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Half Way Grades

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Southbeach, Nov 11, 2011.

  1. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    After a horrible start, players are playing much better over the past few weeks. Too little, too late. With many what if's we are still 1-7. To know how these players can play, while seeing how they did play, makes me crazy.

    QB- I believe this grade would have been higher if Henne had not been hurt. He and Moore have had their moments but, far from consistent. Grade- C-

    RB- Bush has been the worst of times, and the best of times. Thomas has shown some VG play but, cannot stay on the field. Grade- C-

    WR- Ups and downs a plenty with this group. Grade- C-

    TE- Fasano and Clay have been VG but, only when we throw them the damn ball. Grade- B

    OL- Pouncey has been VG, and Cog has been solid/good. The rest have been up, down, with a lot of around and through. Grade- D

    Overall Grade- C-

    DL- Starks has played very well and consistent. The rest have gone from average to joining Starks in playing well. Grade- B

    LB- Wake has been our best player, with a few bumps in the road. JT and Misi have done little. Dansby and Burnett started slow but, have been great of late. Grade- C+

    S- A disaster. Grad- F

    CB- A few bright spots here and there. Grade- D

    Overall Grade- C

    ST- Fields has been great. Carp is back after a slow start. Coverage has been good. KR's are still a problem. Grade- B

    Coaching- Sparano still has his team playing hard. Nolan has disappointed. Daboll has been up and down but, is new. ST coach (can't think of his name) has done a fine job. Grade- D+

    Rookies- Pouncey has been better than I thought. He needs work in pass protect, and add 10 pounds of muscle. Grade- A

    Thomas has looked VG. I believe camp will solve his injury woes. A stud in the making. Grade- B

    Gates has done nothing. However, I do see a whole lot of potential here. He is getting open. Grade- D

    Wilson has shown some great flashes. Can't wait to see him next year at S. Grade- C

    * Side note- Aside from Pouncey having his big brother, I can't say that the other rookie fully understood what they should have been doing during the lockout. I also doubt they could afford the air fare and hotel to attend the lockout workouts, let alone a strength and conditioning guy. Just a thought.
     
  2. Eop05

    Eop05 Junior Member Club Member

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    If I just woke up from a coma, didn't know the Dolphins record, and read these grades, then I'd assume the Dolphins were something like 4-4.

    Because the median grade there is right around a C.
     
  3. GARDENHEAD

    GARDENHEAD Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    We are 1-7.

    Everybody gets an F!
     
  4. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    Grading this team is difficult. I think I graded the players fairly, considering all the good and bad. How would your grades differ?
     
  5. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    So, Columbo was the same as Pouncey? Jones was the same as Wake? C'mon Man. :0
     
  6. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    Even though the Dolphins are 1-7, some of the players are playing well enough to be 4-4. I think if the Dolphins safties or offensive line would have played in a C level, then they could have easily been 4-4 if not a better team.
     
  7. jw3102

    jw3102 season ticket holder

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    I don't see anyway the overall grade for the team can be a C. They are 1-7 after eight games and this is the second worst record in the entire NFL. So if the Colts are the worst team and deserve an overall F rating. The Dolphins as a team certainly don't deserve anything more then an overall grade of D-. In fact I would not give any player on the team, except for perhaps Fields, a grade higher than a C.
     
  8. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    Strangely enough, the OL is now playing to a C level, and Culver has not been bad. Still have to consider the horrible play to start the season.
     
  9. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    I graded players play on O, D and ST based on what I saw. Feel free to disagree on any of my grades.
     
  10. Vengeful Odin

    Vengeful Odin Norse Mod

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    Cool idea for a thread, but I do disagree with the premise of giving grades by unit.

