Apparently the Dolphins have had quite the eventful day based on the fact my phone has been blowing up all morning. I was in class and couldn't get the blog until now, but the 2010 Miami Dolphins just underwent quite the shakeup.

It started with news of the Dolphins signing veteran cornerback Al Harris, who was released by the Packers on Monday, and waiving former first-round pick Jason Allen, who was just recently replaced by Sean Smith in the starting lineup.

Harris hasn't played a snap since tearing three ligaments in his knee last November. At the age of 35, Harris is clearly on the tail end of his career, but could still be serviceable in a mentoring role for Miami's young corner tandem. Harris has picked off 21 passes in 12 seasons, and was just recently selected to the Pro Bowl in 2007 and 2008, so maybe he still has something left in the tank if he can just get back to 100%.

As for Jason Allen, this is a tough, abrupt way to end what has been his best year by far as a pro. He will now offically go down as a bust for his time spent in Miami, but you have to admire the way he battled back this season by making some key plays in some big wins early on. At the end of the day, though, he's just not starting material and it's obvious Sean Smith is going to concede far less completions even if he doesn't have the same knack for picking off passes.

Moving on to the much bigger story of the day, Chad Pennington will get the start at quarterback against the Titans.

"They both have strengths, and certainly weaknesses," Tony Sparano said. "At this particular time, my decision is Chad Pennington's strengths might be suited a little bit more for where we need to be."

 Personally, I am very indifferent about this switch. On one hand, it's almost a guarantee that Pennington will make far fewer mistakes and will likely do enough to keep the Dolphins in most games. On the other hand, though, this offense's ceiling is much higher with a prototypical quarterback like Chad Henne under center.

Not to mention the fact that this likely means the Dolphins are now back on the lookout for their long-term solution at the game's most important position. Sparano did mention that this wasn't "an indictment on (Henne's) future," but if he truly believed he was still capable of becoming a franchise quarterback it doesn't make much sense to pull him mid-season.

But if Sparano believes Pennington gives this team the best chance to make a second-half run and earn a playoff spot, how can you really argue with this decision? The future is important when you have a young team like the Dolphins do, but when your good enough to win now, that has to be your primary goal.

Check back later tonight, as we evaluate Pennington's impact on the offense.

The Dolphins are 4-4. Nothing more, nothing less. Bill Parcells once said, "You are who your record says you are." That rings especially true with these Dolphins. Golden opportunities after golden opportunities have presented themselves to this football team over the past two years, and the Dolphins simply haven't had what it takes to make the jump from average to good.

Back in 2008, the Dolphins lacked in the talent department, but benefited from mistake free football and a weak schedule. As fans, we were content with the division title and the first-round playoff exit because we knew that the Dolphins had maxed out their potential.

Not taking anything away from that magical season, it will probably stand in my mind as the most memberable year I have ever experienced as a Miami Dolphin fan until the day this franchise ends it's long Super Bowl drought. But the bottom line was, unless you were delusional, we all knew that there were still pieces that needed to be added for this team to emerge as a true title contender.

Last year, the Dolphins had a couple opportunities to take that next step a little bit ahead of schedule. In Week 2, the Dolphins had the golden standard for an elite football team, the Indianapolis Colts, right where they wanted them with a seven point lead in the fourth quarter. When it came time for them to rise up and defeat one of the best team's in football on a national stage, though, they faltered in the fourth quarter and quietly returned to their average status.

Five weeks later, the Dolphins had the eventual Super Bowl champion Saints down by 21 in the first-half before laying down for a second-half massacre in a game that ultimately resulted in a 12 point loss.

Two opportunities right down the drain, but we all knew that 2009 would be a small step backwards that would hopefully lead to some giant steps in the right direction in the future. Chad Henne was only in his first-year as the starter after all, and he lacked a true go-to threat that would complete the offense.

So the Dolphins went out and traded for Brandon Marshall, arguably one of the top five receivers in football with plenty of good years ahead of him. They also beefed up the defense by bringing in a genius defensive coordinator in Mike Nolan and signing a huge upgrade at inside linebacker in Karlos Dansby.

On paper this Dolphins team was ready to take that next step forward and contend for a division title and eventually a Super Bowl. Things never work out like they are supposed to on paper, though, do they?

