2011 NFL Draft: Why Is Ryan Mallett Not Being Considered for the Miami Dolphins?

Let's hope the men left behind by Bill Parcells were paying attention during conference championship weekend.

Dol-phans sure were, and there was one thing that stood out: four teams left standing, four first-round, big-armed, pedigree quarterbacks at the helm of each.

A legitimate passer has not brought his talents to South Beach since Dan Marino decided to retire, Super Bowl-less.

The last 10-plus seasons have been a fiasco for the Dolphins. Year after year they assemble tough, quarterback-less teams that consistently fall short of expectations. For too long the Dolphins front office has acted casually baffled by its team's failures.

May I offer some input? Remember, I'm just spitballing here, but I can give it a try...

Jay Fiedler, Ray Lucas, Trent Green, Daunte Culpepper, Cleo Lemon, Tyler Thigpen, Pat White (kind of)—the list of failed quarterback projects for the teal and orange is painfully long and embarrassing.

Then came Chad Henne.

Another year without playoffs in Miami, another chapter closed in the never-ending saga titled "Replacing Dan Marino." This latest chapter's victim was Henne. The former Michigan Wolverine quarterback is an interception-prone passer that has flashed just enough promise in Miami to prevent the Dolphins from bringing in a young, gunslinging first-rounder at the quarterback position.

Looking at this quarterback class earlier in the year, there did not appear to be a realistic option for Miami in this draft.

Until Ryan Mallett and Jake Locker began plummeting down draft boards. 

But don't expect to see Locker, the former University of Washington quarterback and workout warrior, continue his downward spiral after the combine. Expect a more developed, faster Tim Tebow when Locker shows up in Indianapolis for the combine this winter. Sources say the kid is a specimen in the weight room. His numbers should be off the chart for a quarterback. 

Dolphin nation can unfortunately rule him out of the mix for our first-round pick this year. His stock will rise until he is comfortably out of the Dolphins' reach.

Mallett is another story.

The 6'7" Arkansas quarterback started the year as a top three pick. He was the pedigree quarterback of this class with a rocket for an arm and an offensive guru as a head coach. The sky was the limit.

But then the struggles came. And injury. And a disappointing bowl game loss that ended with a Mallett interception.

Suddenly, draft gurus are giving him a late first, early second round grade. Jeff Ireland, are you listening?

The Phins are without a second-round pick this year because of the Brandon Marshall trade. There is no way this team can draft another lineman and consider this draft a success—and a successful draft is what this offensively stagnant team needs.

Mallett looks like a bigger Philip Rivers that enjoyed more collegiate success than the current All-Pro Charger quarterback. Better yet, Mallett isn't competing in the East-West Shrine Game or the Senior Bowl, and his combine numbers will not do anything to help his stock. If anything, those numbers will hurt the slow-moving quarterback.

But speed isn't what the Dolphins need. Consistency at the quarterback position is.

The front office took a huge step in the right direction with the Marshall trade last offseason. Now they just need to finish the job and secure a consistent arm to get the ball to the big, playmaking receiver.

Drafting Mallett would do that. This team's uncertainty at running back can be solved later in the draft. Just look at how the NFC champion Packers solved theirs: Assemble a stable of good, young, inexpensive running backs flying under the radar and trust that one of them will emerge as the starter.

So please, whoever is listening in South Beach, learn a lesson from championship weekend. Invest the money and for once draft the pedigree quarterback and cure more than a decade of heartache for Dol-phans.