These Dolphins Are Dangerous

It’s hard to believe that just six weeks ago on the last Sunday in October, the Dolphins were coming off yet another heartbreaking loss late in the fourth quarter to the New York Giants. Again, the Dolphins had failed to close out a fourth quarter lead and fell to 0 – 7. The sky was falling and the locker room was on the brink of collapsing. Tony Sparano’s seat was not only scolding hot, it was beginning to melt away. Even the so called “die hard” Dolphin fans had thrown in the towel and hopped on the “Suck-For-Luck” train, riding in first class seats. We were the laughing stock of the NFL. Even Jay Leno joked about the team’s misfortunes on his late night show. The franchise had officially hit rock bottom and were simply pathetic.

This upcoming Sunday is December 11^th and there is not one team in the league who wants to play these Dolphins right now. They are Dangerous! Other than the game against the Cowboys, the Dolphins have been nearly flawless on offense, defense, and special teams. During this stretch, QB Matt Moore has thrown eight touchdowns and just one pick, averaging an impressive 108.8 QB rating. RB Reggie Bush has contributed with five touchdowns and TE Anthony Fasano has reinvented himself as a legitimate weapon on offense with three touchdowns as well. And for the first time, the Offensive Line is finally blocking well for Moore and creating holes for Reggie and Daniel Thomas. Most importantly, these revamped Dolphins have been putting up 27.8 points per game as compared to 15.3 points during that forgetful 0 – 7 start.

As for the Dolphin defense, where do I even begin? CBs Vontae Davis and Sean Smith have finally been playing like they are the “best CB duo in the league.” Carlos Dansby and Yeremiah Bell have been running around the field like a couple of wild, unleashed caged tigers. Bell is knocking people out cold and Dansby has done an excellent job stopping the run, covering TEs on pass coverage, and just tackling players with tremendous hate in his heart. Jared Odrick is quietly having a fantastic year showing us all why he was selected in the first round of the 2010 draft. This defensive list of players can go on and on but overall, they have been absolute gang busters.

The defense has been extremely stingy giving up only 10.8 points per game over the five game stretch. Not to mention they went three straight games not giving up a touchdown at all. Last week against the Raiders the score was 34 – 0 into the fourth quarter before the Dolphins “kindly” allowed the Raiders to score. The Raiders were getting beat up so bad the Dolphins gave them two sympathy touchdowns. The Buffalo Bills should have just done themselves a “healthy” favor and stayed home a few weeks ago. Every time you looked up a stretcher was carting a Bill off the field in that 35 – 8 beat down.

Yes, at this moment, it’s safe to say these Dolphins are angry and playing with a chip on their shoulder. Rather they are playing for coach Sparano, pride, or both, this team is a different animal playing with a vindictive attitude. The remaining teams on the schedule should take notice of these rejuvenated Dolphins and certainly not take them lightly. No one is laughing at this team now. These Dolphins are dangerous and look to continue their “spoiler role” as they enter the final quarter of the season. What a gift it would be to all of us fans to watch the Dolphins end the playoff hopes of the Jets in that end of the year showdown in Miami. Hollywood couldn’t script a better ending to a crazy year.