OVERALL SUMMARY:

The Dolphins got off to a sluggish start today, falling behind the Saints 10-3 at one point, but rallied in the 2nd half to pound the New Orleans Saints to a 30-10 victory. The stars of the game for the Dolphins were OJ McDuffie and Dan Marino who combined for 3 touchdown passes and Zach Thomas, who had another outstanding game, leading the team in tackles and hammering the New Orleans running game into submission.

The game started at 4:15 PM EST and the game time temperature was 78 degrees F, with cloudy skies and a light wind from the east. For the Dolphins, Bernie Parmalee, Hendrick Lusk, Baron Tanner, Steve Scrifres, Raymond Hill, Ron Moore and Richmond Webb were not dressed for the game.

The game started with the Dolphins kicking off to the Saints and after Mare's kick sailed 9 yards deep into the endzone, the Saints started on their 20. After pressure from a blitz by the Dolphins forced a bad throw on 1st down, a 6 yard run on 2nd down and a 5 yard facemask penalty on Derrick Rodgers gave the Saints a 1st down at the 31.

Kerry Collins fumbled the snap on 1st down and even though he picked up the ball, Kenny Mixon was right there and took Collins down for the first of 6 Dolphins' sacks on the day. Now facing 2nd and 16, Collins overthrew Cam Cleeland and then on 3rd and 16, pressure up the middle forced Collins to scramble, but Jason Taylor caught him from behind and dropped him after only 3 yards, forcing a punt.

OJ McDuffie signaled for a fair catch, but let the ball bounce and the punt was downed at the Miami 11 yard line. From there, Marino threw a swing pass to Abdul-Jabbar on 1st down that got 9 yards and on 2nd and 1, Karim ran for 4 more to the 24. Now with a 1st and 10 at the 24, Marino threw the ball to Lamar Thomas on a shallow crossing route and he turned it into an 11 yard gain and a 1st down at the 35. A 1st down pass to OJ McDuffie only got 2 yards and Karim only gained 3 on 2nd and 8 to give the Dolphins a 3rd and 5. On the next play, Marino completed the pass to Drayton, but he had just run out on the line of scrimmage and he was tackled for no gain, leaving the Dolphins with a 4th and 5 and forcing them to punt.

The punt was taken by Guliford at the Saints' 17 and after dodging a couple of tackles, he sprinted back to the Dolphins' 43 before Jerry Wilson took him down. From there, Lamar Smith picked up 10 yards on 1st down after he completely reversed his sweep to the right and ran back to his left. Now, with 1st and 10 at the 33, a pass to Cam Cleeland was incomplete and on 2nd and 10, the Saints tried a pitch-sweep to Smith, but Robert Jones knifed through and took him down for a 4 yard loss. Now facing a 3rd and 14, pressure from the defensive line forced Collins to scramble and he was dragged down from behind by Zach Thomas after 12 yards, which left the Saints with 4th and 2 at the Miami 25. They elected to try the field goal, which was good and gave the Saints a 3-0 lead.

Avery took the kickoff at the 5 and returned to the 26, where he also took the first handoff of the series, but was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. On 2nd and 10, Marino hit McDuffie on a deep slant in to the Dolphins' 42, but after Avery could only get 5 yards on 2 plays, the Dolphins faced a 3rd and 5 from their 47. On the next play, Tim Ruddy was pushed back into Dan Marino and that forced a poor throw that was intended for McDuffie, but fell incomplete. The Dolphins punted on 4th down and the ball went into the endzone for a touchback.

From the 20, the Saints picked up 5 yards on a pitch to Craver on 1st down and added 7 yards on a quick pass to Dawkins. Now with a 1st and 10 at their 32, Sam Madison hit Dawkins as Collins' pass got there and the ball fell incomplete. On 2nd and 10, Smith picked up 4 yards running the ball, but on 3rd and 6, Collins' pass to Hastings fell incomplete as pressure up the middle again forced a bad throw and the Saints were forced to punt again.

