputtered throughout the game.

Green put the Dolphins in a hole almost immediately, throwing a costly interception on the team's first drive and continuing to struggle after. In all, Green threw two interceptions, had several passes tipped, and his lone touchdown was the result of a brilliant play-call and a Raiders defense that was singularly focused on stopping Brown.

Mind you, while Cameron the personnel evaluator is coming off as a buffoon today after choosing to jettison Culpepper in favor of Green, Cameron the play-caller has been superb.

Time and again, Cameron took chances, including his fourth-and-3 attempt that resulted in a 35-yard catch and run by tight end Justin Peelle. On the next play, Brown scored on a dazzling 9-yard jaunt that was punctuated by a hellacious collision at the goal line. Cameron made several other impressive offensive calls, but it was all overshadowed by what now appears to be a most foolish personnel decision at the quarterback position.

But make no mistake, Culpepper is not the reason why the Raiders scored 35 points on Sunday. You can blame that on the Dolphins' defense.

When your opponent falls just 1 yard short of the 300-yard rushing plateau, you're not going to win many football games.

When your defense allows the opponent to convert 9 of 15 third-down attempts, with two of those conversions going for back-breaking touchdowns, you're not going to win many football games.

When your defense fails to pressure the passer and allows a still-recovering Culpepper, who is coming off a major knee injury from 2005, to scramble at will, you're not going to win many football games.

When your defense fails to generate a turnover for a third straight game, you're not going to win many football games.

Notice a pattern here?

So while a taunting Culpepper, pointing at his clearly healthy left knee and giving out the "OK" signal, is going to grab most of the headlines, it is the Dolphins' ailing defense that should garner the most attention. Sure, Zach Thomas will return to the lineup next week after missing two games with a concussion, but the 'D' was already showing signs of weakness even when Thomas was in there.

The bottom line is, Miami is now one of only three remaining winless NFL franchises in 2007. Furthermore, it is fair to say that Dolphins have no games on their remaining schedule that they can pencil in as a likely victory. The defense appears to have gotten old in a hurry, and Green looks more like a washed-up old man than a seasoned veteran.

Now here comes the good news.

Miami's accelerated descent into the league's cellar will almost assure that second-round QB John Beck will have an opportunity to start learning on the job and prove whether he is the organization's quarterback of the future. The same can be said of underutilized speedsters Ted Ginn Jr. (first-round receiver) and Lorenzo Booker (third-round RB).

The Dolphins' offensive line, which has been a sore spot for years, has played extremely well thus far and seems to have solid young nucleus, made up of center Samson Satele and left tackle Vernon Carey, to build upon.

The defense, while still miles away from respectable, does have some semblance of youth worth being excited about. Youngsters Paul Soliai, Matt Roth, Channing Crowder and Yeremiah Bell are still far from superstar status, but they could develop into a solid core within a few years. Beyond that, little-known players (Rodrique Wright, Abraham Wright, etcetera) could prove to be diamonds in the rough when they're given a chance to contribute.

Brown posted his second superhuman effort in a row. He seems to have finally figured out the NFL game and is now looking like a man among boys, albeit against two pedestrian defenses. Still, Brown's third-year ascent is eerily similar to ex-Dolphins RB Ricky Williams, who hit his stride in his final campaign with the New Orleans Saints, then broke through to elite status in season No. 4.

Oh, and one more thing: The much-maligned special teams coverage was solid all day and created the team's lone turnover against the Raiders.

That last one might not sound like a very significant accomplishment to the average fan, but followers of the Miami Dolphins, no doubt a frustrated bunch, have to take what they can get.

Struggle to stay afloat with the Miami Dolphins at RealFootball365.com
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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