High Side (#11) by Mark Wimer
Everything is looking up for Jay Fiedler in 2002. The team added powerful Ricky Williams to the backfield in the offseason. Chris Chambers is an emerging star at wide receiver. New offensive coordinator Norv Turner has installed his offense in mini-camps, and Fiedler looked confident and capable running it - drawing much praise from Turner. Best of all, Fiedler has battled out from the shadow of Miami cult-hero Dan Marino and established himself as the quarterback of today and tomorrow for the Dolphins.

All signals point to a breakout season for Fiedler. He's smart, has polished his skills in the past two seasons in Miami, and now has the weapons at his disposal to really take charge of games. He looks like a quarterback entering the prime of his career.

Building on last season's performance (273/450 for 3290 yards, 20 TDs and 19 INTs - with 73 rushes for 321 yards and 4 td's), I expect Fiedler to throw for between 3300 -3400 yards, with 22-24 td's while reducing the number of interceptions into the 14 -16 range. He may put up between 200-300 yards rushing, but the number of rushing td's should drop to 1-2 in 2002, due to the presence of Ricky Williams in the backfield. These numbers warrant an eleventh ranking among starting NFL quarterbacks in my book.

Low Side (#20) by Andy Hicks
Why have I ranked this guy the 20th QB that should be chosen?

Last year was a fluke. No way Fiedler goes top 10 again. His performance in 2002 will be similar to the 2000 season, where he finished 20th.

Reasons.
He ranked 8th in QB intercepts.
Games yielding less than 230 passing yards = 11
Games yielding less than 200 passing yards = 7
Games yielding 300 plus passing yards = 1
How many times did he fail to pass for more than 1 TD? Answer, 11.
How many times did he pass for more than 2 TDs? Answer, 2

Sorry, but all this indicates Jay Fielder is a backup Quarterback for your Fantasy Squad. Is anyone but the most ardent Dolphin fan or blinded optimist (Sorry Mark) comfortable with Fiedler as their starter? I would happily draft him as my second QB if I was real strong in other areas. He would sit happily on my bench as a 3rd QB. As a starter, no thanks.

So you think Ricky Williams will save Fiedler's bacon and allow the passing lanes to open up!! Please think again, Norv Turner is a smart man. Fielder is not going to be allowed to win many games. That is why they traded for Ricky Williams.

For those who are yet to be convinced, let us see what Grandmaster Drinen has to say on the matter. To summarize, only one third of teams who improve on their Rushing stats, also improve on their passing game. For me it is a pretty safe bet to include Fielder in the two thirds who don't.

Let us look at his cast of supporting characters.
Chris Chambers has the mock on him. I rank Chambers high, because I think there is nothing else in Miami. Oronde Gadsden will get his share of TDs, but the yardage total will not improve. James McKnight had his chance to impress last year and put in an average year. Again it will not get better. Production from the Tight End position is a farce. Ricky Williams may see a few more passes thrown his way, than was the case with Lamar Smith, but he is more likely to be used heavily on the ground. Fiedler's 4 Rushing Touchdowns from last year, at best will be 2 this year. Ray Lucas and Ricky Williams will see to that.

Best case scenario for Fielder fans - Ricky Williams tanks it and does nothing. Chris Chambers turns into a Stud, McKnight and Gadsden elevate their games to new levels. The D can't perform to its usual standard and the Dolphins fall behind often - Best ranking possible - 10th

Worst case scenario for Fielder fans - Ricky Williams does what everyone thought he was capable of. Dominates games, chews up the clock and get TD after TD. Chambers gets 2nd year blues, no other receiver improves and the defense keeps the opposition scores down. Worst ranking possible - 26th.

More of the worst case scenario will happen. Fielder does not enjoy his last year as a starter.