The day-after ritual that is reading Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback is complete for me. And as a poster pointed in the comments section earlier today, King mentioned coach Tony Sparano, quarterback Matt Moore and the Dolphins talent base in his column.
King says that whichever team hires coach Tony Sparano when he gets fired after the season "is going to get one heck of a football coach." Then King says that whomever gets the Miami job will inherit "a good base of talent."
I love Peter King. Really do. He's everything a sportswriter should be -- which is to say he's on TV.
But he's missed it on this one.
I agree with King that whatever team hires Sparano will get a good coach. But the facts don't jibe when he says on one hand Sparano is a heck of a coach and on the other hand he says the talent base on the Dolphins is good ...
... And then we look at the standings.
You cannot have a good coach and good talent and be a last-place team. Good coaches with good talent do not post a 3-8 record. Either Sparano, a good coach, doesn't have enough talent to win with, or Sparano is not very good and unable to properly develop the good talent he has to its maximum potential.
One or the other. Period.
Beyond that, it must be said that King picked the Dolphins to finish last in the AFC East before the season began. While I was picking them second, he knew better than me and picked them last. That's why he dwarfs me.
The Dolphins King thought would be the worst team in the AFC East have confirmed his suspicions and are currently last in the AFC East -- and out of that scenario King sees a team with a good coach and a good talent base?
What does he think the Patriots, Jets and Bills have?
Sparano is a good coach. But the Dolphins don't have enough playmakers. They lack a starting-caliber quarterback that is ready to take Miami to .500, much less the playoffs. They don't have a consistent playmaker in the secondary. The right side of the offensive line is a mess. They have only one consistent pass-rusher. The running back corps is mediocre at best and has produced that way.
Good talent base? Don't think so.