I hate to be the "Phinsider Nazi" but I'm going to have to be for a minute.

No more personal attacks - which includes calling anyone a derogatory nickname.  For example, referring to finsxfactor as "sperm" or "spermy" or anything related to the male reproductive organ (as well as anything it may produce) is prohibited.

(Wow...there's a sentence I never thought I'd type in my life)

Thank you.

Oh...and GO DOLPHINS!!!!  Screw the Pats!!!!

It's again time to make our predictions.  Above are each team's offensive and defensive rankings.  Below are some picks by experts idiots who feel their opinion matters more than others:

The Michael Silver pick, in particular, is interesting to me because I haven't seen one "expert" who has a better record than Silver's 107-53 record.  Of course, Mort has picked the the correct winner in all but one Fins game - so that worries me.  Luckily, no matter what these people say, the game is played on the field.  But the fact that this random sampling is split 50/50 shows that the perception of the Dolphins - outside of South Florida - is beginning to change in a positive way.  That's always nice to see.

As for me, I'm 6-4 with my Fin picks - and no, I haven't picked the Dolphins to win every game.

I think Sunday's game is going to be a nail-biter throughout.  I just don't see either team jumping out to an large lead.  And a few big plays/turnovers here or there will likely determine the outcome of it.

Ronnie Brown said something interesting this week.  He actually wants to have a better game than he did back in week 3.  When asked how, Brown responded, "You never know.  You never know."  That kind of talk has me excited.  But I think Ronnie will have a big day for another reason.  Week 3's game marked the 2nd very good game in a row against NE for Brown.  Last year, before the incident we shall never speak of occurred (yeah, thanks a lot, Cleo), Brown was having himself another good game.  And Brown also acknowledged earlier this week that this game will be the biggest game he's ever played in the pros.  I just have this crazy gut feeling that Ronnie is going to be the reason the Dolphins win this game.

I also think the Dolphins' pass rush is in store for a big game, too.  I think the Pats will worry too much about slowing down Joey Porter, and guys like Vonnie Holliday, Matt Roth, and Kendall Langford will make plays.

When all is said and done, I see a 100+ yard performance from Ronnie and a 3 or 4 sack game for the Fins as they win a tight one, 20-17.

Your predictions below...

Breaking news: there's actually a Dolphin listed on the report.  Find out who...

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Rather than look at specific key matchups this week, I wanted to highlight what I feel will be the 4 keys to victory for the Dolphins this week when they host the Patriots in what is simply a huge game.

#1: Win the battle in the trenches

This game promises to be physical.  And in tough, physical games, it's the play of the offensive and defensive lines that is key.  Offensively, the Dolphins dominated up front when these two teams met back in week 3.  But a lot of that domination came when the Dolphins used the 'Wildcat' - which features an unbalanced line.  Odds are the Patriots will be ready for that particular look.  So while I'm sure the Dolphins have some new variations of the Wildcat prepared to use, this Miami offensive line is still going to have to be effective out of their base formations. 

This means that two critical matchups will be Samson Satele vs Vince Wilfork and Vernon Carey vs Ty Warren.  Last time, Satele really stood out to me and surprised me in how well he held up against Wilfork - with help from one of his two guards (usually RG Ike Ndukwe).  Carey also performed well, but has struggled in recent weeks.  On Sunday, Vernon is really going to have to be able to handle Warren one-on-one, both on running and passing plays.  I hope he's up for the challenge.

Defensively for the Dolphins, their big 3 up front need to win the battle at the line of scrimmage as well.  Jason Ferguson, in particular, has really stood out over the past 2 weeks.  I think it's safe to say that he is fully healed from his previous sternum injury.  This week, he'll again need to dominate at the point of attack.

Here's an interesting stat.  Did you know that the Pats are averaging just as many yards per carry on the ground as the Dolphins (4.2)?  And did you realize that New England is currently 8th in the league in rushing offense, averaging 132.2 yards per game?  The Dolphins have to take away New England's ground game early on and force Matt Cassel to throw.  The Patriots are just 3-4 when Cassel has to throw over 30 passes but are 3-0 when Cassel throws under 30.

