It must have been an unfamiliar feeling for these Miami Dolphins, being a favorite in a game. But undoubtedly they were the favorites to win on Sunday against the 0-4 Houston Texans. The Texans have exhibited little offense this season and have had off field issues. Hurricane Gustav uprooted them from their homes for a week, their stadium sustained significant damage, and last week they blew a large 4th quarter lead to the Indianapolis Colts, at home.

The Dolphins on the other hand had all the momentum in their favor. 3 weeks ago they picked up win #1 on the season at New England, had their bye 2 weeks ago, and last week their defense stymied arguably the leagues best offense against San Diego. Surely they could handle the hapless Texans right?

Despite seemingly controlling the flow of the game early on, the Dolphins were unable to hold it together down the stretch. The Dolphins lead through the whole 1st half, employing the single wing formation again this week and displaying some new wrinkles in the formation with a reverse to Pennington who shot an 80yard TD pass to RB Patrick Cobbs. The 2nd half was more evenly played, but as the game wound to a close the Dolphins were clinging to a 28-23 lead. The Texans were driving and the Dolphins seemingly had them stopped twice in the 4th quarter but allowed two 4th down conversions.

Texans WR Andre Johnson made an acrobatic catch on a 23 yard reception on a 4th and 10 to keep the drive alive. The Texans eventually got down to the Dolphins goalline. After two passes were batted down in the endzone by Dolphins defenders, the Texans were left with a 4th and goal and 3 seconds left. The Dolphins defense made a critical error leaving no linebackers in the middle of the field, and Texans QB Matt Schaub successfully ran into the endzone from 3 yards out with 3 seconds to go in the game, snatching victory from the Dolphins, 29-28.

All in all, the Dolphins should stay focused on that which went well. The offense was efficient again, though have yet to find a consistent spark matching their production against New England 3 weeks ago. The defense was again strong, but a crucial error and some luck did them in as the Texans put together a successful final drive to finish off the game and steal victory from the Dolphins.

The Dolphins need to look past this week’s game, mistakes happen and the Dolphins are improving. It would be a waste to allow this game to linger in their minds. Put it behind you and move on, next week the Dolphins are home to face the sinking Baltimore Ravens, losers of 3 in a row.

Early Friday Miami Dolphins’ RB Ronnie Brown and offensive linemen Vernon Carey and Ikechuku Ndukwe were fined $10,000 each for a celebration in the endzone last Sunday after a touchdown against the San Diego Chargers. Welcome to the return of the No Fun League.

As a sports fan in general, and a Dolphins’ fan, this aggrevates me. This is America and people are allowed by our laws the freedom of expression. Taking a step back from the political pulpit though, lets just look at this logically from a sports standpoint. First off, the NFL has seen much worse celebrations in the endzone than 3 guys dancing for 10 seconds. We’ve seen Chad Johnson commandeer television cameras and don a gold “Hall of Fame” like sport coat on the sideline with the words “Hall of Fame 20??”. Three guys dancing in the endzone for 10 seconds isn’t offensive to me, and I would doubt it is to many. How in fact is it any different than a group of teammates celebrating with a hug or high fives in the endzone?

To me, the act of fining these players is an attempt to squash the joy of a team scoring a touchdown. The NFL (No Fun League) handed down the fine because in their written rules they have stated that “coreographed celebrations by 2 or more players” are inappropriate. Considering the endzone was rare territory last season for the Dolphins, these players have every right to get excited with each touchdown they score this season as they try to prove to themselves and the league that they are a team deserving of respect. After all, these guys were 1-15 last year, are they not allowed a little joy in their game? This was not an overly coreographed event, it was three guys dancing for 10 seconds in the endzone.

Perhaps the NFL should spend more time concentrating on what it will do (if anything) to repeat offender Adam Jones, and less time fining guys for a small touchdown celebration. One final note, one of the NFL’s very own referees was right there and walked passed the players as they celebrated, there was NO flag on the play for excessive celebration.

