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Schein's Nine: Dolphins are poised for playoff run

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Adam Schein

Adam Schein hosts the "Sirius Blitz" on Sirius NFL Radio from 11-3 ET. He also co-hosts "Loudmouths" on Sports Net New York every weeknight at 6 ET. He is a weekly columnist, files weekly video reports and makes NFL picks "video style" for FOXSports.com.

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Updated Nov 24, 2009 1:30 PM ET
     
 
I'd argue it was the most exciting weekend of NFL action. The drama in Baltimore. The upsets in Kansas City and Oakland. A great Sunday night game going to the gritty, undermanned Eagles, sparked by a huge blocked field goal in the fourth quarter. And yet somehow the Lions and Browns topped them all. Plus, we have the surprise team to watch for the tournament. It's time for the Schein 9.

1. Foaming at the mouth

The Ravens, Steelers, Texans, Bengals and Broncos all lost. The window is wide open for a surprise team to make a stunning run toward the playoffs. Enter Tony Sparano and the Miami Dolphins, now at 5-5. Miami has a great opportunity to crash the playoff party this season. Really. An experienced quarterback on IR? A star runner done for the year? No problem. The Dolphins are a physical team. They are fundamentally sound. They are supremely coached. It's amazing to watch. As guard Justin Smiley told us Friday on Sirius NFL Radio: "The way we practice and hit on Wednesdays and Thursday, the way Bill Parcells set the tone for the organization, the way Coach Sparano coaches, no team in the NFL outworks us. I don't like to make guarantees, but I will guarantee you that." Sparano has done an excellent job and he has surrounded himself with an elite group of assistant coaches that mirror the intensity set by the head coach and Parcells. Think back to last Thursday and a sudden crazy rash of injuries up front against Carolina. Other teams would fold. Instead, Sparano's guys were ready for anything, and the offensive line was dominant. And the story of Ricky Williams is remarkable. Remember when Ricky quit in July 2004. Think about the drug issues and the trip to the CFL. Ricky has been nothing short of a model citizen under Parcells and Sparano. With Ronnie Brown on IR, Ricky and Ronnie has been curtailed to just Ricky, and Williams is back to his All-Pro form, darting and powering past the Panthers Thursday night. And all that idle time living in tents has kept his legs fresh. I cannot get enough of watching Chad Henne play quarterback. The moxie in a must-win road game to throw the ball away and avoid a sack. It sounds like a minor thing, but Henne soaked up knowledge from Chad Pennington on how to win. Then there's the ability to improvise and hit Davone Bess for a key first down. Plus the arm strength. The accuracy. The ability to make plays on the road during his first season on the field. The defensive backs are young but showing promise. Vontae Davis and Sean Smith are clicking. Up front, Randy Starks has played great. Joey Porter and Jason Taylor are playing dominant ball. Some thought the Miami schedule down the stretch was daunting. Take another look. Miami has road games in Buffalo, Jacksonville and Tennessee. Home games include New England, Houston and Pittsburgh. I believe the Dolphins beat the Bills in Buffalo this weekend. You can't compare the coaches or the offensive lines. There will be more Dolphins fans than Jags fans in Jacksonville. Give Jacksonville credit for the 6-4 record, but Miami is a more consistent team. The Titans have changed their fortunes, but that's more than a winnable game in Tennessee. I'll call it 3-0 for Miami on the road down the stretch. Miami always plays New England tough. And it's a major advantage getting both Houston and Pittsburgh in South Florida. Miami will have a big leg up on Pittsburgh in special teams. The Week 17 game between the Fish and Steelers will be for a spot in the playoffs. Seriously. There are six games left. I'm calling for 4-2 minimum. Nine wins might actually get you into the playoffs with all of the recent upsets and the predictable Broncos crash back down to earth. Remember the road seemed impossible last year and Sparano showed them the way. Nobody thought Miami would make the playoffs until they actually did. At Week 10 last year, everyone thought it would be the Jets and/or Patriots. The Dolphins won't be outcoached or be physically dominated. And that counts for a lot down the stretch.

