Your 2009 Miami Dolphins: Week 8

A disappointing day on offense and defense but who cares? Sweep baby! Three in a row! The Dolphins first season sweep of the Jets since 2003. The first time they’ve beaten New York three times in a row since 1997! What other info do we need to prove the Parcells/Ireland/Sparano troika is turning around this franchise? Jets lose. Jets lose.

Something interesting’s always going to happen in a Dolphins-Jets game. This time out it was…Ted Ginn? And in a good way? I recently read somebody’s (I forget who’s) speculation that Miami drafted Ginn because they wanted their own Devin Hester. I’m sure that’s right. When Miami took Ginn the Bears had just gone to a Super Bowl with Hester’s phenomenal season as a return-man a big reason why. Miami’s offense was, what’s the word, moribund? Impotent? Embarrassing? Pathetic? So why not draft a guy that at least shortens the field for an impotent offense? It made sense in theory but until last week Ginn was no Devin Hester. He wasn’t anything except a guy everyone hated ‘cause he sucked. No big plays in the return game. And for the most part no big plays in the passing game either. Well, not unless you count catchable balls clanking off his hands into the arms of a defender who proceeds to return it the other way for a TD.

But finally, last Sunday Ginn turned into the Devin Hester Miami was hoping for since 2007. At least for one game. Without his two spectacular back-to-back kickoff return TD’s Miami doesn’t win that game. Did getting called out by Kooch, Mercury Morris and Mark Duper provide sorely needed motivation? Is it a fluke? Who knows but hopefully Ginn can keep stepping it up in the return game. It just doesn’t look like he’s ever going to have the hands to be a dependable receiver for Chad Henne.

Two other notes. First, while so far Sparano appears to be doing a fine job of motivating and preparing his players each week I’m starting to get a little concerned about his technical in-game judgments. The questionable clock management and play-calling in the Indy game, the time out blunder in the New Orleans game, and now the crazy decision to go for two after taking an 11-point lead. It made no sense. With 8:48 left in the game who cares if the lead is 12 points or 13? The Jets needed two TD’s to win either way. But if you don’t make it, which Miami didn’t, the Jets now can tie it with a TD, a two-point conversion, and a field goal. And that almost happened! If the Jets had successfully executed that last two-point try then instead of a game-losing incomplete pass on their last play they probably would have kicked a game-tying FG. It could have been OT in New York (shudder). Sparano lucked out.

Second, I grew up in South Florida and suffered through many TV blackouts of Dolphins home games. So I listened to lots of Dolphins games on the radio as a kid (Rick Weaver was the man). And there’s nothing like the thrill of the hyperactive radio calls of a biased home-town announcing team. Former Fins Jimmy Cefalo, Joe Rose and the great Jim Mandich did the honors last Sunday. I could listen to these over and over again.