Lets not mix words, for the better part of this decade the Miami Dolphins have been a bungling team searching for a new identity in their post Dan Marino years. To lose a player of his caliber, at arguably the most important position on the field, is tough to adjust to. It is even tougher to try and replace a player like Marino. The Dolphins are not the only team that was once prominent, riding the arm of a legendary quarterback, only to fall on hardship for years. The Dallas Cowboys were a different team for several years after Troy Aikman retired, the Denver Broncos lost their mystique when John Elway retired. For those franchises, their quarterback was the shining example of what their team stood for, he was their identity in human form.

The departure of Marino, and Don Shula a few years before, left the Dolphins without an identity. For so long under Shula they had been a no nonsense, mistake free, responsible football franchise. They new exactly what they were, and so did other teams. Early on (pre-Marino) they would grind the game out on the ground, and when Marino arrived the team shifted gears to an aerial assault. But in the time since, the franchise had become a bungling flock of loveable losers who just couldn’t seem to all get on the same page. Mistake free, solid football had been replaced with laughable quarterbacks, poor head coaches, dropped passes, and few playoff chances to speak of.

Much like everything in life though, football is cyclical. Sure, it is hard to imagine some franchises as ever having been bad. It doesn’t stick out in the memory of most that the Dallas Cowboys not too long ago were awful, the Green Bay Packers had their stretches of poor play as well, but those franchises have also come out of those stretches. So to it appears, will the Miami Dolphins. It is beginning to appear as though all the moves of Bill Parcells may be paying off. The team is beginning to play as one cohesive unit, on offense and defense.

More than anything, the Dolphins want to be considered tough. They are tired of being that team that is circled on the opponents calendar as an “easy win” before the season even starts. With the recent improvement on defense and the fact that the offense is now clicking, perhaps a few more teams will think twice before they face the Dolphins. The days of them being a lock to beat might be coming to end. The road to redemption is a long one, but it would appear as though the Dolphins are headed in the right direction.

Well, if people weren’t impressed enough with the Dolphins last victory over the Patriots, they certainly will be now. The Patriots were missing Tom Brady, but the Chargers weren’t missing anyone and the Dolphins quite easily shut down a very potent offense. The defense held arguably the league’s best running back to 35 yards and 0 TDs, and held one of the top passers in the league to a mere 159 yards and 1 TD.

The Dolphins offense on the other hand again was firing on all cylinders, and the single wing was in effect again this week. Ronnie Brown had another stellar performance rushing 24 times for 125 yards and 1 TD. The Dolphins’ offense employed the single wing or direct snap formations 11 times netting 49 yards and the games winning TD. Other formations were successful too. Chad Pennington was 22-29 for 228 yards and 1 TD. Greg Camarillo and Ted Ginn Jr showed improvement, catching 6 balls for 68 yards and 7 balls for 55 yards respectively.

The Dolphins 2nd victory this season, which doubles their total from last season, was their 2nd straight. This is the first time since November of 2006 that the Dolphins have won back to back games. After a shaky start to the season, the Dolphins appear to be gelling as a team and discovering that which works for them and that which does not. Most importantly, the offense and defense are playing good football at the same time.

The name of the game for the Dolphins this season may be ball control. The Dolphins had control of the ball for 13 1/2 more minutes on Sunday than the Chargers. In the post-Dan Marino era of Dolphin football, defense has never been the problem, the problem has always been lackluster offenses hanging their defense out to dry and leaving them on the field TOO long. The defense may have looked bad to start the season, perhaps hitting an early rock bottom in Arizona, but they have bounced back two games in a row now holding powerful offenses under 13 pts each. The offense, for its part, is holding the ball and keeping opposing offenses off the field and giving their defense time to rest.

