Dolphins may lack flash, but they don’t lack confidence

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Wednesday, December 31, 2008  |  Comments( 5 )

Miami Dolphins
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The Miami Dolphins are a playoff team that doesn’t wow anyone at first glance. Miami didn’t sneak into the playoffs on the last day of the season with a .500 record like the San Diego Chargers, but the Dolphins are also not a team that turns playoff heads.

Why? First and foremost is the fact that many people still think of the Dolphins as the laughingstock of the NFL from last season. You remember Miami, the team that finished 1-15 in 2007 and had people placing bets on whether it would go winless.

The 2008 Dolphins are definitely not that team from '07, but old perceptions are hard to break. Another reason that Miami is a three-point underdog to the Baltimore Ravens entering wild-card weekend because it didn’t have a 1,000-yard rusher or receiver during the regular season.

Granted, the Dolphins did feature the two-pronged running attack of Ronnie Brown (916 yards) and Ricky Williams (659 yards). Miami’s top receiver was Ted Ginn Jr., who amassed 790 total yards.

With unimpressive individual offensive numbers like that, just how did the Dolphins manage to win the AFC East at 11-5 and tie for the biggest single-season turnaround in NFL history? By protecting the football, playing solid defense and having an efficient quarterback.

The Dolphins set an all-time league record for fewest turnovers in a 16-game season with 13. When you average surrendering the ball under one time per game, good things are going to happen.

Miami also got solid defensive play all season, particularly from Joey Porter, Yeremiah Bell, Channing Crowder and Andre Goodman. Porter was second in the league with 17.5 sacks. Bell tied for 13th in the NFL with 120 total tackles, while Crowder was close behind with 113. Goodman tied for sixth in the league with five interceptions.

Miami’s transformation into a playoff team also wouldn’t have been complete without the consistent play of passer Chad Pennington -- who was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year, only threw seven interceptions and completed 67.4 percent of his passes in 2008.

The Ravens won’t have to prepare for a game-changing runner who can carry his team on its shoulders like Adrian Peterson of the Vikings or Michael Turner of the Falcons. Baltimore also won’t have to design its defensive scheme around stopping an electric receiver like Reggie Wayne of the Colts or the Cardinals' top two.

But what the Ravens will have to do is figure out a way to contain a Miami offense that probably won’t give the football away. They will also have to contain as many as six offensive players who have made significant contributions to Miami’s efforts this season.

Baltimore has the second-ranked defense in the NFL for a reason. The Ravens have only allowed an average of 81.4 rushing yards and 179.7 passing yards per game. But Miami enters the playoffs with the confidence that comes from winning nine of its last 10 games.

There isn’t a hotter team in the NFL right now than the Dolphins. And confidence in sports can go a long way in helping a team win games.

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About Jeff Dickinson

I have been writing and editing professionally for 18 years. I spent the first three years of my career as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Alabama and got to cover sports and get paid for it! It was great until I got married and then it wasn't too much fun being away from my wife every ...
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CommentsComments: 5  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
SteFin		12:24 PM
01/01/2009
By protecting the football, playing solid defense and having an efficient quarterback. Those 12 word's from Jeff's article ...
No.2
JimmyD		11:43 AM
01/02/2009
The Ravens have already beat the Dolphins in Miami and completely decimated the wildcat, so confidence will not win this football ...
No.3
Joe		06:53 PM
01/02/2009
I am not real confident that the Fins can pull this game off (I wish they were playing the colts or Chargers) but even if they ...
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