The first question to Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor on Thursday concerned the way the New Orleans Saints ripped a 48-point hole in the New York Giants last Sunday. Question No. 2 concerned the Saints' often impenetrable pass protection. The third question about the Saints' fourth-ranked running game detonated a firecracker.

``Being off for a week and then having them play the Giants, you hear plenty of this [stuff] over the last 10 days, and quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about it, to be honest,'' Taylor said. ``They're going to run the ball, they're going to throw the ball. We're going to run the ball and throw the ball. We're both going to play defense and we're going to kick the ball when we have to on special teams. And may the best team win.''

That's about as close to a rant as Taylor allows himself publicly during the week, and, coming from one of the Dolphins captains, indicative that similar feelings permeate the locker room. Although they know what the undefeated, pinball-scoring Saints have done and can do, they don't appreciate any idea that they will play the role of pigeon.

``They deserve the recognition. They're [5-0] and they've beaten some notable teams,'' linebacker Akin Ayodele said. ``You give them credit where credit is due. At the same time, we respect all, fear none. That's always been our motto. We're a team that's very prideful so we understand the situation. We're not going to lay down because they're the almighty New Orleans Saints.

``They're coming into our house. There's a goal we're trying to reach and they're in our way.''

2006 REVISITED?

Longtime Dolphins fans might recall a similar tone preceding a 1-6 Dolphins team upsetting then-undefeated Chicago 31-13 in 2006.

Mention the way New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees barely got touched against the Giants, and Taylor and linebacker Joey Porter point to the way Buffalo occasionally had Brees on the run. Ask offensive coordinator Dan Henning if the Dolphins planned to attack the Saints' defense, ranked fifth against the run, with the same ground-bound philosophy established over the past few games, and he will poke holes in that ranking.

After complimenting Saints defensive coordinator Greg Williams with ``I think attacks the opponent as well as anybody I've worked against,'' Henning said he thought New Orleans run numbers were misleading because the Saints spent so much time with large leads.

``We're not going to have much running against New Orleans when they're ahead by 20 points in the middle of the second quarter,'' he said.

(The Saints rank 12th in yards per carry allowed. In their past four games, while the games were in doubt, they have allowed 5.6 (Giants), 4.9 (the Jets), 4.1 (Buffalo) and 6.5 (Philadelphia) per carry, respectively.)

You can't blame the Dolphins if they are tired of hearing about the Saints.

STUDYING FILM

Film preparation for the two most recent games, victories over Buffalo and the Jets, included watching the Bills' and Jets' most recent games, both of which were against the Saints. Linebacker Channing Crowder said last week, before getting Friday-through-Sunday off, the Dolphins started on New Orleans preparation.

Then, this week, they are immersed in the Saints as they would be in a typical week.

``This is probably the most film I've watched, at least in [the Dolphins facility],'' said Crowder, who also took New Orleans game film home. ``I don't know if it's a coincidence, but they're the most in-depth offense with the most weapons and all that you need to see, and we had the most time to prepare for them. It was a good opportunity for us to have the bye week before we played New Orleans.''

But a team feeling good about itself after consecutive victories isn't necessarily in the mood to hear talk about its opponent as if it is an amalgamation of the Greatest Show on Turf and the Steel Curtain.

``They're undefeated, they're probably smelling themselves, rubbing each other's [back],'' Crowder said. ``Statistically, everybody's got them beating us. But they've got to play the game on Sunday. I think we're a pretty good team. They think they're a pretty good team. So let's see what happens.''

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