Buffalo Rumblings: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
Around SBN: Cal RB Jahvid Best Seriously Injured, Carted Off Field

Bills/Dolphins: What Dolphins Fans are Saying

Is this the last hurrah for Z. Thomas? (Getty Images)

This will be the first installment of a little Friday feature I hope to continue throughout the remainder of this season, barring you all hating it or something bizarre like that. I thought it might be fun to take a look at several prominent Dolphins blogs to see what they're saying both about our Bills and about their Dolphins, then poke a little fun and/or analyze their (usually very good) opinions. It's an experiment, so feel free to a) comment right along with me, or b) leave suggestions to better these posts.

For the record, these sites are places I've visited (reluctantly, to be sure) before, and they're all very consistently well-written and good sources for Dolphins info. I quietly mock from here with full respect for their work - their only downfall is their perplexing love for the Orange and Teal. Ew.

Our good friends from The Phinsider had some interesting things to say about Ted Ginn against the Bills' defense:

When you look at individual matchups in the passing game, it's hard not to get excited about the "Battle of the Buckeyes." Of course I'm referring to Ted Ginn and Bills' cornerback Ashton Youboty. It's likely that these 2 will be matched up all game and I have to say that I'm fairly confident that Teddy will be able to get open relatively often. What I wonder about is how the Bills plan to cover him. Will they bracket cover him with a safety over top? And if so, will it be with another former Buckeye, Donte Whitner, or with Jim Leonhard (who is replacing the injured Ko Simpson)? I would expect it to be Leonhard simply because of how good Whitner is against the run. If so, I think Ginn could be open a few times deep.

Hmm... good points. Good thing it'll be Jabari Greer and George Wilson containing Ginn all day Sunday! Youboty is probable for this contest, but Greer's play has been so consistent that Youboty will likely serve as the fourth corner. Meanwhile, Wilson isn't dropping on the depth chart, either.

Phinaticism, a rare good blog from the Blogspot realm (I love a good Blogspot blog, and this one is very well done), is unimpressed with Joey Porter:

Joey Porter has been a huge disappointment so far. The team forked over $20 million in guaranteed money for this guy, and he is barely outperforming his backup...who has started 6 fewer games. Oh yeah, Porter is also costing the team $3 million more this year than (Donnie) Spragan. No one wanted to see Spragan retain his starting job this season, but his replacement isn't performing any better. There is still absolutely no playmaking potential from the SLB spot, and again Jason Taylor has been forced to deal with double and even triple teams.

Porter's ineptitude is more unfortunate for Taylor than the Dolphins, but yes, that signing screamed "worst FA signing ever" before the ink even dried. That said, Porter still has enough left in the tank to give J.P. Losman a headache or two in a couple of days...

Dave Blake from Phinfever agrees with my sentiment that Zach Thomas is done:

This was not Zach's first concussion as I remember he had a couple earlier in his career due to the fact of not having his mouthguard in his mouth on some hard tackles. Concussions are very serious and nothing to mess around with. At 34 years of age, Zach really needs to consider the extent of this concussion.

In case you hadn't heard, Thomas is out of the Bills game. Blake makes a good point here, likening this head injury to the ones Trent Green has suffered in his career. Thomas has been one of the league's most ferocious inside 'backers for quite some time, but I echo Dave's feelings that Thomas needs to quit while he's ahead.

Cleo Lemon is starting at quarterback. Why not John Beck, the second-round rookie who magically made the Ted Ginn pick look acceptable? Phin Phanatic says it's simple: Beck isn't ready.

The point is that Beck not starting is not because he is a bad QB, it is not because Lemon is better, or that Cameron and Mueller failed. It is because Beck is not ready. He is smart, he is mature, he has the fundamentals. What he doesn't have is the time with the first team units to effectively go out and perform at a level that will not hinder his development.

That time is closing in quickly. Even after the announcement that Lemon would continue to start, Beck still was receiving half of the first team snaps. An indication that Beck is still being prepared for his NFL regular season debut.

I am a Cleo Lemon fan. He's not close to being a very good quarterback, but I like his scrappiness and his solid leadership. That said, his time as an NFL starter is running short - I give him about 3 more quarters. My guess is that we'll see Beck take on the Bills at some point this week.

0 recs  |  Comment 2 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

How do you draft a 26 year old QB
who's not ready?

This guy's going to be 27-28 before he's a full time starter apparently.  Then what? A 5 year career?

~K

by Kurupt on Nov 10, 2007 12:15 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Yeah...
I think you only draft a QB that old if he's ready - so I agree, K. Is John Beck the next Chris Weinke? Time will tell... we do know, however, that the kid is talented. He needs to be on the field. Cam Cameron is an idiot. And it makes me smile. :) Hope he doesn't beat us tomorrow...
Create a free account to join in the discussion, Bills fans!

by Brian Galliford on Nov 10, 2007 4:51 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

SB Nation's home for daily Buffalo Bills coverage.

Community Guidelines

Start posting about the Bills »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

Small
Vick to the Bills in 2010 "a good fit": Tony Dungy on NBC
Small
What Might Have Been: A Scenario
Run_like_hell_small
Belichick Interview
Bills_small
Good future draft pick to keep an eye on.
Beast_small
To Lighten Up The Mood...
Small
Bills Coaching Future?
Jphshrink_small
The Back of Ralph Wilson’s Football Card
261x_small
Continuity will lead to success with Buffalo
Small
Fixing This Team Starts in the Trenches
Cody_small
Deja Vu All Over Again

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Latest NFL Headlines from SB Nation

Field Gulls
Sunday Night Game Thread
Buc 'Em
For Veterans Day, Tampa Bay falls in love with Free-man.
Mile High Report
Winning the (AFC) West the old fashoned way.....Earn It!

Editor-in-Chief

Dawesome_copy_small Brian Galliford

Editors

Sucks_small Kurupt

Mrsinister03_small sireric

Homertitans_small MattRichWarren

Authors

Dynamics_small Ron From NM