The Dolphins are no longer winless.
They just demolished the Bills, 38-10, to improve their record to 1-3.
The formula for this victory was simple: Everybody played great!
Ronnie Brown rushed for 115 yards. Ricky Williams rushed for 85 yards. Both averaged over 5-yards per carry.
Chad Henne made his debut NFL start and did what great QBs do -- he got his team in the end zone and got his team a W. Henne completed 14 of 22 passes for 115 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions..
The Dolphins defense, throttled the past two games, showed up bigtime today. Miami had six sacks, including three by Cameron Wake and two by Jason Taylor.
Rookie Vontae Davis returned an interception 23 yards for a TD. Will Allen, who struggled last week, recovered superbly this week. He made his first interception of the year. And he made his second interception of the year.
So what do you think? Are the Dolphins back? Are the problems more or less solved?
Or was this game a product of playing a bad team?
Where have we been hiding CW?
Posted by: Greg | October 04, 2009 at 06:58 PM
My answer is both true test will be against the jets that game is a must win if they still want a chance to stay alive...
Posted by: Dolphan0421 | October 04, 2009 at 06:59 PM
It's on with the jets
Posted by: Richard3000 | October 04, 2009 at 06:59 PM
It sounds like the Fins are back. Let's hope it keeps up.
Posted by: Davidcw | October 04, 2009 at 07:00 PM
CAMERON F*&KINNN WAKEE!!!!
Posted by: SonnyinTAMPA | October 04, 2009 at 07:00 PM
Yez day of mourning is cometh
Posted by: Jetset09 | October 04, 2009 at 07:00 PM
We played a bad team. Their offensive game plan is, well, offensive.
Glad we got the win, and without hardly any wildcat. Still too man dink and short curl passes. Would like to see us run more slants and cross routes.
Posted by: Matt | October 04, 2009 at 07:00 PM
Nice to see the 'phins deliver a beat down!
Posted by: WPBDolfan | October 04, 2009 at 07:01 PM
Bring it on you lousy stinking Jets fans!
Posted by: WPBDolfan | October 04, 2009 at 07:02 PM
We did what we had to do against a bad team in are division, beat them down!
Posted by: Standley23 | October 04, 2009 at 07:02 PM
i remember these guys! Nice to see them back. Just hope its not too late.
Posted by: finfan23 | October 04, 2009 at 07:02 PM
Playing a bad team can work wonders. But we'll take it.
Posted by: Tom hartman | October 04, 2009 at 07:02 PM
I expect no less from the PHINS!!!!
Posted by: Carlos | October 04, 2009 at 07:03 PM
We'll take the win. A great way to boost the confidence for the next game!!! Everyone played well!!!
Posted by: Kirky555 | October 04, 2009 at 07:04 PM
Phins 24============Wets 13
Posted by: Larry C | October 04, 2009 at 07:04 PM
I can finally sleep peacefully on a sunday night woohoo!
Posted by: truaquablue | October 04, 2009 at 07:04 PM
I think this is a huge win, I believe that the offense can find another gear this week in practice, and the defense can keep it up we could have an outside chance of the playoffs.
Posted by: Canes fan in Tally | October 04, 2009 at 07:04 PM
Don't look now, but we win next week and we are a game out of 1st! I'm just sayin...
Posted by: Sammy in Dubai | October 04, 2009 at 07:05 PM
Can't tell if their back for sure but it was good to see them perform the way we all knew they could perform since week 1. This week is gonna be a good week!!!
Posted by: DFJ305 | October 04, 2009 at 07:06 PM
The Phins are back!!! Bring on the Wets. We will finish the last 12 games 10-2 to make us 11-5 and win the div
Posted by: Larry C | October 04, 2009 at 07:06 PM
Bills stink and Henne and Wake look like the real deal! I'm expecting a respectable 9-7 or 10-6 season.
Posted by: el coach | October 04, 2009 at 07:08 PM
It's a good win. Let's make no mistake, the Bills stunk out loud today, but part of that is that we made them stink. Lots of sacks, three picks, finally some conversion on offense. Nothing overly outstanding from Henne, and he got sacked quite a bit (but the OL didn't help him there), but he won on his first NFL start and got a TD pass (first of many to Hartline?).
Screw it - we beat the Bills, and nothing else matters today.
Posted by: Paul | October 04, 2009 at 07:08 PM
Life!!
Cameron Wake: Why has this guy been inactive? JT gets good again because he can go back to his natural side. What do we do with Peezy? Trade dealine coming up...just sayin'/
Henne looked solid. How nice to have the ability to air it out a bit. Like that the play calling was changed to suit Henne.
Buffalo may not be very good but Miami proved that they are not so bad. Loved the effort. Fun, fun, fun to watch.