In my mind this Dolphins team has had four opportunities to prove to us and the world that they belong in the elite discussion. Not to downplay their wins at Minnesota and Green Bay, both were crucial and without them we are probably gearing up for the NFL Draft already. But the Vikings clearly aren't the same team they were a year ago, and the Packers were injury depleted. Not to mention, games against NFC opponents just don't have the same meaning in the big picture.

Sitting at 2-0, the Dolphins had a gift of an opportunity to put a chokehold on the AFC East with back-to-back home, prime-time games against their two biggest division competitors. The defense opened up the flood gates against the Jets and the special-teams had a meltdown of epic porportions against the Patriots.

Although, the division title is still attainable, many fans started turning their attention towards the wildcard. After looking at the schedule during the bye week, two big test with huge wildcard implications stood out. I'm obviously referring to the Steelers and Ravens games. Before both of those key conference showdowns, all I heard the players talk about was how they were ready to assert themselves as one of the league's best teams.

Yes, they got hosed against the Steelers on Big Ben's controversial fumble, but anyone with common sense knows the Dolphins beat themselves by settling for five field goals. Then, in Sunday's game against the Ravens, the Dolphins were thoroughly beat in just about every aspect of the game. The defense looked uninspired, missing a reported nine tackles on the afternoon, and quite frankly I haven't been so frustrated watching this offense in a long time.

You can't sit here and tell me the Dolphins are still a legitament contender after dropping all four of those contest. A good team would have found a way to win at least one of those games, if not two considering three were at home.

Why haven't we seen the type of improvement we were hoping for you might ask? First off, I do believe this team is better. Last year's squad would have likely been buried by that brutal first-half schedule. But while the Dolphins have made significant strides in some areas, their identity on offense- really what everyone was banking on as a given entering the season- the running game, has completely fallen off.

I have placed the blame on the front office for replacing all three interior offensive line starters numerous times this season, but even when the running game starts to show some signs of life, like this past Sunday's opening drive for example, Dan Henning finds a way to completely abandon it. I haven't been AS critical of Dan Henning of some fans, but you have to wonder when enough is enough. That's a topic for another day, though.

Yes, these Dolphins have given us no reason to believe they will be anything more than average this season, but there's still plenty of football left to be played. They have nobody to blame but themselves for their current state, stuck in the middle of the pack with almost zero margin for error. But, hey, at least there is still hope.

We've seen this football team go on some clutch late season runs over the past two years, and they are certainly capable of doing just that with their second-half schedule. Grant it, that second-half looked considerably softer at the beginning of the season, but I only see two games (on the road against the Jets and Pats) in which they should be the underdogs.

What exactly will it take? Many are saying the Dolphins need to go at least 6-2 over the final eight games. That may be enough qualify for a wildcard spot, but personally, I think they can only afford to lose one more game just to be safe. I just don't see them winning too many tie breakers with their current conference record and with the teams they have lost to.

7-1 doesn't look very likely but it can be done. Obvioulsy, I'm going to hold out hope that it can happen, but still though, this team hasn't given outsiders any reason to believe they have what it takes to make that kind of run, or be anything more than a one and done in the playoffs if they somehow pull it off.

Hopefully, Brandon Marshall's playoff guarantee that he made earlier today will inspire this team to do great things, because right now they are simply average. Nothing more, nothing less. 500.

Ravens 26 Dolphins 10

In past loses this season there has always been some optimism to ease the pain. Against the Jets, Chad Henne looked terrific against one of the best defenses in football. The next week, the Dolphins looked like the better team early on, but special-teams blunders cost them a blowout loss to the Patriots. And then there was two weeks ago; a game many Dolphin fans put on the officials.

But after watching the Ravens throuroughly dominate the Dolphins in every aspect of the game yesterday, what can honestly be said to make this loss feel any less deflating? Before Sunday, I, along with many other Dolphin fans, was under the impression that this football team was on the cusp of possibly moving up into elite status. I think it's engraved in cement now, though, that the 2010 Miami Dolphins are an average football team, who are more likely to fall off into mediocrity than emerge as true contender.

