It’s a victory Monday in Miami as the Dolphins have ended their 3 game skid and have something to be proud about again on a Monday morning. This week took a lot of strong individual strong performances to help the Phins upset the hot Seattle Seahawks.

1. Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas

• Oh where oh where did the running game go?  Against a solid front 4 the Dolphins running game was finally able to bounce back. Reggie looked to have gained a step back into his game and Daniel Thomas ran with confidence and power. The two backs complimented each other this Sunday as the Dolphins totaled 189 yards on the ground. Reggie also looked like his old self, providing another highlight 30 yard touchdown run.
• The running game also helped set up the play action pass while taking pressure off rookie Ryan Tannehill who clearly was more comfortable with the support of the run game. Establishing the run is very important to this team for many reasons.

Hopefully this week’s performance on the ground will be one of more to come.

2. Charles Clay

• Charles Clay career in Miami has not been anything to write home about, aside from the odd breakdown in coverage which led to a touchdown Clay hasn’t really been able to be productive in this offense. Finally we saw a little of what Clay can do to help this offense on Sunday. Clay hauled in 6 grabs for 84 yards and a touchdown.
• The Dolphins clearly need a 3^rd option after Bess and Hartline and it seems Mike Sherman is trying to work Charles Clay into that role. Clay can be a huge X-factor in the Dolphins offense if utilized correctly.

• We will see if this is a fluke performance or if Clay is ready to break out of his shell. Philbin on Clay:  "He had some opportunities that he took advantage of. We thought he blocked well.      Not sure it was any kind of revelation."

3. Davone Bess

• With Brian Hartline draped by Richard Sherman, Seattle’s elite corner, Bess had to step up and find ways to get up. Bess did exactly that on route to a career performance.  Bess had 7 catches for 129 yards and was especially huge in the 4^th quarter and on the Dolphins game winning drive. The Tannehill-Bess connection looked as good as it’s been all season this Sunday.

            Bess and Hartline are now both on pace to have 1’000 yard seasons. Who would have thought ! 

After 3 straight games of disappointment and frustration the Miami Dolphins which had their fan base encouraged and excited finally came back to form. The Dolphins played an exciting game which ended with Ryan Tannehill leading his team down the field for his 1st career game winning 4th quarter comeback.

 The Dolphins rebounded this week rediscovering  their identity running the football and stopping the run. While we saw shades of the same inept offense and inability to take down the QB the good overcame the bad this week as the Dolphins now sit at 5-6 back in the playoff hunt.

Ryan Tannehill was poised and confident down the stretch in the 4th quarter finding Davone Bess on a couple of big plays that led to a game winning field goal. Tannehill 3-3 for 51 yards on the game winning drive.

Tannehill's 4th quarter today: 7/9, 156 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT's...17 points scored....QB rating of 155.79....Yeah, I guess I'll take that.

The Dolphins run game is what really got the offense going again as they totalled 189 yards on the ground. Both Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas were productive as it was very nice to see both players get their swagger back and run with more confidence. Bush's bounce back game was a long time coming as he hasn't been playing with the same bounce as he did earlier in the season.

The road to 500% doesn't get any easier next week as they get no time to enjoy this win with New England on tap next however this week's win is something to build off of.

The offensive play calling will need to top notch as the Dolphins offense in the first half simply won't cut it.

This teams still remains a bit of a mystery however today was certainly a step in the right direction beating a solid Seattle team at home.

This win also helped the Dolphins improve to 1-0 when the sprinklers go off. 

Two teams seemingly headed in opposite directions will meet in South Beach on Sunday as the 4-6 Miami Dolphins play host to the 6-4 Seattle Seahawks. Seattle is surging as of late and all elements of the team are playing high quality football while the Dolphins enter this matchup following three straight losses and their playoff hopes quickly slipping away.

The tilt features two rookie quarterbacks, Ryan Tannehill and Russell Wilson, both of which were not expected to win their respective teams starting jobs this season. Both have exceeded their draft day expectations as they have showed the skill and poise needed to find success at the NFL level. Even more impressive is the fact that Tannehill had the Dolphins in a midst of a serious playoff run seven games into the season and Wilson's Seahawks are currently the 6th seed in the NFC.

For Miami to get a crucial victory and get their season back on track, the Dolphins must repair the offense that has been atrocious for the past three games, scoring a combined 37 points over that span. Since the loss to the Colts, Ryan Tannehill has struggled against two of the worst defenses in the league. In order to rebound this week, Tannehill must regain confidence in himself as well as his wide recievers alhtough they have yet to make life easy for the rookie. Throughout the Dolphins three game win streak that vaulted them to 4-3, Tannehill took control of the offense and kept the team in a position to win despite being outplayed on some occasions. In order for Miami to rebound, Tannehill must regain his early season form. Easier said than done.

