The Dolphins are in the AFC East cellar and three games out of first place after playing only three games. But it's not over.

Although there is tension throughout the football side of the organization -- as there should be -- no one on the coaching staff, in the personnel department, or in uniform is giving up.

Testament to that is linebacker Channing Crowder, who this offseason said the Dolphins were the team to beat in the AFC East after winning the division last year. Ask Crowder how he feels about that now and, apparently, nothing has changed.

``Same way,'' Crowder said. ``When [Tom] Brady came back, everybody crowned the Patriots the champion. And then the Jets came and they're playing good ball and Rex Ryan crowned them the champions.

``We're the division champions right now from last season. Everybody thinks they're good. The Bills are playing good ball; they went to the wall with the Patriots. So it's a wide-open division right now.''

That is still true.

Even as the Dolphins find themselves in the middle of a quarterback transition from Chad Pennington to Chad Henne, it's impossible to dismiss them.

What if Henne is the next Tom Brady?

What if Henne is as good as Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco, as offensive coordinator Dan Henning insists?

A great quarterback cures many ills, so these Dolphins are not dead yet.

But they are on life support, and several notable players need to start playing better, playing up to their reputations and pay grades, to give the team new life.

Who? Everyone involved with the passing game on offense and defense must play better.

PASSING PROBLEMS

Although the defensive line is improved and the running game is No. 3 in the NFL, the pass defense and the offense's passing game have been putrid. The statistical proof of an ineffective pass defense: The Dolphins rank 31st in the NFL in giving up the most net yards per pass play. They are 30th in the percentage of pass plays they intercept. They give up more net passing yards per game than all but six teams.

Those are the cold statistics. The anecdotal proof is perhaps more chilling.

Will Allen, the most experienced cornerback in the secondary, was torched for a total of 127 yards and six first downs (including penalty yards) against San Diego.

The secondary yielded completions of 55 and 47 yards against San Diego when one receiver beat a different cornerback and safety on each of the two painful plays.

Gibril Wilson, Yeremiah Bell and Allen, all enjoying new contracts or extensions, have not played up to their cash rewards.

And just as the defense has failed to stop the passing games of Indianapolis and San Diego, the offense has not completed even one long-range pass to a wide receiver.

The Dolphins rank 29th in net yards per pass play. But that sorry standing would be worse had Ronnie Brown not caught a 27-yarder last week.

TIGHT END STRUGGLES

So a running back has the team's longest catch of the season. A running back, Ricky Williams, has the team's only receiving touchdown. And receiver Ted Ginn Jr. has dropped twice as many potential touchdown passes (two) as the Dolphins have scored through the air.

But the problem is not just with Ginn or Miami's other wideouts. Tight end Anthony Fasano, so promising and effective a year ago, has virtually disappeared from the offense.

He has three catches, and two of those he fumbled and lost.

Fasano is the sad personification of how the magic of 2008 has turned tragic in 2009. Fasano has seen only six passes fly his way. Of the three he didn't catch, one was intercepted.

So the failure of Miami's passing game is complete. Receivers are dropping potential touchdown passes, quarterbacks are not hitting open receivers, the offensive line has yielded seven sacks and the tight ends don't know the season has begun.

The damage is done.

But the damage is not irreparable. Starting Sunday, the Dolphins play AFC East rivals four times in the next five games.

This team, you must remember, delivered an unexpected comeback from 0-2 and 2-4 last season. So perhaps these Dolphins have another improbable rally in their DNA.

But such rallies start on the field. The players, particularly those involved with the passing game on both sides of the football, must finally produce.

Otherwise, Land Shark Stadium might soon start to feel more like Landfill Stadium.

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