Sparano a firm believer in Dolphins
By CARLOS FRÍAS
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 22, 2008
DAVIE — Tony Sparano worked his players to the brink all week, physically punishing them, his gruff voice reduced to a strained scratch by the end of each day. The first-year coach was challenging his Dolphins to show the NFL what he believed:
This team, raggedy in its first two games, had the ability to pull off an upset in New England.
The practices took their toll. Even running back Ricky Williams, known for his superb conditioning, said he almost had to "tap out'' during Wednesday's workout, calling Sparano's sessions the most intense week of practice in his eight-year career.
Saturday night, Sparano gathered the Dolphins at the team hotel for one last blast of motivation. The tone of his speech grew slowly as Sparano reminded them about their maniacal preparation and one more thing - he still believed in them.
"The gist of it was, 'OK, you got knocked down, but what are you going to do about it? Are you going to lay down or are you going to get up and punch back?' " linebacker Akin Ayodele said Monday. "It really was a great speech."
Said quarterback Chad Pennington: "He gave us great confidence in ourselves because he believed in us.''
Sunday, as the final seconds ticked down to his first NFL win as a head coach, Sparano, a New England native, glanced up at the clock to soak it all in - Dolphins 38, Patriots 13.
Then, he got soaked.
Sparano didn't notice linebacker Joey Porter and defensive tackle Jason Ferguson closing in to deliver a dousing from a Gatorade bucket, a fitting celebration for one of Bill Parcells' prized students.
"We believed him, we bought into it, and it happened," Ferguson said.
Ferguson and Porter punctuated their sneak attack with big hugs for Sparano.
"I felt he just deserved that," said Porter, whose three sacks helped snap New England's 21-game regular-season win streak. "Putting together the game plan that he did against that team and winning out there, snapping that win streak, and getting our first win - a division win, at that - I felt the bath was definitely needed.
"It's a big victory, man. If you're not getting a bath at that point, you should feel a little disappointed."
No sooner did Miami's team plane leave Arizona last week after a 31-10 loss than Sparano began looking ahead to the Patriots. Before touching down, the coaching staff hatched an offensive game plan around the "Wild Hog'' formation, with running back Ronnie Brown taking direct snaps.
Sparano never went to sleep after the loss at Arizona, setting the tone for an intense week of preparation. Ferguson is one of many Dolphins who knew they were ready to shock the world by Saturday night's pre-game gathering.
"When your coach tells you he believes in you, you've got to give him something back," Ferguson said. "We laid an egg in Arizona, and he didn't give up on us."
Sparano, who grew up in Connecticut, notched his first win in front of many family members and friends, outfoxing resident New England genius coach Bill Belichick.
When it was over, he invoked his 12-hour rule following a game - take that much time to enjoy a win or lament a loss, then move on.
But, he admitted, he dreamed of getting that initial victory "since I walked through the door here.'' And he did get a kick out of a post-game locker room bursting with energy and newfound confidence.
"You spend an awful lot of time thinking about what that's going to be like,'' Sparano said, "and seeing it when you're in the locker room at the end of that, and seeing their faces and seeing how happy those guys really were was nice. We want to get used to being there."
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