The Seahawks defense is near the top in the league in several categories as they have surrendered a mere 16.1 points per game (2nd in the league), 296.8 yards per game (3rd) and 196.2 passing yards per game (3rd). It won't be an easy task for Tannehill to thrive against this stout defense on his own, the run game must take some of the pressure off him. The re-emergence of the run game has yet to happen for the Dolphins as Reggie Bush does not look like the same back from the end of last season to the beginning of this year and Daniel Thomas is hit or miss on a week to week basis. If Seattle has one weakness on defense its their ability to stop the run as they are allowing over 100 yards on the ground per game. Bush must run the ball up the gut as opposed to running east to west as he has a habit of doing. The Dolphins have the NFL's second rated centre in Mike Pouncey which should be enough to overmatch the Seahawks up front. Without the run game though, the Dolphins will be playing right into the hands of their opponents.

Although it has gone relatively unnoticed, the Dolphins defense played well on Thursday Night Football against the Bills. The bend dont break defense was evident following an embarassing loss the week before and held Buffalo to only 19 points, none in the second half and not a single offensive touchdown. That is usually a formula for victory in the NFL. Usually. If the defense turns in another exceptional performance, the Dolphins won't need anything spectacular out of their offense assuming they protect the ball and capitalize on their chances. Putting pressure on the Seahawks will be a point of emphasis in stopping Marshawn Lynch and forcing Wilson into making poor decisions. Lynch is having the best year of his career so far meaning the Dolphins 9th ranked run defense will need to ensure Lynch does not get into open space.

The Seahawks passing game is ranked last in the NFL averaging 255 yards per game. Miami must take away the run and make Seattle one dimensional. While Wilson doesn't post jaw-dropping numbers, he rarely makes mistakes either seeing as he has only thrown two interceptions in the past five weeks. Wilson's biggest asset against Miami could potentially be his speed considering that the Dolphins struggle versus mobile quarterbacks. Its crucial that the 'Phins linebackers keep him contained and force him into making throws to an average at best recieving corps. 

Seattle normally is not a good road team and the fact that they are a west coast team travelling to the east coast for a 1pm game will factor in as an advantage for Miami. The Dolphins season is on the line when they take the field Sunday and in order for them to turn their season around, it must start with their offense.

Not too long ago the Miami Dolphins were faced with the prospects of signing their running back and former 2005 first round pick, Ronnie Brown. 

Forced to fill a void that was inevitable with the lack of productivity in Brown’s final season, the Dolphins got overly aggressive at the start of the offseason after the lockout with a trade for Reggie Bush.  A name that would sell jerseys and someone that could be considered the face of the franchise.

Reggie Bush has been known for being an all-purpose back: a do it all back running the ball for yards and catching the ball to move the sticks.  Not to mention, Bush’s value as a returner, has him sadly on Madden 13 as 99 rating as the best returner on the Dolphins in the video game.

However, this season Reggie Bush has followed up a season of 15 games started and 1086 yards rushed on 6 TDs with 575 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns through 10 games. 

These numbers are quite deceiving in that even though Reggie Bush is tied for 21^st in rushing, hardly evidence of feature back status, Reggie succumbed to a knee injury versus the Jets in week three. 

When the Miami Dolphins front office and brass look to re-sign Reggie Bush there are compelling arguments as to why the Dolphins should either sign him or let him hit the market.

The argument for signing Bush:

Reggie Bush is a play maker on the Dolphins.  He has shown signs of taking over games and leading the Dolphins in victories.  When the Dolphins win, it’s because Reggie Bush has done work in those games.  From the first win of 2011 season versus the Chiefs, Reggie Bush began to show that he is the force that most teams cannot stop in the open field.  Reggie one on one is going to win most of the time.  In Dolphins wins this season, Reggie Bush has rushed for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns.  In losses, Reggie has rushed for 279 yards and one touchdown. With Reggie Bush, despite the setbacks, he has been out there contributing where he has been able to.

Bush should not be signed:

While Reggie Bush has been balanced, he has not been effective after failing to rush for over 100 yards since the game versus the Raiders where he rushed for 172 and 2 touchdowns.  Reggie Bush, while he has shown glimpses of greatness as a feature back, has one major flaw: holding onto the football.  The Dolphins are a team that is feast or famine this season when it comes to turnovers.  The Dolphins have won 4 games when they have no turnovers and zero when they turn the ball over.  Reggie Bush set the tone with a critical fumble versus a very bad team versus the run, the Tennessee Titans.  When Bush fumbled, the team looked defeated after the defense allowed a red zone touchdown.  In addition, Reggie Bush has run his mouth with the media in a negative fashion and has cast a negative pall on the Dolphins franchise from everything to accusing LaRon Landry of personally looking to injure him and the women of Buffalo.  While, some of this banter is done in a playful manner, the commentary that surrounds Reggie Bush is enough to startle those who look up to Reggie Bush and those who want to give him a new contract. I don't believe some of the powers that be are laughing anymore.  A player like Reggie Bush should be able to back up his trash talk with big time performances on the field.  Bush has yet to do that and shown he can disappear into his pads and helmet on the sideline.

