When a once proud franchise falls upon hard times, a number of emotions are inevitably launched. Miami, home to the NFL’s only unbeaten season, one of its best quarterbacks, and a legendary coach, is now the laughing stock of the NFL. They’ve gotten so bad that they NFL is shipping them off to London to play this week. In all honesty, that was planned before the season, but it would be completely conceivable and absolutely defensible had the decision been made yesterday.

To be fair, the Dolphins have had their share of bad breaks this year. No one could have predicted that Trent Green would try to stop a 300 pound defensive lineman with the crown of his head. No one could have foreseen Ronnie Brown, the franchise’s only true franchise player, blowing out his knee while trying to make a tackle. One thing is for certain, though. The Dolphins should never be this bad, for any reason.

How does a team let itself get in a position where Cleo Lemon is the starting quarterback at the mid-way point of the season? They pitch their fortunes on an aging, declining quarterback with a history of concussions. They neglect to take Brady Quinn in the first round of the draft, then look for sympathy when that aging, concussion prone quarterback takes a knee to the noggin. If it’s sympathy the Dolphins are looking for, they better be looking elsewhere, though. In this writer’s eyes, they’ve only got themselves to blame.

I’m not just one to criticize, though. I’ll offer a solution to Cam Cameron and the hapless fish. Do what all the great losers do. Mail it in, lose all of your games from here on out, and claim the number one overall pick. Brian Brohm is the prize that awaits you for having to endure this miserable season and he’s certain to be an upgrade over what’s currently under center. Don’t worry that Don Shula, Larry Czonka, and the boys are embarrassed. The franchise is in a world of hurt and there’s no quick fix that’s going to bring any help in the immediate future.