Since it seems like nobody in the mainstream media wants to talk about the amazing turnaround of our beloved franchise, I'll toot our own horn. 

As someone in our community pointed out, the 1963 Oakland Raiders (of the AFL) were the last team to go from a 1 win season to a 10 win season.  In fact, since the merger, no NFL team has ever even made the playoffs after winning just one game the season before.  And that's why what the 2008 Miami Dolphins are doing is so unbelievable.  They simply have a chance to do something that no other team has ever done before.

Since 1980, 7 teams (other than the '07 Dolphins) have gone 1-15.  Below is how they fared the next season:

'80 Saints: 4-12
'89 Cowboys: 7-9
'90 Patriots: 6-10
'91 Colts: 9-7
'96 Jets: 9-7
'00 Chargers: 5-11
'01 Panthers: 7-9

As you can see, the Dolphins are already among the top 5 "post-one-win seasons" since 1980.  Also of note, the '96 Jets were headed by non other than Bill Parcells - the master of the reclamation project.

But that's not what the Dolphins are shooting for right now.  Yes, after the season, it will be nice to sit back and think about just how surprisingly successful this season has been.  But nobody here is looking to "settle" for 7 or 8 wins - or even 9 wins.  No.  Our eyes are on a much bigger prize.  And even though much of the nation doesn't want to acknowledge the Dolphins, the Dolphins are currently in the hunt to make history and make the playoffs.  And what lies ahead is what I'm calling "Mission 4W."

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Welcome to the first of what I hope to be a reoccurring feature.  And it's very simple.  Each week (hopefully - if I remember), I will ask all of you Dolphin fans a question about a hot topic that relates to our beloved Dolphins.  And I'll BS for a little while and then close the post with a poll - taking the pulse of Dolphin fans everywhere.  And because of how wide-reaching this community is - with readers all across the country and all across the globe - it should lead to some interesting results.

This week, the question is simple: In 4 weeks, what will the Dolphins record be - and will it be good enough for a playoff birth? 

And to make things easier, I'm going to make the assumption that a 9-7 record is not good enough for even a wild card birth into the postseason - which is almost certain to be true.

We all know the remaining games and we all know how the Dolphins haven't been as sharp as we'd all like these past 4 weeks.  But even still, CBS Sports' Clark Judge is picking the Dolphins to win the division - perhaps the only national media personality who has done so.  He says:

The smart money is on the Jets, but I don't trust them in their two West Coast games. They're 0-2 there this season, and it wouldn't surprise me if they struggled with either San Francisco or Seattle. Maybe both.

Key game: Miami at N.Y. Jets, Dec. 28.

Advantage: Miami. Look at the schedule: Its next three games are at Buffalo, home to San Francisco and at Kansas City. The Jets counter with road games in San Francisco and Seattle and a home date with Buffalo, a seemingly cozy itinerary. But be advised: Those cross-country trips can be hazardous.

So what do you all say?  Vote in the poll and then tell us why below...

We've now had over a day to digest what went down on Sunday.  We now know that, yes, the Dolphins won in "un-pretty" - sounds better than ugly - fashion.  We also know that the Dolphins now control their own destiny.  Let's discuss further.

A SIGN OF PROGRESS?
The Sun-Sentinel's David Hyde wrote an article that poses an interesting theory.  Basically, Hyde says that these ugly wins - and we've seen 3 in the last 4 weeks - is still a sign of progress.  Here's an excerpt:

Because this was an easy game to sum up, if you want to get away from the over-analysis and over-complimenting coating every NFL game. Chad Pennington was asked if it was as simple as the Rams throwing three interceptions and the Dolphins throwing none.

"A lot of times it's as simple as that,'' Pennington said. "More games are lost than are won. It's not sexy for fantasy football, but for winning football and going home on the plane happy it's what matters."

"More games are lost than are won."  That's really an interesting quote by CP10.

Back in week 10, the Dolphins let the Seahawks hang around - partly thanks to a bad decision by Pennington resulting in an interception return for a TD.  And with 2 minutes left to go, the Seahawks had the ball and only needed to get into field goal range for the win.  The Dolphins, though, held on to win by 2.

The following week saw the Dolphins out-gain the Raiders by 183 yards.  But the Fins surrendered a late TD to the Raiders on a punt return.  It took a Dan Carpenter field goal with under a minute left to pull out this one.

And on Sunday, we all saw that, despite 2 interceptions thrown by Marc Bulger, the Rams had the ball with 2 minutes to go needing a touchdown to win.  Luckily, Bulger forced a pass and Andre Goodman made a play - picking it off and sealing the win.

To a non-Dolphins fan, it would look like the Dolphins are simply "lucking out" and winning games more so because of their opponents' ineptitude rather than their own performance.  Opposing teams, they might say, have been doing more to lose the game than the Dolphins have to win the game.

But us Dolphin fans recognize what we're seeing.  And it is indeed progress - even if the national media doesn't want to recognize it.  Because we all know that the Dolphins lost 6 games by 3 points last year.  And we know that it was just one year ago when the Dolphins were the team losing these kinds of games.  They were the inept team beating themselves.

What a difference a year makes.  So however this season ends a month from now, it's still been a 100% success.

Continue reading this post »

Hello Toronto Bills fans,

(That just sounds too weird)

Many of you probably know me from our "Around the AFC East" segment that we did before the season.  For those that don't, I'm the guy who runs the Miami Dolphins blog on SB Nation - The Phinsider.

