Film Room: Breaking Down the Breakdown
O’Brien or Marino? The Mud Bowl, The Helicopter Catch, “Super” Duper’s Last Minute TD, Marino’s 500 Yard Game (and loss), Raul Allegre in ’91, The Fake Spike, The Monday Night Miracle … it’s clear that the Jets and Dolphins successes and defeats are inextricably linked.
Call me Mr. Schadenfreude, but I have to admit that the events that transpired on Saturday during the draft surrounding the #9 pick left me revelling in the misery of our Dol-fan friends. Going through this frame by frame, I’ve enjoyed it like a fine wine … which I don’t know anything about enjoying anyway.
Set the Scene: 2007 NFL Draft, Radio City Music Hall, New York. As many pundits predicted, Brady Quinn, QB for Notre Dame sits at his table as the last draft invitee yet to reach the podium, waiting for his phone to ring to get the news that he is going to be drafted by a specific team.
With Brady, sits his family presenting a unified front to the world as cameras peer into this nerve wracking moment. Across the country, Jets fans are left alone with their own thoughts, mostly about how Brady Quinn will ruin their lives for the next 15 years, breaking passing record after passing record along the way. Just then Commissioner Roger Goodell approaches the podium:
Somewhere in there, Quinn knows he wasn’t getting picked by the Dolphins. It would be terrible protocol to pick him without a phone call from Mueller or Huizenga … this isn’t the Price is Right, for God’s sake! I can’t be sure of what he says right before the pick, but it’s clear his body language is apathy, whether for show or not.
To the side of the screen, it seems though that his girlfriend, holds onto some hope that he’s going to be picked here … or maybe it’s more that she is bothered by the cheers of the Jets fans, knowing it’s really about Brady’s absence in Miami than the pick of Ginn that is eliciting the lusty response.
She’s thought about Miami for months, but seeing her future does not involve living on South Beach, sunning herself by the pool in November while watching Pool Boy Raul clean the traps, she takes a big bite of her lower lip, and steels herself with a slight nod of the head, as if to say to herself “it’s okay, even if I have to move to Buffalo, I’m still getting half.”
Rewind 20 seconds, and move to Miami …
Simultaneously, while Jets fans’ hearts sink, the Miami crowd who have been so kindly invited to the training facility for a nice get-together are getting more brazen. It’s gotta be Brady Quinn right? Dolphin fans have been looking for the second coming of Marino for years, and this is as close as it gets.
It seems amazing that Brady has tumbled so far already, and with a coach like Cam Cameron who has developed Quarterbacks for years, this is gravy!
Watch Dolphins fans reaction in Miami
(apologies, having imbedding multiple file issues)
There are some key players here, and it only seems to be fair to go down the list with their reactions, starting from left to right:
- Hands on Hips – His only discernible reaction is to take his hands off his hips and make a sign of confusion.
- Zach Thomas (Alternate) Jersey – Hands swinging back and forth in a motion of impatience, he’s ready for the announcement of his new QB. Hearing “Ted Ginn” he opens his mouth wide, swings around back to the screen and swoons leaning on his chair for support.
- Li’l Urchin – I don’t think he really gets the magnitude of what’s happening here.
- Ronnie Brown Jersey – Hands held forth in supplication, he’s been waiting on this moment, hours of film study, draft boards until the wee hours, he knew it would fall like this and he’s ready for a new QB … hands go to head, his body arches, he falls to the ground in agony, and raises up yelling “WHAT?!”
- Fannie Pack - Fannie looks like she’s seen better days. She turns around, assured it’s Quinn … She stands there motionless, unsure what do next.
- Tuck McT-Shirt - White sneakers, tapered jeans and a tucked in t-shirt, Tuck’s a big loveable guy. Standing arms raised in anticipation of what he knows is coming — the next Miami dynasty. With the knowledge they now have the Draft’s best injured kick returner, he feels he’s been betrayed, and he realizes he’s been cheering for a team who’s mascot is a benign sea mammal.
- Grandma - The only person I feel bad for in the whole video. Tuck probably took her out of the nursing home for the afternoon, and she has sat there for hours, missing Bingo, so some GM could ruin her day. When an old lady is questioning your draft choices, that’s not good.
