Dolphins Dominated...

Or so the boxscore would tell you. This team did a surprising job of hanging around despite being down 3 or 4 touchdowns most of the game. Those who didn't get a chance to see the game would have missed two drives down to the goal line where the Dolphins failed to convert on 4th down. That would have made it 28-21 in hindsight, but likely had that been the case the Patriots would have stepped on the gas again and run us over.

Lemon did nothing to prove he is worth being the starting QB. Again. I really hope they start Beck next week against a bad Cincy defense. It's a shame John hasn't gotten a chance to play with Ronnie Brown yet, because having a feature back with that talent can make the game much easier for any QB, much less a rookie.

The receivers and backs were nothing special, though Chatman had a few hard runs. The OL was awful again and for some reason continued its regression. Maybe Jake Long is an option after all. I would consider trading down before getting him though, as he isn't an elite talent compared with other top OL selected of late.

The defense was disappointing again, but that was to be expected with all the injuries and overall talent level of the Patriots. They actually put some nice pressure on Tom Brady, who uncharacteristically threw a pair of picks, one to Jason Allen. For all the heat Allen receives (well-deserved), he does have 3 interceptions this season, when the entire defensive backfield only had 7 all last year I think. Allen can still be a liability but at least he is marginally improving.

Now the team faces a truly useless game against the Bengals. The #1 pick is locked up and the only thing coming out of this game is evaluation of younger players.