The Dolphins once again should keep in mind lessons learned from this game and apply them going forward. They appear to have a winning formula together, control the clock and control the game. Its an old fashioned approach to football often overlooked by the teams blessed with superstars and high powered offenses. In the absence of those things, the Dolphins can succeed if they continue to employ their own brand of football.

As I watched the Dolphins take the field against the Super Bowl hopeful San Diego Chargers on this Sunday I got that feeling in my stomach, the feeling Dolphins fans have become use to. A great team that should have beaten the 1-15 Dolphins discovered something at the same time the fans did, this is not the 1-15 Dolphins. That was made clear with a goaline stand where the Fins new defense stuffed the NFL’s most prolific runner. That was made clear when Ronnie Brown decided to knock Antonio Cromartie out rather than running out of bounds because of liberties Cromartie had taken the entire game on Dolphins receivers. It was made clear when Joey Porter was playing so well his mouth couldn’t keep up.

Now what’s clear is that the Dolphins are more than just rebuilding, their contending. I know it may be too early to say, the Fins could run off 5 straight losses and the playoffs could be lost. But for one week, Dolphin fans can enjoy being contenders, being in the playoff mix. Does it feel familiar? Not long ago the question surrounding the Dolphins wasn’t making the playoffs, it was winning the Super Bowl. We may be returning to that, those great times when the wins don’t matter as much because they happen often.

The team is built better than it has been in years, strong rookies mixed with veteran leaders, and a coach who does what it takes to win and demands the same from his players. We still dont know what the future holds, but for now it is bright and the present is sweeter than it has been in a long time.

The Dolphins come off their bye week Sunday and welcome the San Diego Chargers (2-2) to Miami. After the Dolphins’ defeat of the Patriots two weeks ago, a lot may be expected going forward this season from the team. They have proven they are not completely inept on offense and that their defense is capable of stepping up, but how will they fare against the Chargers?

The key match up will be the Dolphins passing game against the Chargers passing defense. The Dolphins were able to use their fantastic run game 2 weeks ago to work in the pass against the Patriots, and with the Chargers boasting (if you can call it that) the WORST pass defense in the league (and it isn’t even close), Pennington and company could have a good day through the air.

On the opposite side of the ball, the Dolphins defense could struggle. The Chargers have made it clear this year that in the absence of a good defense to lean on they are just going to try and out score everyone, not good news for the Dolphins defense. Chargers QB Phillip Rivers is no Matt Cassel and is very comfortable with his offensive tools, WRs Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson, and TE Antonio Gates. Rivers is this 2nd leading passer in the NFL and is probably licking his chops in hopes that the Miami defense that shows up is that from week 2 in Arizona. 

Also of concern for the Dolphins defense should be the improving health of LaDainian Tomlinson and the new two headed running game of the Chargers. After lack luster performances in week 1 and 2, Tomlinson has been on the rebound and gashed the Raiders last week for 106yds and 2 TDs. His back up Darren Sproles is as fast and shifty as they come and will not only hurt you from the backfield, but catching passes and returning kicks.

The Miami Dolphins better come ready to play if they hope to contain all the monsters on the San Diego offense. If not, this game could get ugly early. That being said, the Dolphins have the tools on offense to try and exploit the Chargers poor pass defense and the running game to control the clock. My guess, the Chargers will walk away victors in the end by 5pts.

Miami Dolphins’ head coach Tony Sparano released his players last Thursday from practice and sent them home for their 3 day weekend with a warning, “stay home and keep out of trouble”. For most of the players the idea of staying home with their families for 3 days instead of training or traveling for a game is a welcome break, but for at least one Dolphin it raises a problem

RB Ricky Williams admitted on Monday of this week that he still wrestles with, as recently as this past weekend, the temptation to use marijuana. Williams has tested positive for marijuana 4 times in his NFL career and has been in the NFL’s substance abuse program since 2002. Williams is running out of strikes when it comes to violations of the NFL’s substance abuse policy, he has been suspended twice already in his career. The first time for 4 games, the second for an entire season.