McDuffie took the punt at about the 16 and dodged a few tackles before going down at the Miami 30. On 1st down, Dan tried to go to Gadsden on a slant, but Gadsden dropped a catchable ball as he was diving for it. On 2nd down, Karim picked up 4 yards running and on 3rd and 6, Marino threw to Gadsden on a crossing pattern that Gadsden turned into an 11 yard gain and a 1st down at the 45. From there, Marino threw a deep pass to Drayton, who had gone straight up the field and even though Marino was pressured and hit as he released the ball, it was a perfect strike and Drayton caught it for a 27 yard gain to the New Orleans 27, where the first quarter ended with the Saints leading 3-0, but the Dolphins driving.

The 2nd quarter started with Karim getting the handoff, but apparently being dropped in the backfield for a 3 yard loss. However, because the defensive lineman had dragged him down by his facemask, the Saints were penalized 15 yards and the Dolphins now had a 1st and 10 at the Saints' 15. Karim ran for 5 yards on 1st down and on 2nd and 5 at the 10, Marino passed to Pritchett over the middle at the 5 yard line, but Pritchett bobbled the ball until he was sandwiched between two Saints defensive backs and dropped it. As if that wasn't bad enough, on 3rd and 5 from the 10, Marino dropped back to pass and had all day to find Troy Drayton open in the front of the endzone. Marino gunned him the ball, but Drayton dropped it when it was right in his hands and the Dolphins were forced to settle for a field goal and a 3-3 tie.

On the kickoff, Mare hit it to the goal line and Little returned it to the 19. From there, Perry took the handoff from Collins on a draw play and made a nice 19 yard run to the 38. On 1st and 10 from there, Collins dropped back to pass but was pressured and forced to run out of bounds for no gain. On 2nd down, a swing pass to Perry was dropped by Perry and on 3rd and 10 from their 38, Lorenzo Bromell got around his man on a stunt and sacked Collins for an 11 yard loss. This forced the Saints to punt from their 27. It was a short kick and OJ took it on the run and it looked like he might have made a really nice return, but unfortunately he stepped out of bounds at the Miami 37 as he was dodging and Miami started from their 37.

On 1st down, Karim ran for 6 and added 1 more on 2nd. On 3rd and 3 at the Miami 44, Marino handed off to Pritchett and he appeared to get 11 yards on a nifty quick hitting play, but Kevin Donnalley was penalized for holding and that brought the ball back to the Miami 34. Now facing 3rd and 13, Marino dropped back to pass but pressure forced him to step up in the pocket and as he was running forward, he was hit from behind and he dropped the ball at the 35. Fortunately, Kevin Donnalley was alert and jumped on the ball at the 40, but the Dolphins now faced a 4th and 7, so they punted to Guliford, who took the ball at the 7 and returned it to the Saints' 16 before Perry took him down.

On 1st and 10 from their 17, Collins found Dawkins for 17 yards to the Saints' 34. On the next play, Collins was blitzed and tried to go deep to Hastings down the sideline. Hastings had a step on Buckley, but the ball was well overthrown. Now facing 2nd and 10, Collins dropped back to pass but Darryl Gardener broke through his block and chased Collins down, grabbing him and as he was tackling him, Collins threw the ball away. It should have been intentional grounding, as there was no one in the area, but the referees didn't call it. However, on 3rd and 10 from their 34, Collins went back to pass again and this time he wouldn't get away. Jason Taylor put an inside move on Willie Roaf and knocked Collins into the waiting arms of Trace Armstrong, who took him down for the sack. On 4th and 19, the Saints punted from their own 25.

On the punt return, Buckley took the ball at the Dolphins' 30 and used his speed to dodge up the middle and then sprinted up the right sideline to the Saints' 35 with a 35 yard return. On 1st and 10 from the Saints' 35, Marino tried to go to Gadsden, but the ball was way overthrown. It didn't matter, however, because a holding penalty on Ruddy moved the ball back to the Saints' 45. From there, Avery ran for 10 yards, but Marino's pass to McDuffie on 2nd and 10 was dropped. However, on 3rd and 10 from the Saints' 35, Marino hit McDuffie for 11 yards to the 24. Unfortunately, Avery was dropped for a 2 yard loss on first down and on 2nd and 12, Marino dropped back to pass and threw the ball to his right, into the waiting arms of a Saints' defensive back named Kelly. Kelly took off down the sidelines and there were no Dolphins between him and the endzone as he raced for a 79 yard touchdown return. This score put the Saints up 10-3.