The Dolphins did a good job back in week 3 of shutting down the ground game of New England, holding LaMont Jordan and Sammy Morris to 49 rushing yards on 15 carries.  And the Dolphins are allowing just 82.3 rushing yards per game during their current 4 game win streak.  It'll be important for the Fins to get another similar effort on Sunday.

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Is it just me or is this week moving along very slowly?  I guess it's just the anticipation getting to me.  After all, this game is the biggest game in years for the Dolphins.

So, as we do every week, let's talk about some of the key questions for Sunday/s game:

What will be Miami's gameplan on offense this time?
We all remember back in week 3 when the Dolphins just dominated the Patriots up in New England, scoring 38 points on NE's defense.  And we all know that this was the game Miami debuted the 'Wildcat.'  And while the new formation did account for 119 yards on 6 plays - 4 of which were touchdowns - the Dolphins still moved the ball out of their base offense as well.  The Dolphins didn't "wildcat" their way to 461 yards of offense.  Chad Pennington didn't attempt one throw out of the formation, but still managed to go 17/20 for 226 yards.

So what's the plan for this week?  We know that there are still things the Dolphins can do out of the 'Wildcat' formation that nobody has seen yet.  And Dan Henning can also dial up some other surprise plays - a la Ted Ginn's reverse.  But the base offense has been pretty damn good, too.  Ted Ginn, in particular, has developed into a dangerous threat on offense - totaling 30 catches for 433 yards in 7 games since these 2 teams last met.  And Chad Pennington now has a much better grasp of the offense since week 3.  He's averaged 255 yards passing per game (and 8.2 yards per attempt) since their first meeting.

So what the Dolphins do this time around?  That's what we're all dying to see.

How will the Dolphins handle the spotlight of an enormous "playoff-like" game against a bitter division rival?
The Dolphins really have passed every test that has been thrown at them so far this season.  We wanted to know how this team would respond to being 0-2.  They won their next two games.

Then we wanted to see if the Dolphins could put together a game-sealing drive when they needed to kill the clock.  They successfully accomplished that feat against the Chargers. 

Then we were curious to see how the team would respond to two consecutive losses after getting the taste of success in their mouths.  They responded with 4 consecutive wins - including a knocking off a divisional opponent that came to Miami 5-1 and winning a game in a hostile environment in Denver.  Included in this 4 game win streak, the Dolphins also answered another question.  Could they come from behind late in the 4th quarter?  On Sunday against the Raiders, this team did just that.

But now they face a divisional opponent for the 2nd time this season.  In their first meeting, the Dolphins simply embarrassed the Patriots up in their own stadium.  You think Bill Belichick and his players have forgotten the 38-13 beatdown the Dolphins handed them in week 3?  Not a chance.

Throw in the fact that this game is essentially an early playoff game - where the loser faces a much tougher uphill battle into the postseason - and what you got is simply the biggest game that many of these Dolphin players have ever played in.  And it's the kind of game where Chad Pennington's leadership will be a key factor.

With the spotlight squarely on South Florida, how is this team going to respond?

Continue reading this post »

We heard last week that the Dolphins were in talks with one of their many impending free agents - Greg Camarillo.

Tonight we know for sure that Camarillo will be in Miami through 2011.  The Dolphins signed Camarillo to a 3 year, $6 million contract extension today.

Camarillo was last year's hero, catching a pass and taking it the distance for the game-winning touchdown in overtime against Baltimore - Miami's only win of 2007.  This season, Camarillo has taken his game to the next level and leads the team in receptions (49) and receiving yards (538).

Earlier this season, the Dolphins locked up Patrick Cobbs wit ha 2 year extension.  So why have these two gotten their deals done while other big potential free agents - such as Vernon Carey, Yeremiah Bell, Channing Crowder, and Andre Goodman - still have no new deals?  Here's what Tony Sparano says about Camarillo and Cobbs:

"The two most consistent players since the day I walked through the door have been Greg Camarillo and Patrick Cobbs."

Congrats, Greg.  It's a contract that has been well deserved.

Hat tip to jwillis9 for his FanPost.

I tried to hold back a little.  I really did.  But it's time to finally look ahead to this weekend's game between the Dolphins and Patriots down in Miami.

I know I've used this phrase once or twice already this season.  But I'm 100% sure that this time I am dead on accurate: Sunday's game is the absolute biggest game in at least 5 years.  You could even make an argument that this game is the biggest game the Dolphins will have played in this millennium.  That's right - it's that damn big.