In the preseason, I even mentioned how going 4-4 through the first eight games would put this team right on track to make a playoff push in the second-half of the year. Even if the Dolphins can finish out 6-2 or better in their final eight games against suddenly quality competition, you have to be thinking this team's ceiling is a first round playoff exit right now.

They just don't have what it takes to knockoff elite teams. The defense has done some good things at times, but they still clearly have holes large enough to prevent any sort of consistency to take place. Mike Nolan has been an upgrade, but I'm starting to think he may be slightly overrated after seeing the Dolphins' defense fail to adjust to Ray Rice breaking off huge gain after huge gain through the air.

Offensively, I'm not sure where to begin. Play-calling has been atrocious at times. Yesterday was a prime example of that. How in the world does Ronnie Brown run the ball 6 times for 45 yards on the opening drive and only carry the ball three more times the rest of the game?

And then there's Chad Henne. Sure, he's flashed potential at times, but eventually that potential has to manifest itself into reality. He's still only in his second season as the starter, but when exactly does the developmental stage end, and the results stage begin?

Overall, just a big reality check for this football team and it's fans. There are just too many questions on both sides of the ball right now to feel good about the direction this team is going. It's certainly not time to give up on this season yet, but as we sit here looking in the mirror at the halfway point, it's clear this team has a lot of work to do if they are going to live up to their playoff aspirations.

Just got done checking ESPN.com, and much to my surprise, every single analyst is picking against the Dolphins this week. Every single "expert" and Sunday NFL Countdown crew member is going with the Ravens to end the Dolphins' road perfection. I'm not saying the Ravens shouldn't be the favorite, they should. They are the better team right now on paper, and only a Dolphins win this Sunday will change that. But for nobody to be giving this team a chance?

That's a good thing the way I look at it. Hopefully the guys in that locker room get a hold of those picks, because anything that will fuel their "us against the world" mentality heading into another hostile environment can only benefit a team who is earning the right to be called "road warriors." Then again, it shouldn't take bulletin board material to get this team fired up to play. At the end of the year, I bet we look back to this week as the biggest non-division game of the season. If the Dolphins can escape Baltimore 5-0 on the road, they should be the favorite to snag the final wildcard spot in my opinion. A loss, though, could prevent them from ever emerging out of the middle of the pack.

1. 7 points > 3 points
Well here goes the obvious statement of the week. The Dolphins must, I repeat must, find a way to stop settling for field-goals and score more touchdowns. 13 field-goals in three weeks is just unacceptable for this offense. Sure, they beat the Packers and Bengals by kicking a bunch of field-goals, but against great teams like the Steelers, it just doesn't get the job done. I would probably give the Steelers the slight edge when ranking Pittsburgh and Baltimore, but the Ravens did beat them in Heinz Field back in Week 4 after all. If the Dolphins' defense finds a way to play out of their minds on Sunday, maybe settling for field-goals will be good enough.

My hunch is, it's going to take at least a couple touchdowns, though. Playcalling needs to be better, but the players need to execute better too. I can understand not wanting Henne to make any drive killing mistakes, but if you trust him to air the ball out inside your own ten yard line (like last week), why not let him take some chances inside the red zone? Maybe not against bad teams, but against teams like the Ravens, your going to have to take some risks to pull off a victory. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but can someone please tell Dan Henning to call a few fade routes to the corner of the endzone. Brandon Marshall is 6'4, 230 pounds. Utilize that.

2. Pressure Flacco, force a turnover or two
Last week the Dolphins didn't generate nearly the type of pressure we expected against the Bengals' mediocre offensive line. They didn't sack Palmer once. They did pressure him on some key plays that either prevented a big play, or got the Cincinnati offense off the field on third down, though. Cameron Wake hitting Palmer before he could find a wide open Jordan Shipley and Randy Starks forcing Palmer to throw off his back foot on that under thrown pass intended for T.O. on the final drive, immediately come to mind. I'm not sure they can rely on great coverage all game long again, though. It sure would be a luxury if Vontae Davis and Sean Smith could play that type of lockdown coverage every game.

I'm beginning to think Vontae Davis is the real deal, but Sean Smith still has a long way to go before we can start banking on both starting receivers getting blanketed all game. Cameron Wake hasn't registered a full sack since Green Bay, so he's due for a monster afternoon. On the other side, Koa Misi needs to be a little more consistent getting after the quarterback. There was a reason that the Dolphins submitted a waiver claim for Shawne Merriman. This defense needs someone on the other side that can cause some disruption. That way offensive lines can't focus so much attention on doubling Wake.