The replay showed that the ball was intended for Oronde Gadsden on a short crossing route, but Gadsden wasn't paying attention and he ran into the referee in the middle of the field. This slowed him up enough so that he couldn't get to where Marino was throwing it and that's why the ball was intercepted.

Avery took the kickoff at the 3 and returned it to the 30, where Marino threw to Drayton on 1st down, but Drayton dropped his 2nd pass of the night. However, on 2nd and 10, Karim took the handoff and ran into the hole created by Kevin Donnalley, hit a Saints player, spun completely around and then cut right to the sideline, racing 32 yards to the New Orleans 38 before he was dragged down. From there, Marino tried to throw to Drayton one more time and this time, Drayton didn't drop the ball - instead, he fell down in the pattern and the ball fell incomplete. On 2nd down and 10, Karim ran for 3 yards and on 3rd and 7, Marino hit Gadsden on the quick slant in and Gadsden carried the defensive back for an additional 7 yards down to the Saints' 24.

From there, Karim got 1 yard on a run on 1st down, and another yard on 2nd down on a little dump pass. At this point, the 2 minute warning for the first half was sounded.

At the end of the timeout, the Dolphins faced a 3rd and 8 from the Saints' 22. On the next play, McDuffie lined up on the right side of the backfield and went in motion to his right just before the snap. At the snap, he exploded off the line of scrimmage from the right slot position and knocked the defensive back who was covering him back just enough to get him off balance and then he ran the deep slant. Marino threw the ball in front of him and a little low, but McDuffie reached out and grabbed it up in full stride at about the 10 and dodging a defensive back at the 2, ran into the endzone for a touchdown. This tied the score at 10-10 with less than 2 minutes remaining in the half.

Mare's kickoff was well returned from about the 4 to the 31, where Collins dropped back to pass on first down, trying to hit Hastings on a down and out. But Sam Madison was there and leaped with Hastings, getting both hands on the ball just about the same time that Hastings did. Madison, however, was stronger and dragged the ball away from Hastings as they fell, getting the interception and giving the Dolphins the ball at the Saints 45. On first down from there, Marino hit McDuffie for 16 yards to the Saints' 29. Marino's next pass was almost intercepted and on 2nd and 10 at the 29, the Saints put triple coverage on McDuffie and the ball hit the linebacker in the chest, but he didn't hold on.

Fortunately, on 3rd and 10, Marino hit Gadsden for 15 yards down to the 15 and with 1 minute remaining in the first half, Marino tried to hit Avery on a short crossing pattern, but the ball was thrown low. On 2nd and 10 from the 15, Marino tried to hit Thomas with the fade pattern to the endzone, but overthrew the ball at the last second as Thomas was double covered. Then, on 3rd and 10, Marino tried to go to Avery again, but overthrew the ball and the Dolphins were forced to settle for a field goal and 13-10 lead.

The kickoff was returned to the 17 and the Saints decided to keep the ball on the ground with 35 seconds remaining. But after picking up 12 yards to the 29 and another 10 to their 39, they decided it might be worth trying to get some points. Now, with 10 seconds remaining from their 39, Collins hit Bech down the sidelines who ran out of bounds at the Dolphins 44 with 4 seconds left. With one play to play, the Saints tried a 62 yard field goal, which fell well short, but the play was nullified with a penalty for taking too much time. This moved the ball back 5 yards and made it a 67 yard field goal attempt, so the Saints decided to try a Hail Mary pass to the endzone with 4 seconds remaining in the half. The ball was deep enough, but Brian Walker was there for the Dolphins and intercepted the ball in the endzone to end the first half.

