Posts tagged JohnBeck at FanHouse

John Beck remains in Miami, but his teammate up to about 20 minutes ago is now a Cleveland Brown. Cornerback Travis Daniels was sent to the great state of Ohio to bolster the Browns' almost-non-existent secondary and the Dolphins got an undisclosed draft pick for their troubles.

MDS at PFT writes that Daniels, a 2005 fourth-round pick and Nick Saban favorite, started just six games in '06 and five games last season and was in danger of getting cut in the coming weeks. Browns general manager Phil Savage couldn't wait around for that to happen, however; the team's secondary is in shambles, beset by injuries and inexperience. So while Daniels provides a warm body, it comes at a cost.

If the compensation is from the 2009 draft, it means the Browns will be without three choices in next year's draft. The team previously had surrendered its third-round and fifth-round selections to move up in 2008 for Martin Rucker and Paul Hubbard, respectively....

The Browns' backup cornerbacks have not exactly sparkled in training camp and two exhibition games and starter Eric Wright was victimized Monday night by the New York Giants' fifth-string receiver.

Next up: getting Joshua Cribbs and Derek Anderson healthy. And finding a way to keep the opponent's first team from hanging 30 on you is sorta important, too.

John Beck's days in Miami appear to be numbered, and how soon he takes up residence elsewhere has everything to do with with what the Dolphins can get for him in a trade. After signing veteran journeyman Josh McCown this offseason, Beck, the team's 2007 second-round pick is apparently no longer in the front office's plans.

The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson has the latest scuttlebutt on the guy who was supposedly the face of the franchise nine months ago.

The Dolphins continue to shop John Beck and indicated they would like a fourth-round pick in return but are unlikely to get that, an NFC executive said this week.

''I could see them getting a late-round pick, maybe conditional,'' a second NFC executive said. ''Last year was a disaster and he [turns] 27'' on Thursday. As perspective, one official noted Cleveland received a sixth-rounder last September from Seattle for former starter Charlie Frye, the 67th pick of the 2005 draft. Beck was drafted 40th in 2007.

Wow, Beck's already being compared to Charlie Frye? Why not just call him Mittens and start shoveling dirt on the grave? To be fair, I understand why teams might be hesitant to part with something more than a late-round pick for Beck -- he's unproven and relatively old -- but this is the latest reminder of how fragile the average NFL existence is.

One minute you're the starting quarterback of a one-win team, the next minute you're in danger of getting cut. Okay, bad example.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: The Brett Favre Fallout ended up with Chad Pennington coming to Miami. Good thing, because the Dolphins didn't have a quarterback on their roster. Well, technically they did ... but when you are having a three-man race to figure out who might be able to handle the job ... you have no QB. Pennington gives Miami what they need: an experienced, accurate passer. He's a winner, but not the kind of guy who makes those dynamic plays. Right now, they don't have great receivers, either, so a guy that can hit his target is key. Chad Henne may be the future ... but that's what we thought about John Beck last year. Heat Index: 4

Running backs: This is the biggest strength of this offense. During their 1-15 season last year, the fact that Ronnie Brown was having an outstanding season was lost on many people. Brown was worthy of a Pro Bowl spot before he tore his ACL in mid-season. All indications are that he's healed. Brown will share duties with Ricky Williams. Yep, he's back and he's bad! I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ricky has been a model teammate. He's basically lived at the Dolphins complex, is in supreme physical shape and could get back to his pre-retirement form. Of course, that is all the good. The bad is that your steadiest part of the team involves a guy with a major knee injury and another who is now 31, barely has played over the last several seasons, already has two strikes and is unreliable. At least he's not on the hippie lettuce anymore. Heat Index: 7

Last week, the Dolphins released kicker Jay Feely, presumably, because he wasn't very good at his job. Feely told the Miami Herald that he had prepared his family for such an eventuality, saying that "I had a feeling from the day Parcells got hired that this was going to be the case.'' John Beck feels your pain, sir.

But it wasn't enough for Feely to get cut and get on with his life. Nope, he had to take a few parting shots on his way out the door. You know, because that's how kickers roll. Or something.

Some players weren't happy with former Dolphins kicker Jay Feely's comment that ''you can see the lack of talent that still exists'' here. ''He was part of the lack of talent we got rid of!'' [Channing] Crowder said. Vonnie Holliday called Feely's comment ``kind of Tiki Barber-ish . . . Now that you're no longer [here], you downgrade us? I would expect a little more from that guy.''

Crowder makes a good point. It's not like Feely was exactly kicking game-winning field goals on a weekly basis last season. I know, it helps to have an offense that can actually get past midfield when trying to best utilize the kicker, but it seems like an odd remark for a kicker, a position most players don't even consider part of the team.

Whatever, Holliday busting out the "you sound just like Tiki Barber" should be enough to shame Feely into silence.

As the world quit spinning to watch Brett Favre take the field with the Jets for the first time last night, another quarterback was making his debut with a new team. Coincidentally, it was the same guy that was run out of New York to make room on the roster for The World's Most Selfish Player.

Yep, Chad Pennington started for the Dolphins, and for all the fanfare surrounding Favre, Pennington had just as impressive an outing in Miami.

Chad Pennington got off on the right foot with his new Dolphins teammates, completing 5-of-6 passes for 55 yards and a 104.9 quarterback rating while playing into the second quarter. After missing on his first throw, Pennington completed his final five and led the Dolphins to their first touchdown drive of the exhibition season

Rookie second-rounder Chad Henne took over for Pennington in the second quarter and played the rest of the game. Which means that John Beck and Josh McCown, quarterbacks Nos. 3 and 4 depending on who's making out the depth chart, didn't get off the bench.

