The Dolphins Only Have Themselves To Blame
By Brian Miller
Did you wake up this morning with the stomach ache still pounding? The news of Zach Thomas settling in as you realize that you will never see him in a Miami Dolphins helmet or uniform again outside of pictures you can download. Does all of this resonate like the podium retirement announcement of Dan Marino? Do you feel as though you have no closure because you will not see the same thing from Zach, and in all likelihood Jason Taylor? Well, the Miami Dolphins have only themselves to blame for this mess and the departure of Zach.
This all could have been avoided, in fact, it should have been avoided a long time ago. If you really get down to the nitty-gritty, this should never have happened to begin with. If you want to place blame, place it on the head and shoulders of Dave Wannstedt, and on the shoulders of Nick Saban and Cam Cameron. This team has been due a rebuild for a very long time.
Had Dave Wannstedt had the foresight to actually rebuild this team when it became apparent that it no longer was the dominant force it should have been, in 2004 when he axed almost the entire offensive line, this team would be competing now and both Zach and Jason would be a key factor in its success rather than a saddened afterthought.
Instead, the Dolphins spent 2nd round picks on guys like Daunte Culpepper, who lasted one year, AJ Feely who last one year, a 5th for Trent Green who lasted one year, a 3rd on Lamont Gordon, who lasted one year, all the while never drafting a true standout blue chip quarterback prospect, or for that matter a stellar prospect at any position on the field. Not one. With the departure of Zach Thomas, the Dolphins are left with only 1 single player that dates before 2003. Jason Taylor. Once JT is gone, the Dolphins will have zero players on their roster prior to the 2003 season. The old man on the team becomes Yeremiah Bell in terms of the draft, and he was taken in the 6th round. By the way, he too may be gone this year.
See it takes a good 3 to 5 years to build a football team. You need a combination of veteran leadership, youth, and cap room in this era of the NFL. For the Dolphins, they had the veteran leadership in Jason and Zach. What they didn’t have was the youth and the cap space. 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. 4 years of squandered opportunity. Had Dave chucked it all in 2004, the lovely 4-12 season, and started to rebuild this franchise with a youth infusion instead of filling the roster with overpaid rejects on the free agent market.
Nick Saban came in to cure the Dolphins ills and despite the fact that he quite after only 2 seasons, tried to build a champion around the two defenders without really exploding the roster. Had he done that in year 1, we would now be on year 4 of that overturn.
Cam Cameron came in and despite the fact that he went 1-15, wasted no time in getting rid of overpaid veterans while gutting the roster. His one year stint was nothing more than the beginning of the end for this teams string of yearly attempts to win now.
All of this equates to one fundamental truth. Had the Dolphins realized 5 years or even 4 years ago, that they did not have the talent to build around and gutted the team and rebuilt it then, Miami would be closer to playoff contention or more, and standing on the sidelines in aqua and orange uniforms would be Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor. Not the veteran leaders in the waning moments of their careers, but instead, veteran leaders of 11 and 12 years on the verge of going out possibly with a Super Bowl sendoff and a ring to boot. Instead, like the years before, the last 4 have been squandered on attempts to get them a championship instead of getting them a team that would. Now, when this Miami Dolphins team grows into a contender, it will be without Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas.
New names, new favorites, new everything will be on the horizon. It was Larry Csonka and Bob Griese and a slew of others, then it was Dan Marino, then Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor. There will be more, some better and some not.
All of this could have and should have been avoided. Instead of watching these two compete for a Championship in Miami, we will watch as at least one of them competes for one elsewhere. It could have all been different a simple 4 or 5 years ago.
Today we wish Zach Thomas the best, we hope that he finds that ring or at least that team that may get him close. He will be missed and he will always be a Miami Dolphin. We can only now await the day that his name joins the others on the Ring of Honor. Still, the Miami Dolphins have no one but themselves to blame, because it should never have got to this point to begin with.