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.

The Dolphins are 4-4 coming off a tough loss and having to regroup quickly. This week they face a Titan team that got its ass handed to them by the Bears last week. These AFC games are very important for the Dolphins as their conference record might be a factor in a playoff race. That being said we have decided to do a little Q & A with Bloguins Total Titans blogger Andrew Strickert.

1) Locker or Matty H, who would you rather face if you were the Dolphins ? 

Personally, I'd rather face Locker at this time.  Although he has a better arm than Hasselbeck, he only has four NFL starts, plus he ought to be rusty after being sidelined since Week 4.

2) Has CJ2K really lost it, or he can regain his form ?

A lot of us thought he had lost it but he did rush for 195 yards against the Bills (not a very good defense vs the run and most of the credit for his big game goes to Tennessee's o-line) and he rushed for 141 yards against the Bears (his 80-yard TD was with their starters on the bench in garbage time.)  CJ still seems to have most of his speed and can still be dangerous, especially when he's not facing the strongest competition. 

3) What the heck happened to the Titans ?

The offense has problems scoring but the defense is even worse.  They're the 32nd-ranked scoring defense and are on pace to set the all-time record for points allowed.  The Titans defense is a cure for whatever ails an opposing offense.  The defense can't stop the run but they make up for it by not stopping the pass either.  It would be best for the team if both coordinators were replaced but since Mike Munchak hired them, I don't know if he'd fire them after only two years, unless he was forced to.  Owner Bud Adams wasn't a happy camper after last week's 51-20 embarrassment and said jobs would be on the line, so maybe we'll see some changes in the offseason.

If you're interested in specifics, the main culprits are - on offense, "playmakers" aren't making plays and the o-line has problems run-blocking.  On defense, the Titans don't have much of a pass rush and the safety play has been shoddy.  On both sides of the ball the play-calling has been poor and the coordinators don't seem to be able to make adjustments.

4) Do the Dolphins scare you or do you still see them as that 6-10 team from last year ?

When you have the worst defense in the league, every team scares you, especially ones that put 11 players on the field and use their tight end on occasion.  I look at the 2012 Dolphins differently than I do last year's edition, and a team that can score 30+ points on Tennessee.

The Dolphins went into Indy with a 3 game winning streak a 4-3 record and sky high with confidence, they left 4-4. First things first, The Sky isn’t falling!  The season isn’t over!  After a very tough loss against a potential playoff contender the Dolphins fan base came back to reality. After a tough loss like the Dolphins suffered its time to sit back and put things into perspective.

The Dolphins sit at 4-4, 2^nd in the AFC and still alive in the playoff hunt that being said this game was very much an eye opener for many reason.  Here are a couple of things that stuck out to me after watching this past Sunday’s game.

1. Andrew Luck is really really really good!

• Like when the Dolphins played Peyton Manning in the past, they had to fear the future HOFer every time they touched the ball, it seems the Dolphins are in store for the same thing against Luck. Luck proved this week that he is everything and more, while Ryan Tannehill has shown a lot of promise and potential he is not at the Andrew Luck status. While Tannehill has the capability of being a franchise QB it will be important the Dolphins surround him with talent the same way Andrew Luck has a strong young supporting cast in Indy.

2. The Dolphins need themselves a TY Hilton

• The Dolphins desperately need a deep threat option that can stretch the field. The ironic thing is that the Dolphins took TE Michael Egnew (yet to see the field) over Hilton who seems exactly what the doctor ordered in Miami. You guys can guess who is to blame for that decision. The Dolphins receiving options just aren’t good enough. While Bess and Hartline are keepers for sure, they aren’t nearly enough. The Dolphins need to upgrade at W1 and TE.
•  We all know this is a passing league, while the offensive line has struggled at times it remains pretty solid, the Dolphins need to make sure it is priority number 1 next year to find people who can make plays for Tannehill.

3. The Dolphins have very tough decisions ahead of them with Jake Long and Sean Smith

• I LOVE Jake Long. I met Jake on draft day and have loved him ever since, he has been everything I could have hoped for and has been awesome on and off the field, BUT the fact is his play has declined this year and probably even last year a bit too. Jake is going to demand big money in the offseason being a free agent and being honest he will not probably warrant the money he will receive. The Dolphins have a big decision ahead of them to find out what to do with Jake. Maybe he still isn’t healthy, maybe he needs to go back to the practice field and tweak his game who knows but he does need to be much better and he knows it too.

• Sean Smith might have had his worst game of his career against the Colts. While Smith has been better of late this season his inconsistent play has many doubting he can be a true shut down corner. Smith has his moments when you believe in him and also can sometime have you questioning how he even makes the roster. Smith is going to have to show consistency if he wants to take the next level. The game tape will generally show you that Smith is an average to good corner but far from great. Smith is most likely going to want top $’s, it will be very interesting to see what the Phins do with him.

