Dolphins win in Saban's return to LSU

The Dolphins won their first road game of the season, beating the hapless and homeless Saints 21-6 at LSU's Tiger Stadium. It was a homecoming for coach Saban, who led LSU to a national title in 2003.

The running duo of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams finally got on track. Brown rushed for 106 yards on 23 carries while Williams gained 82 on 17 carries. The run support helped Frerotte to a more respectable 16 of 28 for 168 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The defense also performed admirably, holding an opponent without a touchdown for the first time this season. The Dolphins sacked Saints QB Aaron Brooks six times and prevented the Saints from converting all 11 of their third downs, as well as twice on fourth down.

All in all, the best overall performance for the team since the season opener. Too bad they can't play the Saints every week.

Some personnel moves

The Dolphins waived fullback Heath Evans and placed safety Tebucky Jones on injured reserve. Taking their roster spots are fullback Darian Barnes and safety Norman LeJeune.

I don't know anything about the two new players, except that LeJeune played for coach Saban at LSU.

Dolphins fall to Chiefs in short week

So much for home field advantage. The Dolphins lost their first home game of the year, 30-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs. This time, the Dolphins couldn't blame penalties -- just poor play against a better team. Ricky Williams was stifled, gaining minus-1 yards on six carries. Ronnie Brown performed better, including ripping off a 65-yard touchdown run. Frerotte proved his inadequacy again, completing 11 of 29 passes for 125 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, a season-low passer rating of 37.3. The only spark in the passing offense took place when Sage Rosenfels threw a 77-yard TD to Chris Chambers late in the game.

Dolphins-Chiefs game moved to Friday

Due to hurricane Wilma, the game between the Dolphins and Chiefs has moved to Friday night at 7 pm EST. Wilma is expected to hit Florida sometime Sunday.

A.J. Feeley traded to Chargers

First he was demoted to third-string quarterback. Now A.J. Feeley is no longer a Dolphin. The team traded him and a sixth round pick to the San Diego Chargers for third-string quarterback Cleo Lemon.

Feeley symbolized the failure of the Spielman-Wannstedt regime. The Dolphins acquired him from the Eagles in 2004 for a second round pick and gave him an $18 million contract, only to see him back up Jay Fiedler for half of last season and lose his starting job altogether this season.

While it made sense to trade him, I was surprised at how little the Dolphins received in return for Feeley. It appears that the move was more of a financial decision, as it leaves more salary cap room for 2006.

Ricky's back, but Dolphins lose

Playing in his first game since 2003, Ricky Williams was held to 8 yards on 5 carries as the Dolphins lost to the Bucs, 27-13. The Dolphins offense was held in check the entire day. The team gained only 64 yards rushing, while Frerotte went 21 of 43 for 267 yards.

The matchup between former Auburn teammates Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams didn't materialize, as Williams sat out the game with an injured foot.

If it weren't for the fact that Tampa Bay has one of the best defenses in the league, I would be really worried about the Dolphins' offense right now. In the last two weeks, they've regressed. They still haven't been able to show the promise from their opening weekend victory over Denver.

Dolphins trade Chatman to Saints

The Dolphins traded backup RB Jesse Chatman to the Saints for a conditional seventh round draft pick. The Saints were looking for another running back after losing Deuce McAllister for the season to a knee injury. Chatman had not played in any Dolphins games this year.

Ricky returns

Ricky Williams returned to the Dolphins Monday after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. He is expected to play this weekend against Tampa Bay. Coach Saban has said that there will be times when both Ricky and Ronnie Brown are on the field at the same time, either with Brown as the fullback, or with one of the two lined up as a receiver.

Dolphins comeback falls short against Bills

Despite falling behind 17-0 by halftime, the Dolphins almost went ahead in the final minutes of the game but eventually lost, 20-14, to the Buffalo Bills. The clincher was Ronnie Brown's fumble when the Dolphins were marching down the field for a go-ahead touchdown.

The offense played sporadically, with Brown gaining 97 yards and Frerotte completing 21 of 33 passes for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns but 3 interceptions. Ultimately, the downfall was sloppy play on the Dolphins' part, punctuated by a franchise-record 18 penalties.

This was a disappointing game because the Dolphins looked like the better team on paper and they still had a chance to win. However, what separates winners and losers in the NFL are games like these, and the Dolphins haven't yet shown that they belong in the upper class of winners.

Mueller says he'd keep Ricky Williams

In an interview with the Miami Herald, general manager Randy Mueller said that barring a staggering offer, he would like to keep both Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown.

''I know this: I'm for keeping as many good players as we can,'' said Mueller, former GM for the New Orleans Saints. ``So if it works out to where we do have cap space and everybody is happy with both [Williams and rookie running back Ronnie Brown], I'm for keeping them. It's too hard to get good players in this league. So unless you're getting a lot of value for them, or just have some fatal flaw that you've identified, I'm for keeping them.''

As for quarterbacks, Mueller was ambiguous when it came to the futures of the QBs on today's roster, but he said he likes to draft a quarterback every year because you can't have enough of them.

Dolphins are in first place... for now

At 2-1, the Dolphins are currently in sole possession of first place in the AFC East! The New England Patriots are half a game behind, followed by the Jets and Bills at 1-3.

Yes, it's still early in the season, but who could have predicted the Dolphins being in first place after fours weeks? Clearly, the Dolphins still need to improve to have a shot at a winning record and possibly the playoffs, but that is likely to happen because (1) Ricky Williams begins playing in the fifth game, (2) Ronnie Brown will get more experience, and (3) the already good defense will have even more time to become accustomed to the new schemes.