- Cute Hat Lady – She’s been hurt badly before, but by men … never her favorite team. Sure the Dolphins have fallen on hard times, but that is what love is about, better or worse, right? The only reaction we see is shock, hands clasped over her mouth, she now realizes, that even the Dolphins can let her down.
- Gang Banger – The next shot we get is of Gang Banger. Dew rag on, hat fixed backward, sagging shorts with Tommy boxers hanging out (unseen, but you know it’s there), GB is the quintessential product of Florida public schools. Using the rhetoric he learned from his GED English teacher, GB gives an impassioned plea to his team “HEY F### this … BOO!!!!!” made even better as he flashes his gang’s sign.
The Crowd’s Getting Restless, They Want Blood …
Clearly now a PR fiasco, the organization has an unruly mob on their hands just feet away from their draft room. I am not sure how this all went down, but I like to imagine a heated debate and game of rock-paper-scissors between Coach Cameron and GM Randy Mueller to determine who has to tell the crowd the “good news.”
Watch Cam Cameron address the crowd of loyal fans.
After watching this bit of footage, I have to say, I am a little less concerned about Cam Cameron in the AFC East than I was when he was hired. If you ever become a head coach of an NFL team, here’s a list of a few things not to do in a situation like this:
- If you aren’t going to take a popular guy like Quinn, it might have been best to let your fans down easy, telling them ahead of time might have been smart, if only to avoid this scenario.
- Don’t make even a “perceived” mistake with your first pick in your first draft as an NFL Coach. Especially with a high pick.
- Don’t draft an injured punt returner in the first round when he likely wouldn’t have come off the board until late in the first, otherwise.
- Don’t tell one fan as you get to the mic “we need that thumb to go this direction.” They pay your salary, they can do whatever the hell they like. Better to give them reasons to trust you, than try to reason directly with them.
- Don’t think you owe your fans an explanation of why you picked a player, to their face.
- Don’t tell fans you drafted a “family.” Look at the noise that Philly is dealing with with the McNabb family these days. Fans already have a family, the last thing they need is another one with millions of dollars and a sense of entitlement to think that the public cares about their opinion of their own son.
- Don’t tell fans that you’ve known your your reach of a draft pick for a long time, it reeks of myopia due to your personal relationships.
- Don’t assume fans want the world’s best punt returner versus a potential touchdown machine.
- Don’t plant your flag in the sand over one player. Your tenure will be inextricably tied to his career.
Here’s a better audio version of fans chanting “Brady!!!” in the face of their new coach.
13 Responses to Film Room: Breaking Down the Breakdown
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I know I shouldn’t take such pleasure from watching this, but .. . ..
I look forward to this clip being all over the internet next year around draft time instead of the failed Jets picks one. Thanks Cammy!
/BB, your description of the crowd had me closing my door here at work so no one could hear me laughing. Poor Grandma . .. “My stars, a kick returner? I’m 96 years old, saw Lindy cross the Atlantic, men land on the moon and Elvis in Vegas, and even I know that’s a @#$*% pick! Holy toast on a stick! Don Shula is spinning in his grave on that one, god bless him!”
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Harlan Lachman says:
i know I would have been depressed if we had taken Quinn. I just hope all those Fish fans watching and booing are justified by Guinn’s failures, Brady’s performance, and Beck’s justifying that he was not worthy of being picked in the first round or even where he was.
IOW, I hope our joy today does not come back to bite us.
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I see our joy today as payback for the Fake Spike and other trangressions dumped upon us by the ‘Fins (I’m looking at you Zach Thomas for ending Curtis Martin’s career), as well as years of being the seemingly never-ending butt of “idiotic Jet fans at the Draft” jokes, comments and snipes.
As far as I’m concerned, this is karma coming back around and evening things a bit.
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JetsFan58 says:
Mr. Schadenfreude,
I sure hope Miami uses Ginn only as a kick/punt returner and doesn’t find a way to get him open off the line in the passing game. I’ve watched him here in Columbus for the last 3 years and he’s scary fast. Sure, he’s got alligator arms on crossing patterns, but if they send him across the middle they’re idiots.