    I think you have to look at individual players.
    • Chad Henne - Showed promise early, but found himself on IR. Grade: INC
    • Matt Moore - Yes he's a backup, but he's only been good in 1 of 4 starts. Grade: C-
    • Daniel Thomas - Has shown some promise, but can't get on the field. Grade: INC
    • Reggie Bush - Just completely inconsistent. Hasn't been great, but hasn't been awful either, though he's had spurts of both. Grade: C
    • Brandon Marshall - Came up huge in the KC games, but needs to make more gamebreaking plays when it counts. Grade: B-
    • Brian Hartline - Has a knack for making tough catches, but doesn't do enough to take the heat off of Marshall. Grade: D+
    • Davone Bess - Still dropping too many passes and has really disappeared with Moore. Grade: F
    • Clyde Gates - I think he has like one catch, and he's yet to do anything with a kickoff return. Grade: F
    • Anthony Fasano - Came up huge against KC, but has been invisible for large stretches. Run bocking helps. Grade: B
    • Clarles Clay - Made some great plays, but was invisible the first 7 games. Grade: INC
    • Jake Long - Hasn't been 100%, but the dude is a warrior out there. Grade: C for actual play, A for effort. Let's split it and call it a B.
    • Richie Incognito: Isn't making the same amount of plays as a year ago. Grade: D
    • Mike Pouncey - Has been our most versatile lineman, but has dropped off as of late. Grade: B
    • Vernon Carey - Not a fit at guard. Grade: F
    • Marc Columbo - Sigh. Grade: F-
    • Kendall Langford - Has also dropped off this season and been somewhat invisible. McDaniel is outplaying him IMO. Grade: D
    • Paul Soliai - Still anchoring the middle of the defense, but without a long term contract. Grade: B+
    • Randy Starks - Needs to make some big plays, cause some fumbles, something. Grade: B
    • Tony McDaniel - Outplaying Langford, but not by much. Grade: C+
    • Koa Misi: Misi is Missing. Grade: F
    • Jason Taylor: At his age, he just doesn't have the speed anymore. I just don't like him as a SOLB. Grade: D+
    • Kevin Burnett: A downgrade from Crowder, though he's been coming on strong. Needs to improve in the second half. Grade: C-
    • Karols Dansby: Like a lot of the players on this team, he's been nicked up. Now that he's 100% let's see what happens. Grade: INC
    • Cameron Wake: Yeah, he's piling up sacks. But where are the turnovers and forced fumbles? Grade: C
    • Vontae Davis: Best ... giggle ... CB ... tandem ... snicker ... in the league ... BWHAHAHA! Grade: D-
    • Sean Smith: Paging Sean Smith ... Paging Sean Smith: Grade: F
    • Jimmy Wilson: Raw, young and a rook. Grade: INC
    • Yeremiah Bell: Slow in coverage, but a rock in run support. Grade: C
    • Rashad Jones: The Columbo of the defense. Grade: F-
    • Tyrone Culver: Has been serviceable in replace of Jones, but that's it. Serviceable. Grade: C
    • Brandon Fields: Our MVP. I'm not kidding. Grade: A+
    • Brandon Carpenter: Inconsistent this year. Grade: C
    • John Denney: Hasn't allowed any punt or kick blocks this season, which is an improvement. Grade: B
    I'm only giving 1 player an A (Fields), and only Soliai gets above a B from me, with Long, Pouncey, Starks and Denney also receiving Bs. Marshall comes in next with a B-. I rate Tony McDaniel as only slightly above average (C+), with everyone else on the team receiving Cs or below.

    Three players rate as flunking in my grades - Bess, Gates (who has really hurt the team with field position), Carey, and Misi all failing. Two players are reserved for my special grade of F-, as Marc Columbo and Rashad Jones could be cut tomorrow and I wouldn't care.

    I'm a big believe in incompletes, as Chad Henne, Daniel Thomas, Charles Clay, and Karlos Dansby have either been injured or not used (in the case of Clay) and I didn't want to hold that against them. (Granted Davis has been dinged as well, but when you talk big - as he did - you have to back it up. And he hasn't.)

    The flat average for the team, using the 4.0 grade scale, works out to 1.69 - or somewhere in the D+ range. I would tilt that number down into the D- / F+ range, as I believe that we would have to heavily weigh the QB, Offensive Line, and Defensive Secondary grades - all areas where we have underperformed this year.
     
  11. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    Why is Vontae Davis the only injured player who gets a grade?
     
  12. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    Well done Odin. I disagree with some but, do not now have the time to do so. Back to you later, during Happy Hour. :)
     
  13. jw3102

    jw3102 season ticket holder

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    You have to look at the play of each unit for all eight games, not just last week when they played their best game of the season.

    So I would rate the positions as followed.

    QB- D - Moore played very well last week and Henne played satisfactory in the game against the Patriots. Other than these two games, the QB play for the first half of the season could be rated no better than a D-.
    RB- D+- Bush has come on during the last two games, but he was terrible for the first six games. Thomas was decent in two games and has been either out injured or ineffective in the other games he played.