Posted by: Jimmy Jam | October 04, 2009 at 07:09 PM
We've got a running game, now we should go to a vertical passing attack for better use of Henne's passing ability. We're strong on the defensive line, we should bust in a lot of fresh bodies for constant pressure on the QB's especially this little puke Snachez
Posted by: madgreek | October 04, 2009 at 07:09 PM
I'm loving the offense's potential with an improving Chad Henne. No offense to the other Chad, but Henne's arm adds a vertical threat that teams must account for. It's nice to see a Dolphins quarterback actually gunning the football again instead of just floating it. Go Fins!
Posted by: J.A.T. | October 04, 2009 at 07:09 PM
Nice win, the offensive line is coming together and the running backs are playing awesome this year. If Chad Henne can be effective and not lose the game we might be in good shape for the future. The defense stepped up today, but they aren't off the hook yet. I also think JT needs to get more chances to play on Porters side. Thats really his natural side and he killed it there today.
Posted by: iheartmiami | October 04, 2009 at 07:10 PM
The Bills did not look good but look back at their previous 2 losses. They lost to New England in a game they gave away. And then they lose to New Orleans last week in a very close game until the last 1/2 qtr.
Posted by: Avi | October 04, 2009 at 07:10 PM
Our rushing offense is amazing from week one our pass rush defense has been making progress every week our pass defense has been better this week there are still concern with our passing offense but im sure we will work on it GO DOLPHINS!!!!!
Posted by: Dolphininparis | October 04, 2009 at 07:11 PM
Brandon Marshall just ate the Cowboys, I bet we could trade Ginn to Denver for him, I gotta go the mushrooms are ready
Posted by: madgreek | October 04, 2009 at 07:11 PM
They've shown flashes in their other games, and in this one they put it all together. Keep it up!
Posted by: Sophomore | October 04, 2009 at 07:12 PM
Feels good to see the fins bukake all over some scrub team! Bring on the Wets! Dirty sanchez got exposed as a fraud today!!!
Posted by: hialeah coache | October 04, 2009 at 07:12 PM
Let's keep it going phins.
Posted by: Pakell18 | October 04, 2009 at 07:15 PM
Cameron wake looked good today.
Posted by: Pakell18 | October 04, 2009 at 07:16 PM
Job well done phins!
Posted by: AJ in ATL | October 04, 2009 at 07:16 PM
I still want to know where Ted Ginn is.
Posted by: Fins13 | October 04, 2009 at 07:16 PM
Great game...watching from western NY. Should be 3 an 1 right now. This was not 2 bad teams playing, but a supierior team beating a weaker one.
Posted by: twitter.com/lynuspooh | October 04, 2009 at 07:17 PM
While I still think the season is done (more 'cause of the schedule than the calibre of the club), games like this are good building blocks. Let Henne start getting comfortable now so we can take the training wheels off in the second half and develop some semblance of a deep game. I think defensively we can handle the Jets. The real battle will be our line and backs against their front seven. We'll need some vertical chunkage to stay in that game next week.
Posted by: Adam from Montreal | October 04, 2009 at 07:18 PM
This is something they needed to do >>>>Beat a bad team soundly! There is hope bring on the jestrs!
Posted by: Pierre | October 04, 2009 at 07:18 PM
trade Porter and Ginn...we're better off without the both of them!
Good job Finz!
Posted by: Finzfan | October 04, 2009 at 07:18 PM
I live in the DC Metro area and I can tell you had the Skins done THIS to the Bucs, they would be talking super bowl here. Great win. But remember it was a win out of desperation. Now they need to follow it up against a good team.
Posted by: Rick | October 04, 2009 at 07:20 PM
Such a great game how bout WAKE?! WOW!
Posted by: Phinsfan619 | October 04, 2009 at 07:20 PM
fins season is over
0-3 is too deep a hole to dig out of
we dont have enough talent to compete
enjoy the season but lower the bar
Posted by: rogperu | October 04, 2009 at 07:21 PM
Im glad to see Wake get his chance and capitalize on it.
Posted by: Ixxy13 | October 04, 2009 at 07:22 PM
Manny said "So what do you think? Are the Dolphins back? Are the problems more or less solved?
Or was this game a product of playing a bad team?"
A LITTLE OF BOTH, I'D SAY.
Excellent pass rush, I agree with those who say Taylor needs to line up where he was for the past decade.
Wake will only get better. Lets hope we don't trade him away like we did Ogunleye.
Posted by: IMAWriterRobJ | October 04, 2009 at 07:23 PM
Whoops, meant "Armando"
Got my Canes on my mind as well!
Posted by: IMAWriterRobJ | October 04, 2009 at 07:23 PM
the jets are the joke we all know the are.... fans are jumping of the bandwagon berift with 40+ years of losing.