3. Win on the ground
The team that can run the football better just may have the advantage on Sunday. Watching how average the Dolphins have been at running the football this season and thinking about how physical of a football team the Ravens are, most would probably think the Dolphins would be over-matched here. Not so fast. It would probably surprise many that the Ravens are ranked 17th against the run this season, and they are only averaging 3.6 yards per carry.

I certainly don't think Ronnie and Ricky will be able to get the ground game going with ease, as it's always difficult to line up and run the ball down the throats of such a physical front seven, but I see both doing enough to keep the Dolphins' somewhat balanced offensively. Defensively, the Dolphins should be able to keep Ray Rice in check for the most part. Once again, they need to set the edge better, and not get caught in over pursuit once the Ravens decide to run to the outside, but it's going to be tough sledding for the Ravens running the ball up the middle.

In weeks prior, I have been giving every element of the game (run, pass, special-teams) it's own individual post as we preped for the Dolphins' upcoming game. This week, though, I'm going to shake things up a bit. I'm combining the "On the Ground," "Through the Air," and "Kicking Game" previews into one post. This way we can expand our branch of topics throughout the week.

I know I said to move on from Randy Moss yesterday, but it appears many Dolphin fans are still quite upset with the front office when you see some of the rants in other blogs and forums throughout the web. Maybe Jeff Ireland did make a bad call, but that doesn't change the fact that we still have a season to play.

A trip to Baltimore is on this week's slate, with major playoff implications on the line. The Ravens have a one game lead over the Dolphins in the wildcard standings, and another road win would put Miami right in the thick of things as the first-half of the season comes to an end.

The Ravens are a popular choice to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl and are widely considered to be the most complete team in football. They still have a great defense led by arguably the league's best front seven. They are starting to come around on the offensive side of the ball too, with an emerging franchise quarterback that has weapons like Ray Rice and Anquan Boldin at his side.

Make no mistake, though, this is a very winable game for the Dolphins. Don't get me wrong, the Ravens are a very good team that has the potential to become great, but it took them overtime to knock off the winless Bills at home and they lost to the same Bengals team the Dolphins should have dominated if it weren't for a lucky T.O. touchdown and five field goals.

This could finally be the game that the Dolphins separate themselves from the middle of the pack and place a claim as one of the league's elite teams. A win certainly wouldn't mean they have arrived and there would still be plenty of work left to be done for this team to get into the playoffs, but a win on Sunday would go a long way in makingsome of the Dolphins'goals become a reality.

So let's evaluate how the Dolphins and Ravens stack up in all three phases of the game.

Dolphins running game (16th) vs. Ravens run defense (17th)
Outside of the wheels falling off inside the red zone, the most disappointing thing about the 2010 Miami Dolphins has been the falloff of their running game. Who would have imagined this Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams ledattack dropping all the way to 16th in the league through seven games after finishing 09' as the 4th best running game in football? Like I have mentioned on many other occasions, if your going to point fingers, point them right at this front office for replacing all three of the interior O-line starters from last year. Although, I believe the Dolphins may have found something special with rookie guard John Jerry and I expect that he will only improve each and every week, center Joe Berger and left guard Richie Incognito aren't generating the same push this O-line had the last two seasons.

Traditionally, the Ravens haven't been an easy defense to run on, but running on this 2010 version certainly isn't an impossible feat. They actually barely rank in the bottom half of the league when it comes to stopping the run, so Dan Henning has to at least attempt to get Ronnie and Ricky involved early and often. Having said that, because the Dolphins are a power running team, I don't expect them to have too much success against that Baltimore front seven. Maybe if they had a speedster who could get to the edge they might be able to gash this Ravens' run defense, but I just don't see this Dolphins' offensive line getting much of a push against the likes of Kelly Gregg and Haloti Ngata.
Edge: Push

Ravens running game (12th)vs. Dolphins run defense (11th)
While the Ravens rank a respectable 12th on the ground, they are only managing 3.6 yards per carry. They are still a dangerous running team with a back like Ray Rice, don't get me wrong, but for whatever reason, they just don't seem to be having the kind of success they had last year. And it may still be too early to tell, but stopping the run may be becoming the strength of this football team. They have yet to crack the top ten, but they seem to be getting better each and every week. And in the games, they seem to be only getting better as the game goes on.

