Dolphins Dilemma: To Beck or Not To Beck

By now, you've all most likely heard of the writers strike that has gone into effect.

The Writers Guild of America has suspended work on all ongoing projects, leaving me to weep over the uncertain fates of shows like Scrubs, The Office, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

So, what does any of this have to do with sports?

Well, nothing really—except for the fact that I am officially not a part of the writers strike (that might have something to do with not being a part of the Writers Union)...and thus am able to bestow upon all of you the wonderful gift of my writing.

I can already hear the applause.

And mind you, this won't just be any old pointless and arbitrary writing. No, this will only be the sharpest, most decisive writing available. 

Isn't that right, gorilla nurse using an old-fashioned abdominal exerciser while listening to "Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton?

(If you're a Conan fan, you probably found that last line to be hilarious; if not, you're probably getting pretty annoyed with this article.)

Okay, enough with the shenanigans. It's time to get down to business.

The 0-8 Miami Dolphins had a bye last week—complete with the inevitable questions regarding the quarterback situation.

Should Cam Cameron stick with Cleo Lemon as the starter, or hand the reigns to rookie John Beck—the guy believed to be the future of the franchise?

For most people, the obvious answer is to give Beck the job and let the evaluation process begin.

After all, this season is a lost cause, and Miami will almost certainly have a top-three draft pick come April. If Beck isn't the answer, the team will need to consider taking one of the top QBs in the draft, right?

Wrong.

The frustration of being winless halfway through the season has everyone thinking irrationally. Change for the sake of change isn't the answer here.

Sure, everyone is dying to see what Beck brings to the table. We also know that Lemon has probably shown us the extent of his abilities—he's a solid backup, but certainly not a long-term answer.

But let's think about this in a more reasoned manner.

As the third-string QB entering the season, Beck worked solely with the scout-team offense in practice. When Trent Green was lost for the season with a concussion in Week Five, Beck became the backup—and started getting 20 percent of the first-team reps during the week.

Then, after the Giants game, Cameron declared that Beck and Lemon would split reps with the first-team 50/50. Of course, the team only practiced once during the bye week.

So what does that all mean?

First, it means that going into this weekend's game against Buffalo, Beck will only have participated in a total of six practices in which he received half of the starter's reps.  He's only been actively practicing with the Miami offensive scheme since Week Six—all of his work before then was running the scout-team offense.

By no fault of his own, then, Beck clearly needs more practice time. Folks, this is what it's like to develop a QB. It takes prudence and patience—qualities that most fans lack.

It's not going to help Beck's development to throw him into a real game situation and hope he adapts. His first game action should only come after he's established a command of the offense in practice.

Before the season, I cautioned against using Beck at all this year—save for perhaps a game or two at the very end of the season. Being winless shouldn't change the plans.

And let's not forget what Cameron's specialty is:  If nothing else, the coach is a bona fide QB guru. He understands how to bring a young prospect along. He'll know when the time is right to give Beck his shot.

As for the argument that the Fins needs to see what Beck can do so they can decide if they need to draft another QB—that's baloney.

This team is not using its top pick on a QB.

The coaching staff has already put its confidence in Beck, and you can't determine the value of a rookie QB based on half-a-dozen starts.

If Beck falters mightily next season in extended playing time, scouts can start looking at top prospects—but not until then.

There's also a theory going around that Cameron is only sticking with Lemon as the starter until the team notches its first victory. Lemon is more experienced, and so he provides the team with a greater chance to win.

The argument is that Cameron is only thinking about himself, because he doesn't want to be the first coach to lead a team to an 0-16 record.

I don't agree with that theory—but is it so wrong to want to avoid going winless for an entire season?

Is there really that much of a difference between 1-15 and 0-16?

Yes, a huge difference.

Becoming an embarrassing trivia answer will haunt these players, these coaches, and this franchise for a long, long time. For a team that's desperately trying to transform a culture of losing, a single win could make all the difference in the world.

Bottom line: Everyone in Miami needs to take a deep breath.

If John Beck is the future of this franchise, as most of us believe, he should be given as much time as he needs to develop the right way—naturally.