Dolphins 38 - Patriots 13

Wow.

What a win.

The story coming in was that the Dolphins had the daunting task of having to win in Foxboro to avoid being 0-3 going into the bye. The result was absolute domination and a whole new division in the AFC East. The Patriots had won 21 straight regular season games, and the Dolphins had lost 20 of 21 over that same time. However, the fact of the matter now is that over their last 23, the Patriots are 19-0 against the rest of the NFL and 2-2 against your Miami Dolphins.

Congratulations to Tony Sparano on a masterful first win. The Dolphins came out and executed, destroying the Patriots in all three phases of the game and again exposing their weaknesses. While the Wildcat formation was fun, it was simply a case of one team outplaying the other on this day, and I will go out on a limb here and say that even if Tom Brady had played, the Dolphins would still have won this game (would he have stopped those 38 points??).

Overall Notes:

-This coaching staff keeps proving they are adept at making adjustments and getting better from week to week. I noted as the game began that they were absolutely right to move Ronnie Brown and Renaldo Hill into the starting lineup this week, and just look at the results. With Ronnie, the five total touchdowns speak for itself. He was spectacular and proved that he is back in shape to be a superstar running back in the NFL. As for Hill, the secondary had to do something about all the breakdowns, so it made a change at its quarterback position. Hill is known as the best talker and communicator in the secondary, and thanks not only to his play, certainly an upgrade over Crocker's, but his knowledge and leadership, the secondary looked like a totally different unit against the Patriots.

-All day long, the Dolphins played like the team I was hoping for at the beginning of the year. We knew they wouldn't win every game, but at the very least I was hoping for a big, strong, young team that would come out and hit you, and boy did they hit you today. On both sides of the ball we played fast and strong, and you can bet the Patriots went home feeling the effects of this one, both physically and mentally. Let's keep punishing teams all year, so that when they go home they know, win or lose, that you better watch out for those Miami Dolphins in the years to come.

-Midway through the second quarter, when the Dolphins were already dominating the football game, Matt Cassel was 14-17. Make no mistake: Matt Cassel did not lose this game for the Patriots and Tom Brady would not have won it. The Dolphins simply outplayed the Patriots from start to finish on both sides of the ball.

-One thing I noticed that didn't really have much to do with the game was how the Patriots do such a good job of getting good players coming from bad teams. We have always known about the bevy of former Dolphins who moved to New England, but what was really going on there is that the Patriots were grabbing players when their stock was low and they were cheap because of the situation they were in. The other part of why so many Dolphins are on the Pats is because they go after players who they see twice a year and pose problems for them. A great example of a player on the Patriots for these two reasons: Wes Welker.

-Can you imagine the nerve of those Bostonians to boo the Patriots after 21 straight wins and all the success they had?? Are you serious?? And to add insult to injury Ellis Hobbs called the fans spoiled after the game. He is absolutely right, but that's the type of thing you keep to yourself. Now both sides are annoyed with each other, and that is exactly what I love about the type of atmosphere they have up there.

-Oh yeah, and the exodus began with 14 minutes left in the game. Thank you, Boston. That was truly beautiful.

-Keep an eye on that "true" Patriot, Randy Moss. The most talented receiver in NFL history looked a bit bothered by his role in the game and the play of his quarterback. With Brady out, watch out for him to resort to some old ways in the coming weeks.

-One of the most impressive stats is that the Dolphins have only turned the ball over once this year, and it was on a desperation pass at the end of the Jets game. Credit Pennington, because although before this game he hadn't played great, he was brought to this team in part because of his ability to protect the football, and he has done just that. He had a terrific game against the Patriots, and as long as the Dolphins have him back there taking care of the rock, they will have a chance. It's nice to not have that nervousness every time the quarterback drops back, as we have had in years past.