"For the past five days, the Dolphins have endured a dose of embarrassment not felt in these parts since former coach Cam Cameron's 1-15 season provided a similar sentiment on a near-weekly basis. Some of it, Miami deserved. On a national stage -- Monday Night Football -- the team coughed up one of the worst special teams performances in the history of the league. But some of it, coach Tony Sparano said, hasn't been all that bad. ``You get beat the way we got beat the other night, you think nothing's good,'' coach Tony Sparano said. ``The sky is falling, for Christ's sake. But there's some good things being done out there.'' Throughout the week, Sparano has been similarly positive about his team's chances. So is it just coach speak? Or is it legitimate, statistically supported optimism? At least in certain areas, the team has a pretty good defense. During a self-scouting period done as a team Thursday morning, the Dolphins discovered more good than bad, Sparano said. In 15 of the 22 major statistical categories, the Dolphins rank inside the top half of the NFL. Miami is tied for sixth in total defense and tied for 13th (with the Jets) in total offense. ``We're getting better at some of those areas,'' Sparano said. ``And we've got a ways to go in a few others.'' So what are the Dolphins doing best? If Miami could possibly channel some of its success on third down toward the rest of the offense, this unit would be far from average. It would be elite. Consider this: Quarterback Chad Henne's passing efficiency on third down is better than every quarterback in the league other than Tom Brady and Michael Vick. Three of Henne's five touchdowns have occurred on third down. He has completed 68.3 percent of those passes, and he hasn't thrown any of his interceptions on the critical down. His 113.5 passer rating tops some impressive names in the category's top 10, which includes Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees and Vince Young. Brett Favre's third-down passer rating, by comparison, is 33.4." Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/09/1864585/sparano-fins-look-for-positives.html
