''Team identity'' might be words hacked into the Old Cliché Phrase home over the last 20 years, but teams still want what it means: the knowledge of what you can rely on each Sunday.

For the first time in years, the Dolphins feel like they're finding their identity and aren't wishing for identity theft.

''Not yet,'' defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday said when asked if the Dolphins had an identity. ``We're building. We're working on identity now. I hope you see a physical team, a team that goes out and gets it done.

``In your face, high energy, high effort, that's what this team's about. No easy wins [for opponents]. We want to be showing up every week, coming to play. If we continue to take that attitude, we'll continue to be successful.''

The Dolphins' identity, particularly during Don Shula's 26-season reign, used to mean few mistakes, few penalties, and an attack weighted heavily toward the run (pre-Dan Marino) or the pass (with Dan Marino). But from 2004 to '07, it meant avoidable penalties, dropped passes, weak quarterbacking and no playoff games or even realistic playoff hopes after the first few weeks of each season.

Only once from 2004 to '07 did they get out of September and October with more than one win and that was 3-4 in 2005.

As Holliday noted, they had become the team other teams circled as a win when the schedule came out.

''I think we want to create the identity of a hard-nosed football team,'' safety Yeremiah Bell said. ``I think we realize that ourselves, but to everybody else, they're still looking at the Miami Dolphins of last year so I don't think we've fully created an identity to the rest of the league yet, but to ourselves, we know what we're trying to do.''

Bell said he thought the Chargers respected the Dolphins after looking at the game tape from the win over the Patriots, but also said, ``After 1-15, you get no respect from anybody. You're just another game on the schedule.''

Offensive tackle Jake Long said as far as what the Dolphins want to be known for, Dolphins coach Tony Sparano and his staff have been repeating the mantra of ''tough, smart and disciplined,'' so that's as good as any identity.

The ''tough'' part is why everyone on both sides of the ball almost glows when talking about holding San Diego to 60 yards rushing (and zero on fourth-and-1 from the Dolphins' 1) and about holding the ball for the last 5:55 of the game.

As for ''smart'' and ''disciplined,'' the Dolphins have committed only 16 penalties this season, have lost one interception and one fumble and have only one dropped pass.

Aside from the penalties, recent Dolphins teams regularly equaled or exceeded those numbers in just one game.

''It's something that we really spent a lot of time with in the bye week,'' Sparano said.

``We've talked about those types of things, the attention to detail that way.''

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