Halfway through the season, NFL people are buzzing about the Dolphins.

''It's surprising -- you just don't see this happen this quickly,'' NBC's Cris Collinsworth said off-air of a turnaround from 1-15. ``They've settled their offensive line issues, quarterback issues, head coach and general manager issues. [Ted Ginn Jr.] is making plays, their defense looks better. It feels amazingly settled. You're thinking playoffs and that's remarkable.''

Said CBS insider/former NFL general manager Charley Casserly: 'If you told me in June they would be 4-4 and beaten New England, San Diego, Buffalo and Denver, I'd say, `You've got to be kidding me.' '' But, ``more importantly, they've established a mind-set of how they will play -- a physical and mental toughness.''

Analysts and longtime evaluators touched on several factors this week:

• Smart football, especially from Chad Pennington: Jimmy Johnson, who ''really likes the way they are playing,'' asserts, "The key to winning in the NFL is, it's not who makes the most great plays, it's who makes the fewest bad plays. When you have a QB that doesn't make mistakes, it makes it a lot easier.''

And Miami will be especially ''tough to play in the second half,'' predicts longtime ex-NFL personnel man Mike Lombardi of NFL Network, ``because they are fundamentally sound and physical.''

• Tony Sparano and his staff putting players in position to succeed: Joey Porter is the classic case, but one NFC personnel director cited others, such as Matt Roth: 'When they moved him to linebacker, I said, `Wow, he's in a position now where he can make some things happen.' '' Longtime former Packers/Falcons executive Ken Herock loves how coaches have developed players, including Greg Camarillo -- ''He does everything Wes Welker does'' -- and Anthony Fasano.

CBS' Phil Simms was struck when two opposing coaches, before games not involving Miami, offered unsolicited praise of offensive coordinator Dan Henning. ''What Henning is doing -- are you kidding me?'' Simms said off air. ``The variables they're using on offense are very, very good. The Friday Dolphins practice I attended this season ranks in the top three I've ever seen.''

Yes, ''Pennington dropped out of the sky like a gift,'' Herock said. But "they are as well coached as any team in the league.''

• The lines: Though Simms said the Patriots' and Jets' ''older'' rosters give them an edge in the division race, he noted two factors favoring the Dolphins are the ''stoutness'' of their lines (though run blocking must improve), plus the running back duo.

''Now you have a side you feel comfortable with,'' Collinsworth said of the Jake Long-Justin Smiley tandem on the left side.

On the defensive line, evaluators point to Jason Ferguson, how he ''absorbs bodies and takes on'' double teams, Herock said. ''Parcells has always found a guy like that.'' And Casserly said NFL people have been praising Randy Starks.

Simms said people have asked him, ' `You think Miami is the best team in that division?' '' He's not ready to say that, but 'I keep looking for the Dolphins to show big cracks, and I haven't seen them. I'm convinced this will not fall apart in the future. They are going to solidify themselves as a player. And all these teams will say, `Christ, now we have to deal with the Dolphins.' ''

CHATTER

• Miami has had fewer injuries than many teams, and Porter told a Dolphins Touchdown Club audience Tuesday that ''guys are scared to get hurt. . . . Every Tuesday, somebody gets cut.'' Porter said Sparano has told some injured players, ``If I don't see you out there in two days, we're going in a different direction.''

• Even though Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga is expected to sell majority interest to Stephen Ross after the season, Huizenga's emotional attachment remains deep -- evident when he stood at the airport at 1:30 a.m. Monday to welcome the team from Denver.

• Besides oral commitments from four of espn.com's top 100 seniors -- running back Bryce Brown (10) and defensive backs Prince Kent (43), Brandon McGee (62) and Jamal Reid (100) -- the University of Miami is in the mix for several top-40 players, including Louisiana receiver Reuben Randle (10th) and Seminole High safety Ray Ray Armstrong (18). . . .

UM hasn't pursued ESPN's top uncommitted local prospect -- Gulliver linebacker Frankie Telfort (40th/considering USC, LSU, UF and others). But Columbus defensive tackle Antwan Lowery said he leans toward UM over UF and Rutgers.

• Heat guard Shaun Livingston said doctors assured him he will regain his skills, but frustration mounts. ''I'm 80 percent of where I was. Mostly it's not having the explosion to finish over defenders. Before [the knee injury], I could storm by them.'' The Heat gave second-year player options to Chris Quinn and Yakhouba Diawara, but not Livingston (two years, $1.8 million).

• Jeff Conine's agent said ''Mr. Marlin'' is taking a job with the Marlins, either on the baseball or business side, or both.

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