Since the retirement of Dan Marino, the QB position as been bleak for the Dolphins. In fact, in the twelve years since Marino retired (2000-2011), the Dolphins have trotted out another sixteen quarterbacks to start games. Jay Fiedler looked like he would be successful, and it is probably unfair to say he wasn't given his lack of a supporting cast. He started the majority of games from 2000-2003 despite a handful of starts from Brian Griese, Damon Huard, and Ray Lucas. By 2004, things, really took a turn for the worse. In fact, a total of 13 different starting QBs have been used in Miami since 2004. That's merely eight years!
There were a few disasters and little success. In the spring of 2006, the Dolphins passed on a chance to acquire Drew Brees because they feared he would not remain healthy. Instead they traded for then Minnesota Viking Daunte Culpepper. They would get only four starts out of him, and spent much of the 2006 season relying on Joey Harrington. So the next offseason they orchestrated a trade for Kansas City Chief, Trent Green. Green would make five starts for the 2007 Dolphins who likely should have been the first 0-16 NFL team had it not been for a giveaway win in Baltimore that year.
Prior to 2008, the Dolphins would acquire the injury-prone Chad Pennington who had been released by the New York Jets. Remarkably, Pennington would start all 16 games in 2008 (only the second Dolphin since Marino to do so), and led the Dolphins from a pathetic 1-15 record in 2007 to an AFC East division title in 2008, beating the heavily favored New England Patriots and Brett Favre-led Jets. The division was decided on the final game of the season for the Dolphins where Pennington led a win over the Jets (former team) in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Success would not last, and Pennington would only start four more games with the Fins.
While acquiring veterans didn't work out, the Dolphins drafting of QBs may have been even worse. In the 2007 NFL draft, they chose John Beck of BYU in the second round. He was released by the Dolphins after two seasons, and one start in the ill-fated 2007 season. Chad Henne was drafted the following year in the second round from Michigan. After playing back up in 2008, appearing in only three games, he would make 31 starts over the following three seasons before Miami chose not to resign him this past winter. Another year later, and Miami used their second round pick for Pat White of West Virginia. While a very effective spread QB in college, White was expected to be used for the Wildcat option primarily. He had limited playing time in his first season, and on the final game of the year took a helmet-to-helmet collision on a run. He was knocked unconscious. Despite remaining with the team throughout the winter, he was waived by the Dolphins just before the start of the season and never returned to the NFL.
It was only this past draft that the Dolphins drafted another quarterback for the first time since Pat White, using the 8th overall pick to select Texas A&M Aggie Ryan Tannehill. On Monday, Miami announced Tannehill would be the starter going into the season David Garrard and Matt Moore. Assuming Miami sticks to this plan, Tannehill will be the 17th different starting QB since 2000, and the 14th since 2004. Will success be found? Some fans such as myself feel that position as nowhere to go by up.
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