Ball Bounces Miami's Way After 1-15 Debacle

[YoFuggedaboutit]

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/columnists/linda-robertson//story/795286.html

By LINDA ROBERTSON
lrobertson@MiamiHerald.com


Last season, the pitiful 1-15 Miami Dolphins could not buy luck with a blank check.

Today, at 7-5, the Dolphins are living that Irish blessing. The road rises to meet them, the wind blows always at their backs, the sun shines warm upon their faces and their lottery numbers win the jackpot.

It's a karma reversal.

Not only did the Dolphins manage to elude the trap door in St. Louis against the NFL's second-worst team, but they improved their chances of winning the AFC East when the Jets, Patriots and Bills all lost. On the same Sunday. By a combined 47 points. Which was the length, in yards, of one of Dan Carpenter's clutch field goals against the Rams.

Serendipity works in mysterious ways. So does confidence.

The Dolphins are doing what opportunists do: They're making their own luck.

Here they are, a year after fans resorted to wearing paper sacks, with a chance to win their four remaining games and the division.

And you know what happened the last time we saw such a turnaround in Florida -- the pitiful Tampa Bay Rays made it to the World Series.

COUNTING DOWN

The Dolphins need only keep winning -- against the buckling Bills, the bad 49ers, the even worse Chiefs and the cooling Jets -- and they control their path to the playoffs.

''I think our guys know; they can count,'' Sparano said. ``You're trying to tell them not to look ahead, you're trying to tell them not to do all of those things, but you're at a point in the schedule right now where not looking ahead is kind of a ridiculous statement.''

Thank you, Tony, for not insulting the intelligence of your players or your fans. It's another example of how different Sparano is from his predecessors. Cam Cameron would have averted his eyes, too sodden with anguish to look ahead. Nick Saban would not have allowed anyone to look ahead because he and only he would have the vision to do so.

(By the way, this is Loathe Nick Saban Week in our state as the University of Florida prepares to play Saban's No. 1 Alabama team for a berth in the national title game Jan. 8 at Dolphin Stadium. The only benefit of a Bama win would be an extended, delicious Loathe Nick Saban Month in the buildup to his Miami return.)

FAMILIAR FOE

The Dolphins played a mirror image of their old selves in St. Louis, the 2-10 Rams. Last year, the Dolphins got caught in a spiral of negative reinforcement. They forgot how to win. Last year, they would have found a way to lose 19-16 to the Rams. This year, they found a way to win 16-12. The game was forgettable. Fans reached for coffee rather than beer. It was filled with penalties and field goals. It was utterly lacking in panache. The long-anticipated high-volume performance of the Ronnie Brown-Ricky Williams rushing duo should have materialized against the NFL's 30th-ranked defense, but didn't.

LEARNING CURVE

Yet it was a measure of the Dolphins' new resolve and resourcefulness that they won despite the flat atmosphere of the game, and despite the losses of Greg Camarillo and Justin Smiley to injuries.

Last year, the Dolphins would have flunked this one. This year, they are definitely not the brightest student in the class, but they know how to beat the test.

''Last year that was us,'' defensive end Vonnie Holliday said of the Rams. ``That was us in tight games. I know what it feels like, so to be sitting here, moping around, talking about an ugly win -- when does a win become ugly for me after last year?''

Last year, the Dolphins lost six games by three points or fewer. Now they have won three of their past four by four points or fewer. With the exception of the 38-13 rout of New England, the Dolphins are winning by an average of 5.5 points.

Narrow escapes -- or escape artists?

''More game are lost than won,'' quarterback Chad Pennington said in his Tennessee twang. He sounds like a samurai master with his pithy observations.

That was abundantly true of the 2007 Dolphins. But these Dolphins know how to win. Can they win four more?