PFT speculates that the Dolphins will keep McCown, signed during the Bill Parcells regime, and cut/trade Beck, who was drafted by Randy Mueller and Cam Cameron. The Palm Beach Post's Ben Volin writes that both McCown and Beck participated in the quarterbacks meetings after each offensive possession, "but Beck mostly stood by himself on the sidelines."

No idea what that means other than Beck seems to be very, very sad.

Yesterday I mentioned that Dolphins' quarterbacks Josh McCown and John Beck, two guys battling for the starting job just a week ago, got zero reps in practice during the 7-on-7 drills. Hardly a big deal since Chad Pennington was being force-fed a new offense in the hopes that he would be ready for the upcoming preseason game.

Despite what head coach Tony Sparano might say, it's pretty clear Pennington is the the guy going forward, at least until rookie Chad Henne is ready to assume full-time duties.

Which means that McCown and Beck probably won't be in Miami -- one way or the other -- when the season begins in three weeks.

Former Tennessee Titans general manager Floyd Reese, now with ESPN, said the notion of the Dolphins keeping four quarterbacks is ''unrealistic and outrageous'' and believes they will get only a late-round pick for Josh McCown or John Beck, if that. ''I wouldn't think they would have much value,'' he said. Miami reportedly will gauge trade interest in both but is on the hook for McCown's $2.5 million signing bonus if he is traded or cut.

Hindsight and all that, but you can't blame the Dolphins front office for signing McCown this offseason. Brett Favre was "retired" and the Jets' asking price for Pennington was presumably higher than what it was once they acquired Favre.

Yesterday, Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano was trying to convince us that Chad Pennington hadn't been given the starting job. You know, competition, team spirit and all that.

Well, during this morning's practice, in an effort to foster said competition, quarterbacks Josh McCown and John Beck took zero snaps during 7-on-7 drills to give Pennington a chance to learn the offense. So although neither player got an opportunity to actually, um, compete, in terms of mental reps, they were killing it. Too bad mental reps don't lead to playing time.

In any event, according to the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero, it looks like the Dolphins' future will be in the capable(?) hands of Pennington and Chad Henne:

Basically, the Dolphins are showing their hand with the Chads. Or as Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland calls them, "Penny and Henne." One is the Mr. Right Now. The other one seems like Mr. Right for the longterm future of the team. Coach Tony Sparano said it is pretty obvious that Pennington will play versus Jacksonville Saturday evening. I would imagine, based on the work so far this week, either he or Henne would start.

So where does this leave Josh and John? There has been speculation that Beck, one year after Miami drafted him in the second round, could be cut. McCown, on the other hand, will probably stick around, primarily because he has an uncanny ability to avoid the turk. It's a gift, really.

In the meantime, the Dolphins might want to think about finding somebody for Penny/Henne to throw to.

Huh. This is, well, totally not believable. Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano wants to make it clear that newly acquired quarterback Chad Pennington will not be given the starting gig. You know, because, Josh McCown and John Beck looked so competent in training camp that the team couldn't move to sign Pennington fast enough.

In any event, that's the spin coming out of Dolphins World Headquarters:

While many think Pennington's eight seasons of experience should make him an instant starter, the way the Dolphins' coaches and front office preach competition it's more likely he'll have just as arduous a road to earning the starting spot as Henne, Josh McCown or John Beck.

"Chad is going to be competing. He knows that," said Sparano, who last week complained about not having enough snaps to get a good look at the team's three quarterbacks.

Um, sure. Look, I appreciate trying to keep up the appearance of fairness, competition and all that, but if Pennington's sitting on the bench come Week 1, the Dolphins' quarterback situation is far worse than any of us realized.

Sparano added that Pennington "has the most experience in the room and I hope that he's going to be a mentor in that room for some of the younger guys," something Brett Favre, the guy who forced Pennington out in New York, didn't willingly embrace.

Sparano also indicated that the Dolphins could carry four quarterbacks, which seems like overkill until you realize that it could be a necessary evil given the perils of playing behind that offensive line.Whatever, here's to hoping they win the season opener for strictly schadenfreude-tastic reasons.

Bill Parcells apparently isn't a big John Beck fan.

According to Pro Football Weekly, the Dolphins are likely to cut last year's second-round pick now that they've signed Chad Pennington to take over as the team's starter.

"They're going to give John two more weeks to show what he can do, but if he continues his awful play, he's out of here," a team insider told PFW. "He's been terrible throughout camp, and there's no way four quarterbacks are going to make the final roster. He's not one of (executive VP of football operations Bill) Parcells' guys, and they have no loyalty to him."

The Dolphins drafted Chad Henne in the second round this year, which was a pretty clear sign that the new regime wasn't exactly sold on Beck's potential as the team's quarterback of the future. The team also has Josh McNown on the roster, so it could keep McNown as the team's veteran backup, while Henne fills the young QB with potential role as the team's No. 3.

The NFL forces every team to come up with a depth chart before every game ... even exhibition ones. So Miami complied and listed Josh McCown as their #1 quarterback.

Well, for now.

"The depth chart is something I know you guys will make a lot out of but I don't make much of it right now,'' head coach Tony Sparano said. "It's something we had to produce and put out there, so we put it our there. That depth chart you have in your hand won't be the same this afternoon or tomorrow. It's going to change every single day.''

When further pressed for the reason why McCown, a seven-year veteran, was listed over John Beck, a second-year player, and Chad Henne, Sparano stressed it had more to do with experience than with their performance so far.

None of the quarterbacks have looked very good in camp, so picking McCown is the easy way out. McCown has 31 starts under his belt; Beck has four and Henne is a rookie.

Again, if this is how you determine your QB depth chart ... you have no QB.