The Phinal Word: How the Miami Dolphins Are Yearning To Break Free

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

You can plot.

You can scheme.

You can plan.

You can mastermind.

You can prepare.

But if you don't have the firepower, the big boys of the NFL are going to beat you. And on Sunday, the Miami Dolphins got beat because they brought a knife to a gunfight (and then forgot the knife in the car).   

It all comes back to the big play.

Miami can't create them.

They can run the football and they can control the clock. But when it comes time to make a big play, when things aren't going exactly to plan, that the Fins are left wanting.

A perfect example was Sunday. While Miami had to claw their way down the field, all New England had to do was put it within here and the moon of Randy Moss.

Every Miami drive feels like brain surgery. Smashmouth football, but it's so meticulous that it inhibits its own explosiveness. And the difference between 3-5 and 5-3 for Miami is explosiveness.

(And two wins.)

Against New England the Fins averaged 4.3 yards running the football and 5.2 yards passing the football. The Patriots were averaging 4.5 yards a rush and 8.3 yards a pass. Not only did they beat Miami at their own specialty, but they coupled it with a dangerous pass game.

This isn't the first instance of Miami being out-slashed by opponents. On the season opponents are averaging 8.3 yards a pass on the Fins, while Miami averages only 5.9 yards.

The only teams doing worse than Miami? Kansas City, St. Louis, Tennessee, Tampa Bay, Oakland, and Cleveland. Not exactly elite company. Or decent company. Or even someone you'd want to be around for longer than five minutes. 

It's a question of philosophy and personnel. The teams the Dolphins have lost to possess big play guys.

Atlanta: Matt Ryan is extremely capable of making a mess of opposing defenses. Michael Turner, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez are no slouches either.

Indianapolis: Peyton Manning may look nice, but he's actually the most dangerous man on the field at anytime. He's an assassin with a wussy haircut.

New Orleans: Oh, they're only the most explosive offense in the league. Stopping Drew Brees & Co. is like trying to stop the world from turning, only with less pillow talk and that soap opera filter that goes over cameras.

San Diego: Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson aren't even aware there's routes you can run shorter than 15 yards.

New England: Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker keep defensive coordinators up at night. Usually with their play, but sometimes with prank phone calls.

Notice that every single one of these teams has a player, or players, capable of taking over a game? They may not have all had huge games against Miami, but the Fins were forced to respect them, something that hasn't been reciprocated. Opposing teams can rip off huge chunks of yardage in a single play, but Miami has to execute on several plays to achieve the same result.

Which isn't to say that Miami is completely bereft of talent. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are workhorses, but teams are beginning to zero in on the fact that Miami couldn't stretch the field with...a...field-stretching machine? Let's avoid specific examples.

It's why Ronnie Brown can throw the ball, because secondaries are jumping all over the run the second Brown touches the ball. Joey Haynos looked like he came out of the stands to catch his touchdown in the third on Sunday. Defenses are telling Miami to beat them deep, if they can.

(They haven't.)

The teams Miami have beaten are Buffalo and the New York Jets. Buffalo is atrocious throwing the football, and Mark Sanchez has been inconsistent as a rookie quarterback in the Big Apple. Miami has been able to win these games by dragging their opponents down to their level.

Now I've touched on this subject before, but it's becoming more and more apparent that Miami just haven't had the horses to survive their schedule thus far. They've come up with ways of leveling the playing field (by hogging the football like the kid who repeated grades did on the playground), but opponents have just been a little too talented for Miami.

The Fins have given up nine plays of 40 yards or more, the third-most in the NFL. They've also given up 30 plays of 20 yards or more, tied for the second-most in the league.

And on offense Miami is 28th in the league with only 14 plays of 20 yards or longer. They just can't respond to big plays, and it's been their undoing.

But you play the cards you're dealt. And Miami has arguably played a mean game of canasta. If they want to win football games though, they're going to have to find someone who can up the ante for them.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?