By Rhino
2015 was my 39th Dolphins draft (in 45 years as a fan) in which I was aware that a draft even existed. ☺
I used to wait for the newspaper to see a list of names, but I had no way to know who most players were, outside of a top pick here or there. Plus, like most others in the 1970’s, rookies were not seen as ‘game changers’.
Here are some of my most VIVID memories of Dolphins drafts. They jump out because AT THE TIME they elicited emotional memories, regardless of eventual status as HOF or bust. This is NOT a list of “best drafts” or “worst drafts”. It is an attempt to express how our team has intertwined itself with our lives.
The grouping of recent drafts making the list, I would assume, is the result of the NFL’s “product diversification” through the NFL Network and marketing every aspect of the season and off-season to the fans.
The drafts are listed chronologically, but given a number ranking to show where I rank them for personal reasons.
# 7. 1976 Kim Bokamper
Because my mom loved Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue” … hot Iowa summer nights on the porch, I would sing “A Boy Named Kim”. She gave me looks like I was stupid for not knowing the lyrics. lol (give me a break, I was 13!)
#11. 1978 Guy Benjamin
My first year in California… a Stanford QB to replace Griese? Say it ain’t so! Whew! It wasn’t so!
#2. 1981 David Overstreet
Spring of my junior year of high school… Believe it or not, this ranks as one of my most vivid memories, perhaps because his tragic death has been burned it in my memory.
#4. 1983 Dan Marino
I was dealing with a knee injury and the possibility of losing my track scholarship in my second year of college. I was supposed to transfer from my junior college in California to U.T.S.A. in the Fall, but they were waiting for medical reports. I knew nothing of the “rumors” surrounding Marino. I didn’t question how we got him… I was just thrilled that David Woodley would not be our “Griese” (I know, just ask OD… some of us just can’t shake the ghost of those 70’s teams). This draft has been elevated in status, like 1981, but for positive and obvious reasons. By 1985 I would be bragging about this draft, even if I had been preoccupied at the time.
#10. 1989 Two 1st Round Picks
I had been in Dallas-FW area for 5 years and was in graduate school, waiting tables and listening to the draft on the radio in the kitchen. Sammie Smith and Louis Oliver were the picks. We were in the ESPN days but I used my money for books (is that how you spell beer?) rather than cable t.v.. However, I was an avid college football fan and in the 1980’s the teams from the state of Florida dominated the college discussions like today’s SEC. Fla. St. and UF guys staying in Florida? Can’t miss. Oops, it would have been better from U-Miami in the late 80’s.
MIAMI – NOVEMBER 28: University of Miami Hurricanes head coach Jimmy Johnson celebrates with Michael Irvin #47 following the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Orange Bowl on November 28, 1987 in Miami, Florida. Miami defeated Notre Dame 24-0. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
#9. 1990 Richmond Webb
Webb was a product of Roosevelt H.S. in Dallas, not far from where I was still training in a post-college attempt to break a 4-minute mile. I grew up idolizing Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett, Jim Ryun, and Steve Prefontaine. I ran 4:03 in 1987 and wanted to reach the sub-4 milestone before entering my life as a “worker bee”. On the Tuesday after the draft, during a 12-mile run, everyone was talking about local product Webb getting drafted. I could finally talk about the Dolphins in the middle of Cowboy country. Webb was an instant favorite. (p.s., I tore my Achilles that summer and never raced again, subsequently going from Manute Bol-thin to looking like Richmond Webb).
#12. 1996 Karim Abdul-Jabbar
Just the name, folks. He wasn’t even a first rounder. I clearly remember joking: wow, we just drafted a the tallest RB in history. I made this joke to my students as a first year teacher. “Crickets” from the purple dinosaur generation.
#5. 2005 Ronnie Brown
The drafts from previous years were a blur, having been embroiled in a brutal divorce. 2005 was my first freedom draft. I hated the pick, and I thought it was a terrible year to be drafting that high, desperately wanting them to trade back. Ronnie’s jersey was the first I had owned since Griese (Marino t-shirts, but no jersey). Ten years later this was a classic case of overcompensation. Something about our drafts in the mid-naughts just didn’t feel right. But it could have been worse. We could have taken Cadillac Williams or Cedric Benson. Perhaps take Aaron Rodgers and wait for a RB (hindsight is wonderful).