Williams has admitted that he still faces the temptation to use marijuana, but he knows that he cannot allow himself to slip up or his NFL career will be over. Williams is tested 9 times a month, randomly, and sometimes has a clinician show up at his house before dawn to test him. Williams has said that sometimes the urges are stronger than others and that he tracks the length of the urge to determine how strong it really is. Sometimes it is a few minutes, sometimes 10, sometimes 20. Williams admits to never having any serious urges, but that he does often have urges of some type. Williams has developed his own unique way of dealing with them, meditation. When urges come, Williams simply meditates to clear his mind and help refocus.

So the question is, in America should we condemn Ricky or praise him for his perserverance? To me the answer is simple, Ricky should be praised. He has run the course most with drug/alcohol problems do, you get started, things get out of control, you hit rock bottom, and slowly come out…if you’re lucky. For Ricky, rock bottom would be his unexpected retirement in 2004 shortly before the season. After retirement he dropped off the face of the Earth, apparently traveling through Australia and India. Williams came back to the NFL and struggled to re-establish himself. He served a suspension at the start of the 2005 season, before again testing positive for a drug related to holistic medicine that got him suspended for the whole 2006 season. Since then Williams has been clean and is working through his issues.

The point here is that Williams, unlike so many others, is man enough to admit to his problem and stare it down. Take for example former Denver Bronco’s RB Travis Henry. Henry was arrested yesterday for his involvement in a cocaine deal. Henry last year served a 4 game suspension himself for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Henry is now out of football and with his arrest yesterday is clearly incapable of conquering his demons and attempting to lead a normal life.

Just to be clear, I don’t support drug use (obviously), however I believe that people are entitled a second chance in life if they show they are capable of overcoming adversity. Williams has made no secret of the fact that his urges to use remain, but overcome drugs or alcohol is never about eliminating the urge, that is impossible in most cases. The important thing is being mature enough to manage your urges and avoid temptation. Why should we condemn Ricky Williams for succeeding in holding his demons in check?

The Miami Dolphins could not have gone into the bye week in any better fashion than they will be this season. Fresh off their 38-13 victory in Foxboro against the New England Patriots, the Dolphins have the fortune of a bye week to savor their victory a little longer. More importantly, the Dolphins have an extra week to rest and an extra week to scheme for week 5 opponent San Diego.

The key to the Dolphins victory last Sunday was trickeration, they used the old single wing to misdirect the Patriots defense and it worked to perfection. The Dolphins employed the single wing several times with Ronnie Brown in the shotgun, Chad Pennington and Ricky Williams lined up as WRs. Every time Brown took the snap, faked the handoff to an in motion Williams, and then kept the ball himself. He scored 2 rushing TDs and threw 1 TD to TE Anthony Fasano.

Lacking a potent passing game, or even one go to WR, the Dolphins will be best served using a little trickeration each week to try and confuse the opposing D. Coach Sparano and his staff should be careful about relying too heavily upon trick plays and gimmicks though. The Dolphins went to the well one too many times against the Patriots, but they were lucky the Patriots D didn’t catch on even though Brown kept the ball every time. The San Diego D for sure will not be fooled more than once. NFL teams watch a lot of film and will catch on quick.

Trick plays and gimmicks are going to have to be a part of the Dolphins game plan to help them get some points and keep their offense on the field. Success with these plays will give the Dolphins confidence, and give them time to experience success while the offense gets itself on track. But this is the NFL, not high school or NCAA football and defenses will catch on quick to the trick plays, so lets make sure we focus just as much energy in the bye week and in subsequent practices at making the regular offense run smoothly too.

It is now Wednesday and Dolphin fans everywhere have had time to allow last weekends tremendous victory over the New England Patriots to sink in. I said last week that Joey Porter foolishly opened his mouth and let spew some tongue in cheek smack talk about the Patriots, and I stand by my criticism of Porter. The fact still remains that Joey Porter is not the same player he was in Pittsburgh, he in fact hasn’t been for awhile and his parting with Pittsburgh was partially (if not entirely) based upon lower performance.