4. The Dolphins just aren’t quite there yet

• While the Dolphins have showed a lot of promise and growth, this team isn’t ready to contend yet. While they are now 4-4 notes and haven’t exactly beat elite competition. The Dolphins showed that against an elite QB, they were not able to get off the field. While I am not telling you that the playoffs are out of the question, a more realistic time for the Dolphins to really take the next step is next year when they are loaded with draft picks and have 1 year of experience under Tannehill’s belt. 

Last year, Jimmy Wilson, 7^th round pick out of Montana, was given the opportunity of a lifetime, start at cornerback versus the Cleveland Browns in week 2.  Needless to say, Wilson played well with an interception, but the excitement was tempered as he allowed his man, Mohamed Massaqoui to get over and above him on a fade route in the corner in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.  From everything that Wilson has been through in his past, getting beat by Massoqoui was not as critical. Getting second chances has been something that Wilson has earned and he’s shown why the Dolphins would express confidence in him as a person and as a player on the team. Wilson is an older second year player because of stint he did in jail after high school.  Wilson has shown exactly why he is on this roster, he makes plays and has been a model citizen.

Fast forward to this season, during training camp, Kevin Coyle and Head Coach Joe Philbin made it clear that Wilson would have to earn a role on the team as a safety.  This despite the free agent signing of safety Tyrell Johnson who had experience making plays in Minnesota.  Wilson found himself in a battle, but he continued to shine on special teams and making big tackles on defense in the pre-season.

This season, Jimmy Wilson has done well for Miami where he has notched 15 tackles and one sack and one forced fumble.  Last week’s sack of Mark Sanchez showed that in certain blitz packages, Wilson can be that elusive threat to disrupting the rhythm of opposing offensives and a total disruption of a quarterback’s timing.  Having Wilson on this team brings another playmaker that can cover down field and make plays when you need to most.

Given the chance again, Jimmy Wilson showed again why he made the team and why he was made a safety on the Dolphins.  His talent and ability is clear in that he blocked a punt and got his first sack last week versus the Jets.  He slipped passed the Jets experiment of using Tim Tebow as a punt protector and disrupted experienced Coach Mike Westoff's special teams unit and set the tone by blocking the punt into the waiting hands of Olivier Vernon for the touchdown. 

But, Wilson, not only serves as a leader on special teams, he brings the wood on defense by separating the receiver from the ball whether it’s a key goal line strip of the football from rookie Stephen Hill on a fourthdown play to force an incompletion to seal the victory for Miami. 

Jimmy Wilson is one of the many bright spots on the Miami Dolphins.  His future is with this team as long as he continues to make plays and get good positioning to make big plays on these receivers that come into his zone. 

As a fan, one appreciates his resiliency that Wilson overcomes when getting beat down field and then makes up for hit on a key tackle or heads up play to swing the momentum in Miami's favor. His play reminds me of players that bring a fear to receivers coming over the middle.  Wilson reminds me of  Rodney Harrison who made his living hitting receivers over the middle.  

This week, the Indianapolis Colts receivers might be hearing those footsteps of Wilson, and when they do Wilson will already be there to meet them with a huge wallop of a hit.

A historic NFL matchup may come down to a game time decision on Sunday as Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill was limited once again at practice on Friday and is listed as questionable on the injury report. If Tannehill is able to suit up against fellow first round pick Andrew Luck, it would be the first game between two rookie quarterbacks taken in the first ten picks with a winning record, per Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com.

Although Tannehill has practiced all week, he has seen a decrease in his opportunies while backup Matt Moore has continued to recieve more snaps than usual. Assuming Tannehill starts, the coaching staff wouldn't resitate benching the rookie if he struggles early, considering this is as close to a 'must win' game at this point in the season. The fact that a reliable backup is available in Moore allow for a relatively short leash on Tannehill. Not only was Moore able to lead the team to a comfortable 30-9 win last week, he performed admirably for Miami last year and led the team to a 6-3 record in their final nine games. 

Despite the circulating reports that Tannehill has had his knee drained to reduce the swelling already twice this week, the Dolphins are optimistic that he will be good to go come game day. Don't expect a decision until the latest possible moment before kickoff as Tannehill will be re-evaluated on Sunday. With the quarterback situation currently up in the air, it will make the Colts task of game planning for one of them all the more difficult.

Perphaps the most surprising name on the injury report was wide reciever Brian Hartline who has been listed as questionable with a linguring groin injury. Hartline's potential absence may have a more significant impact then the loss of Tannehill seeing as Hartline will be relied on to stretch the field and take advantage of the Colts secondary. He remains the team leader in recieveing yards and with the position already thin, a third option such as Jabar Gaffney or Marlon Moore will have to step up in order for the Dolphins offense to find success. 

Defensive tackle Tony McDaniel is also listed as questionable with a knee injury.