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The Miami Dolphins had a chance to duplicate history.
But they blew it -- in a big way.
They were not alone. The Minnesota Vikings, two picks ahead of them, did too. They both passed on Notre Dame's Brady Quinn, violating one of the biggest tenets of the NFL Draft.
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| Twenty-one teams, including the Browns at No. 3, pass on Brady Quinn. (US Presswire) |
Those two teams don't have a quarterback capable of winning a division, let alone a championship.
Not Trent Green, who will be in Miami eventually. Not Tarvaris Jackson, the second-year quarterback with the Vikings.
The Cleveland Browns made the mistake of passing on Quinn with the third pick, but made amends by trading back up into the first round to get him. They traded up with the Cowboys to get to the 22nd spot to get Quinn.
That was a fantastic move by Browns general manager Phil Savage. He knew he couldn't win with Charlie Frye or Derek Anderson, so he made the move to go up and get Quinn.
The Dolphins could have had their next Dan Marino if they had selected Quinn. In 1983, team after team passed on Marino, including five teams who picked quarterbacks before he went to the Dolphins. That was because of some off-the-field concerns. He went 27th overall.
Don Shula pounced and made the wisest pick of his career and Marino went on to become a Hall of Fame passer.
With a chance to grab a quarterback that I think can be the next Tom Brady, the Dolphins opted to take receiver Ted Ginn Jr. from Ohio State.
I can understand the need for a No. 1 receiver since Chris Chambers isn't that guy, but don't you need somebody to get him the football?
Green is nothing but a stop-gap when they do get him. Plus, he looked shell-shocked to me after he came back following that nasty hit last year.
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Did the Dolphins' brass watch his playoff game against the Colts?
So even if Green gives them a year or two, what about the future? Is it Cleo Lemon? Quinn would have put all those fears to rest. Why were teams so wrong about this kid?
Quinn had a touchdown-interception ratio of 5-to-1 the past two years at Notre Dame. He played for an NFL mind in Charlie Weis and he spends his free time in the film room. His body is sculpted from all the workouts -- including one at 6 a.m. on Friday in New York -- so durability won't be a question.
Peyton Manning is another quarterback who spends hours in the weight room. His workout prowess is legendary, and Quinn is just like him.
You know how many plays Manning has missed that mattered in his career? One. And that was for a busted-up jaw.
Quinn has many of the same qualities as Manning and Brady.
And yet team after team passed on him. It made no sense.
He will be a better player than JaMarcus Russell, who went first overall. Five years from now, the Miami Dolphins will regret their blown chance to repeat history.
By then, Quinn will be in a Pro Bowl, his work ethic and film study making him one of the NFL's elite.
The Dolphins will rue this day.
So will Minnesota.
You don't break Draft Rule No. 1: If you don't have a quarterback, get one. Breaking it dooms your franchise for years to come.
Phil Savage wised up and realized it. Browns fans will come to love Quinn like they did Bernie Kosar and Brian Sipe and all the others.
The kid will be a star.