Miami Dolphins could end their November with a bang by winning Thursday in Dallas
By Greg Stoda
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
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MIAMI GARDENS — It's an odd journey of self-discovery. That's the best way to define what's going on with the Dolphins right now.
Were they as bad as their seven-game losing streak to start the season suggested? Almost certainly not.
Are they as good as the winning streak they stretched to three games Sunday suggests? Almost certainly not.
But it's no small accomplishment to shed the label of laughingstock - that's absolutely what Miami was - and to do so impressively.
The Dolphins have gone from September and October ineptitude to November competence, and next have a Thursday afternoon date in Dallas with an opportunity to further demonstrate their worth.
Who would have guessed a few weeks ago that Thanksgiving would give the Dolphins a chance to substantiate themselves as a team deserving of some - dare the suggestion - R-E-S-P-E-C-T?
"We present a problem every time we step on the field," Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby said after Miami's 35-8 rout of Buffalo. "We're not looking back."
Dansby, who is seldom at a loss for words, can talk boisterously as one of the leaders of a defense that hasn't allowed a touchdown in any of the victories.
Not that Miami has taken down any elite team in defeating Kansas City, Washington and Buffalo in succession.
Nor does Dallas (6-4) merit recognition as a monster, but there is a certain panache to the Cowboys whenever they're any good at all ... and now the Dolphins will get a crack at, well, cracking it with a national television audience tuned in on what amounts to a football holiday.
"It's a great stage. There's no doubt about that," Miami tight end Anthony Fasano said, "But you know what? We're playing for each other more than anything else, and I think that's been the best thing about this team regardless of the winning and losing.
"We stuck together when it would have been easy not to."
The Dolphins have recovered from the atrocious beginning to the season to bludgeon the Chiefs, Redskins and Bills by a combined score of 86-20. The defense has been terrific, and Matt Moore, an injury replacement for Chad Henne, has found his quarterback legs in steering the offense.
"Guys are just constantly aggressive," Moore said. "We're in the here-and-now, and we're playing pretty well."
The pertinent point is that there has been a lot more to Miami than mere resolve and effort. The Dolphins are acting as though 0-7 never happened despite the harsh proof in the standings. That is no small feat and a credit to embattled coach Tony Sparano.
"They're just worried about doing their jobs and trying to prove people wrong," Sparano said. "We have this little thing we talk about among ourselves. It's not what people say about you that matters, it's just what you answer to.
"From our end, we might (have been) a 2-7 team, but we were going to act like a 7-2 team. We acted like a 7-2 team."
Miami's far-flung hope is to win all six of its remaining regular-season games and somehow squeeze into the AFC playoffs. That's not likely to happen, but the Dolphins could do themselves proud simply by challenging for a .500 record.
A win at Dallas wouldn't legitimize what the Dolphins have done in their past three outings, exactly, but somehow would underscore the successes. Think of it as the possibility of adding an exclamation point to the good November work already done.
"It's a cool time and place to play," linebacker Jason Taylor said. "I grew up watching Dallas on Thanksgiving Day, but it has to be just another game for us."
He's correct in the strict sense of the one-at-a-time cliche, but he's wrong from the point of view that some games do carry greater psychological heft than others.
The date in Dallas does.
