Disclaimer: The below interview in its entirety is, obviously, fictional. Seeing as Matty I is actually vacationing this week, it'd be a bit difficult for him to answer these questions. The answers below were fabricated by myself for your entertainment and have nothing to do with Matty I or The Phinsider. I have a huge amount of respect for Matty I and his coverage on the Dolphins - he's an excellent writer and SB Nation is lucky to have him. And for the record, I think that Ginn and Beck have the potential to be good; it just needs to be pointed out that NO Dolphins fan was happy with their draft right away. None. So here we go.
Oh, this is going to be fun. With Matty I taking a week's leave of absence from "Around the AFC East", I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane. So strap in, Bills fans, for a return trip to April 28, 2007:
Oh, that video makes me smile. Still widely considered the biggest mistake of the first round, the Ted Ginn pick was, in my humble estimation, the absolute worst pick of the entire 2007 NFL Draft. Not because Ginn is a bad player, mind you - he's got elite speed and world-class athleticism. However, you simply don't pass on a potential franchise quarterback for a gadget player, no matter how gifted that gadget player is. It's not smart football. Dolphin fans immediately agreed:
We all know the general reactions to this pick, because well, nearly everybody knows that the picks were pretty (for lack of a better term) ill-advised. Yet The Phinsider's draft coverage is, for the most part, pretty rosy. So I "sat down" with a certain Dolphins fan to get his perspective on the Dolphins' 2007 draft:
So let's talk draft. What did you think of the Ted Ginn pick?
I loved it! It's rare to find a player as athletically gifted as Ginn. We don't really have much in the way of a #2 receiver, so it was -
Right. We've heard that blah before. But you weren't at all upset when Brady Quinn was passed up?
Well, sure I was, a little. Brady Quinn could be a heck of a quarterback, but I mean, if John Beck was the guy we wanted all along, then I can't complain.
Yes you can, it's easy. Say it with me - "Ted Ginn sucks"...
... but he doesn't -
No, OK, I'll concede it, he probably doesn't suck. Fine. But John Beck does.
He hasn't even played a game yet! Didn't you see my analysis of Beck as a prospect that I posted a while back? He's the next Dan Marino!
Yes, I saw that. Compelling stuff indeed. Do you think that the credibility of that post is hindered by your failure to include Beck in a pre-draft QB analysis? An analysis that included Bills third-round QB Trent Edwards? Or how about the conspicuous lack of posts from April 25 to May 2 on The Phinsider? Did you not live-blog the draft, as Stampede Blue said you did?
I... erm... technical difficulties on draft day, I lost all my Ginn rantin... er, live blog... but I left out a lot of quarterbacks there, Beck and Kevin Kolb, to be precise -
Because you liked Brady Quinn better?
Well at the time, yes, because Beck was a relative unknown. But everything I've been hearing from Dolphins camp and from people who watched Beck play in college is positive stuff, and we're excited about his future. I think he can turn Miami into a perennial playoff contender down the line.
Do you like Kool-Aid? Seems like you do, because you drink a lot of it.
Yeah! Kool-Aid is really goo... wait. No, I'm not drinking the Kool-Aid on this, I really think that Ginn and Beck were great picks!
I'm sure you do. Now, at least.
Is the interview over now?
Yes, I think it is. Thanks for your time. See you November 11th. Donte Whitner can't wait to meet Ted!
Now of course, there are two sides to every story. I will grudgingly admit that the Ginn/Beck draft bears a striking resemblance to San Diego's decision to trade out of the top spot (sacrificing Michael Vick) in exchange for LaDainian Tomlinson and second-round QB Drew Brees. Sacrifice a popular pick for a known playmaker and a QB you feel comfortable about nabbing in the second round. But Ted Ginn is not LaDainian Tomlinson, not by a long shot, nor will he ever be. And John Beck, while quietly an underrated prospect, will never be Drew Brees. Brady Quinn has a shot to be a star at the most important position in football. You have to take that chance when your QB situation is murky.
But this isn't about what the Dolphins did in the draft, it's about the turnaround. This was a miffed group of people, as evidenced by the Cameron video. Any Dolphin fan that tells you he/she was happy with the Ginn pick at first is either uninformed or lying to your face. Only after Beck was brought in - and Dolphin fans had a chance to read some of Miami's glowing scouting reports - did day one of the Draft seem better to Dolphin fans. Don't let any of them tell you otherwise.