By no means do I wish to belittle the effort our Fins put in this past weekend. The coaching staff put together a masterful gameplan and the players executed it to perfection. That being said, Miami fans need to temper their enthusiasm with some perspective.

First off, this was the New England Patriots WITHOUT Tom Brady. From the moment Tom Brady went down in week 1, anyone watching Cassel take over in that game and in week 2 could tell this team was not going to be the same without him. Porter was right, Cassel is no Brady and that offense in New England was built for Tom Brady. The Patriots are tailored perfectly for Tom Brady to run that offense and the Dolphins defensive pressure and presence proved that on Sunday.

Secondly, the Dolphins blew the doors off the New England defense, a defense that was in question from the start of LAST season. Not only has the Patriots defense not infused themselves with young talent, they have let what young talent they did have go, most notably Asante Samuel. Bruschi, Vraebel, and Harrison are not the same spring chickens that started this Patriots dynasty in 2001, but they are going to be around to see it fall apart.

All these things taken into consideration, the Miami Dolphins made good strides in beating the Patriots in Foxboro last weekend. Porter still should have kept his mouth shut, but for now he gets to live on having survived his comments. His time will come though when he makes more stupid remarks. The important thing for the Dolphins to focus on is Tom Brady or no, this Patriots team still had Randy Moss and Wes Welker and those two were not allowed to have a field day. The Dolphins applied the lessons learned a week earlier facing Fitzgerald and Boldin in Arizona and kept a lid on Moss and Welker. 1-2, not a bad position to be in, now its time to build on it!

Break out the champagne, the Miami Dolphins have won a football game. But they didn’t just win A football game, and they didn’t just eek out a victory either. The Dolphins traveled up to Foxboro, Massachussetts and dominated the New England Patriots 38-13 in a game that was never really close.

The Dolphins came out firing from the coin toss and took it to the Patriots from all angles and stopped the 21 game (regular season) winning streak of the Patriots. It is hard to single out one part of the team that did its job well, so I’ll just quickly break down all facets of the Dolphins’ game.

The offense looked like no Miami offense has in recent memory. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams had all the room in the world to run and took advantage. Williams ran 16 times for 98yds, but it was Ronnie Brown who had a breakout day. Brown ran the ball 17 times for 113yds and 4TDs! He didn’t stop their though, tossing a 19yd TD pass in the 2nd half.

Chad Pennington was not spectacular, but certainly effective. Pennington was 17/20 for 226yds with 0TDs and 0INTs. Anthony Fasano continued to be his favorite target catching 3 passes for 66yds. Greg Camarillo had 4 for 60yds and Ted Ginn Jr had 5 for 49yds.

And then there is the defense and Joey “Big Mouth” Porter. Despite rediculously stupid comments late this week, Porter and the Dolphins managed to back them up absolutely stuffing the New England offense all day. Porter finished with 5 tackles, 1 assist, 3 sacks, and a forced fumble.

Today’s dominance over the Patriots leads one to ask, where has this team been all season? This Patriots team was able to beat a New York Jets team we could not. The Dolphins were absolutely embarassed by the Arizona Cardinals last week. Now they come out and overpower the Patriots on their home field, what is going on? One can only hope that the team has started to figure out what it can and cannot accomplish in a game. Sparano is likely also figuring out what plays his offense is capable of running. Whatever it was, the Dolphins need to very carefully watch tape of todays game all week, make notes, and continue for the rest of the season what they did today.

The Dolphins proved today that they can play well this season, I remain confident that 8-8 is not outside their capabilities. They could have beaten the Jets week 1, and nobody is perfect as the Arizona game proved. If the Dolphins can build on what they accomplished today, then a better record is possible this year.