Frustration, aggravation, embarrassment are just some of the feelings that are spreading throughout the Dolphins fan base.

After a promising 4-3 start including 3 straight wins the Dolphins have plummeted to 3 straight losses leading to a now 4-6 record, essentially halting all playoff talk.  While there is no one that individually that can take the blame as each loss has featured too many to point the finger at, however at the end of the day coach Philbin is responsible for his team and the past few performances have not been acceptable.

The Dolphins have come out 3 straight games flat and unprepared. Despite the fact you would like to see your coach rally the troops and have them motivated to go, it seems Philbin has failed to do so recently as the team has played with no urgency or fire despite having had a shot at the playoffs. Coordinators on both side of the ball have underwhelmed as Kevin Coyle’s secondary looks like one of the of the weakest units in the league (for expectation of R Jones) and the pass rush has all but disappeared. Mike Sherman, well don’t get me started. The offense has struggled against 2 of the worst defenses in the league and has seen the running game become all but futile. Sherman and Philbin have struggled to get Tannehill back on track and set him up with opportunities to make plays. The lack of a deep threat has hindered the play calling for sure but this league wasn’t made for excuses. A team that appeared aggressive at early stages of the season now dare I say resembles a Tony Sprano/ Chad Henne offense.

Where do the Dolphins go from here? Well it’s tough to say to be honest.  The key for this team is no longer wins and losses, the priority has to be to develop Ryan Tannehill and evaluate your upcoming free agents and young players.  

In terms of how the team operates, I don’t think the obvious needs to be said but it is quite clear the person who built this consistent non contender with a lack of talent has to be held responsible.

The even bigger glaring issues with the Dolphins past 2 losses is that it puts doubt in the minds of fans on Ryan Tannehill and Joe Philbin. While it’s silly to make any bold statements and come to any quick decisions, there certainly is reason for concern. Time will tell and hopefully next year will be the year to really evaluate Tannehill as hopefully the team can surround him with more talent.

The Miami Dolphins of 2011 are back and in full force. 

The Dolphins were victim of a good ole fashion butt Whooping this week. If you're looking for positives from this game well without being too cynical there really weren't any. The Dolphins fell victim of Murphy's Law this Sunday as everything went wrong.

Whether it was a lack of discipline and preparation by the coaching staff, a bad fumble by Reggie Bush, bad interceptions by Ryan Tannehill, complete meltdown by the Dolphins defense, the list goes on and on. There were no good individual performance and the Dolphins were out coached, outplayed and outclassed by a very average Titans team.

Reggie Bush ‏@reggie_bush

I have to apologize to Dolphin Nation my performance these past few weeks has been poor & I'm embarrassed right now! You guys deserve better

Shit f*lm dnt lie, I been trippin past couple of games, gotta show up big thursday!!

Cameron Wake: "It was an embarrassment all around. What more can you say?"

Bush along with many others had no excuses or reasons for their performance this week but everyone knows that the product this Sunday on the field was unacceptable.

The Dolphins don't get much time to rebound as they are back in action this Thursday against Buffalo. The Dolphins have now dug themselves in quite the hole in the AFC playoff race as now it seems that they are falling too far behind to catch up. That being said it is only week 9 so let's not go overboard.

Coaching was as concerning as everything else this Sunday as not only did the Dolphins come out this week flat, they were perhaps even worse coming out of the 2nd half making no adjustments and clearly not buying what Philbin was selling to them in the locker room.

While it's clear this roster clearly lacks the talent required to be an elite NFL teams, week after week it is even more scary watching some of the obvious holes.

Erase the game tape, move on and get back to work. That's the only thing you can do at this point. 

Ireland “We’ll find out who we are and what we’re made of on a short week." 

At 4-4 the Dolphins are what their record says: a team that starts fast and blows it in the end.  The Dolphins are a team that have yet to get a 4th quarter comeback win.  With the looming contest versus the Tennessee Titans this weekend, the Dolphins can be over the .500 mark this late into the season since 2008, where those Dolphins were 11-5 and eventually finished in an improbable fashion by winning the division after a dreadful 1-15 season.  This year's Dolphins have set their goals high and hope to achieve them.  If their goal is going to the playoffs, they will have to fight like mad to catch the Steelers and Colts who have the last two spots locked up for the playoffs at 5-3 and 6-3 respectively.  Standing in their way are critical contests that will decide if the Philbin and company makeover will prove fruitful.

Last week needs to be an aberration to the Dolphins and all Dolfans.  Yes, the Dolphins got torched by #1 pick Andrew Luck and yes the Dolphins made a futile effort to control the line of scrimmage on offense and defense.  The last play of the game was the dagger in the heart for the Dolphins as the Colts ran them over to finish the game.  The Dolphins treated the Colts as a trap game, but in reality, the Colts played better and showed they made sound decisions in the off-season by replacing one legend in Peyton Manning with another future star in the making in Andrew Luck.

This contest versus Tennessee cannot come soon enough.  The Titans are a team in quarterback turmoil having started Matt Hasselbeck after a critical injury to Jake Locker.   Now Jake Locker, barring any setbacks, will be ready.  The Dolphins must be ready. The Dolphins are at home where they have only one loss this season and aspire to make Sun Life an unfriendly venue for teams on the road.

This game may be the final game a stretch of winnable games.  You see, after this game versus the Titans, the Dolphins have a short week and have to play Buffalo at night, on Thursday the 15^th.  Many young Dolfans weren’t even born when the Bills last hosted any night game in November.  Why is this significant?  At night, it gets cold.  When it gets cold, it can snow.  Snow and Dolphins don’t mix.  Especially at nighttime.  Cold and the Dolphins are never a good combination. Dolphins must win in Buffalo! It's not that the Dolphins can't win in the cold, they just seem to handle it differently then most teams since they come from the tropical climate of South Florida.  

