Neither the winless Bears nor the 5-2 Dolphins believe they are that far apart, just as the Bears still can’t believe they lost to the Saints.
“The Bears are better than half the teams we’ve played,” said Miami coach Jimmy Johnson, good pal of Dave Wannstedt.
Easy for Jimmy to say. He also said: “That’s been some of the unsettling there in Chicago–the talent level hasn’t been the same in all areas.”
Among the various reasons the Bears are winless, here’s one that is measurable: The Dolphins represent yet another opponent getting more out of the draft than the Bears are. This includes drafts in general and, for the sake of a point, the 1997 draft in particular.
Forget the Rick Mirer trade, which cost the No. 1 pick. It’s a mandatory requirement of Bears lore that every 10 years they spend a draft choice on a quarterback who doesn’t work out–1987 Jim Harbaugh, 1977 Mike Phipps, 1967 Virgil Carter, 1957 Ronnie Knox–you get the idea.
But why did the Dolphins draft defensive end Jason Taylor and linebacker Derrick Rodgers in the third round after the Bears drafted Bob Sapp?
Taylor and Rodgers are two reasons ex-Bears defensive end Trace Armstrong believes the Dolphins are now more talented than they were when they had Troy Vincent and Marco Coleman and Bryan Cox.
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Taylor broke his arm before last week’s game, long after he had broken the mold. A 6-foot-6-inch, 248-pounder from Akron, Taylor was not deemed a big-time player by most skeptical scouts. But he quickly earned a starting job, and Johnson says he is going to be “a special player.” Last year’s surprise Dolphins rookie, Zach Thomas, says Taylor “is going to be great.”
Rodgers is a 6-1, 225-pound linebacker who played only one year of big-time college football, at Arizona State. His problem wasn’t competition but experience and size, even though Arizona State coaches tried to warn anyone who would listen that he was the fastest thing to the quarterback they had ever seen.
Rodgers preferred playing the trumpet to football in high school. He joined the Air Force and played flag football, then talked the Riverside (Calif.) Community College coach into letting him try out for a real team, at age 23. At Arizona State he became a pass-rushing down lineman, so few pro teams could project him as a legitimate prospect at either end or linebacker.
No wonder Jimmy Johnson believes it’s easy to find talent if he is competing against teams that can’t see that Derrick Rodgers can play. After one scrimmage in Miami, Johnson said: “As impressive a camp as Zach Thomas had last year, Derrick Rodgers is having a more impressive camp.”
Last week, Rodgers subbed for Taylor as a down lineman most of the time. He has started every game and leads the team in tackles (57) and sacks (4). That’s more tackles than Bryan Cox has with the Bears. The six sacks Taylor and Rodgers have between them are more than all the Bears’ defensive ends have combined.
Meanwhile, Bob Sapp wasn’t even deemed good enough to make a Bears team that has been devastated by injuries on the offensive line.
The Packers’ No. 1 draft choice, Ross Verba, is starting at left tackle. Their No. 2, safety Darren Sharper, will be starting sooner or later.
The Vikings’ No. 1 draft choice, linebacker Dwayne Rudd, has three sacks. Their No. 2, safety Torrian Gray, is starting and playing well. The 5-2 Vikings found room on their roster for all eight of their draft choices plus Sapp.
The Lions’ No. 1 draft choice, cornerback Bryant Westbrook, is starting and playing better every week. They also have four other draft choices who are contributing.
The Cowboys’ No. 1 draft choice, tight end David LaFleur, is playing a little. No. 3 pick Dexter Coakley has started all year at linebacker. No. 7 Omar Stoutmire is filling in for injured Darren Woodson at safety.
The Bears don’t have a single rookie playing much at all.