Two weeks ago, they absolutely dominated the Steelers' offensive line and Reshard Mendenhall in the second-half. Last week, despite giving up a few big runs to Cedric Benson in the first-half, they rose to the occasion after halftime and wound up holding Benson to a mere 3.4 yards per carry. I will say Wake and Misi need to continue to set the edge effectively and the rest of the front seven can't get caught in over pursuit once offenses decide to test the perimeter, but that appears to be the only thing separating the Dolphins from being dominate against the run right now.
Edge: Dolphins

Dolphins passing attack (12th)vs. Ravens pass defense (9th)
Despite all the injuries that plagued the Ravens' secondary to start the season, they are still managing a top ten pass defense. And now that Ed Reed is back patrolling center-field, this is a very dangerous team to come out and try to throw on. But that doesn't mean Dan Henning won't try. If you've watched this Dolphins team enough this season, you would know that they no longerabide by a run-first mentality. In my opinion, anyway, this is now a pass first offense.

That wasn't the vision this offense had at the beginning of the year, but they are being forced to play to their offensive line's strengths, which is currently pass blocking. That won't be an easy task against the Ravens, though. They have only put up 12 sacks on the season so far, but blocking the likes of Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, and Haloti Ngata is always easier said than done. If the Dolphins can keep Henne clean once again this Sunday, he should be able to put together another solid day. One mental lapse on Henne's part, though, could be the difference in the game. And let's not forget the biggest key of the day. The Dolphins need to be just as effective throwing the ball on their opponents side of the field as their own. Would somebody please get Brandon Marshall some touchdowns?
Edge: Ravens

Ravens passing attack (15th)vs. Dolphins pass defense (12th)
Just like Brandon Marshall has done for the Dolphins, Anquan Boldin has given the Ravens a legitimate go-to threat for Joe Flacco to work with. The only difference is he's putting up touchdowns, crossing the goal-line five times already. But with the way Vontae Davis has been playing this season, we shouldn't have to worry too much about Boldin's side of the field. Outside of conceding that one long pass to Greg Jennings, Davis has been flat out dominating his matchup week in and week out. I think he matches up well against Boldin too, because of how physical of a corner he is.

As we all know, though, the Dolphins still need someone to step up on the other side of the field. Sean Smith is expected to get the start on Sunday after covering Terrell Owens very well all game long and sealing the winwith a fourth quarter pick last week. Now we need to see some consistency on Smith's part if he wants to cement his name in stone for that starting position opposite Vontae. If he can do that, the sky is the limit for this corner tandem. Smith will have his hands full with Derrick Mason on Sunday, though, who continues to find ways to get the job done, even at 36 years of age. Don't forget about Todd Heap either. Heap is putting together another productive season so far with 3 touchdowns and over 300 yards, and these Dolphins have struggled covering tight ends at times. As always, the Dolphins could use a little help from their pass rush. Outside of a couple quarterback hurries from Cameron Wake, the Dolphins didn't get much pressure on Carson Palmer. Misi could sure help Wake out by producing some pressure of his own, but hopefully we see Cameron abuse Michael Oher a few times on Sunday.
Edge: Dolphins

Special-teams
Well, Dan Carpenter continues to establish himself as one of the best kickers in football and the Dolphins are arguably fresh off their best kickoff coverage game so far this season. But just one mistake on special-teams is all it takes spoil an otherwise solid day. Davone Bess muffed a punt that luckily didn't cost the Dolphins points, but it was obvious Bess wasn't as confident the rest of the game. Hopefully he gets his confidence back in a hurry because he was starting to emerge as a very solid punt returner after having a sub-par 2009 season with the same role. The Ravens don't have any big time return men to fear this Sunday, but they have been covering kicks and punts very well through seven games. It will be interesting to see who the Dolphins let return kickoffs. Nolan Carroll has clearly flashed the most potential, but Patrick Cobbs always hits the hole hard despite not being much of a home run threat.
Edge: Ravens