Do you think this team would be a Superbowl contender this year? I have watched the Saints first two games and I believe Brees already has 9 TD passes. I think taking Culpepper over Brees was one of the worst decisions we have ever made as a franchise. Think of what we have given up in draft picks in trying to resolve our QB position: John Beck in the 2nd round of the 2007 draft, Chad Henne in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft, Pat White in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft. I sense a pattern here. Getting Chad Pennington for nothing has probably been one of the few transactions that has helped this organization, but we still have a big question mark going into the future. Hopefully Henne or White will play a nice part in the Phin's future, but being a realist, we may still not have our franchise QB. Thoughts?
On a daily basis, I'm reminded that we should've taken: 1. Drew Brees over Jamar Fletcher/Culpepper 2. Anquan Boldin over Eddie Moore 3. Santonio Holmes (or Cromartie) over Jason Allen Had we made all three correct choices here (and the choice most fans wanted to make) I think yes, we're probably talking Super Bowl or at least a perennial playoff team. That said, we didn't take Brees. At some point you have to move on and hope the current regime does a little better job.
Quite honestly, imo, Culpepper was a huge contributor to Saban leaving: he knew he'd made an awful mistake and was saddled with the guy.
I also want to ask, how do you know that Brees would of done well in Miami and half of the fan base wouldn't be calling fro Bree's head at this point?
I am always going to have a hard time on this one. As the clocked ticked down and Brees was there for the taking I swore it would happen. The #1 reason I despise Wanstache and Spielman.....
That's how I feel. I didn't have a strong conviction on #3, but I was all over Boldin in that draft. I also was despondent when we passed on Brees in the draft and was a strong advocate for Brees being the better fit over DC. But at this point the could of /should of stuff is meaningless.
its not just Brees, the other option wouldve been to packagge a deal to move up to take Cutler. Instead we took Culppper and Saban signed his exit papers on that one.
If there's one thing the Dolphins have been good at since Marino has retired it's saying "NO" to franchise QBs. Hopefully we have something in Henne. If not, eventually we're going to have to stop spending 2nd round picks on QBs and try a 1st round pick. Eli, Ben, Phil, Cutler, Ryan, Flacco, Sanchez. See a trend? Granted, the jury is still out on some of these guys, especially Sanchez, but they're looking pretty good early on.
Well you could tell Brees was a winner based on his work ethic and desire. I through a fit when we passed on him.....in the draft... d-1
Brees would never of made it as a Dolphin if he was drafted by the Dolphins. Brees may of made it as a Dolphin if he was chosen over Culpepper.
We didn't pass on Brees in the 2001 draft (I don't think we were looking for a QB, but YES Jamar Fletcher was a bust)....he and Culpepper were free agents in 2006, and we chose Culpepper after the Saints offered Brees a 6 year deal for $60 million. The problem is we used up three consecutive 2nd round picks on quarterbacks. Your 2nd round picks should be near locks as starters within a year or two. Chad Pennington has been a stap gap measure but you look at Matt Ryan, Flacco, and now Mark Sanchez with the Jets and they all have their franchise QB and we have a lot of question marks.
Assuming Brees supplants Fiedler as the starter, I see no reason he couldn't have had success. Maybe not New Orleans type success, but when you consider the draft picks we put into that position you never know what kind of talent we could have surrounded him with.
Only flaw in the argument is we would have been a better team with Bree's thus perhaps not even picking in the same spot.
What would you guys think about going after Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators. It seems people either love him or hate him. Some feel he is just a "system" QB, but I think he is really mobile and can beat you in many ways. If we had a left handed QB like Tebow, we could also move Jake Long to Right Tackle. The other first round option would be Sam Bradford of Oklahoma if he comes out....he is now injured. I know Kiper and McShay are not big fans of Tebow, but at think at some point we have to say we need a franchise QB and not a lot of temporary seat warmers. I also forgot Colt McCoy of Texas, who most have projected as a first rounder.
