The Miami Dolphins never came out and said that this was a rebuilding year.  However, after the Dolphins drafted Ryan Tannehill with the #8 pick in the draft and decided to start him, most wrote off the Dolphins 2012 season to a rebuilding year.  The Dolphins front office also made moves that were geared more towards the future than for the present.  The Dolphins traded away Brandon Marshall for 2- 3rd round picks and then Vontae Davis for a 2nd rounder.  The front office was building the team around young players and fans thought they could only look towards the future.

While all of this was going on, the Dolphins continued to say that they were re-tooling, not rebuilding.  The Dolphins players, to their credit, have played hard under coach Joe Philbin.  The Dolphins players are out to win football games and many are not signed through 2013, so they have to make the most out of this season.  Players like Sean Smith, Reggie Bush, Randy Starks, and Jake Long are playing out the last year of their contract, so they all hope to have impressive 2012 seasons.

On Sunday, the Dolphins did something that many people didn’t think was possible; They moved into a tie for 1st place in the AFC East with their 17-14 win over the Rams.  Yes, it’s only week 6. And yes, after next week the Dolphins will be knocked out of first place (The Jets play the Patriots, so one will improve to 4-3).  However, Dolphins fans have to be happy with what they are seeing out of their team. Many will even point out that if Dan Carpenter hits a couple of kicks in weeks 3 and 4, the Dolphins could be 5-1. He didn’t, so they’re not.  BUT, they are playing better football than they were at the beginning of the season and they seem to be learning how to finish games.

What I liked

Ryan Tannehill - Tannehill had a shaky start to his season, throwing 3 INTs against the Texans in the opener.  How far has he come?  On Sunday, against an aggressive Rams defense that shut down the Dolphins running attack, Tannehill completed 21 of 29 passes for 185 yards, 2 TDs and a passer rating of 112.0.  Most importantly, Tannehill hasn’t thrown an interception in the last 2 games.  He’s learning and improving, which is exactly what you want to see out of a young quarterback.  Tannehill’s QB rating for the season is now over 76.  For those curious to know (like I was), Andrew Luck’s QB rating is currently at 72.

Defense Limiting Scoring - The Dolphins defense did their part, although they allowed more yards than they’d like.  The Dolphins gave up 477 yards of total offense to the Rams.  However, the Dolphins were able to limit the Rams where it mattered most, the scoreboard.  The Dolphins held the Rams to 2 field goals and 1 touchdown (14 points).  (cont’d on page 2, click below)