...and Two steps forward.

Chad Henne, AKA Spartacus Cannonarm, leads his men past the forces of evil. Thirteen QBs had to come and go since #13 retired for us to arrive at this point of destiny.

What a difference a game makes. I started Sunday morning like a man resigned to his fate. Donning my Ricky Williams jersey amidst the swirl of hangover fumes I thought only of the the things I still appreciated.

There was watching Ricky every week. There is the development of our young corners to monitor. There is the potential of running back Lex Hilliard. Then there is the excitement of watching our young future of the franchise go out and sling the ball with confidence and power.

And watch him go slug for slug with Tom Brady and walk out of the ring the victor. Chad Henne, in a 1989 Ford Crown Victoria (a very nice car by the way) out drove Tom Brady and his Ferrari.

This one was THE STATEMENT game of the NFL this weekend and for the most part the NFL and it's lesser brained cousin, ESPN, has been silent. The AFC East is changing.

Their is greater parity in the division for one and for two there is a new team on the rise. One that now possesses the most critical accoutrement that every championship team has. Namely an elite quarterback.

Third, this team has a cast of youthful talent emerging on a defense that for a long time has been defined by its age. Paul Soliai made a tremendous play on the redzone 4th done stuff. Cameron Wake had the game-sealing pressure. Vontae Davis out-hustled Randy Moss to intercept Tom Brady in the endzone, something that has only been done three times since 2006. Kendall Langford, Randy Starks and Philip Merling are all young and playing extremely good football.

And though Sean Smith had his name called a couple of times on Sunday there is no denying that this kid could be a superstar someday. In any case, that big play with Aiken is one that Smith makes nine times out of ten.

Which brings me to the biggest change I saw on Sunday. This team is not the team that nearly beat the Colts and probably did beat the Saints (thanks NFL refs). That was a more deeply talented team. Jason Ferguson was at nose tackle. Ronnie Brown was healthy on pace for a career year. Will Allen was providing a buffer for two rookie corners so that they didn't have to wear the sombrero every week. Jake Grove was at center, mauling opposing lines with mustachioed confidence.

This is a patchwork team right now. Granted, we may get Grove back soon - and with a difficult schedule from here on out it is almost a necessity we get him back. The reality though is that the Dolphins just played their most complete game.

They played against the Patriots and they came out on the right side. They persevered despite going down 14-0 early. They opened up a passing attack that has been tentative all season long. They played tough prideful defense in the redzone (stopping the Patriots TWICE in the redzone). With over a minute left they made Tom "Terrific" look like the whiny, sniveling bitch that he is. I'm just surprised that they didn't call roughing the passer on Cameron Wake for taking Tom Brady down low. Seriously. Brady could of been hurt. Heh.

The reality here for us Phins fans is that we have a very good, perhaps ascending to incredible, quarterback that can single-handed win a game. We have a lot of young talent on a defense that is a few pieces (free safety, anyone?) away from becoming dominant.

Again, we out-slung the Pats. Let that soak in.

As for this season, which is now far from over, we should all be thankful for relevant football in December. The Dolphins need to win out and the Patriots need to lose to an AFC team in order for the Phins to win the division. We also get to play three of the wildcard hopefuls down the stretch here and so in a way we hold a grasp on our fate.

If the Phins run the table we will have essentially beaten five playoff teams in a row. You have to like walking into January with that kind of momentum.

Here's to a Patriots collapse. Keep going for it Bill. Love watching you guys lose.

In Spartacus Cannonarm we trust.