There are a number of reasons why.  But the most important is what a Dolphins' victory would signify.  It would really all but end the Patriots' reign as the dominant AFC East team.  It would be the first time since 2000 that the Dolphins sweep the season series against the Pats.  And most importantly, it would legitimize the Dolphins and their amazing, improbable success this season.

A win by the Dolphins on Sunday would end all this talk of the Dolphins being just a "good story."  It would move them from the list of "pretenders" to the list of "contenders."  In all honesty, it would thrust the Dolphins into the limelight - for a positive reason, rather than a negative.

The good news?  The Dolphins' players and coaches all realize the importance of this game.  And no matter the outcome, I can guarantee you that this team will come prepared to play.

Coach Tony Sparano even made one significant change this week.  All season long, if the Dolphins won on Sunday, the players would get Monday off.  But not this week - a decision made on Saturday before the team even took the field against Oakland.  And the players have taken notice.  Antony Fasano said that "it kind of opened our eyes up that it's a big game."

Sparano said on Monday that he woke up in the morning feeling like he was "a kid in a candy store."  And what did he tell his players?

"My message to the players is if you walk through this door Wednesday and your heart isn't racing a million miles an hour then you don't have a pulse. This is why we do what we do. We put ourselves in a position to have a big game at home here at the end of November. I don't think too much has to be said this week."

The players have received this message loud and clear.  In fact, Ronnie Brown even called this game the biggest game of his NFL career, adding, "It's going to be a big turning point of our season."

Extra Time

With the Patriots having played the Thursday night game last week, they've gotten a little extra time to prepare for Sunday's tilt with the Fins.  But Sparano doesn't seem worried.  He said:

"That doesn’t bother me at all, them having a few extra days one way or the other. Sometimes the more you do is not always good.”

Bill Belichick, though, is probably happy with the extra preparation time that he has gotten.  It's probably allowed him to really break down the 'Wildcat' - which was unveiled back in week 3 by the Dolphins and absolutely killed the Pats in that game.

But Justin Smiley isn't worried.  Instead, he's confident that Dan Henning and company will come up with another solid gameplan for Sunday.  Says Smiley:

“We always got something. We have stuff nobody’s seen. We always have wrinkles and stuff like that. Every week he’s got something special, something to keep them on their toes.”

Continue reading this post »

That's right.  November 19 is The Phinsider's birthday.  And today, the site turns 2 years old.

Back on November 19, 2006 - this site's first day - the Dolphins knocked off the Vikings 24-20, which was their 3rd win in a row.  They followed that up by knocking off the Lions on Thanksgiving.  Ironically, that was this team's last 4 game win streak - prior to their current one.

Some other notes from the last 2 years:

• The Dolphins are 10-23 since the launching of this site
• Ronnie Brown leads the Dolphins with 14 touchdowns since the site launched
• Marty Booker leads the Dolphins with 5 receiving touchdowns since the site launched
• Joey Porter leads the Dolphins in sacks since the site launched, with 19
• Jason Allen leads the team in interceptions since the site launched, with 4
• The Dolphins have had 5 different quarterbacks start a game since the site launched
• In 2 years, this site has just under 2.5 million hits
• There are currently over 800 registered users of this site
• The site's record for hits in a day is 20,558 - set on February 29, 2008

I just want to quickly thank SB Nation for the opportunity - specifically Tyler Blezinski and David Halprin.  Those 2 took a chance on me two years ago.  I had no blogging experience.  I was just a die-hard fan.  So I'm grateful for the opportunity they gave me.

I also need to thank all of you out there who make this place as great as it is.  It's all about the community here - and there are a number of you who really have made this place what it is today.  This site simply wouldn't be as much fun as it is without each of you who are active and participate and who have help sculpt this community.

There are a number of great Dolphin websites out there.  And for you guys to choose to spend some time here at this one is greatly appreciated.

So where do we go from here?  That's a good question - and one I have no answer to.  But as long as the next few years are as fun as the past 2 have been, I'm sure we'll all be happy.

So here's to all of you!  Thanks for hanging out here with us!  Cheers!

AND GO DOLPHINS!!!