2. Rise and Schein

Brett Favre had one of the best days of his career on Sunday, which says something about something. Favre has been a rock this year, protecting the football while still throwing touchdowns. Favre went 22-for-25 against the overmatched Seahawks, throwing for four touchdowns. Even if you were the biggest Favre supporter in the world, and you know that I'm not even close, there was no way to see this coming. And for that, Favre deserves a ton a credit. Think about how poorly he played down the stretch last year. Think about what's he doing now. It's remarkable. Speaking of remarkable, how about my Lions! I told you they wouldn't get the top overall pick. Detroit takes advantage of a terrible Hank Poteat penalty and then Eric Mangini's foolishness! Poteat was rightly called for pass interference in the end zone on the game's final play. Stafford was injured on the play and was only allowed to stay in the game because Mangini called a timeout while arguing with the refs. You cannot make it up! Stafford stays in despite major pain and hits rookie tight end Brandon Pettigrew for the game-tying score with no time left. Longtime Lion Jason Hanson nailed the game-winning extra point to set off pandemonium in Motown. Remember the moment, Lions fans. Understand the pain Stafford was in. That's not Joey Harrington. That's your true quarterback of the present and future.

3. Hide the women, children and Matt Millen

MANGINI! How do you call that timeout? And then he suggested the Lions faked injuries on defense! Once again, you really can't make this up. Lions coach Jim Schwartz told the Detroit Free Press: "He's way out of bounds on that." Oh yeah, the Browns blew a 21-point lead — TO THE LIONS! (I realize there is an unprecedented emphasis on exclamation points and capital letters here. It's worth it. It's the Cleveland Browns).

4. Backseat coaching

Have you ever watched Raheem Morris handle challenge flags? He tosses them as haphazardly as a flower girl walking down the aisle. Morris challenged two plays in the first half of the game against New Orleans that he never had a chance to win. And the second challenge left the Bucs without a challenge for the rest of the game and without another timeout in the first half. Other than that, the strategy was sound.

5. Schein's anatomy

The enthusiasm for the Green Bay win improving the Packers to 6-4 was curbed by the sobering news that both Aaron Kampman and Al Harris are done for the year. They are two of the best players on the Green Bay defense. Stafford has an AC joint separation in his left shoulder. It's unlikely he will play on Thanksgiving against Green Bay. That's too bad. Ben Roethlisberger was hit in the head on Sunday in Arrowhead. It caused quite a scare, but it looks as if he can suit up for Pittsburgh against Baltimore this weekend. Pittsburgh has no chance to win this game without him.

6. Weekly hot seat

Hello, John Harbaugh. Baltimore has shot itself in the foot time after time this year. And Sunday's loss to the Colts was no exception. Baltimore (5-5) got a huge break with Cincy and Pittsburgh losing. The Steelers are in Baltimore Sunday night. It's more than fair to call this a should-win game for the Ravens. They need to make kicks, protect the ball and beat the Steelers. It's about time.

7. My Guys

Gary Brackett The Indy linebacker sealed the deal for the Colts by picking off Joe Flacco with 2:42 to go. Colts coach Jim Caldwell called Brackett a "great character guy who makes plays like that." Well said, Coach. Todd Haley I wrote about the Chiefs last Thursday for our boom or bust piece. They are headed in the right direction under Haley and Scott Pioli. Look at what Haley has done with players Pioli has picked up off the scrap heap to fill needs. That was a huge win for Kansas City against Pittsburgh. Leigh Bodden When we talked to Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Monday on Sirius NFL Radio, he gave Bodden credit for taking the Jets out of their game plan by putting the Pats up 7-0 with his pick six. Bodden intercepted Mark Sanchez three times and actually had more yards on returns in the first half than the Jets had on offense. Bruce Gradkowski Imagine this concept: a Raiders quarterback showing some life, acting like he wants to be out there. You can learn something, JaMarcus Russell. Gradkowski tossed a 29-yard touchdown to Louis Murphy with a minute to go to tie the Bengals at 17-all, giving Oakland a chance to win. Eli Manning In a must-win game, Eli carried the Giants on his back with a career-high 384 yards. Manning hit Mario Manningham for a big 29-yard stick in overtime to set up the game-winning field goal and give the Giants a win to end a four-game losing streak. And how about the strike to Steve Smith at 17-14, setting up Brandon Jacobs' touchdown? Think about how bad the Giants defense performed down the stretch and how ineffective the running attack was. Manning was great.