And I suspect they had Beck and Edwards rated ahead of Quinn and were content that one of them would be there for them to pluck. We’ll see who does better over time.
Maybe after Brady signs his contract his gf can afford to get her roots dyed to match her hair.
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Pickett says:
I loe it. This was a wasted draft for the Fins. Not that I am hoping anyone gets injured but Ted Ginn, all 185 lbs. of him will get broken like cheap glassware. This league is getting bigger, tougher, and stronger all the time and guys like Ginn have a very short tenure. That’s one of the reasons I liked the David Harris pick so much. The guy is a beast and will make our D noticeably tougher.
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Hopefully Harris wasn’t on the field when the Michigan defense got smoked for a 55 yd td run by Pittman or run over for a 50 yd run by Wells. That kind of toughness we don’t need. ;-)
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SackDance99 says:
I hate the Dolphins with just about every fiber of my being, but when I saw their fans’ reactions, it reminded me of all those times our incompetent front office made wrong-headed picks. There is a haughtiness and callousness to fans in NFL front offices that is mind-boggling and, even, mean-spirited. The kind of fans who go to the draft and, especially, draft parties in the home cities are passionate and knowledgeable. The fans deserved the kind of excitement that Quinn would’ve brought to the team. If he didn’t pan out, so what? Who would’ve criticized taking Quinn with the 9th pick? It was the logical move for a team that needed a QB. I don’t know if Quinn will ever be a good QB, but Miami’s mistake wasn’t just in not drafting Quinn, they also passed on Okoye, Willis and Carriker, all of whom have far better upside than Ginn. Sure, maybe Beck will be better than Quinn and Ginn won’t go the way of Desmond Howard or Peter Warrick. But, Miami could’ve had Quinn and Jarrett. Time will tell, but if Miami had drafted Quinn and Jarrett, I’d be really scared. Now, I’m still scratching my head. As an aside, did you hear how even Wayne Huizenga called Cameron out about Quinn? Only Steinbrenner has a shorter honeymoon period for his managers!
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Sean says:
It’s silly to gloat in May, particularly in this instance, seeing as the Dolphins drafted a guy in Beck who is at least as good a prospect as Brady Quinn, and they will be paying him second round money. And as far as projecting to the pros, Ted Ginn brings a hell of a lot more to the table than Dwayne Jarrett.
It’s not Saturday afternoon anymore, and speed and lateral quickness at wide receiver and accuracy at the quarterback position are the things that project.
I think Miami did a lot better in their draft than their own fans seem to, but then again, I actually pay attention.
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MikeM says:
This blog post might just be the most hysterically funny one I’ve ever read….your descriptions are classic. I cant stop lauging!
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I suggest you creat a yearly “Best of” of or “Classics” section on the site….I am still in stiches
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sjfalcon2001 says:
Instant classic right here… Bassett you’re a genius in a comedic sort of way. I don’t think the Fins are going to be a problem for a while…
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Jarrett was a better WR in college and will be a better WR in the pros than Ginn. Ginn cannot withstand love taps from his teammates (injured in a TD celebration…c’mon!), how will he handle Reed, Polamalu, Rhodes and Harrison (all of whom he faces this season) and don’t the Fins have one the toughest skeds in the NFL, too? Also, I think small guys who are well-built (low center of gravity, good upper-body strength) can survive in the NFL, like Steve Smith and Santana, but Ginn is a spindly, stick-figure. I think Ginn has “bust” written all over him. And, Jarrett was a 2nd rounder, Ginn the no. 9 pick. If Jarrett is even close to Ginn in terms of production (and there are few gigs in the NFL cushier than being the possession receiver matched with Smith), then Ginn becomes a monumental bust. Sorry, Sean, but Jarrett is just in a better pro situation and was the better WR anyhow, especially when you consider all-around ability (blocking, redzone, over-the-middle, etc.). Oh, Ginn will be a better special teams player. Just an atrocious pick at no. 9.
Phenomenal Bassett, true genius! BTW did anyone else see the hot chick in the stands at Radio city wearing the Quinn jersey and think what the F— is Quinn doing with his girlfriend when he could be with her!