At the half, the Dolphins were ahead 13-10, but had not looked all that good on offense. There had been a large number of dropped passes and they just looked lethargic. That changed dramatically in the 2nd half, although it wasn't apparent from the first series.

The Dolphins opened the 2nd half by receiving the kickoff and Avery returned the ball to the 34. Marino tossed a swing pass to Abdul-Jabbar on 1st down, but Karim dropped the ball and on 2nd down, penetration into the backfield dropped Karim after the handoff for a 1 yard loss. Facing a 3rd and 11, Marino threw the ball away when it was apparent that no one was open and the Dolphins punted from their 33 to the Saints' 18, where Guliford returned it to the 29.

On first down from their 29, the Saints tried to run a pitchout to their left, but Zach Thomas knifed through the space left by the pulling guard and dragged down Lamar Smith for a 6 yard loss. On 2nd down, Collins completed a short pass to Hastings for 7 yards, but on 3rd and 9, the Dolphins blitz collapsed the pocket and Zach Thomas got to Collins for a sack and a 9 yard loss, forcing the punt.

The punt was taken by McDuffie at the 35 and returned to the Miami 43, where, on 1st down, Abdul-Jabbar took the handoff and made a nice run up the middle for 11 yards. He added 3 yards on the next play to the Saints 43 and then Marino threw to Gadsden in the right flat on 2nd and 7. Gadsden caught the ball about 7 yards downfield and turned and bulled his way upfield through several defensive backs for an additional 16 yards to the Saints 20.

From there, Abdul-Jabbar ran 1 yard on 1st down and Lamar Thomas caught a pass on a short crossing route for 2 yards on 2nd down. However, on 3rd and 7, a pass to Drayton was tipped at the line of scrimmage and fell incomplete, forcing the Dolphins to make the 34 yard field goal and stretch their lead to 16-10.

The kickoff was put 9 yards deep in the endzone and the Saints took a touchback, starting at their 20. From there, Collins dropped back to pass, but pressure from Kenny Mixon forced him to scramble and Mixon got him from behind after only 2 yards. On 2nd and 8, Collins' pass to Dawkins was dropped, but a quick slant to Hastings on 3rd down got 11 yards and a 1st and 10 at the 33. At that point, the Saints again ran the sweep with Smith and Zach Thomas again knifed through the line and dragged Smith down for a 5 yard loss. On 2nd and 15, pressure from the Dolphins forced a high throw by Collins that fell incomplete and on 3rd and 15, pressure forced Collins out of the pocket and even though he scrambled for 12 yards before being dragged down by Zach Thomas, that left the Saints with 4th and 3 and they were forced to punt.

The punt was taken by McDuffie at the 8 and he returned it to the 18, where Avery made a nice 10 yard run on first down. On the play, the Saints were also called for an intentional facemask penalty that added 15 yards on the end of the play, giving the Dolphins a 1st and 10 at their 45. Marino hit McDuffie on a quick out pass to the New Orleans 45 and Avery ran for 5 yards from there to the 40 on 1st down. Facing a 2nd and 5 at the Saints 40, Marino was forced to throw the ball away under pressure, but on 3rd and 5, Marino threw a quick slant to Nate Jacquet who had lined up in the slot and used his speed to get downfield for 19 yards before being taken down at the 21.

From there, Avery ran for 4 yards on 1st down and added 3 yards on 2nd down. Now facing a 3rd and 3 from the Saints' 14, Marino handed off to Pritchett from the shotgun and Pritchett got 4 yards to the 10. Now with a 1st and 10 from just outside the Saints' 10, Avery carried for 3 yards on 1st down to the 7 just as the 3rd quarter ended.

The 4th quarter opened with the Dolphins having a 2nd and 6 from the Saints 7. Marino dropped back to pass and hit McDuffie on a quick down and out at the 1 yard line. McDuffie was hit immediately and was being dragged and pushed out of bounds short of the endzone, but he reached out with the ball and put it over the goal line just before he was dragged out. That effort by McDuffie gave Dan Marino his 400th career NFL touchdown pass and McDuffie his second of the game. It also put the Dolphins ahead 23-10 in the beginning of the 4th quarter.