    WR-D - Too many drops by Marshall. Bess is having a down year and is no longer picking up first downs. Hartline disappears from one game to the next. Gates has caught one pass this entire season.

    TE-D - Clay did absolutely nothing during the first seven games of the season. Last week was the first time he has been effective as a receiver. Fasano shows up as a receiver in a game every now and then. Otherwise he isn't even heard from.

    OL-D- - This is still one of the weakest OL's in the NFL. Unlike you, I only give Pouncey a C grade at this time. While he has played well in some games. In other games he was clearly out played by the defensive linemen he was up against. As a rookie, he continues to improve but right now he is merely an average center in the NFL. The rest of the players on the OL rate no better then a D and Columbo is a definite F.

    DL-C- - Until the last two weeks, the DL was playing terrible. They had no sacks during the first six weeks of the season and were putting no pressure on the QB. If I rated their play during the first six weeks, it would have been a D. So the C- was given only because this unit has improved its play during the last two games.

    LB-D - This unit was playing at an ," F", level during the early part of the season. The tight ends on opposing team were killing the Dolphins because no LB could cover these tight ends. Teams were able to run on the Dolphins because the LB's were not in position to tackle them. Wake was only playing mediocre and the rest of the LB's were awful. Again, the play of this unit has improved over the last two games, therefore
    their grade is a D, and not an F.

    S-F - The grade says all that needs to be said about the players who play safety for the Dolphins.

    CB- D- Teams don't even try to run on the Dolphins because they know they can pass at will on the defensive backs. None of the CB's have good ball skills and I rate Smith as the best of the lot and he is only rated at D+ by me. The rest of the CB's on the team will have a difficult time making a roster next season. I see Vontae Davis as an immature individual who talks a much better game than he plays.

    St- B- - Fields has been outstanding and he is the only player on the team I would give an, "A". Carpenter has been so-so this season and therefore I would give him a, "C". The overall play of the special teams has improved over last season, but Gates has been well below average as a kick returner and Bess is what he is suppose to be. Someone who is sure handed and will be able to pick up between 5-10 yards on a return but not someone who is going to take one back all the way.

    Coaching staff and front office- F- The second worst record in the entire NFL during the first half of the season. The team was not well coached for the most part and the Dolphins continue to suffer from a lack of truly talented play makers throughout the team. Sparano deserves the blame for the coaching and Ireland deserves the blame for the talent, or lack of talent, on the field.
     
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  14. Eop05

    Eop05 Junior Member Club Member

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    QB: D
    RB: D
    WR: C
    TE: D
    OL: D-
    DE: C
    DT: C
    LB: F
    CB: D
    S: F
    Coaching: F

    There's been a handful of players that have been above average:

    Pouncey
    D. Thomas (when he's on the field)
    Wake

    And on the other end, we have a few guys starting on this team, that I'm almost certain, wouldn't make the final 53 on any other team in the NFL.

    The once proud Jason Taylor couldn't excel on a CFL team at this point.
    If Reshad Jones was cut tomorrow, I wouldn't be surprised if he never played another down in the NFL.
    Same with Marc Colombo.
    I'd have to say Richie Incognito would have a hard time finding a starting spot on another team.

    I guess my whole point is that just because we had a decent game against the giants and a good game against KC, doesn't mean we should inflate the grades.
     
  15. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    I think we all pretty much agree on the OL, S, CB, and ST's. Our differences in grading are QB, RB, DL, and LB. It's very tuff to grade these positions due to the wild inconsistencies of all.

    I tried to balance the scales on the first 8 games, without giving too much credit to the last week or any one game. I may have been mistaken. Let's focus on the positions we disagree on.
     
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  16. Onehondo

    Onehondo Senior Member Club Member

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    I pretty much agree with all of the grades but I definitely give the coaching staff and especially Sparano an F- for his refusal to acknowledge that Columbo was a mistake and some foolish decisions. Carey could probably do a better job at LT but they refuse to replace Columbo as bad as he's played. Its like they don't want to hurt Columbo's feelings by hastening the end of his career. It was also foolish the way they were trying to run Bush between the tackles, pounding him in there when its so obvious he is a speed back who needs open space. Its One game doesn't make a season and so far we have only one game to be excited about and half of the season is gone. I also believe it is painfully obvious that they failed to get another outside pass rusher to compliment Wake.
    After the Chiefs game we have new found hope but there are still more questions than answers regarding the Dolphins.
     