Then the Dolphins, starting on November 25^th have a tough contest versus Seattle, New England, San Francisco, and then the Jacksonville Jaguars where ex-Dolphin OC Mike Mularkey wants to turn things around in Jacksonville and will stop at nothing to unleash a fury of Blaine Gabbert and his arsenal of Justin Blackmon and Laurent Robinson.

A true test for a potential playoff teams comes with a win this week and then wins versus all division opponents, Buffalo and New England.

Winning this week lifts the spirits in the locker room, from everyone to the defense to the rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

There is no better time for the Dolphins to play their best football than this part of the schedule. 

This is the part of the schedule where football teams become contenders or pretenders. 

If the Dolphins can sweep through their schedule, all Dolfans will be doing back flips and tweeting about I hearting the players, coaches, and the front office!

At the mid way point of the 2012 season, the Miami Dolphins have exceeded virtually all the expectations set for them in the preseason yet find themselves where they began; with an even record. Miami is sitting at 4-4, one game out of the AFC East lead and one game back of a playoff spot. It's clear that there is a new sense of optimism in South Florida, the Dolphins are playing meaningful football which is something that eluded them a year ago. While the team as a unit has been a pleasant surprise, invidual players have also emerged as impact performers. Although there were plenty of surprises, several players were large disappointments that may have ultimately cost the team a handful of victories. However, the past is simply that, the past and Miami sits at a solid position in this point of the season, at .500. Before looking forward to a crucial matchup against the Tennesse Titans to get the Dolphins back into the playoff mix, it's time to take a look at which players surpised and disappointed in the first half of the year.

Surprises

QB Ryan Tannehill

There is absolutely no question about this choice. In the game's Tannehill has played, he already looks like the quarterback the Miami Dolphins have long been searching for. Although the Dolphins offense as a whole stacks up around the same as last year statistically, there is no denying that they are much improved, in large part due to the decision making and skill set of the rookie quarterback. The Miami offense ranks 20th in points per game with 21.2 and 20th in the league in pass yards per game with 220.6. Despite the low totals, Tannehill's abilty to take full control of the no huddle offense as well as not throwing an interception in the past four games, has kept the Dolphins in a position to win every week. Assuming Tannehill stays healthy, he will easily surpass Dan Marino's rookie passing mark of 2,210 yards set in 1983. Through eight games Tannehill has completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 1,762 yards and five touchdowns, very impressive for a player who wasn't even expected to start this year.

WR Brian Hartline

With eight games in the books, Brian Hartline has already set a career high in recieving yards with 662 on 41 receptions. Hartline has embraced the role of the team's top option in the passing game and has developed a strong chemistry with Ryan Tannehill. Underrated throughout his career, Hartline has become a serious threat down the field and his speed is not to be underestimated. The one flaw in Hartline's game is the inability to reach the endzone as he has only recorded one touchdown. Despite the lack of touchdown's, Hartline is on pace to move into second on the Dolphins all time list for recieving yards in a single season. He is projected to finish with 1,324 yards but must emerge as a red zone threat. Outside of Hartline, Davone Bess has been a staple in the slot but a third reciever has yet to make a significant impact.

DE Cameron Wake

All the doubts that Wake's production would only decline after recieving a long term extension in Miami were quickly put to rest as the contract has turned into a bargain from the perspective of the front office. Wake has been a large contributor to the Dolphins run defense which ranks 3rd in the league and is surrendering a mere 83.9 yards on the ground per game. The former CFLer has the 5th most sacks in the NFL with 8 1/2 and his 55 combined quarterback hits and hurries lead the league. For his efforts, Wake was voted AFC defensive player of the month for October. 

Honourable Mentions:

DT Randy Starks: 3.5 sacks, one interception, 15 quarterback hurries.

C Mike Pouncey: Performing at a pro bowl level and is a key part of the Dolphins interior play.

DE Olivier Vernon: 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble and a blocked punt touchdown highlight the rookie's early career.

Disappointments

LT Jake Long

The former first overall pick and four time pro bowler has not looked like the same player this season as he did in his first four years in the league. Long has been a bookend on the Dolphins offensive line for years and has been known to turn in one dominating performance after another, however he has not been as effective while protecting his quarterback's blind side this year. He has missed several key blocks throughout the season leading to the defense having a free rusher at Tannehill. Long's struggles have resulted in three sacks for the opposition and have him ranked as the 46th best tackle in the league. His disappointing play will make the Dolphins decsion on Long's fate in free agency all the more difficult.

CB Sean Smith and Nolan Carroll

It's tough to pick out one individual disappointment from the secondary as they have been extremely inconsistent all season. In the first five games, it appeared as though Sean Smith embraced the role of shutdown corner however in his past four games he is allowing an opposing quarterback rating of over 100. Despite only allowing 53 percent of the passes thrown in his direction to be completed, he simply could not cover Reggie Wayne in last week's loss and surrendered the game tying touchdown in a loss to Arizona. Starting alongside Smith, Nolan Carroll has played well in stretches but has come crashing back down to earth. Carroll has allowed 437 recieving yards and two touchdowns against No. 2 recieving options. One of the lone bright spots in the Dolphins secondary is Reshad Jones who is rated as the top saftey in the league according to Pro Football Focus. In order for the Dolphins to be contenders down to stretch, the secondary as whole must improve.

Overall, the Miami Dolphins are finally headed in the right direction as an organization and while building for the future is always the goal, the Dolphins are still very much alive this season. A win at home to the Titans could vault Miami right back into a playoff spot and their remaining schedule is one of the more favourable. While there are several areas of need on this team, if they continue to play competitive football and see increased production from a number of players, this team will be tough to beat.