Nobody would have guessed ahead of Sunday’s game that the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots would be involved in a shoot out, if anything perhaps a close, low scoring game. Instead, Dolphin fans were treated to a back and forth shoot out Sunday that eventually saw the Dolphins fall short on fire power, losing to the Patriots 48-28.

The first 3 1/2 quarters of Sunday’s game were perhaps the most exciting quarters of football witnessed in Miami in recent memory. The game saw 6 lead changes by the middle of the 3rd quarter as the teams traded blows in an offensive onslaught. New England scored first on a 30 yd field goal in the 1st quarter to make it 3-0 and from there it was one lead change after another. Miami would go ahead 7-3 on a Chad Pennington TD pass to Greg Camarillo, but the Patriots would answer later with an 8 yd TD run from Matt Cassel to go ahead 10-7.

Pennington would answer with a TD scramble of his own to put Miami back in front 14-10, but just before the half Randy Moss caught a 25 yd TD pass from Cassel to take the lead at halftime 17-14. The back and forth would continue though as Miami answered right away in the 2nd half with another Pennington TD pass, this time to Casey Cramer to go up 21-17. Back to back New England touchdowns in the 3rd quarter though would bring an end to the lead changes, as the Patriots went up 31-21.

Miami would make one more run at the Patriots early in the 4th quarter when Pennington threw his 3rd TD pass of the day, this time to Ricky Williams, to close the gap to 31-28. From there however it was all Patriots as they would go on to score a TD, FG, and TD to win by a final score of 48-28.

The loss hurts the Dolphins playoff chances as they fall to 3rd in the AFC East. Barring a collapse of the New York Jets, the Dolphins have little to no chance of winning the division and it is even difficult to see how the Dolphins could climb into the Wild Card race at this point. That being said, the Dolphins have nothing to be ashamed of. The Patriots, like it or not Dolphin fans, are simply more talented than the Dolphins. Too much has changed since the last time these two teams have met. Matt Cassel almost has Patriot fans saying “Tom who?” and their defense is resurgent.

The Dolphins made a good showing of themselves and no matter how the team finishes the rest of the season, they should see nothing but positives out of the 2008 campaign. They went from 1 win last season, to 6 already this season and still have a chance to finish with a winning record. Given the lack of talent at some key positions on this team (WR!), they are proving they can compete nonetheless. Hold your heads high Dolphins, you’re doing just fine.

On Wednesday the Miami Dolphins gave WR Greg Camarillo a 3 year, $6 million contract extension to keep him in Miami. What a true waste of money this is for the Dolphins. Before ripping into the Dolphins, Camarillo was given this contract because according to coach Tony Sparano Camarillo is “the most consistent Dolphin throughout the minicamps, training camp and season”. Camarillo does in fact lead the team in both receptions and receiving yards at 49 for 538yds, but lets look at this reasonably.

On the flip side of this coin is reality. Camarillo may lead the Dolphins in receptions and yardage, but we aren’t talking about the Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants, or New Orleans Saints. The Dolphins offense does just enough each week not to lose. Camarillo is not the leading receiver on a high flying offense, he is the leading receiver of a sometimes inept passing team that can be hot one week and pathetic the next. Camarillo has only caught one, yes ONE, TD pass this season.

OK, so Camarillo didn’t sign a bank busting deal, in fact he won’t be anywhere near the top pay echelon of WRs. However, this is money that could have been used as a signing bonus for a top tier WR next season. In the NFL these days, players will follow money wherever it leads them. Miami is not a pathetic team anymore as they are 6-4 and it won’t take as tremendous a sales pitch to lure new players next season. Miami is a franchise on the rebound, giving their image a fresh look, and trying to become a contender year after year. Camarillo is not the man to lean on, and giving him any money to remain long term is a waste when better talent could have been brought in to boost the franchise for the future.

The Miami Dolphins are rolling as of late, and if they want to continue their winning streak they are going to need to find a way to defeat the resurgent New England Patriots on Sunday. A lot will be riding on Sunday’s game in Miami, and a lot will be different about this encounter.

Miami will enter Sunday tied with New England at 6-4 and 2nd in the AFC East division, one game behind the division leading New York Jets (7-3). If the Dolphins defeat the Patriots on Sunday, they will be keeping pace with the Jets and improving their division record to 3-1 (7-4 overall). A victory puts them that much closer to a possible playoff berth. A win keeps them close in the divisional race and keeps them in the mix for a Wild Card spot at worst. A loss however, and the Dolphins will drop to 3rd in the division and will drop them lower into the mix of possible Wild Card teams.

Circumstances will also be different this time around, much different than when the two teams met in Foxboro back in September. Back then, Miami was 0-2 and given NO chance of winning, while New England was still trying to find its new offensive identity in the post-Tom Brady era. The Dolphins rolled out the Wildcat formation and thoroughly confused and beat down the Patriots. This time though, New England is more comfortable with backup Matt Cassel, and in addition to taking the Dolphins more seriously, they will be looking for the Wildcat formation this time around. Miami also must be prepared for New England to come out firing on all cylinders in an attempt to avenge their embarassing defeat in September.

If ever there was a game Miami could not overlook, this is it. This may arguably be the most important game the Dolphins have played in 2-3 seasons, hopefully the players can use their head coach’s enthusiasm to pull off another crucial victory and keep their streak alive.

Nobody said the victories had to be pretty, but for a franchise recovering from a 1-15 season, they will take the wins however they can get them. Yesterday the Miami Dolphins beat the Oakland Raiders in a 17-15 snooze-fest that is best described as forgettable.