  17. djphinfan

    djphinfan Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    This one time I isolated Columbo on a play, his guy came upfield on his outside shoulder without touching him, put on the brakes and came back to the inside, unfortunately columbo could not stop his momentum from the deek, and proceeded to trip over his own feet and fell down..lol
     
  18. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    ...summer school.
     
  19. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    Won't go into the specifics of an 1-7 effort but let's just say...







































    [​IMG]
    --------------------This Dolphins Team ^
     
  20. CaribPhin

    CaribPhin Guest

    What's with the Incognito hate? He isn't the best, but I wouldn't call him a liability at this point. Especially compared to some other players.
     
  21. bbqpitlover

    bbqpitlover Well-Known Member

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    • Are you serious? Have you even look at the stats, Mat Moore's stat are equal if not better than Henne, of course Matt More has started five games were Henne started four.
      Henne- QBR 79.0 Pct 57.1 yrds 868 y/c 7.8 td-4 int-4
      Moore QBR 79.7 Pct 61.6 yrds 950 y/c 6.9 td-4 int-4
      This teams performance deserves a D- at best with the only honorable to Fields who's leg might fall off after this season.
     
  22. pacadermng67

    pacadermng67 New Member

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    Culver is playing pretty well IMO. Id be fine if he started for the rest of the season.

    Thus far, he has been more of a big playmaker than Jones was supposed to be.
     
  23. Kud_II

    Kud_II Realist Division

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    I'm gonna go with this letter on everything Ffffffffffff
     
  24. Larryfinfan

    Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member

    I think this is exactly why most of us watch the sport. It's totally a team effort. I think Southbeach's grades are fair, but if, for example, you were to give Colombo and Carey a grade, it would have to be a D- to an F, whereas Pouncey, Long and Incognito get a higher grades. But that F on the right side is enough to lower the entire success rate of not just the OL, but the QB, WR and RBs ultimately reflecting the 1-7 result. I mean grades of C, B, B, D, F average out to about a C or C- right ?? It doesn't reflect 1-7, it reflects how these guys, individually, are playing.

    Another example, I would give Sparano a higher grade than a D grade. The fact that he still has these guys playing hard, and we've been in nearly every game despite Nolan's grade being an F to point, and Daboll maybe a D (giving a bit of leniency because of no offseason to implement his new system here, Sparano warrants a bit higher grade, as opposed to say, Caldwell in Indy, where the guys seem to have given up the farm and packed their U-hauls already half way thru the season...
     
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  25. Larryfinfan

    Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member

    You aren't too far off if you're giving grades for the team. but SB was giving grades for the specifics of the team. Those QB numbers are skewed as technically Moore has 4 - 3/4 games started and Henne 3 - 1/3 games... Either way, it's pathetic performances...
     
  26. jw3102

    jw3102 season ticket holder

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    You play the game to win. You don't play it to play hard for the coach. The coaching record for Sparano this season is 1-7 and 7-9 for the two previous seasons. The Dolphins have won only 1 of their last 12 home games. Saying that Sparano deserves a grade higher then a D because his players continue to play hard for him, makes no sense at all. It should also be noted that Sparano HIRED all the other coaches on the team. So if these coaches are failing in their jobs, Sparano as the head coach and the person responsible for hiring these coaches must be held accountable.
    As far as comparing Sparano to Caldwell goes, I could care less about the Colts and Caldwell. I only care about the Dolphins and Sparano has been a complete failure as the HC of this team.
     
  27. Eop05

    Eop05 Junior Member Club Member

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    No hate at all.

    But I disagree. I think he is a liability and he is part of the problem.
     
  28. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    [​IMG]
     
  29. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    VG points. I chose to grade positions over players because, as you say, it is a team game. The OL is a great example. If they do not collectively do well, the individual play means nothing. Then, it's a domino effect. RB's can't run well wit no where to run. QB's are not as good under constant pressure, and WR's do not have time to run their routes.

    I grouped the coaches together for the same reason. Sparano is taking all the heat but, the others should be taking blame as well. Everyone sung the praises of Nolan last year, giving Sparano no credit. This year, it is Sparano the blame, and none to Nolan on going top to bottom on D in the first four weeks.

