Parcells Was Too Cheap To Draft Matt Ryan
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) - Bill Parcells, former Dolphins executive vice-president, finally admitted this week that he messed up in draft Pat White and not drafting Matt Ryan. But he gave no endorsement of current Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne and said not drafting Matt Ryan came down to one simple factor.
"Not quite as expensive," Parcells said.
That's essentially what it came down to, money; that and Parcells was afraid to select a quarterback at the top of the draft.
"Took maybe the sure thing, a position of less margin for error, left tackle," Parcells said. He continued saying left tackles have a better draft record than other positions.
So, Parcells decided to draft Chad Henne in the second round because he was cheap. Not because he was the quarterback of the future, but because he was cheaper than Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco.
Jake Long has been a stalwart left tackle. He's a perennial Pro Bowler and is the foundation of the Dolphins' offensive line. But how must Henne feel getting that kind of endorsement from the guy who drafted him.
And what must Dolphins fans think as they watch Matt Ryan become a franchise quarterback and Joe Flacco turn into a franchise quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens?
For comparison here are the stat lines for the three respective quarterbacks:
Matt Ryan – 885-1456, 10,061 yards, 66 touchdowns, 34 interceptions
Joe Flacco – 878-1416, 10,206 yards, 60 touchdowns, 34 interceptions
Chad Henne – 582-953, 6,246 yards, 27 touchdowns, 33 interceptions
So Parcells took the money Huizenga lavished on him to bring the franchise back and turned the team into an average NFL team. Then, he took the money and ran back to ESPN when things began to get challenging.
He built a good team in Dallas, but couldn't win the big one. He built an average team in Miami and then took off when fans and the media began to turn up the pressure.