The kickoff was returned to the Saints' 23 and they started there trying to run a draw to Lamar Smith, but Robert Jones was not fooled and hit Smith for a 2 yard loss in the hole. On 2nd down a dump pass to Smith only got 3 yards back and on 3rd and 9, Lorenzo Bromell got free and was taking Collins down as Collins managed to throw the ball away. This forced the Saints to punt to OJ McDuffie, who took the ball at the Dolphins' 26, ran all the way across the field to set up the return and then raced up the sideline to the Saints' 35 before he was knocked out of bounds by the punter.

Starting at the Saints' 35 with 13 minutes remaining in the game, the Dolphins ran Karim on 1st and 2nd down, but he lost the 3 yards he'd gained on 1st down and the Dolphins faced 3rd and 10. They tossed the wide receiver screen to Lamar Thomas on this play and Thomas wound his way down to the 20, giving Miami a first down. Karim carried for 1 yard on 1st down and then Marino hit McDuffie for 9 yards on 2nd down, but OJ couldn't quite stretch for a 1st down, which left the Dolphins with a 3rd down and inches at the 11. At this point, Doxzon came in and the Dolphins ran a straight-ahead quarterback sneak, which picked up 3 yards down to the Saints 8 and gave the Dolphins a first and goal.

From there, Karim ran outside to the right and appeared to get a touchdown on the sweep, but two holding penalties were called on Donnalley and Ed Perry and the ball came back to the 19. On 1st down from there, Marino hit Lamar Thomas on a crossing route for 10 yards to the 9, but overthrew McDuffie with the fade pass to the corner of the endzone on 2nd down. However, on 3rd and goal from the 9, Marino dropped back and hit McDuffie with a perfect strike as McDuffie ran the deep slant pattern to the endzone for a touchdown. This was the third touchdown pass that Marino had thrown to McDuffie in this game and it put the Dolphins up 30-10 with under 8 minutes remaining.

The kickoff was returned to the 23, where Collins threw 7 yards to Aaron Craver on 1st down and on 2nd and 3, threw to Craver again for 11 more yards. However, on 1st and 10 from their 41, Collins dropped back and tried to throw to Cam Cleeland deep to his right. Unfortunately for him, the ball was overthrown and Buckley was there to make the interception. This gave the Dolphins the ball at the Dolphin 45 after a short return.

Avery ran on 1st down for 5 yards to the 50, but was stuffed on 2nd down for no gain and on 3rd down, time ran out as Dan was getting set and that penalized the Dolphins back to their 45 and gave them a 3rd and 10. They tried to run the draw from the shotgun to Pritchett on 3rd and 10, but only got 3 yards and were forced to punt from their 48 on 4th and 7.

Wilmsmeyer's punt went out of bounds at the Saints' 6 and with just 4 minutes left in the game, Collins made his best pass of the night to Cleeland for 29 yards to the Saints 35. From there, Collins threw a low incompletion on 1st down and on 2nd down was forced to scramble for 6 yards. Then, on 3rd and 4, Lorenzo Bromell came around the middle on a stunt and got to Collins again, this time sacking him and forcing a fumble. And if that wasn't enough, Bromell got up and chased down the fumble and recovered it for the Dolphins at the Saints' 35.

Now there was just 3:07 remaining in the game and the Dolphins ran Avery twice in a row from the Saints' 35, but he lost 2 yards on the first play and 5 yards on the 2nd, giving the Dolphins a 3rd and 17 from the New Orleans 42. Marino threw to Gadsden for 9 yards, but a penalty on Tim Ruddy for illegal use of hands nullified the play. That gave the Dolphins a 3rd and 27 at their own 48, but after Marino's throw to Uwaezuoke fell incomplete, the Saints' Brady Smith took a swing at a Miami player who had been blocking him and that cost the Saints a personal foul penalty. In addition to the 15 yards, it gave Miami and automatic first down and Brady Smith was ejected from the remainder of the game.