#1. 2007 Tedd Ginn
Everyone wanted a QB. I wanted Adrian Peterson. I had remarried and my wife had graduated from U.T. so we watched all the games. Peterson was NFL ready coming out of high school (yes, look it up!). His freshman year at Oklahoma he single-handedly ran OVER the Longhorns. I hate OU, but couldn’t stop talking about this kid. My academic team was at state competition, and the coach (ME) was sneaking away to watch GameCast of the draft online. A.P. was almost there for us. Damn Vikings!! I know, I know… we just drafted Brown a few years ago. Then the Dolphins called Ginn’s name. I slammed my laptop closed and didn’t even look at the rest of the draft until the following Wednesday. It wouldn’t be long until 1-15. My laptop slam was prophetic! The Dolphins still seem to be reeling, but my academic teams (four different teams per year) went the opposite direction, winning a combined 26 state titles and 7 national championships. Somewhere Seinfeld is smugly satisfied about how he always “breaks even”.
#3. 2008 Jake Long
My attempts to bring my new wife into the Dolphin family fan had slammed into that 1-15 season. She was not impressed. She feigned interest as I explained the significance of our First #1 overall pick since 1966’s inaugural. I spent more time reading media debates on this pick than I had in my previous 30+ years combined. I felt Long was the best and SAFEST pick. What I hadn’t internalized at that time was that the game had ALREADY changed, and we may have been drafting for the ‘old game’.
#6. 2012 Ryan Tannehill
After the “Suck for Luck” vs “Play to Win” endless debates, a QB was certainly gonna happen. Like many Dolphin fans, we worry about getting a “Ghandi complex” by intentionally starving ourselves on draft day. Tannehill was my LEAST favorite. In six years of UT games, I finally understood what they hated about Tx A&M. I was hoping for the Fins to wait until the 2nd round and take Cousins. I had a Ginn moment. My television was in more danger than a Fox News reporter on a late night stroll through Baltimore. The only pick I liked was Miller. If I can warm up to Tanny leading our team, just about anybody can. ☺ Tanny’s first game ever as our QB would be the first game for my daughters and my wife. The last two minutes of the first half (Texans) I got some of those “1-15” looks.
#8. 2015 Overall Haul of Talent
This draft is fresh but I can’t help but feel it will stay in my top 10 rankings because of the cumulative impression of “football” guys we have collected in the draft and undrafted free agents. What a joyful opposition to 2007. This is one of the first drafts in decades where I didn’t find myself “rationalizing” until I “liked” the picks.
Perhaps the 2015 draft will be remembered because of a bunch of Dolphin bloggers with laptops of their own, who over the last few years were able to teach me so much about this game (and team) that has been with me throughout my life.
Finsmob Unleashed 
Has he ever seen the cop show called Bait Car?
So now the “Brady isn’t getting suspended” crew is switching to “Brady will get it reduced to 2 games”? Lol! IMO, he’s going to serve the full suspension.
Tripped if you do want to teach, here’s a preview:
Under Article 46 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Brady is entitled to an appeal before either NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell or someone else designated by Goodell.
There’s no question that Brady will appeal, but there are major questions about what form that appeal will take. Will Goodell hear the appeal himself, or will he appoint someone else as an appeals officer? Will Brady be forthcoming with evidence as part of his appeal, showing the phone records that the NFL says he failed to provide to investigator Ted Wells?
And perhaps most importantly, what will Brady do if he loses the appeal? Would Brady take the NFL to court?
This is a long way from over.
he’s gonna emphatically deny like Rafael Palmero, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens et al. It’s a dangerous game to play if he does.
He would have been better off saying I didn’t realize that a little less psi was a big deal as opposed to saying I know nothing of anything like this when he and Peyton lobbied for control of ball treatment years back. He fucked up!
