My boys are back! Aqua and Orange are once again fashionable, though I've worn my colors proud all along. Now understandably, after going 7-27 over the 34 games preceding this little spurt of success, there is a little skepticism amongst football fans-heck even some Dolphins fans. Well I am here to tell you that this team is for real, and will be a legitimate contender for the remainder of the season.

            First off I want to point out that I have not been biased in my analysis of the Phins since the beginning. I said they would lose to the Jets, I said we didn't match up well against Arizona, and I also said we'd beat New England and San Diego (Bolt Backer among others said there was no chance). Now, let's get to the task at hand, showing you why this team is no farce.

Reason 1: Playing intelligent, disciplined football. An unfortunate characteristic of Dolphins football over the past few years has been a severe lack of discipline, a plethora of asinine decisions, and an overall lack of awareness on the field. The Sparano coached version has shown a drastic improvement in every facet relating to discipline and awareness. Consider the following...in weeks 1 and 2, we committed 10 penalties for a total of 101 yards, and over the last two weeks there were only 6 penalties for 40 yards. Even further, the timing and significance of the penalties should be noted. During the first two weeks there were penalties that directly led to either the negation of a great play by the Phins, or the negation of a poor play by the opposition. One in particular that comes to mind was against the Cardinals when we negated a missed FG that eventually became a touchdown.

Reason 2: Better in the trenches. I have always said, the trenches is where football games are won. Both the offensive and defensive lines are playing outstanding football right now. In games one and two, the offensive line allowed 6 sacks, while only allowing 1 over the past two games. As for the defensive line, Joey Porter is tied for 3rd in the NFL in sacks with 5.5-and altogether the defensive line has collected 12 sacks through 4 games (9th in the NFL).

Reason 3: Numbers Don't Lie. For those yelling 'Pretender' at my Phins, consider that Miami is the only AFC team that ranks in the top-10 in both total offense (10th) AND total defense (8th). Even further, they are just one of 3 teams who could make that claim with the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles being the others. If you also take into consideration that they climbed to these rankings after a mediocre week 1, and an abysmal week 3, the Phins have clearly been one of the best teams of the past couple of weeks.

Reason 4: Chad Pennington. Yes, that  is right, the same reason that most people are citing as the Dolphins' weakest link, is the reason I think the Phins are a contender. His arm may be weak, but he IS the most accurate QB of all time, and he is a superb game manager. If you have followed his career, the amount of 'dumb' throws is so miniscule. His interceptions ARE usually an issue of his throwing arm, but the current offense seems to be molded around him. Miami has not tried anything he cannot do, and that has allowed him to play with confidence. So far he has the second highest passer rating of his career (93.5) and has only thrown 1 INT, which was a desperation throw in the back of the endzone in week 1. Additionally, over the past two games, Chad has hit 8 and 7 different receivers respectively. When you establish all of your weapons, regardless of how good they are...it keeps a defense honest, Chad has done that. Just for fun, consider the following fun observation-even years have been Chad's best...huh? Yes, Chad Pennington led the Jets to the playoffs 3 times during his time as the starting QB there-2002, 2004, and 2006. Those three years also coincide with his best statistical years in terms of yards, completion %, touchdowns, and passer rating. It's 2008, and he's on a similar pace...

 Reason 5: Ronnie Brown. He may have gotten off to a rather slow start, but since being inserted in the starting lineup, he has been outstanding. The guy has every tool you look for in a running back; speed, burst, patience, balance, and vision. Not to mention he protects the football, Brown has lost just 6 fumbles in 625 career carries, thats 1 every 104 carries. He also has a career yards per carry of 4.5 yards.  On top of it all, he is a leader and a great teammate. He has handled the incorporation of Ricky Williams, and even him being the starter initially, with great class and dignity. Also, for those who failed to notice it...Cromartie had a borderlin dirty hit early in the game on our TE Martin, and even threw him back after hitting him. Well late in the game, Ronnie got to the edge and it was him and Cromartie alone in the open field...Ronnie pointed at him, called him out, and instead of running out of bounds, lowered the absolute BOOM on him. Now that is a teammate...I nearly jumped through the roof.

Reason 6: Schedule. Looking down the line, I want to address both the short and long terms. First, in the short term, Miami gets to travel to Houston to play a shell-shocked Houston Texans team. Now the Phins cannot be fooled by the record, and normally I'd be concerned with it being a trap game, but everything about this new regime gives me confidence that a let-down will be avoided. Then, Miami gets to play host to two big time AFC opponents. If Miami takes care of business in Houston, you can bet on the fact that the next two weeks will feature Miami crowds pushing 80,000, and Dolphin Stadium will once again be a home-field advantage. Now considering the long term, 3 of Miami's 6 road games are against teams that currently have only 1 win between them (KC, St. Louis, and Houston). Additionally, 3 of their 6 home games are against the likes of San Francisco, Seattle, and Oakland. Now when you take into account that these past two wins came against the two participants from last year's AFC Championship game, you have to consider a 7-5 or 8-4 finish as plausible. I say they could very well go 3-3 in their remaining road games, and 5-1 at home. If they can do that, they will be a playoff team. At the very least you'd have to admit they will be in contention.

            Really, I can go on for days with reasons, like how the coaching staff has made adjustments and improved game planning from week to week, or how we may have earned a critical head-to-head tiebreaker against the Chargers who may very well be a team the Phins battle with for a wild card spot. Most of all though, I just want to say, the attitude and demeanor is different-as a fan, you just know. As a fan you can put your finger on the moment when your team turned around, and my finger is pointing to these past 3 weeks. I have waited patiently and loyally for signs of life in this franchise, and the latest EKG checked out clean. As years of futility accumulate, so do the skeptics...as for you Phin 'fan' skeptics...there's no room on the bandwagon for you...you called me names, and overly optimistic before the season, so I tell you, go root for the Bungles.