The postgame locker room was thick with bodies and noise and plain relief when the most accomplished, respected player on this Dolphins team picked through the crowd and sought out the young man across the way -- the one with all that weight on him.
After as possum-ugly a game as the NFL will cringe to see, the Dolphins showed the one thing that would save their Sunday.
The up-and-down team had another up-and-down game and unless something drastic happens in the coming weeks, the Dolphins will be lamenting an up-and-down season.
Joey Porter was placed on the inactive list Sunday despite being healthy. But he was hardly missed as Charlie Anderson had a stellar day.
Ronnie Brown, off to one of his best seasons, likely will miss Thursday's game at Carolina because of an ankle injury he sustained Sunday.
When the Miami Dolphins decided to retain kicker Dan Carpenter in favor of Connor Barth toward the end of training camp, it was not without a closely contested competition that lasted for weeks. On Sunday, the kickers went back at it.
Chad Henne authored his second career fourth-quarter comeback. Of course, it was his fourth-quarter interception that made a comeback necessary in the first place.
Former Auburn teammates and first-round picks faced each other in a meaningful game for the first time.
Facing two games in five days, including Sunday against the Bucs, losing focus could put the Dolphins' season in jeopardy and hinder the growth of their younger players.
With the Dolphins at the season's midpoint, key spring decisions will be shaped by the final eight games. Five questions needing clarity:
The Dolphins' five wide receivers have combined for two touchdown catches in eight games this season.
It already was a pretty strange week as it related to Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter. On the eve of Sunday's game, it got even weirder.
At around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, team representative Harvey Greene began notifying local reporters that Porter had been downgraded to ``out'' for Sunday's game against the Buccaneers at Land Shark Stadium because of a ``coach's decision.''
The Dolphins will hold a Veterans Day tribute Sunday. For Pat White, it won't be the first time he has respected soldiers this season.
Among the eight Dolphins with sacks this season, outside linebacker Cameron Wake ranks third in sacks but eighth in plays on the field.
If the Dolphins cannot run the ball, they cannot win the game. And lately, the Dolphins haven't been running the ball very well.
Despite Joey Porter's slow start and lack of chatter, teammates don't expect either to last too long.
Left guard Justin Smiley, perhaps the Dolphins best offensive lineman this year, missed a second consecutive practice Thursday and went to the doctor to have his injured shoulder examined.
With the Dolphins embracing a youth movement, it's only a matter of time before wide receiver Patrick Turner gets on the field.
Outlined against a gray, rainy November sky, The Four Bikemen of the Dolphins rode for the first time.
The foursome pedaling away on exercise bikes -- linebacker Joey Porter, left guard Justin Smiley, backup nose guard Paul Soliai and linebacker Erik Walden -- during Wednesday's drizzle drenched practice highlighted the way injuries have cut away at the Dolphins in a manner they didn't in 2008. Dolphins coach Tony Sparano couldn't recall a time last season when he had four roster players missing practice.![Said Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano: 'My message [to the team] is
that we have two games right now in ten days, and I think that can change an awful lot.'](http://media.miamiherald.com/smedia/2009/11/08/18/6190043.bigthumb.prod_affiliate.56.JPG)
Sunday's loss dumped the Dolphins on a familiar street corner in a bad neighborhood: two games under .500 and needing to make almost every move the right one to get where they want to go.
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