Miami Dolphins' Sunday's Bess

UPDATE:  In a huge oversight on my part, I completely left off Dolphins K Dan Carpenter who was not only 3 for 3 on the day but kicked the final game winning FG of 41 yards.  I suppose it’s easy to forget a player that is the easily the most consistent performer on the team.  Carp was definitely one of this weekends “Bess”.

The Miami Dolphins shocked a lot of fans on Sunday when they took on the New England Patriots. A day of firsts in many respects. Consider that the Phins gave the Patriots a 14 point spot to open the game before climbing back into it. The team also relied on the arm of QB Chad Henne as opposed to a running game that has been the teams bread and butter all season. The WildCat? Not used. Two plays with QB Pat White were injected into the game but neither produced anything but raised eyebrows and on one play, an array of cursing from the stands. But Sunday wasn’t about lost yards and missed opportunities. Sunday was about getting back into the thick of the playoff hunt and finding that desire to turn a corner. Here are some of Sunday’s Bess!!!

Sundays Hero’s:

Chad Henne – Henne threw his first 300 yard game of his career and added a 4th quarter come from behind victory to his resume. With over 350 yards in the air, Henne tossed the rock 52 times. He was sacked only once and threw only 1 INT. For all his tosses though, Henne missed on two sure TD’s when he overthrew one and underthrew the other. Regardless, Henne showed a lot of veteran attributes during this game. Shrugging off mistakes and leading the team without concern on critical drives. Sunday, Chad Henne officially became an NFL QB.

Davone Bess – Bess has been one of the Dolphins better WR’s in a weak group. Yet for all his catches and his drops, Bess had yet to really make an impact. Bess has always been a good posession receiver but his yards after the catch was next to nil. On Sunday, Bess erupted for 100 plus on 10 catches. His most productive day as a pro by far.

Ted Ginn – No, Ted Ginn didn’t run any KO back for touchdowns, didn’t score any touchdowns, and wasn’t stellar on special teams. But the oft maligned WR caught two very critical passes in the 4th quarter. One on a sideline rope and another on a critical 3rd down throw. Ginn has been criticized for a lot crucial dropped passes so it needed to be mentioned.

Channing Crowder – In the 5 years that Crowder has been a Miami Dolphin has he ever made a game changing play? He did on Sunday bringing in his first pro INT. His late 4th quarter drive put the final nail in New England’s coffin.

Paul Solia – Solia is starting to get better as the weeks go on and on Sunday he made the initial contact on Sammie Morris to stop a 4th down and 1 attempt on the Miami 6 yard line.

Cameron Wake – Wake seems to make plays everytime he is on the field. On Sunday, it was Wake’s pressure that forced Brady to throw his pass to Channing Crowder.

Brian Hartline – Was there anyone who didn’t complain about the Phins drafting Hartline? They aren’t complaining anymore. Hartline finally got a pass interference called on him instead of against him. Oh, and he also scored his second NFL TD.

Who else was on your list of players who deserve a shout out?

THE PLAYOFF PICTURE

It’s getting to be an interesting season. With 4 weeks remaining in the NFL schedule the hunt for the playoffs, for the Miami Dolphins, is alive and well and almost in their grasp. What they have to do from here on out is simple. Win. Not one or two games, not 3, all of them. All 4.

For all intent and purposes, the Dolphins are starting the playoffs early. 4 weeks early to be exact. One misstep and it’s over with, done…almost. Tonight the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Green Bay Packers making the race tight for that final Wild Card spot. The Dolphins and Ravens are both 6-6 along with the Steelers and NY Jets.

One game above Miami is the Jacksonville Jaguars at 7-5 and as fate would have it the Phins next opponent as well. A win in northeast Florida next Sunday and the Dolphins are looking a lot better. Still, they need some help. The Ravens currently hold sway over the Phins because of a better conference record and since the teams don’t play each other, tie-breakers will be used to determine the winner should both teams end tied. The Ravens don’t have an easy schedule and one loss will put the Dolphins in control.

The Broncos currently sit 2 games ahead of Miami but face both the unbeaten Colts next week and Philly in week 16. Of the other teams looking to make the playoffs, the Dolphins either have them on their schedule, Texas, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh, or own the tie-breakers head to head already, New York.

Of course the team still has a chance at the AFC East with a New England loss and the Phins winning out. There would be one final tie-breaker to decide the winner but most of that has to do with games yet to be played so it’s still way up in the air.