What A Win

The Miami Dolphins are the epitome of hot and cold football. They have managed to beat the New England Patriots, the San Diego Chargers, and now the Buffalo Bills….what a win! Yet the team couldn’t put away the lowly Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.

Today’s game showcased someone that most Miami fans, including myself, gave up for dead. Ted Ginn. Ginn’s career day was a long time coming. 7 receptions for 175 yards. Ginn showed what he can do if he can get downfield opening the game with a long vertical toss from Chad Pennington that took the Bills by surprise.

To this point, the Dolphins vertical passing game has been almost, like Ginn, non-existent. That all changed today when the Dolphins exploited the Bills injured secondary with the speed and hands of Ted Ginn along with a surprising arm that was set on the shoulder of Chad Pennington and not Chad Henne.

Pennington found TE Anthony Fasano in the endzone for his only touchdown toss of the day, Fasano’s 3rd of the season. The running game didn’t fair as well. Ronnie Brown gained only 43 yards on the ground and Ricky Williams added a mere 15 yards himself. While Ricky added a touchdown, his second, the real story on the offense was the 314 yards by Pennington that saw 6 receivers go over the 10 yard mark with at least 2 receptions. Adding to Ginn’s 7 receptions, Greg Camarillo added 5 yards.

While the Dolphins offense managed to survive a fumble by Ricky Williams and come from behind after trailing 16 to 7 in the second half, the defense is where the team really shined.

Behind 2 sacks and a forced fumble that went for a safety by Joey Porter, the Dolphins took control in the second half and kept the Bills from doing much of anything other than worrying the fans watching at home. Porter’s relentless pass rush and the Dolphins suddenly effective secondary put Trent Edwards on his heels and kept the team from being burned by Dolphins’ killer Lee Evans.

The Dolphins sit at a respectable 3-4 after 7 games and the win knocks Buffalo out of sole possession of first place in the division. They now share that with the Patriots. The Dolphins will not find any relief next week as they face the Denver Broncos who will come off a bye week, have an exceptional passing game, and will be employing rookie runner Ryan Torain for the first time this season. The good news is that Miami seems to have the playoff contenders numbers this season.