As we prepare for Dolphins/Bills - Round 2 - I wanted to come over here and see if any of you had any Dolphin-related questions for me.

So shoot me some topics and I'll check in from time to time and answer them best I can.

This time last week, all of us Dolphin fans were sitting here in despair, wondering if the Dolphins had just blown their shot at an improbable playoff birth.  One week later, we all feel rejuvenated - even after a classic "ugly" win by the Fins in St. Louis.

IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW YOU WIN
This seems to be a reoccurring theme for the 2008 Miami Dolphins.  Some of their best wins have come in excellent performances against good teams.  But others have come in "different" performances against teams in which the Dolphins were actually heavy favorites.  The Seahawks and Raiders games come to mind.  Well you can also add to that list Sunday's game against the Rams.

The offense struggled.  Against one of the NFL's worst defenses - statistically speaking, the Fins were only able to find the endzone one time.  Chad Pennington was only able to complete 56% of his passes and didn't even top 170 yards through the air.  There were some dropped balls by receivers.  Running backs simply tripped before the line of scrimmage from time to time.  And on one of the most exciting offensive plays, a play that saw Ronnie Brown take a toss, scramble, and throw a completion on the run to David Martin, the end result was a turnover when Martin fumbled the ball away to St. Louis.

Of course, the offense wasn't all bad.  The running game really did get going, with the backs combining for 134 yards on 32 carries.  We also found out that Davone Bess can indeed be a key part of the offense and help take up some of the slack created by Greg Camarillo's knee injury.  Bess made a number of plays, catching 6 balls for 84 yards - including 2 key receptions on 3rd downs.  One converted a 3rd & 9 on Miami's only TD drive - with Ronnie Brown taking it into the endzone just 2 plays later.  The other was on a 3rd & 2 and kept alive a drive that would end with one of Dan Carpenter's field goals.  Let's hope for continued production from Bess.

But it was the defense - despite allowing chunks of yards to Steven Jackson on the ground - that really deserves the credit for Sunday's win.  They exemplified the old "bend but don't break" cliche - never allowing the Rams into the endzone - which includes 2 drives that saw the Rams inside Miami's 20 only to have to settle for 2 field goals.  It wasn't a dominating performance by any means - no matter what the 3 interceptions and 12 points against would lead you to think.  But they did enough in a game where they needed to step up and carry a sluggish offensive unit.

The bottom line?  The Dolphins went on the road, committed 10 penalties, converted just 33% of their 3rd downs, allowed the Rams to convert 50% of their 3rd downs, and lost the time-of-possession battle by 3 minutes.  But they found a way to win.

Continue reading this post »

**UPDATE**:  Some bad news.  Justin Smiley has a broken right leg and tore all the ligaments in his ankle.  This is a huge hit to Miami's offensive line.  And not only do you have to worry about replacing him this year, but you have to also worry about the potential long-term effect.  Ugh! [end update]

Well it took 3 Marc Bulger interceptions, but the Dolphins are 7-5 - knocking off the Rams 16-12 (damn - that's an ugly score).

Let's be honest, though.  The Dolphins really struggled to win this one.  But a win is a won - especially on the road.

Enjoy the rest of your Football Sunday.

Usual posts should be up later on today and tomorrow.

Oh - and let's go Steelers and Broncos!

Halftime in St. Louis.  Dolphins lead by 1.

That holding call by Ndukwe was a killer.  And Steven Jackson has been just killing the Dolphins.

Another tight 2nd half is in store.

Go Dolphins!!

MIAMI DOLPHINS (6-5)	WEEK 13	ST LOUIS RAMS (2-9)
	AT

Today's Inactives:

• Dolphins - QB John Beck (3rd), FS Jason Allen, OL Al Johnson, G Shawn Murphy, T Nate Garner, TE Joey Haynos, DE Rodrique Wright, DT Paul Soliai
• Rams - QB Brock Berlin, CB Tye Hill, LB Chris Draft, LB Larry Grant, C Corey Withrow, G Roy Schuening, T Anthony Davis, DE Eric Moore

Steven Jackson is active today and is slated for 16 to 17 carries, according to ESPN's John Clayton.  That'll make things a little tougher for the Dolphins.

For the Dolphins, Paul Soliai was suspended.  His time in Miami is probably coming to a close.  Jason Allen is a surprise inactive.  I guess his hand injury is more of a problem then the team let on.  More importantly, though, Jake Long is active and will start.

It's time to start a new winning streak.  As always, being a large favorite in a game worries me.  But I trust Tony Sparano; his boys will be ready to play.

Let's get this "W" and then move on to the next challenge: Toronto.

GO DOLPHINS!!!

It's again time for our predictions.  Above are each team's offensive and defensive rankings.  Below are some "expert" picks:

I'm always worried when everyone likes the Dolphins in a game.  And we've seen 2 times the last 3 weeks that the Dolphins don't usually perform well in games when they are heavily favored.  Let's hope that all changes this week in St. Louis.

This week, I would hope that the Dolphins can finally get a solid running game going - out of their base formation.  Ronnie Brown could use a big game this week as well.

Defensively, I expect the Dolphins to get after the quarterback.  Joey Porter will likely pick up at least another sack, putting him back on top of the league after DeMarcus Ware took the lead from Porter on Thanksgiving.

I'll take the Dolphins, but I don't expect it to be easy.  Dolphins win 27-20.

Your predictions below...