Now the Dolphins had a 1st and 10 at the Saints 37 and after Karim ran for no gain, the 2 minute warning was sounded. On 2nd and 10 and 3rd and 10, Marino knelt down and then on 4th and 11 with 36 seconds remaining, the Dolphins punted. Guliford made a fair catch at the 19 and then the Saints ran one running play for 3 yards from their 19, but then let the clock run out.

This victory was important for several reasons, with four very difficult games remaining to finish up the season for the Dolphins. But it was as convincing a win as the Dolphins have put together all year and it was an important step after the horrible loss on Monday night.

GOOD STUFF:

The Dolphins' put together a good performance today on offense, even though they got off to a slow start. Despite the dropped passes and inconsistent rushing, they did a good job controlling the ball, the clock and the game. At the end of the day, they had controlled the clock for 39:45, which was almost exactly twice as long as the Saints' 20:15.

The running game was inconsistent, but the Dolphins did end the day with 120 rushing yards and some impressive runs by Karim Abdul-Jabbar, especially the 32 yard run in the first half. And they showed some inventiveness with the draws to Stanley Pritchett that caught the Saints off guard and picked up some needed third down conversions. Also, the quarterback sneak by Todd Doxzon was the right call at the right time.

The third down conversion rate today was 10 of 19 for 53%, which is excellent. A lot of that was on passes, but it's not as important how they were done as the fact that they were converted.

The passing game was excellent. It could have been even better without the drops, but 3 touchdown passes and 255 passing yards are good numbers. The offense was driven by the passing game today.

The defense was outstanding - again. They gave up only 3 points today and that was after the special teams allowed that long punt return in the first quarter. The Saints were held to just 70 net passing yards and Collins' completed just 9 of 24, with 3 interceptions. Kerry Collins was sacked 6 times and knocked down 3 or 4 others. The Saints converted only 1 third down attempt the whole game out of 10 tries. And while the run defense's stats are a little misleading, the Dolphins only allowed the Saints 87 total rushing yards.

Punt returns were very good today. Both McDuffie and Buckley had long punt returns and helped set up good field position for the offense.

THINGS TO WORK ON:

The dropped passes were ridiculous. I don't know the exact total, but Drayton dropped 2 and Gadsden, McDuffie, Pritchett and Abdul-Jabbar dropped one each. And one of Drayton's drops would have been a touchdown had he held on.

The punt coverage and kickoff coverage were a little weak. The only offensive score of the Saints was set up when the punt coverage allowed a long return in the first quarter.

The short yardage running game is still bad, for the most part. Obviously, the Dolphins need to work on that for next year, but it sure doesn't look like it will be fixed this year.

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:

Dan Marino threw the 399th, 400th and 401st touchdown passes of his career this afternoon - all to OJ McDuffie. At the end of the afternoon, he had completed 22 of 40 for 255 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception and that's with at least 6 drops. He was poised, relaxed and in command today and looked outstanding.

Karim Abdul-Jabbar ran 18 times for 72 yards, which gives him a 4.0 ypc average and had that one nice 32 yard run at the end of the 1st half. He also caught 2 passes for 9 yards, but dropped one easy pass.

John Avery did not have a very good day running, ending up with 14 carries for 39 yards, which is a 2.8 ypc average. He didn't catch any passes, either. He did return 3 kickoffs for 76 yards, but didn't break any long ones today.

Stanley Pritchett had 2 runs for 6 yards, but one was an important 3rd down conversion deep in Saints' territory and he had a 10 yard carry called back for holding. He didn't catch a pass, however, and dropped one in the Saints end of the field that might have been a touchdown.

OJ McDuffie caught 3 touchdown passes from Marino - need I say more? He ended the day with 9 catches for 102 yards and returned 5 punts for 84 total yards, including the 39 yard return. He had a great day. I think we can forget his one drop.

