You Tell Me: Are the Miami Dolphins Playoff Contenders?

I was debating what I wanted to do with this post, but I think this will end up being fun.

What I want to know is: do you think the Miami Dolphins are good enough to be a playoff contender this year?

Currently the Dolphins are at 2-3. The Pittsburgh Steelers hold the last wild card spot at 2-2 after a bye last week. On paper Miami looks like they have a shot at it. What I want to know is if you guys think that they have a legitimate chance in reality.

Let me know what you think. Email me at paul@dolphinshout.com. I'm on twitter @PaulDSmythe.

Winning Feels Good for the Miami Dolphins

Adversity defines you as a team. The ability to fight through the bad calls, the bad plays, penalties, fumbles, interceptions, weather, or, as we saw this past week, just plain lousy officiating. Winning in spite of those situations is what shows you what you are made of. Every team in the NFL has those troubles I just spoke of. How they react to those situations is what distinguishes them from the pack.

In the past the Dolphins have not handled those situations well at all. A fumble or an interception would change the entire outcome of a game. This week we saw a team that had everything stacked against them. An officiating crew that was so bias it reminded me of the NBA officials (pure blatant cheating is what I would call it). We had 2 fumbles that could not have been much worse than what we saw. One for Jorvorskie Lane at the Bengals 5 yard line, and one close to the red zone in the Dolphins end of the field. We saw another missed field goal attempt that gave the Bengals great field position, but you know what? None of that mattered.

How many times have you seen in these pages, and in the comment fields, the words “if”? If we didn't turn the ball over we would have won that game. If we had made that field goal we would have won that game. If the referee's wouldn't have blown that call we would have won that game. IF IF IF. I'm tired of seeing the word “if”, and I'm tired of using the word “if” myself. I want to see the word “did”, as in we “did” see the team do something to stop us from using the word “if". This week we saw that. We “did” beat the Bengals. We “did” not let the game get out of hand because of our mistakes. This week we “did” execute enough plays to win, and “IF” had nothing to do with it.

Joe Philbin, along with the draft picks this year, is the reason Dolphin fans, and myself in particular, are feeling good about where this team is headed. It seems that we finally have a plan in place and the Dolphins are working the plan. We no longer are floating in the ocean without a rudder. Our direction has been defined in Ryan Tannehill. The players and us fans finally have someone we can identify with as a leader in Ryan Tannehill. I don't know where it will lead or how Ryan will progress, but for this time and moment I'm going to go with the flow, and it damn sure feels good.

Dolphins Defeat the Bengals 17-13

The Miami Dolphins put two consecutive overtime defeats behind them and pulled out a 17 to 13 victory over the Bengals in Cincinnati.

The Dolphins overcame several questionable calls early in the game to win, when safety Reshad Jones intercepted Andy Dalton at midfield with 1:22 left. Ryan Tannehill completed 65.4 percent of his passes, threw for 223 yards and had a respectable 92.3 passer rating.

It was not the prettiest game for Miami as the offense again struggled to put the Bengals away in the fourth quarter. The Miami defense however was up to the challenge causing three turnovers including the game sealing interception. “We still didn’t end it the way we wanted to end it on offense. The defense bailed us out,” said Brian Hartline.

The Dolphins overcame an early turnover when Reshad Jones had a Bengals punt hit him in the back. The ball looked to have been recovered out of bounds but was upheld upon review. Plays like the third down on the Bengals’ first series of the third quarter when Randy Starks put his hands up and the ball somehow ended up in them, rescued Miami. The offense converted the INT into a TD when Reggie Bush scampered 13 yards for a 14-6 lead.

Kevin Burnett may have said it best after the game, “the last couple games came down to turnovers, the key thing was, we didn’t turn the ball over when it mattered, and we got them when it mattered. It don’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.”

Ryan Tannehill managed to have a “clean game,” as Dan Marino said afterward. He was sacked only two times and the 65.4% completion percentage and 92.3 passer rating were the best of his young career. “He’s showing a lot of maturity,” Reggie Bush said, “making the right reads and the right checks to get us in positions to win.”

The secondary held up well in the absence of Richard Marshall. Nolan Carroll stepped in and did not miss a beat. Sean Smith limited AJ Green to nine catches for 65 yards, but gave up another fade for a TD. The Dolphins intercepted Andy Dalton twice, while holding him to 234 yards and a 63.5 rating.

It wasn’t prettiest game, but the Dolphins will take it. The resiliency Joe Philbin has talked about was evident as Miami broke the string of overtime defeats. The Dolphins are poised for a showdown with Jeff Fisher and the Saint Louis Rams next week in Miami.