Texans Face A Different Dolphins Team

When most people took a first glance at the Texans schedule back in the spring, they probably marked Sunday’s home game against the Miami Dolphins down as a win. It may have been premature, but hey, these Dolphins finished 1-15 last season and they had to learn an entirely new system without longtime stars Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas.

As the Texans sit at 0-4 and the Dolphins sit with a 2-2 record with impressive victories over the New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers, this seems game like anything but a lock for Houston. The Miami team that the Texans will see on Sunday has a solid, ball control offense and a very physical defense that can get after the opposing teams quarterback. To put it simply, the uniforms may be one of the only similarities between these Dolphins and the team the Texans defeated 22-19 a year ago.

“Well, yeah he’s (Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano) done a great job there,” Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said. “He’s a heck of a coach. I’ve known him and studied him for a long time. They’re in the top ten in offense and defense; that’s hard to do in the National Football League. They beat the two teams that were in the AFC Championship last year (New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers) back-to-back. They’re doing something very unconventional on offense right now which is giving people fits and playing excellent defense. Basically playing the Dallas defense, the three-four and playing it very, very well. A very, very sound, solid football team right now and posing a big problem for a defensive football team.”

Last season’s Miami team had more talent than most 1-15 teams, but they found ways to lose football games. Does that sound familiar Texans fans? All it took was a complete housecleaning from the top down in Miami and now they have a winning attitude, and their play exceeds their talent level. Much of the credit for the turnaround can be attributed to Bill Parcells, who took over the personnel in south Florida.

“When I look at their defense right now, I see a lot of Dallas when I watch them, defensively, what they are doing,” Kubiak said. “And or course, (Dolphins head coach) Tony (Sparano) and Bill (Parcells) were together so long in Dallas, you know, the way they built that team very, very quickly. And then they’re sitting there with two great, great backs (RBs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams). But you have to give them a ton of credit for what they’ve went and done here in the last two weeks. They’ve found something with their football team that’s giving people fits and it’s our turn to deal with it this week. They’ve done a heck of a job. Tony is a good football coach.”

So are the Dolphins for real, or was it just lightning in a bottle? That’s the million dollar question. Dolphins Digest publisher Alain Poupart who has been covering the team for many years believes this team isn’t just a “flash in the pan.”

“It's definitely not smoke and mirrors,” Poupart said. “The Dolphins didn't just beat New England and San Diego, they completely dominated both of them. They outgained those two supposed elite teams by a combined 433 yards, which tells you something. The Dolphins right now are more than pretty good, they're actually very impressive. The blueprint for rebuilding the franchise was to start on both lines, and that's produced the results we've seen. In the first two games, there were bad breakdowns in the secondary, and those have been eliminated. The offense also started clicking big time with the introduction of the ‘Wildcat’ formation. Yep, it might be strange to say this, but thinking playoffs actually isn't ludicrous at this point.”

Miami has transformed themselves from a pathetic football team who allowed 42 first half points in a blowout by the Patriots last season to a fun team to watch. The “Wildcat” formation that Alain Poupart mentioned involves all kinds of motion then a direct snap to running back Ronnie Brown, who either keeps the ball, hands it off, or throws it. It seems like a fairly simple college play, but it has worked for two weeks against solid defenses on the NFL level.

Can Houston transform their club how the Miami Dolphins seemingly have? Time will tell, but they certainly have the talent and they are literally just a few plays away from being 2-2. Perhaps the Texans will make those plays this Sunday.

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Charlie Bernstein is the Editor-in-Chief of Sports Media Interactive, covering multiple teams in the National Football League, NCAA, and National Basketball Association. Charlie is a regular syndicated contributor to FoxSports and Sirius NFL Radio, and has been featured on the NFL Network. Charlie is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Feel free to contact him -HERE- with questions or comments.

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