    Most liked what Daboll, with Tony, were trying to do to start the season but changing the philosophy on O takes a bit of time. A VG example of a team effort in coaching is my still not remembering who the ST's coach is, and Sparano getting last year's blame, while no credit for ST's playing very well.
     
  30. Southbeach

    Southbeach Banned

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    Where is Clemmons?
     
  31. CanePhin

    CanePhin Banned

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    The Coaching gets an F and the overall team gets a D-. There are some individual players who have played well, but this is a team sport.

    I believe with a different coach the Dolphins would be right around .500. IMVHO
     
  32. Larryfinfan

    Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member

    Obviously, winning the games is the ultimate judge of any player, staff member or coach. The point is that Sparano is doing well as a coach to still have the players playing hard, despite the dismal record and bad prognosis for the overall season. He will and has been getting the ultimate blame and will lose his job because of that. That fact does not change the fact that he's doing a good job...as a coach, when most coaches who have been in this situation (a hopeless season), the players usually lose their respect for that coach. That hasn't happened here...yet.

    I'd also argue that Sparano has been a 'complete' failure as a HC because he has inferior players at several positions. Acquiring those players is not his responsibility...that is Jeff Ireland and before him the Useless Tuna. We have a right side of the line that is poor (Carey and Colombo). We have a mediocre TE and no backups to speak of. We have no QB to speak of and Ireland didn't bring anyone in challenge Henne. We have no speed option in our WR corps. Our star WR is responsible for multiple untimely drops and disappears in games. We have only one OLB that threatens the opposing QB. The Burnett acquisition has been a bust so far. We have no safeties to speak of since Bell's age caught up with him. We have CBs that have not lived up to their hype. The overall talent on this team is below that of most NFL teams. The guys that have the talent haven't played up that level...is that coaching or is that a result of the lockout or is that the player simply not doing his job or is that talent acquisition ?? There are so many different ways to look at the fact that we are 1-7 that don't necessarily or unequivocally state that Sparano is not doing his job. As we've been saying it's a team effort and all I'm saying is that ONE guy does not make a difference in this team.
     
  33. Larryfinfan

    Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member

    That's the big mystery...is he perhaps dead ?? Been traded ?? Injured ?? I don't think anyone even knows at this point...
     
  34. jw3102

    jw3102 season ticket holder

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    While I think Sparano has done a very poor coaching job overall. I will agree with you that the main culprit is Jeff Ireland. He has done a terrible job of selecting talent for this team since he was appointed the teams GM. Perhaps if Sparano had better talent on the team, he could do a better job. We will never find out though because Sparano will definitely be gone after this season. I only hope that Ross finally is over his bromance with Ireland and understands that Ireland is every bit as responsible for the record of the Dolphins as Sparano is.

    Firing Sparano and keeping Ireland as the GM would be the worst thing Ross could do. Sparano and Ireland have both been given four years to see what they could do. They have failed in their jobs and they BOTH must go.
     
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  35. miamiron

    miamiron There's always next year

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    He has Matt Rothitis
     
  36. bbqpitlover

    bbqpitlover Well-Known Member

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    Exactly my point many on here believe Henne has improved significantly, but yet Matt Moore has stepped in and has done a better job qbing. I agree neither of these guys deserve a passing grade and from what Henne did show me he proved he is not a starting QB in the Nfl, it's time to draft someone in the first round. The last time Miami drafted a QB in the first round they did pretty well for themselves.
     
  37. Jaj

    Jaj Registered

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    28 years of not picking a quarterback in the first round is pushing it. Think about that. Most important position on the field and you don't pick one for 28 years.
     
  38. Steve-Mo

    Steve-Mo 'Saban' Guy

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    I don't that is crazy. The Saints haven't picked one since 1971 (Archie Manning), for example. As you surely know, Brees was drafted in the 2nd and not even by them. Plus for what, 18 years of those years, this team didn't need a QB.

    That said, in hindsight, Aaron Rodgers with the 2nd pick in 2005...
     
  39. Jaj

    Jaj Registered

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    Having a good few years doesn't justify the years of mediocrity they experienced because first of all they didn't have a quarterback among other things. Who was their best Aaron Brooks?
     
  40. bbqpitlover

    bbqpitlover Well-Known Member

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    Dude the Saints sucked before Brees showed up.
     

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