Miami took the early lead on a 40 yard TD run from Ted Ginn Jr and led 7-3 at halftime. Chad Pennington would be sacked for a safety in the 3rd quarter to make it 7-5, but late in the quarter a Patrick Cobbs rushing TD would put the Dolphins safely ahead (seemingly) at 14-5. The 4th quarter would see the Raiders put a scare into the Dolphins. The Raiders would get a FG to make it 14-8 and then returned a punt 92 yards for a TD to take the lead 15-14. Miami would get one last shot at the ball and make the most of it. With 4:20 to go, Miami started at their own 20 and would drive 10 plays and 61 yards to set up Dan Carpenter for a possible game winning field goal. With 38 seconds left Carpenter would nail a 38 yard field goal to give Miami the 17-15 win.

There are no rules about how you are suppose to win in the NFL, and that is good for the Dolphins. In the two games this season that they were actually considered the favorite, Miami has not been impressive. The past two weeks Miami has been considered the favorite over Seattle and Oakland and have come away with 2pt, hard fought victories.

On the plus side, Miami is winning these close games against bad teams, and that is all that counts in the end. Chad Pennington is proving more and more potent and efficient each week, the running game behind Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams is stronger each week, and Ted Ginn Jr is beginning to show the promise that got him drafted in the 1st round. Best of all though, the Dolphins are on a 4 game win streak, have a 6-4 record, and the Fins are 1 game out of 1st in the AFC East.

Nobody said that every football game has to be won in perfect fashion, victories don’t count for more if they are pretty, a ”W” is a “W.” A “W” is exactly what the Dolphins got Sunday afternoon when they defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21-19 in Miami. Sunday’s victory was the Dolphins 3rd in a row and improved the Dolphins’ record to 5-4.

The Dolphins jumped out to an early 14-0 lead with a flea flicker pass to Ted Ginn Jr for a 39 yard TD. In the 2nd quarter Ricky Williams burst up the middle for a 51 yard TD run out of the wildcat formation. Seattle spent the next quarter and a half nibbling away at the Dolphins lead until they found themselves down 14-13 in the middle of the 4th quarter. Ronnie Brown’s 16 yard TD run late in the 4th would prove critical as the Seahawks would again challenge the Dolphins’ lead.

Late in the 4th quarter the Dolphins looked to their defense to preserve the win. Seattle scored a TD with 2:57 to go in the game and went for the 2pt conversion to tie the game and force overtime, but the defense batted down the 2pt pass attempt. The Dolphins would make one final stand and force an incompletion on 4th down in the final seconds to win the game 21-19.

Chad Pennington was 22/36 for 209yds and 1TD, 1INT. Ginn Jr caught 4 balls for 67yds and a TD. Williams had 12rushes for 105yds and a TD while Brown had 10rushes for 39yds and the game winning TD. The Dolphins’ defense meanwhile had 3 sacks and knocked down 6 passes.

The factors that led to today’s victory were the same that have propelled Miami to 3 straight victories. The Dolphins enjoyed greater possession of the ball, played solid defense (especially when it mattered most), and were efficient enough on offense to win.

Miami’s win gives them a winning record this season at 5-4. In addition to extending their win streak, today’s victory also puts the Dolphins one game out of first place in the AFC East. It certainly seemed silly before the season to mention playoffs in the same sentence as the Dolphins, it also seemed silly 3 weeks ago when the Dolphins were 2-4. Now however, it is worth wondering at the chances of seeing Miami in the playoffs this season.

Miami’s remaining games against non-divisional foes include Oakland, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Kansas City who are a combined 7-28 this season. Miami’s other 3 remaining games are againts New England, @ Buffalo, and they finish the season @ the New York Jets. One thing is certain, the Dolphins’ chances of making the playoffs are real, and entirely in their own hands.

Two weeks ago the fate of the Miami Dolphins was in doubt with their record at 2-4, stuck on a 2 game losing streak, and a tough stretch ahead of them. So much for the concern regarding the fate of their season, the Dolphins defeated the Denver Broncos on the road today 26-17.

For the 2nd week in a row, the Dolphins have taken on a team no one would have thought them capable of beating, and defeated them. One week after beating the AFC East leading Buffalo Bills in Miami, the Dolphins went on the road to face the high powered Denver Bronco offense. The Dolphins shut down Denver from the get go and produced just enough offense of their own to beat the Broncos in Denver.

Chad Pennington was his usual effective self, nothing flashy, going 23/40 for 281yds 0TDs and 1INT. Greg Camarillo had a break out game catching 11 passes for 111yds and Ronnie Brown ran for 59yds and a TD, Miami’s lone offensive TD. The Dolphins kept Denver in check partially thanks to ball control, which was proven earlier this season to be Miami’s best friend. The Dolphins held the ball for 36:31 in comparison to 23:29 for the Broncos.

Defense led the way today though as the Dolphins kept Denver’s big threats grounded. Bronco WR Eddie Royal had 69 yds receiving while WR Brandon Marshall was held to 2 catches for 27 yards. The highlight of the afternoon was CB Will Allen’s 32 yd INT return for a TD in the 1st quarter that put Miami up 13-0. Slowly the Broncos chipped away at the Dolphins lead, getting as close as 19-17 in the 4th quarter until Brown punched the ball in from 2yds out to put Miami ahead for good at 26-17.

Today’s victory was important physically and emotionally for the Dolphins. After a disappointing 2 game stretch against mediocre competition in Houston and Baltimore, the Dolphins rebounded to defeat two winning teams in impressive fashion and pull themselves back to .500 at 4-4. Much like their success against New England and San Diego, ball control and solid defense were the key factors in the Dolphins’ victory. Every game the Dolphins have enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in this season, they have won.

When the Dolphins play football like they did today, they are playing smart football. Wins like this show they recognize their strengths and weaknesses and are playing to their strengths while minimizing the effect their weaknesses can have. The Dolphins can have an impressive finish to their season if they can keep working on this formula and keep applying it week in and week out.