Bottom line, signing Reggie Bush is more of a negative at this point because he has failed to be the leader that he showed he is capable of being.  While he has backed Ryan Tannehill as the rookie QB, he’s even done his best to take the criticism for losses and take the story lines another direction so the rookie doesn't’t have to feel the brunt of the South Florida media for Tannehill’s poor play.

Unfortunately, doing all the little things in practice are not translating on the field and Bush is starting to remove any optimism that Dolfans had in him and expected him to have a monster season!

As a fan and blogger, critical of the Miami Dolphins, one has to wonder who’s doghouse Bush is in: Is it Jeff Ireland’s or coach Joe Philbin’s?  Even more startling is the fact that Bush is in a contract year.  Which brings me back to the idea that his poor play seems to get worse as the season wears on as Bush has bounced around in yards per carry per game to level off at a 4.2 average yards for the season.

 Signing Reggie Bush would be a mistake because the money could be used to lure other free agents to Miami, but one has to wonder if it’s the Dolphins who don’t want to sign Reggie Bush because he might be overpriced at this point. Or is it Reggie Bush himself who’d rather enjoy another town’s sunshine than Miami sunshine. 

Let’s not forget what happened a couple of years ago with Ronnie Brown, working toward a bonus, the Dolphins refused to call his name in the huddle for a touchdown inside the 5.  Maybe the same can be said about Reggie Bush, except someone on the Dolphins is refusing to play him so they don’t have to pay him.

It seems like ages ago, but the Miami Dolphins haven't won comeback game in the 4^th quarter this season.  Last night, Ryan Tannehill held the spotlight with two chances, more than most quarterbacks get,  to conduct a flawless 2 minute drill and send the Dolphins back to .500 and steal a game up in cold Buffalo.  A game that it appeared seemed winnable from the outset facing a 30^th ranked defense versus the run and a disappointment amongst all Bills fans.

However, given these two chances, the Dolphins failed to come back and win this game.  Ryan Tannehill failed to win the game, by throwing two interceptions on poorly executed plays. Never mind receivers not being fast or elusive enough, but the blame lands directly on the man with the keys to the offense, Ryan Tannehill, the so-called franchise quarterback. 

So when exactly was the last comeback win for Miami? 

Just last season in meaningless week 17 contest, quarterback Matt Moore drove 97 yards versus the New York Jets to knock them out of the playoff race.  He capped it with a touchdown to tight end Charles Clay.  Does this mean Matt Moore should get a chance to start?  Who knows!  However, Tannehill is the quarterback despite his combined total of 10 turnovers.  Certainly, coach Joe Philbin might have a number in mind as far as how much this rookie quarterback can handle.  Surely, Joe Philbin knows what he can do, but without this litmus test of his failings, it's up to Tannehill to show he can be the man in Miami for years to come.

Even with last night, things appeared to begin clicking in the 4^th quarter.  The rythm that Ryan Tannehill seemed to have in earlier season victories seemed to be flowing and the Dolphins seemed to make big play after play. 

However, after the defense busted their behinds stopping the Bills offense cold, the Dolphins had to drive 99 yards to win the game. 

In the end it proved too much.  In the end asking Tannehill to win proved to overwhelming for the rookie.

This season, as it appears has proved way too much for Ryan Tannehill.  Not from a play calling standpoint, but more so from a trust and execution standpoint.  He doesn't show much conviction on his throws to his teammates and often falls off the mark in his accuracy.

He has been given opportunities to lead the Dolphins back against Buffalo, versus the Jets at home, versus the Cardinals in overtime, and against the Colts.

Thus far, there seems to be absence of the clutch or “kill” gene that so many South Florida sports writers have alluded to.  Tannehill has yet to prove he can be like the Miami QB who played 17 seasons for the Dolphins, in Dan Marino.

If Tannehill is given the opportunity to show he can be clutch, he better be clutch and show why this franchise drafted him 8^th instead of taking a quarterback later.

The honeymoon is over and the praising is over until Tannehill gets his act together and brings back the essence of a Marino type player and leads the Dolphins to clutch victories.  In the NFL, anything can happen in the 4th quarter, but last night, Tannehill and the Dolphins fell short.

For fans, it’s the adage of “Same Ole’ Dolphins,” which was certainly heard from all parts of the world...especially on Twitter.