Greg, Greg, Greg, Greg, Greg

I‘m shaking my head.  Greg Cote over at the Herald…seems to be the paper of my ire lately, has made his opinion known about who in Miami Dolphins history is better than Jason Taylor.  In his opinion?  Only Dan Marino.

While I do not want to yet again blast another reporter from that paper, I must say that with the history of the Miami Dolphins what it is, Taylor is in the top 10 for sure, but a top 5 is pushing it.

"“Broadening the frame to include all players, I would depose that only Dan Marino was better or more accomplished at what he did. (Cote had stated that Taylor was the best Defensive player in the history of the Dolphins…and that it wasn’t even close)One man’s view of this franchise’s 10 greatest players:1. Marino; 2. Taylor; 3. Larry Little; 4. Larry Csonka; 5. Zach Thomas; 6. Mark Clayton; 7. Bob Griese; 8. Dick Anderson; 9. Nick Buoniconti; 10. Bob Kuechenberg.”"

Now, I believe that Jason Taylor’s place in Dolphins history will be forever noted on the Ring of Honor.  However, Jason still has some selling to do if his future is to be enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame.  While Cote may think that Taylor is number 2 on the list of great Miami Players.  I would think he would have made a better argument than statistical stats that are comparable but not better than those of some of the HOF bound DE’s.

Cote puts this on a comparison of what he meant to the team at his position versus what other meant to the team at theirs.  Although he doesn’t say it, it appears that he is saying that Taylor was more irreplaceable at his than the others.  He is also quick to point out that JT is sold short because of the losing seasons of late and the lack of playoff successes.  Now that is true.

When we judge Jason Taylor though, the fact remains that he himself was the leader of this team.  Verbally on the field and in the locker room and while the losses can not be pinned to his shoulders, the burden of being a Pro-Bowl player on a defense that had some problems is a weight he still has to bare right or wrong.

The Hall of Fame will not judge JT on how many rings he could have had.  They will judge him on his statistics and his statistics are definately good but how will they compare 5 years after he is done will be the issue.

I’m not going to throw Greg under the bus entirely.  He has his opinion and it is one that I do not share.  While Dan Marino is by far the most beloved and best player the Dolphins have ever had, I’m afraid that my next 4 would not include Jason Taylor as to what they meant to this team.  My top 10 would look more like this.

Dan Marino, Larry Csonka, Dwight Stephenson, Larry Little, and Dick Anderson would round out my top 5.  Jason Taylor may be a fit at 5 instead of DA, but for now, I put him at number 6.  Following JT would be Nick Buoniconti in a close race, Bob Kuchenberg,  Jim Langer, and finally Bob Griese.

Sorry Greg, I loved the Mark brothers as much as anyone else, but in the top 10?  No, I’m not sure either one of them are even the number 1 WR in Dolphins history, let alone the top 10 all-time.  You can read all of Gregs article here.