Well, Santonio Holmes was taken 25th and Cromartie 19th. So even with a better team we still may have had a shot at both those guys. Boldin was taken with the 54th pick? No reason we couldn't have gobbled him up as well.
Can't disagree there, and knowing Wanny he may not have gotten the starting nod anyhow. I do think our teams then with Ricky and that O-Line would have given him a better chance. Hindsight is 20/20 though.
To take that a step further...we could have taken Patrick Willis instead of Ginn if we already had boldin and holmes.
I thought about that, but didn't post it because Ginn (IMO) isn't a bust yet. I think it's safe to say the other guys are. In a couple years, that may be a sad addition to the list
That is a possibility. I do not think he would done well as a Dolphin during those years as he was not any good during those years for the Chargers.
brees did not fare very well in the begining.. that why they drafted rivers.. we don't have the patience that was needed to allow brees to develop from the draft.. I think Dupree said it pretty good.
I can't wait for Drew Brees to be sucked into a history erasing vortex of doom. Nothing personal, but then these "What if" threads wouldn't crop up every year, requiring me to to take yet another mortgage on my house, to pay the shrink. PREDICTION: If Brees ends up in the MVP voting race, we'll see the same thread instead it will be about Saban taking Pep over Brees...and my shrink will slap me.
I have looked at our draft picks since the 2001 draft and you see a lot of talented guys we "coulda/shoulda" had. The draft is in in-exact science and you never how a guy will project to the pro's, but all we can do is hope the GM and FO will make better choices. We had Marino for 17 years and it would be nice if we had a QB we knew would be around for 10+ years.
What almost sends me to the shrink is that 198 picks were made before the Pats took Tom Brady in the 2000 draft....I just wish a non-AFC East team would have picked him....someone like say the 49ers or Seahawks. It would be great if you could go back in time so there wouldn't be a lot of what ifs.
I see people doing the same thing now with Henne. Let him develop for a couple of years and then put him in when he's ready. I have no doubt that taking our time with him has increased his chance of eventual success exponentially.
I agree with the statement that Culpooper was the main reason Saban left. He realized that he made an error that would haunt the team for several years and left town like a thief in the night. Had we acquired Brees instead, I doubt he would have stayed anyway. I recall him saying something along the lines that his wife didn't like the NFL lifestyle and wanted him back in college, and since she has his nuts in her purse he had to do her bidding.
Brees is overrated IMO. Not saying he isn't a very good QB, or anywhere as bad as Culpepper. But he also plays in a system that lets him air it out. Something you most likely will not see here.
*sighs* Here's what I hate about threads like these: Hindsight. With Hindsight, people everybody knows everything. Now don't get me wrong, in some of these situations, it's perfectly understandable, especially the whole Eddie Moore situation (because quite frankly, everybody and their Momma could see that it was a bad situation). But then, here comes the Culpepper situation. While I hate Saban for walking out on the 'Phins the way he did, I cannot argue his logic for taking Culpepper over Brees. Do you take the quarterback with the torn ligaments in his leg, or a quarterback who suffered a 360 tear in his rotator cuff in his shoulder? People act as if they knew that Brees would miraculously heal and be in his current form today? I sure as heck didn't. But to answer the question of this thread, here's what probably would have happened: Drew Brees would have been flat on his back, because he had LJ Shelton for his Left Tackle and Bennie "Air" Anderson for his right guard. Just sayin'.
Yeah, not too many guys would've had a shot behind that OL. At least Brees has proven his IQ is more than that of a bag of rocks, I think he would've been a better pickup. I think that now, and I thought that when the decision was in the air.
Drew Brees came in and rescued the Saints from the depths of hell but he couldn't do that here? That guy is currently, the best QB in the NFL..
While I do not believe Culpepper is as smart a QB as, say, Peyton Manning, I highly doubt he is dumb. Especially with career completion percentage.