It is time to trust Cameron
By ISRAEL GUTIERREZ
igutierrez@MiamiHerald.com
New Dolphins quarterback Trent Green had just been asked about the Dolphins offense Wednesday and his answer included the phrase ``the potential is great.''
He went on to list a few of the players who had him so enthused about an offense that he admitted had to ''catch up'' to what the defense has done over the past several years.
He mentioned Chris Chambers. He got out Ronnie Brown's name. Then he went to Lorenzo Booker, a third-round draft pick who hasn't yet played a down for the Dolphins.
And then there was a long silence. The type of uncomfortable, blank pause that can be explained by the fact that he had only been a Miami Dolphin for less than 24 hours at the time, but still was hardly an advertisement for a Dolphins offense that is supposedly poised to be turned around by first-year coach Cam Cameron.
BEST CASE?
It was the type of moment those who remain uninspired by the choice of Cameron as a coach would have jumped all over, mocking the fact that not even the team's probable starting quarterback can make a proper case for why next year's Dolphins offense will be transformed under the guidance of an offensive guru.
In actuality, that lengthy pause was the best case yet for Cameron. Green, the quarterback who spent the past several months doing everything he could to get traded to Miami, couldn't even name a handful of skill players on the team he is about to lead. And yet, he remains supremely confident it will be a productive offense based on one simple concept: Faith.
Faith in a man with a plan.
Faith in a man with a track record.
Faith in a man who had faith in him.
And it's a concept those who don't believe in Cameron might want to grab hold of.
From the moment the Dolphins announced the hiring of Cameron, there was a hesitancy to embrace him. When the Dolphins drafted Ted Ginn ahead of Brady Quinn, there was an overwhelming desire to deck him. And now that he has chosen a soon-to-be 37-year-old quarterback over a soon-to-be-healthy Daunte Culpepper, the questions about Cameron are only getting louder.
It's the expected reaction from a fan base that has been burned by coaches who have promised to deliver. But it might be time to take the Trent Green approach and just believe.
Why? Maybe because our opinions have been wrong on every coach so far since Don Shula.
We all figured Jimmy Johnson was the proper successor who would bring the Dolphins a pair of Super Bowls the way he did in Dallas. All he turned in was 36 wins over four disappointing seasons.
We all were lukewarm about Dave Wannstedt succeeding Johnson after his previous head coaching stint featured a disastrous ending with the Bears. All he did was put together a four-year span of 41 wins that this city would take in a heartbeat if it was offered as an option for the next four years.
We were all satisfied when Nick Saban was hired, sold on the idea of a proven winner coming in and fixing a four-win team with discipline and not much else. Do we need to be reminded how that ended?
So now we're damaged and scarred and suffer from commitment issues, and Cameron is feeling the brunt of our distrust. But the suspicion and doubt doesn't make much sense because Cameron is only doing exactly what we've asked of him.
FIXING MISTAKES
We want him to fix the mistakes made by three consecutive defensive-minded coaches. And then we question every move he makes along way?
Is it that hard to believe that one of the most respected and successful offensive coordinators over the past few years actually knows what he's doing?
''There's a talent to putting people in positions to succeed, and Cam has that,'' said Green, who had Cameron as a quarterback coach in Washington more than a decade ago.
Green backed up Cameron by mentioning the success he had building an offensive line in San Diego with pieces that included a rookie left tackle, Marcus McNeill, who started 16 games, and a quality guard in Kris Dielman, whom Green described as a ''street free agent'' before he signed with the Chargers. Green also pointed out Cameron helped turn around Drew Brees when some had lost faith in him, and that before Cam got a hold of him, Antonio Gates ``was a basketball player.''
So it's about time to start trusting Cameron's choices, no matter how large a leap it takes.
Green might not know exactly who will be making the plays that finally have Dolphins fans excited about offense again, but he knows this much: ``I think they need to be excited.''
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