Here we are in week 5 and I think this could be a real telling week for this team.  Consider all this.  San Diego certainly one of the better teams in the AFC and by all accounts might be & should be undefeated right now come in riding a 2 game winning streak with both their defense & offense improving & healthy.  The Dolphins at home after really beating up the Patriots on the road & although some will say it was a shell of the Patriots , still a road win like that is impressive. 

This will be a real good test for this team.  Probably a game that most of us had penciled in as a loss , after what happened 2 weeks ago we will see if we should get out the big pitcher for all the kool aid we have been drinking.

So Dolphin fans if this team has really any shot of riding that bus we have been talking about in the forum , we will know after this week.  Its one thing to beat a good team when they are down , but its another to beat a good team when they are on top of their game.  With the fact we are at home , makes the odds even better.

By Sunday night we should know what team this really is.

The last game the Miami Dolphins played was pure bliss for us fans.  We've sat through 4 seasons of terrible football fans, with well played games few and far between, and we, the fans, truly deserve better.

Last week was better.  In fact last week was everything a Dolphins fan could ever hope for; a dominant game with our team on the winning side.

But will it be, like past seasons, where we will once again fade into the NFL background?  Or will our new team leave behind the legacy of losing that we've become accustomed to.

If one thing is sure, our Miami Dolphins needed a complete culture change from the front office on downward.  Parcells initiated that change when he fired Randy Mueller and hired Jeff Ireland who then proceeded to clear out the rest of the front office as well as over half of the roster before the start of the season.

That forging of a new team with a new philosophy continued during the early days of the offseason while participating in team building in the conditioning program and lifting weights, (which has paid off thus far by us being the NFL's healthiest team).  The only part that's missing is the attitude that only comes through playing consistently good football, with games ending in wins.

Although many see San Diego as one of the AFC's powerhouse teams, this season they are vulnerable.  They aren't 2-2 because they can't be beat, and the 2 games they lost came against a Steve Smithless Carolina team, and Denver Broncos team with a defense so bad that they let the Chiefs beat them.

San Diego is also without their defensive star, Shawn Merriman, which has made their defense one with a big bark, but little bite, particularly in the pass rush and running game departments.  Simply put, if our offense plays with some purpose, we can put ourselves in the position to win at the end of this game.

Despite their high flying passing game starring a Chris Chambers that seems to have lost his case of the dropsies, their offense too is hurting a bit with the venerable LT not playing like himself, and depending on their shifty little backup to get things done on the ground.  It's a good thing that our run defense seems to have improved significantly over last year's poor excuse for a front 7, because we have the ability to make them a one dimensional team which can play into our hands being that along with a stout run D, our front 7 is bringing a pretty fierce pass rush along with it.  Or it can kill us because of our suspect secondary.

But which team will we get?  The one that beat a formidable but equally vulnerable New England team?  Or the one that fell apart during the Arizona game?

Only they can decide that for themselves.