Maimi

                                                                           

 

 

This is the most important game of the year,'' receiver Oronde Gadsden said. ``This is bigger than a big game.''

How colossal? Miami must beat the astonishing Patriots (9-5) today, to keep Tom Brady's buoyant bunch from stealing the AFC East after starting the season with two defeats. If the Dolphins (9-4) fall today at Foxboro, they will be a wild card at best unless a fortunate confluence of events follows: they win their remaining games against Atlanta and Buffalo, New England closes by choking against Carolina, and the Jets drop one of their final three contests. Otherwise, Miami will fall short of what its coach trumpeted as the preseason goal: repeat as AFC East champion.

``That has kind of been our theme all year, to try to win as many division games as [we] could,'' Dave Wannstedt said. ``And our guys know the winner of this game is going to have a great chance to win the division. And the loser is predominantly going to be out.''

Players also know a loss causes them to miss their own, more ambitious goal. They set it last January, after a 27-0 loss at Oakland in the second round of the playoffs, a year after a 62-7 loss at Jacksonville in the second round, a year after a 38-3 loss at Denver in the second round.

They vowed to avoid such second rounds in hostile towns.

``At the end of the 16-game season, in order for us to feel we had a successful year, I think everyone thinks we have to do better than we did last year, which means getting a first-round bye in the playoffs,'' center Tim Ruddy said.

It was something even newcomers, such as right guard Todd Perry, understood quickly. ``Our goal was not to just win the division,'' Perry said. ``Our goal was to get a first-round bye and home field advantage.''

The alternative -- playing in the first round -- hasn't worked.

ELUSIVE BYE

``We found a way to win the division last year, but we haven't found a way to get that first-round bye going into the playoffs, and I think that's what you really need to have a realistic shot at winning the whole thing,'' tight end Hunter Goodwin said. ``That was our goal. It's still attainable.''

These Dolphins were set to secure a top-two AFC spot before losing 21-0 at San Francisco on Sunday. Now they trail Pittsburgh by two games, and Oakland by one, holding the tiebreaker over the Raiders after beating them 18-15 on Sept. 23. If the season ended today, the No. 3 seed Dolphins would host the Jets, for the right to take another dreaded trip to Oakland.

Teams that win one of their conference's three divisions, but neither of its byes, don't advance far. In the 11 seasons since the NFL expanded to a six-team playoff format in each conference, no No. 3 seed has reached the Super Bowl. During that time, 11 top seeds, seven No. 2 seeds and four No. 4 seeds have participated. Harry Swayne, a Miami reserve offensive tackle, played for one No. 1 seed, one No. 2 seed and two No. 4 seeds that qualified.

``It's just a harder road to travel,'' Swayne said of the lower seeding, citing the extra contest, since even soft opponents play physically in the playoffs. He also cited the difficulty of playing on the road, a trend he expects to continue this postseason though visitors have excelled during this regular season.

There are advantages to the long road: he believes teams that overcome, as his No. 4 Ravens did last year, are defined and hardened by their journey. But he wouldn't recommend it for a team that wants to win the Super Bowl this season, with only one week of rest following the conference championship games.

The Dolphins haven't reached an AFC Championship since the 1992 season . . . their last postseason that began with a bye.

``It's always been the same situation where the team we play in the second round had a bye, playing at home, and we are coming off a trip, a short week because we played on a Saturday, or came from the West Coast,'' Gadsden said.

``Even though you never use those for excuses, they sometimes do play a part into what happens. We came back from Seattle and had to go to Jacksonville [two seasons ago]. Lamar [Smith] ran the ball 40 times [against Indianapolis last season] and we had to go all the way to Oakland. It's tough. Definitely since we see that is the way it goes for us, obviously our goal is to get a bye and stay at home, and have somebody come to us.''

They cannot guarantee that today, by winning. But by losing, they can virtually assure its impossibility, and will need to scramble for one postseason home game. Gadsden said everything is in an ``agenda format.'' First the division. Then the bye.

``We still got all our goals pretty much in order, hopefully,'' he said. ``Try to get a bye or a home game in the playoffs and then go to the Super Bowl. We've just got to take it one game at a time, and win out. We've got to beat New England -- that's first and foremost in everybody's mind right now, and we'll see what happens after that.''

Bill Belichick prefers to let experts decide which teams are surprises. So here's one expert's response when asked if he thought Belichick's New England Patriots would be his primary competition in the AFC East:

``When the season first started, no,'' said Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, who expected challenges from the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Jets. ``That's a real compliment, No. 1, to their football team. To accomplish what they have accomplished this year is a fantastic job. To basically play for the division, that doesn't happen by accident.''

The Dolphins can prevent the Patriots from moving into first place Saturday at Foxboro Stadium, but if New England loses, it still is likely to secure a wild card. That's remarkable considering all the Patriots have overcome.

Begin with this: They weren't expected to be any good. Belichick, who had only one winning record in six seasons as a coach, was known as a poor communicator. The Patriots were 5-11 last season, they had signed veteran retreads and their offensive line was banged up during training camp.

Their quarterbacks coach, Dick Rehbein, died of heart failure in August. Their star receiver, Terry Glenn, was suspended for four games for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, and the team tried unsuccessfully to suspend him for the season.

Then the season began.

They started 1-3 as their $100 million quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, suffered sheared blood vessels in his chest cavity during the second game.

Finally, when Bledsoe was ready to compete for his old job with friend Tom Brady, Belichick told Bledsoe there would be no competition. He would stick with the former sixth-round pick out of Michigan.

``It was not a question of sitting Drew,'' Belichick said Wednesday. ``Drew was injured. He missed two months when he got hurt against the Jets. He was unable to play from the middle of September to the middle of November. He was not able to do much except rehabilitate his injury.''

In one group interview, Bledsoe appeared upset about Belichick's decision, but he has been quiet since.

``We both realized the coach makes the decision,'' Brady said. ``It was a situation that was unlike any most teams face. He was out for eight weeks and in the hospital. . . . He came back and wanted to be on the field. That's what makes Drew a competitor, and that makes him a great player. Coach made the call, and we've been going about our business week to week.''

Somehow, Brady rehabilitated a sagging franchise. Belichick lauds his leadership, confidence and intelligence.

``He's improved his strength, he's improved his accuracy,'' Belichick said.

Brady cites his relationship with Bledsoe. He said Bledsoe, a former No. 1 pick, has assisted in ways a coach can't.

``He's helped a ton,'' Brady said. ``He brings a lot of experience, a lot of educating me.''

Dolphins right guard Todd Perry has been impressed with the Patriots.

``I give them a tremendous amount of credit for being able to overcome it, because those are issues that can easily tear apart a team,'' Perry said. ``The way Bledsoe's handled this, I think it's pretty tremendous. Those are all sensitive issues. And how a team handles it may determine their season.''

So far, so true.

The San Francisco 49ers crushed the Miami Dolphins 21-0 Sunday, using clock-eating running drives and outstanding defense, including three interceptions. The 49ers won the game yesterday, but they lost the injury report. QB Jeff Garcia took a vicious shot in the second quarter that left him wincing in pain. Mark Purdy explains to those of you without a medical background, that having a QB who winces on each forward pass is usually a symptom of an early playoff exit.