TG&T Inaugural Dolphins' QB Power Rankings

Taking a page out of my cousin Dewey's playbook, I've decided to give you my power rankings for the quarterback position. Dewey of course ranked the current QB's on the Baltimore's roster, and I will rank the players on the Miami's squad.

1. John Beck: He is at the top for several reasons. First he is the incumbent. Barely, but he is the only player on the roster to have started at QB for the Dolphins (including the last game we played). Also, he has the slight nod in terms of experience to be positioned above rookie Chad Henne, yet he hasn't failed as much as Josh McCown. He is in some sort of middle ground where he is a young and unproven but still worthy of more chances. Finally, the new regime will be afforded some luxury if he fails, because he wasn't hand picked by them, he was inherited. The fans would pass judgment and just blame Cam Cameron more if Beck never pans out. In my opinion, he will be given every opportunity to start. He won't have to beat out the other two in training camp and the preseason. If he just performs on par with them, he should be the one taking the first snap against the Jets.

2. Josh McCown: You have already heard a little bit of what I think about McCown. He has had several chances to show he can be a consistent starter and improve to being an average quarterback. he has never reached that level. This will be his seventh season and this is his fourth team. He never caught on in Arizona or Detroit. In his most recent stop, he lost the job to Daunte Culpepper in Oakland. The organization showed us where they think McCown stands by his free agent signing details. he is making money that is about level with most second string QB's. For now he is the backup, if he gives us any more than that in the future, that's a plus.

3. Chad Henne: A lot of people are really excited about him. I would say I'm mildly excited. I think he has a lot of upside and he does have the quailties that Parcells and Co. like in a quarterback. My brother said he looks like a poor man's Drew Bledsoe. If he is anything like the young Bledsoe, then I'm fine with that. He took the worst team in the league and made it a playoff team in a couple years and made a Super Bowl within four. The problem is, rookies almost never start from day one at this position. he will really have to prove himself in all of the training camps and preseason games to get his shot. The more likely scenario is if the team struggles, he could be handed the keys in second half of the season like Beck was last year.

Notes: The numbers by definition must be 1, 2, 3, etc. but if I were allowed some room for interpretation I would say the three players are really 2a, 2b, and 2c. Right now I would say they are all second string quarterbacks until week one of the regular season, when someone will be promoted to starter (#1) and someone will be demoted to the third string.

Opinion: My thoughts will most likely fluctuate daily but as of right now my feelings are as follows. Chad Henne should start from day one. It is clear that the organization really likes him and he is viewed as the QB of the future. Let him get his feet wet, go through the growing pains, and if he is the big tough player you thought he was, he will improve in year two and so on.

Miami Dolphins QB Situation

The Dolphins are 0-4 and while the defense has been getting most of the blame, Trent Green has been part of the problem as well. Let's examine his performance so far.

84/139, 982 yds, 5 TD, 7 Int. That last number is the big one. You could also add another one (the dropped pick in Washington in the final minutes) if you feel like it. He has looked great at times but has also made some poor decisions. His interceptions have come at costly times and always seem to result in points for the opposition. On the other hand, he has put together some nice drives at critical points to get back in games, which was something we didn't see a lot of last year.

A lot of people are insisting we start our rookie second round draft pick, John Beck. He are the issues to think about

• The team won't be challenging for a playoff spot, so if he doesn't win many games, it's not a huge loss. We could end up with a high draft pick if we continue to struggle. I am under the belief, however, that wins are more important than climbing up the draft board.
  
• Barring injury, he could start 12 games. That's a lot of experience. Rookie quarterbacks rarely do well and most say they shouldn't take a single snap in their first season, but look at Ben Roethlisburger. He did pretty well his first year and won the Super Bowl his second. The theory that rookie quarterbacks never do well and always end up being ruined is a trend, not a fact.
• He's already 26. He went on a Mormon mission for two years before entering BYU, so he is older and more mature than most rookie quarterbacks. The longer he sits, the older he gets. If you finally found a franchise quarterback, you don't want him to be settling in already approaching 30.
• Our trade for Green was a conditional pick. If he plays 70% or more of the teams snaps this year, it's a 4th round pick. If he doesn't then it's a 5th round pick.
  

Then there is Cleo Lemon. He is 28 and has some experience in Cam Cameron's system (in San Diego). He has only started one game (last years finale) and doesn't have much NFL game experience.

Finally, my take.

Four games isn't enough time to evaluate a QB. While Trent Green hasn't played great, he has shown flashes while trying to overcome our horrendous defense. The day our defense and special teams units show up, he should give us a good chance to win. He should at least start all the games before the bye week (four more games). Barring a miracle turnaround (we would have to be 4-4) he should be benched regardless of his performance. The final eight games should go to the younger QB's. Trent Green won't be starting here next year (unless previous said miracle turnaround occurs and continues), so Cleo Lemon and John Beck should get the final eight games, split up however the coaches feel. If it were me I would start Beck, week ten at home against Buffalo. If he struggles, then perhaps go to Lemon in later games. This should give Beck a great opportunity to get some game experience so he will be better equipped for the start of next season (which most Dolphins fans are looking forward to already). Trent Green will have to do what he was mainly brought here to do (impart his wisdom on Beck and Lemon while holding a clipboard on the sidelines).