8. My Goats

Mark Sanchez The Jets quarterback was totally confused and inept, throwing four picks against the Pats. Jay Cutler He once again failed the Bears on a final drive. And imagine what would've happened if he could've actually hit a wide-open Johnny Knox, who blew past a hobbled Sheldon Brown, late in the fourth quarter? Or if Cutler could've hit a wide-open Devin Hester earlier in the game? Pittsburgh special teams Another week, more issues. Jamaal Charles took back a kick for a touchdown, and, sadly, nobody who follows the Steelers is surprised. Andre Caldwell After Gradkowski hit Murphy, the Bengals still had a chance to win. But Caldwell inexplicably coughed up the ensuing kickoff. That can't happen. Chris Houston I easily could've chosen Jason Elam or Michael Jenkins for missing kicks and dropping touchdowns, respectively. But I thought Houston epitomized the awful play and discipline for the Atlanta pass defense.

9. Three and out

1. Say what you want about Norv Turner, and, as you know, I've said it, but chew on these nuggets of domination:
  • Turner's .619 regular-season winning percentage (26-16) is best in Chargers history.
  • His .600 postseason winning percentage is best in Chargers history.
  • In San Diego, Turner is 12-2 when it counts most: December and January. And the last nugget drives home why the Chargers will run away with the AFC West. 2. When we talked to Bill Belichick Monday on Sirius NFL Radio, he was incredibly pleased with how his team practiced last Wednesday in preparation for the Jets game. He said he knew then that the Colts loss, the hotly debated and criticized decision and all of the negativity were out of New England's system. The Pats have been remarkable under Belichick after losses. And that's a credit to the coach. 3. How about the Colts' goal-line stand against Baltimore at the 1-yard line? Jim Caldwell was so pleased with his club's effort on that sequence when we chatted on Sirius NFL Radio. This Colts team is opportunistic and never flinches in the face of adversity. Do you realize the Indy defense hasn't given up a touchdown after a turnover all year? Caldwell told us: "When you display the ability to win games in a number of different ways, you are moving in the right direction." At 10-0, I'd say so. You can watch Schein and Chris Carlin on Loud Mouths, weeknights at 6 ET on SNY (DIRECT-TV 639). You can listen to Schein and Rich Gannon on the Sirius Blitz, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on Sirius NFL Radio 124. Join Schein on NFL Sundays for the Sirius NFL Tailgate show from 9 a.m. to noon ET on Sirius NFL Radio and immediately after the Jets games on SNY for Jets Postgame Live. Adam Schein has joined the Twitter craze. Follow his work on FOXSports.com, SNY, and Sirius NFL Radio at twitter.com/AdamSchein. E-mail Schein at adamjschein@hotmail.com.
    • Tagged: Brett Favre, Jason Hanson, Andre Caldwell, Leigh Bodden, JaMarcus Russell, Falcons, Bears, Bills, Ronnie Brown, Bengals, Browns, Ricky Williams, Broncos, Eli Manning, Lions, Jason Elam, Chris Houston, Packers, Titans, Colts, Raiders, Chad Pennington, Chiefs, Michael Jenkins, Bruce Gradkowski, Dolphins, Vikings, Patriots, Joey Porter, Giants, Jets, Mark Sanchez, Eagles, Justin Smiley, Hank Poteat, Davone Bess, Panthers, Jamaal Charles, Gary Brackett, Ravens, Steelers, Chargers, Jason Taylor, Jay Cutler, Sheldon Brown, Louis Murphy, Brandon Jacobs, Chad Henne, Devin Hester, Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger, Sean Smith, Randy Starks, Brandon Pettigrew, Steve Smith, Vontae Davis, Mario Manningham, Johnny Knox

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