Training Camp Preview: Quarterbacks
By Brian Miller
There is no other place to start. The first part of our position by position look at the Miami Dolphins training camp, starts with the Quarterbacks.
The Dolphins:
"The Dolphins have lacked a leader at the QB spot since Jay Fiedler left, and likely since Dan Marino left. Fiedler lacked the talent but not the will. Marino had it all but not the coaches in his last few years. For the first time since Dan Marino left, there is no doubt who the starting QB is. The TC battles will center around the back-ups. The Dolphins have had zero consistency in the last 3 training camps. Fiedler battled Feeley in 2004, in 05, Feeley battled Frerrote, Culpepper battled Harrington last year. All three season had the same results.In all 3 of those seasons, the starting QB was not named until either just before the last pre-season game or just after it. That is not the case this year. No line shifts for a different QB every other series. No more style changes because one runs and the other doesn’t. This year, there is only one starting QB. Like it or not."
The Roster:
"Trent Green – 14 yearsCleo Lemon – 4 yearsGibran Hamdan – 1 yearDaunte Culpepper – 9 years"
The QBs:
"Trent Green: This is the starter. Regardless of whether he has a poor pre-season or a great one, if he stays healthy, this is the opening day starter for the Dolphins. Green will take 90-95% of the first team snaps when camp opens until camp closes. He will be given every second possible to get comfortable with the play-book and with his offensive teammates."
"The Good: Green has a very good knowledge of the game. He can see the field and make quick decisions. He uses his knowledge of the game to allow plays to develop. He can make decisive reads on coverages based on how a play is developing and is able to make changes at the line of scrimmage when he has to. He is a veteran leader who will lead his offense and not wait for them to make plays."
"The Bad: Green has a tendency to force throws that he just can’t make. Although his turnover to TD ratio is not horrid, it really is nothing special either. He can be inconsistent at times and in KC has had the comfort of having one of the top rushing attacks in the league either with Priest Holmes or with Johnson. He has Ronnie Brown now and Cam Cameron who will try and make Brown half of what Tomlinson is. Green is also coming off a horrid season that saw him knocked out for 16 minutes in game one of the season. He came back to play last year, but with offensive philosophy changes and lingering affects from the head injury, Green did not produce. It will be something that will be viewed in training camp with a micro-scope.Trent Green has also been shaky in playoffs. He only had 2 games while with the Chiefs and both were losses to the Colts. He posted a QB rating of 92 in the first meeting and a 48 last year."
"Cleo Lemon: Lemon has a history with Cameron playing under him in SD. Lemon has started one game in his short NFL career and because of that he has had little time to develop. He has been the back up and will remain the backup this year barring injury."
"The Good: His history with Cameron. This is a kid who knows the system and because he knows the system he will be able to come in and not have the typical learning curve. Lemon is faster than Green and he will sit back and watch the tendencies of the 38 year old QB. He will watch how Green checks off and how he makes his reads, but Lemon has what Green does not….speed. He will not have to step into the pocket to buy time, he will escape the traffic with his legs."
"The Bad: Too raw. His lack of game experience will hurt him. He stands no real chance of beating out Green no matter how good a camp he may have. Despite the fact that Cameron knows his style of play and knows him, speaks volumes to the fact that he brought in Green to start rather than risk injury with Culpepper and let Lemon take over. Lemon will battle and will win the 2nd spot against Beck. He may not hold that spot the entire year. He is signed only to a 1 year deal and likely will not be in the Dolphins uniform next year at this time."
"John Beck: If Green is the present then Beck is the future. John Beck is almost a mirror image of Trent Green. What he lacks is the experience. The Dolphins thought so highly of Beck that they passed on Brady Quinn at 9 to take Ted Ginn Jr., targeting Beck in round 2. In fact, GM Randy Mueller feared losing Beck prior to his first selection in round 2. He attempted to trade up to the top of the round to get him but failed to do so. As it turned out, he didn’t need to."
"The Good: Beck is young. He only needs to sit back and learn how to play at the pro level. He is a brainy QB, much the same as Jay Fiedler was. He reminds me though of a young Joe Theismann which isn’t a bad thing. He is quick to make a decision and will buy time to let a play develop. He also is a leader and will not let his youth keep him from trying to direct his teammates. We likely won’t see him much until next year or the year after that. However, if Green struggles, fans will be chanting his name in Dolphins Stadium this year."
"The Bad: Beck is young. He has never seen the fast paced NFL and therefore he will find himself lost at times, like many of the rookie QBs over history. Many will call that a luxury. It is hard to determine if Beck has the arm strength. There has been plenty of highlights to dispute the lack of, but accuracy and consistency on the long ball has not been proven."
"For now, Beck will remain the 3rd QB on the roster. His play in pre-season, good or bad, likely won’t change that."
"Gibran Hamdan: Hamdan has thrown a total of 2 NFL passes and regardless of whether he played in the now defunct NFL Europe, he will not make the roster. Perhaps the practice squad. It would be the best he could hope for."
"The Good: Finding good in him is a little hard. Youth would be one. Another would be his Europa experience. Unlike other positions, the QB spot dresses 3 and sometime only 2. Hamdan is the odd man out no matter how you slice it up."
PhinsLook: Trent Green is the starter and after watching some normal progression struggles, he should get better as the TC progresses. By opening day, Green should have a very good feel for his offense. Lemon is what he is. A back-up. Competition or no competition Cam Cameron knows Lemon and Green was still brought in. That says something. Lemon will compete to be the backup in the first half of the year and then Beck should be the backup by the end of it unless Miami is looking like a play off team. Beck is the undisputed future of this team….for now. His job this year is to learn. What he learns depends on how smart he actually is and how well he can watch others. Gibran Hamdan will likely be waived and either let go or resigned to the practice squad. It will be on the opinion of HC Cam Cameron as to whether a QB is on that squad.
The Dolphins offense will live and die with what Trent Green can and can’t do. In reality he is the only one to watch at that position this year.
Daunte Culpepper is as good as gone. To assume that he will be given a shot to compete this year would be somewhat naive. Culpepper has a hearing scheduled for the 18th of July, should it take place at that time, we will know more of his status.