Posted by: jets sux | October 04, 2009 at 07:24 PM
I think the 'prediction' we've heard all year will come true: We will be a better team this year yet will likely fall short of the wins of last year.
As for this game, was nice to see things come together. We played smart, clean football.
Offensively, the play calling was not as conservative as it seemed the last few weeks. The running game is on fire, with a 5+yds per carry average! While Henne did not put up big numbers, he took some shots and kept the defense honest.
I like the numbers our kick return teams put up, and the sacks - bout time! Sure, we are playing against backup Oline, but that is when we need to pile up the numbers and get some confidence. These guys are pros, but getting results and boosting confidence goes a long way to getting ready for the next game. Visualize success!
Finally, the Jets game is a must win. Hopefully, our offense can remain two dimensional and not get shut down against the Jets. Would love to pound them with some steady ronnie and ricky, with a few over the top when they try to cheat by stacking the box.
Will be a BIG test for Henne, as he will have to deal with a lot more pressure next week. Let's hope the jitters are gone and he starts hitting on those shots down field.
Posted by: Lips | October 04, 2009 at 07:25 PM
Jets fans next week go to crappy new jersey bring your gay fireman helmets and crying towels because you will need them. The division champs are back. Jason Taylor is gonna show Sanchez what grass taste like all day.
Posted by: H8dpats | October 04, 2009 at 07:29 PM
Phin pham here in Bills country. We finally have the dolphins playing to win. Now let's do the same to the Jets!
Posted by: Wnyphinphan | October 04, 2009 at 07:29 PM
All three facets of the team showed up, offense , defense, and special teams, Ive been saying if all three show up on game day the air breathers are hard to beat regardless if ted (oops i fall down)ginn is in the line up...
Posted by: cuban menace | October 04, 2009 at 07:31 PM
Its like this - beat the AFC East teams and you are ok. Today was the first game of the real season. Win 7 more of these and you probably get to play the 2nd season. Get in the playoffs and anything can happen. There are no style points.
For all of the geniouses who said we have the toughest schedule - I'll repeat what I've been saying since the pinheads at ESPN started mentioning the schedule like we are going to die. A year is forever in the NFL. You cant evaluate a schedule based on what those teams did last year.
This was a win... keep doing it and you can go 13-3.. or 12-4 or 11-5 ..or 10-6 - you get the picture.
Posted by: That guy | October 04, 2009 at 07:31 PM
My prediction last night
Pretty close
Sailorbob commented on 'Vegas not putting stock in Henne, Dolphins'
2009-10-03 19:26:52 -0400
My prediction:
R&R run for over 200
CH passes for over 300
TO gets his ass knocked off and
The Fins win 38 to 14
Let's kick some ass!!!!
Posted by: Sailorbob | October 04, 2009 at 07:33 PM
Need to see some more. But this game coupled with the Colts game gives hope.
Posted by: Brieod | October 04, 2009 at 07:33 PM
Let's talk some smack....well deserved today.
Posted by: H8dpats | October 04, 2009 at 07:34 PM
Jason to the right
Jason to the left
He'll play anywhere you want!
Posted by: finfan23 | October 04, 2009 at 07:35 PM
Shawn, How's your dirty sanchez doing ? LMFAO ! You still take sanchez over penny right now ? LMFAO !. Sancez this and sanchez that. This coming from you a dolphin Fan. LOL ! I told you it was only 3 games and he wasn't even that good in those games. The jets D won those games. The league is catching up to him. He's GARBAGE !
Posted by: NJ PHIN FAN | October 04, 2009 at 07:35 PM
It's obvious after four games that the things the Dolphins do well, they do REALLY well. They can run the ball as well as anybody and they can stop the run.
As the year goes on they should get better at both moving the ball through the air and defending the pass. How well they do those two things will determine how many wins they can get going forward.
In the meantime I'd like to offer a nickname for the defense....
The N-ROM Corporation... NOBODY Runs On Miami!
Posted by: T. Martin (Burbank, CA) | October 04, 2009 at 07:36 PM
NFL network pointing out that the rest of our season the second half isn't so tough anymore. Those teams are losing most their games this year
Posted by: finfan23 | October 04, 2009 at 07:37 PM
Overall this was a good game for Henne. He managed the game well and kept the defense on there tows. If he gets in the film room and studies the piss out of the wets defense we should be okay, But he needs to be prepared for a way better defensive team. Especially because they are coming off a loss.
Oh almost forgot Ginn needs to go, trade him for anything you can.
Posted by: Finsfan | October 04, 2009 at 07:37 PM
He'll yeah, High five to all Fins Fanz, keep the smack coming I am gonna finally start my work week off talking smack.
Posted by: H8dpats | October 04, 2009 at 07:38 PM