There certainly wasn't a lack of moisture last night in Pittsburgh, either in the air or on the field (if you want to call it a field). But Cam Cameron, king fish of the Dolphins, has to be gasping for air at this point.
Cameron was brought in last off-season, with the hopes of steadying a franchise who has been for years in constant flux: A parade of coaches since Don Shula to match the parade of quarterbacks that have come through since Dan Marino. Touted as an "offensive genius" he came in part to fix a struggling offense, to bring their level up to that of the Dolphins top-notched defense. Cameron brought in Trent Green, a veteran QB Cameron was familiar with, to take the reigns for a bit, while they groomed 2nd round draft pick John Beck. No one had delusions of grandeur, thinking this made the Dolphins Super Bowl contenders. But an improvement over the previous season's 6-10 record, was a safe assumption- if not down right expected- and a there was at least a glimmer playoff hopes.
Fast forward to last night, and the Dolphins inability to put a single point up on the board, losing a sloppy battle to the Steelers, 3-0. Trent Green is done for the season. John Beck is starting. Those glimmers of playoff hopes have vanished, and have been replaced by utter desperation to get on the board in the win column, as the Dolphins sit at 0-11. Many things have conspired against them this year: injuries, inexperience. But the inexperience of the head coach, is what seems to be hindering them the most.
Cameron came in and decided he wanted full autonomy over the offense, as he would wear both the hat of offensive coordinator and head coach. Now it is one thing for a veteran coach to take over play calling if he doesn't like how things are being handled. But it is hard enough for a rookie head coach in the NFL without having to worry about the plays. And it appears as though one thing can't get out of the way of the other for Cameron this year, as his decision making has been debatable at best: both in-game and personnel. Last night's decision to scrap plans for a field goal after a delay of game penalty remains the freshest.
With the score knotted at zeroes in the fourth quarter, Cameron decided not to try a 42 yard go-ahead field goal after the Dolphins were pushed back five yards on a penalty. Previous to that, the Dolphins had lined up to kick- which was blocked only to be washed out by the penalty. That brought the Dolphins to 4th & 11 on the Steelers 25 yard line. Somehow, Cameron felt that the conditions lent themselves more to a big play on offense (remember it is 0-0 after 50 minutes of football), rather than risking a shot at taking the lead (not to missed is the fact that after the five yard penalty, it put the ball on a patch of the playing surface that was in much better condition- a fact which kicker Jay Feeley lobbied for on the sideline). Cameron's decision to go for the first down led to a sack of John Beck, to turn it over on downs. A missed field goal attempt would have netted the same result. A made field goal? Well, I'm no math wizard, but...
This is just another in a long line of poor decisions by Cameron. From sticking with a lame-duck quarterback (second-stringer Cleo Lemon) for too long, to various questionable play calls, it has left Dolphin fans with a lack of space on their heads left to scratch. There have been, in recent weeks, many in the media and on various blogs calling for Cameron's firing already, and I have been one to dismiss them. But watching his post game press conference last night, the guy just looked like a deer in the headlights: A shell-shocked shell of the offensive genius that was hired to stop the mediocrity. It occurred to me that Cam Cameron may just be in it way over his head. A great offensive coordinator doesn't necessarily make a great head coach. And wearing two hats in this league can prove to be too much. So if Cam can't re-distribute some of the responsibility he'd asked for, this may spell doom and turbulence for him and the franchise he was supposed to stabilize. Fire him now? Call this one a lost battle and part ways? I am suddenly not sure it is a bad idea. Another year of flux maybe what the Dolphins need in order to steady the ship for years to come.
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