Ocean's Eleven

I have never, ever seen a football game quite like the one I witnessed tonight. The kicking game seemed to be completely useless, open field running was impossible, and punts literally plugged into the ground (perhaps the craziest thing about tonight.) Nevertheless, as the Patriots proves a great team always finds a way to win, the Dolphins proved a bad team always finds a way to lose. What a shame too, because the Dolphins played their hearts out. John Beck showed a lot of moxy and made several excellent throws, while avoiding mistakes in a mistake prone environment. The defense came up big on their end of the field on several occasions, keeping the game close until the end. As I have said for weeks, the Dolphins really are not as bad as their 0-11 record would indicate. They're bad, but when you lose 6 games by 3 points or less, a few of which came down to game winning field goals in the final seconds, you are clearly capable of playing competitive football. The defense has improved by leaps and bounds as the season has progressed, but the offense just can't seem to get a break. This season thus far, the Dolphins have lost their starting QB, starting RB, and seen their #1 WR traded away. Then tonight, they lose both Ricky Williams AND Jesse Chatman, and must make ends meat with Patrick Cobbs, who had 0 NFL carries coming into the year. This team just can't catch a break, and seems destined for the #1 pick.