We complain the Dolphins don't have a killer receiver or a defense with a killer instinct. We worry that injuries are mounting, including the one to mountainous Jason Ferguson.

We keep thinking that a team this unorthodox, one transitioning to the quarterback of the future while returning to the running back of the past, cannot be so relevant in the present.

And yet, here they are, your Miami Dolphins, in the middle of the 2009 playoff chase.

Did you really think this was possible when they lost three games and their starting quarterback in the season's first three weeks?

``We're back at eye-level. We're back at ground zero,'' cornerback Nathan Jones said. ``That's the best way to put it. Obviously, we wish we could have more wins. But we're 5-5, we have two huge division games coming up, and we've put ourselves in a position to make a huge dent in our division and the league.

``We don't control our own destiny yet, but we've put ourselves in a position to make a run.''

The Dolphins dug themselves a hole in the first month of the season. But it was not a grave. And whatever it was, they have made good on their escape and are now on solid footing for that run.

So the team can look to this season's final six games as a time to reset and still accomplish its goal: winning the AFC East division.

Yes, the Dolphins are diminished by injuries, but most NFL teams are this time of year. And unlike the situation on most limping teams, Miami's backups, young and old alike, are stepping up rather than falling back.

When left guard Justin Smiley missed the start against Tampa Bay, little-known Nate Garner played so well that he can now accurately be considered the team's sixth starting-caliber offensive lineman.

Running back Ronnie Brown is out for the season and gone with him is the 26 percent of the offense he accounted for while he was active.

But 32-year-old Ricky Williams has replaced Brown and has two consecutive 100-yard games for the first time in six years.

Starting cornerback Will Allen went out with a knee injury and rookie Vontae Davis went in with boundless confidence and attitude.

The Dolphins are getting good production from their roster's second tier and credit for that must go to both the personnel department and the coaching staff.

The same personnel department that plucked Chad Pennington when the Jets released him in 2008 also claimed Garner from the Jets the same year -- and coaches have developed the player into a valuable asset.

The same coaching staff that so curiously forces offensive linemen to work at two and sometimes three positions during training camp -- making the second half of some preseason games unwatchable -- saw the strategy pay dividends in the regular season.

Reserves were prepared last week when three offensive linemen left the Carolina game injured. Players came off the bench or switched positions seamlessly, with one bungled snap the only suggestion that something was amiss.

Miami's coaches, at times second-guessed for questionable clock management, must be applauded for having this team playing well at the right time.

DOING MORE WITH LESS

The Dolphins are playing better as the season progresses even as their roster's ranks are thinning.

Quarterback Chad Henne has thrown only one interception in the past four games, spanning 115 passes. The offensive line that surrendered six sacks against the New York Jets on Nov. 1 hasn't yielded any sacks in the past two games.

The defense that gave up four touchdowns in one game to New Orleans has given up only five touchdowns in the past three games.

And the Dolphins are doing this with two rookie cornerbacks, a first-year starting quarterback, backup tight ends, and a still-inconsistent receiver corps.

Miami is only at .500, but two of its losses came to the NFL's only two undefeated teams. And one of those teams might help the local cause because the Saints host the division-leading Patriots next Monday.

None of this, of course, suggests the Dolphins are Super Bowl-caliber or elite by any definition. That idea would strain the truth because their record confirms they are, indeed, among a pack of ordinary teams.

But still good enough to challenge the also-ordinary Patriots? Good enough to still win the AFC East?

Absolutely.

Their terrible start and injuries so far haven't changed any of that.