Oronde Gadsden had a strange day. He had a number of nice catches, bulling his way for extra yardage and carrying defenders with him as he struggled for first downs. He caught 4 passes for 60 yards, but he dropped one and on the interception Dan threw, Gadsden ran into the official, which probably caused the interception.

Lamar Thomas continues to play with intensity, catching 4 passes for 37 yards, including a key first down reception in the Saints end of the field on the wide receiver screen.

Troy Drayton had 2 catches for 27 yards, but overall was a big disappointment, especially when he dropped the touchdown pass.

Nate Jacquet did a nice job on his first catch as a Dolphin, running a good slant route and giving the Dolphins a first down.

The offensive line has had better days, but overall they did a very good job protecting Marino against one of the better pass rushes in the league, especially considering the fact that Bock and Brent Smith were starting in place of Dixon and Webb and Donnalley is playing injured. Their run blocking was not so hot, especially at the end of the game.

On defense, Zach Thomas led the defense in their outstanding effort today with 9 total tackles and was obviously the best defensive player on the field. He had at least 3 stops for big losses on running plays and got a sack on Collins. He was everywhere, doing everything and doing it well.

Terrell Buckley was second in tackles with 3 and had the big interception towards the end of the game. He only got beaten once that I saw and the ball never got there.

Patrick Surtain also had 3 tackles and while he didn't have any big plays, it didn't look as if he gave up any big plays, either.

Brian Walker had 3 tackles and 1 interception at the end of the first half.

Sam Madison had 3 tackles and also had an interception, stealing the ball from Hastings. He and Buckley are now tied with 6 interceptions each.

Lorenzo Bromell exploded on the Saints today with 2 sacks, a forced fumble and the fumble recovery, not to mention one other play where he forced a Collins to throw the ball away. He had a terrific day.

Kenny Mixon got a sack and a tackle, both on Kerry Collins. He also helped keep the Saints' running game in check.

Jason Taylor was only credited with 2 tackles and no sacks, but the sack that Trace Armstrong got was really because of Taylor.

Robert Jones had 2 tackles, but one of them was for a 2 yard loss. He continues to play well.

Brock Marion had 2 tackles today, but didn't stand out in any way.

Trace Armstrong got 1 sack when Jason Taylor drove Collins into his waiting arms. But all of the defensive line deserves credit for harassing Collins all day long.

Calvin Jackson, Derrick Rodgers and Shane Burton had 1 tackle each.

Darryl Gardener had only 1 official tackle, but should have gotten the sack when he dragged down Collins and Collins threw the ball away.

Tim Bowens was pretty quiet today, but must get some of the credit for containing the running game and pressuring Collins.

Danny Stubbs played today, probably to see if he could help the pass rush and while he didn't get any tackles, he did get some pressure on Collins.

Olindo Mare had a very good day, hitting all his kickoffs deep and 2 for touchbacks. And he was perfect in field goals, hitting 3 of 3.

Klaus Wilmsmeyer did a pretty good job punting, averaging 43.8 per punt and dropping 3 inside the Saints' 20 yard line.

INJURIES:

Calvin Jackson had a minor ankle injury, but I don't know what his status is. Donnalley played almost the whole game and Gadsden had to leave for X-rays on his arm, but later returned to play more in the 4th quarter.

My Comments:

Well, this was the kind of domination that we had hoped the Dolphins would be able to show this year. Despite the injuries to the offensive line, the offense put on it's best show of the year today and even though it didn't rack up an amazing number of yards, it did score well.

Most important today, however, was the fact that they have put the disaster of last Monday night behind them. The Dolphins were not shell-shocked into putting on a lackluster performance against an inferior team today. Despite the slow offensive start, they came out to prove that they could dominate an opponent and they did just that.

Next up is the Oakland Raiders. Today, the Raiders were embarrassed at home by the Washington Redskins. That will put them in an evil frame of mind next weekend, but today's performance by the Dolphins gives the team a good basis to build on for next week.

Related Info:

• ESPN.com: Game Recap
• NFL.com: Dolphins vs Saints Gamebook
• Dolphins Endzone: From the Game