LOL @ Jahn’s posts
Rhino .. Tommy can drag the NFL into court, get an injunction against the penalty and then have his lawyers delay and deny and obfuscate the case through the entire season.
…then retire after playing the entire year. lol
Time for the Dubs game. I’m more nervous than a Patriots backup QB.
Belicheat has plenty of cheating left in his bag of tricks .. This minor setback is not going to stop him from implementing new and exciting illegal tactics.
LOL @ implementing new and exciting illegal tactics.
Great write rhino
Rhinoe
The majority of U.S. resources in early WWII were focused on the European theater The Navy had some major political fights with the army and FDR to get the resources necessary to start the island hopping campaign as most the men and material were focused for the European theater. Read Samuel Elliot Morrison on the topic or more recently Walter R. Borneman’s “The Admirals” touches on this as well. From right after Pearl Harbor we started building up to invade Europe and the pacific theater was the step child in U.S. strategy.
I hope 4 games sticks as I think that fits. I also guess will get dropped to 2 though ,which is not enough
Also Rhino Mid east oil was not as crucial for U.S. in WWII but was crucial for both England and Germany. That is why the whole North Africa campaign was so important so as to make sure Germany did not have unlimited access to oil.
So how about them Pats. LOL. Loving it now. Brady will appeal. Let’s see if he gets a reduction. I doubt it. 2 picks lost for the Pats as well. It’s a good day.
No way goodell could not punish them especially after partying with Kraft
I am actually a little surprised at the harshness of the penalty. I thought with the report’s findings that neither Bellicheck or Kraft knew anything I thought the focus of the discipline would be the suspension of Brady. But not only did they do that the hammered the franchise with the largest fine in league history and the loss of a no. 1 and no. 4 round draft choice.
Go Warriors!
Ken, I’m not the history buff that some of you are but I have friends who are and have listened to them over the years and enjoyed it.
I have played Axis and Allies back in the day with those same friends and I’ll say the battles in Eastern Europe were the dirtiest and most costly with casualties.
The land war in Russia was brutal. Massive armies colliding together on the tundra, long and horrific sieges of large cities, terrible weather conditions and logistical nightmares. It was a brutal campaign.
Yep, if I ever had to defend Russia on my team, it was constantly trying to roll the dice for infantry and artillery – tanks and big guns. That’s what the real thing was like as my history buff friends would narrate it as we played. The roll of the dice basically was a result of chance – weather conditions and logistics. If you had to defend one area based on how things were going, you were risking losing ground in other regions. It was tough to defend Scandinavia. I learned a lot about WWII playing that game.
My favorite part of the game was the Pacific battle with more air and sea power but it didn’t always work out that way where I landed that theater. I hated having to defend Russia because it was laborious and not as fun. Not to make light of what really went on then. It was a brutal war.
What I don’t know the affect of Brady’s appeal on the loss of the draft choices and the fine. That would seem to be a separate penalty vs. the Pats and not part of an appeal afforded to Brady under the CBA.
Too bad we don’t play the Pats early next season.
No excuses when we do kick Their asses next year 😊
Looks like everyone is watching basketball. I am out. Peace to you all.
jahndoh says:
May 11, 2015 at 9:24 pm
Go Warriors!
fuck you, now i cant get this shit out of my head.
Shooting at the walls of heartache
Bang, bang, I am the warrior
Well, I am the warrior
And heart to heart you’ll win
If you survive the warrior, the warrior
I am the warrior
How can he appeal without turning in his phone? It’s obvious his phone will make it worse, like calls to those 2 fine gentlemen since 2007. LOL, if they up the penalty after the appeal, kind of like they did with Rice after the real story came out.
So Tiger Woods cheated on Lindsay Vonn…..she was a moron to date that POS anyway.
Daniel José Older @djolder
where are their fathers? RT @cjwerleman: White supremacists arrested for terrorist plot in FL. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/05/08/11601679-white-supremacists-accused-of-planning-for-race-war-in-florida …