Dolphins May Have to Suffer Through A Few More Years of Mediocrity

But it will be worth it. Hear me out.

Peyton Manning is not the answer the Dolphins are looking for. This is looking more and more possible and I pray every night that #18 is not in a Dolphins uniform in 2012.

I get it. Us Dolphans are frustrated. We have suffered through over a decade of bad team after bad team. We have had the likes of Jay Fiedler, Cleo Lemon, Daunte Culpepper, Joey Harrington and A.J. Feeley under center for this team and the results have not pretty. We are tempted by Manning. We need to resist.

With Manning, we are intrigued by the name. So many people want him, just to be able to say that “Peyton Manning will be the Dolphins quarterback in 2012.” That sounds magnificent, but we need to dig deeper.

Manning will be 36 years old at the beginning of the season. At BEST, we have maybe three good seasons left from him, and that is IF he is completely healthy and the Peyton Manning of old.  Let’s not forget, this is a guy that many people were saying was going to have to retire after this injury. Now all of a sudden, he is going to be the savior of this franchise? Come on.

I know most fans don’t want to think about it, but I believe the Dolphins may have to suffer through just a couple more years of mediocrity before we can truly be a contender. Manning may make them a solid team for the next two or three years, but what happens after? If he takes one bad hit, he is gone, probably for good. If he stays completely healthy, he has four years AT THE MOST.

This is where I believe Matt Flynn, Robert Griffin III and even Ryan Tannehill are superior choices to Manning. With Manning, we realistically get two years of good football. With Flynn or RGIII, we get closer to ten years. With Tannehill, there is an unknown factor, but definitely the potential of a franchise guy. Yes, there is a learning curve with them that could take a year or two, but isn’t that worth it for nine years or more of good football?

I understand the argument for Manning. He gives a face to a franchise that is faceless. He brings excitement to a fanbase that is bored. He brings the possibility of a Super Bowl to a team that hasn’t smelled one in over a decade.

I don’t care. Manning is not a franchise quarterback in the way he was in 1998. He is a stop gap option at best, and the Dolphins need to do more than to fill a gap that they will need to refill in two years. Stephen Ross. Jeff Ireland. Joe Philbin. Please do not bring Peyton Manning to Miami.

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