Hello Dol-Fans!
With the whirlwind of roster changes in Miami (and every other NFL franchise) this year, my lovely bride asked me, “who will be the ‘Face of the Franchise’ for the Dolphins now?” I have to admit… that’s a great question, and deserves to be addressed, Here goes...
Key veteran departures of RB’s Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams leaves an obvious franchise marketing void, and this wasn’t addressed through electric FA acquisitions, or a sexy First Round Draft pick. So who will be “that guy” now?
Before I proceed… please allow me to go on the record by clarifying that I firmly believe in drafting the “best player available”, and I applaud Miami for selecting OL Mike Pouncey for that very reason. I simply don’t believe he’s worthy of such a high profile honor at this point.
Logic would dictate that an easily recognizable figure like newly acquired RB Reggie Bush, Miami’s prodigal son DE/OLB Jason Taylor (“J.T.”), Pro Bowler OLB Cameron “Earthquake” Wake, high profile WR Brandon Marshall, or even Defensive leader ILB Karlos Dansby could potentially assume the part, but would that be prudent for the Dolphins Organization? Do they want fans to cling to the ghosts of seasons past (“J.T.”), unproven commodities of the present (Bush), or boldly leapfrog into the future(Pouncey)?
Many NFL franchises splatter the image of their sexy First Round Draft selections all over the media, as to boldly announce… this is our future! Stereotypically, these are Heisman Trophy winning QB’s (i.e. Cam Newton) or RB’s (i.e. Mark Ingram) that franchises mortgage their futures against, hoping to boost ticket and merchandise sales. Rarely do you see a franchise market an Offensive or Defensive Lineman as their representing “face” (aside from the Detroit Lions of course). If Miami were to use a Lineman, wouldn’t it make sense to use back-to-back Pro Bowler OT Jake Long? Nah, Jake’s not that kind of player; he’s a blue collar kind of guy – thank God!
So who will hail as face of South Beach football? If it were up to me… I’d pick a motivated, fearless, team-first player like WR Davone Bess, FB Lousaka Polite, or CB Vontae Davis. Thank goodness I’m not the Head of Dolphins Marketing and Sales huh’!
What’s your take?
