With a record of 0-4 to start the season The Miami Dolphins have not
gotten off on the right foot. Head coach Tony Sporano is worrying about
his job security and quarterback Chad Henne is out for the season with a
shoulder injury. Matt Moore is stepping in at quarterback to replace
Henne. Moore will become the thirteenth starting quarterback for The
Dolphins since Dan Marino retired in 1999. For 17 seasons Marino lit up
The Miami skyline with amazing passing stats as he retired as one of the
most prolific passers in National Football League history. The Dolphins
were a consistent playoff contender and they made one Super Bowl
appearance in 1984. Since Marino retired The Dolphins have made the
playoffs three times and winning one playoff game.
It is very difficult for any team to win in professional football when
they have constant turnover at the quarterback position. The Dolphins
have continuously made the mistake of bringing in quarterbacks to stop
the bleeding instead of trying to develop a franchise guy. The list
reads from players such as Cleo Lemon to A.J. Feeley and we cannot
forget about Joey Harrington. These are some of the stop-gap guys
brought in to fill Marino’s shoes. The jury is still out on Henne and
the shoulder injury puts everyone in a bind. There aren’t any guarantees
that Sporano will be back next season as majority owner Stephen Ross
was courting then Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh about bringing his
talents to South Beach in January. Harbaugh stayed in The Bay Area and
signed with The San Francisco 49ers. Ross took a ton of backlash in the
media and subsequently gave Sporano an extension to his contract which
was basically “hush money” as it was Ross’ way to say we goofed by
looking for a head coach when we still had one under contract.
The Dolphins drafted Henne in the second round in 2008. Since The
Dolphins drafted Marino in the first round of The 1983 NFL Draft, The
New Orleans Saints are the only team in The NFL that have not drafted a
quarterback in the first round. Fans want to get behind this team and
the organization needs that franchise quarterback to sell the public on.
If Ross fires Sporano, then a new regime will more than likely want to
draft a quarterback and start fresh. The Dolphins look like a team that
will pick in the top ten of next April’s NFL Draft unless they get
things turned around soon. The more that they lose, the more the people
in South Florida will start talking about current college quarterbacks
Andrew Luck, Landry Jones, and Matt Barkley as possible replacement in
Miami.
Attendance is down at Sun Life Stadium and The Dolphins record doesn’t
help the situation. The Dolphins won only one home game last season and
it was another inconsistent season from the quarterback position as
Henne threw 15 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. The Dolphins are trying
to catch up to division rivals The New York Jets and New England
Patriots who have their franchise quarterbacks in Mark Sanchez and Tom
Brady respectively. Marino was that man for so long and he casts a large
shadow over The Dolphins. Many quarterbacks have come and gone and not
been able to step in and come close to Marino’s greatness. The Miami
Dolphins are long overdue in finding that guy to return them to
prominence in The AFC.
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