The Dolphins Are in the Win Column!

Greg Camarillo celebrates in the end zone after scoring the winning touchdown


A wise man once said, "even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then." It's taken the Miami Dolphins over a year to find their nut. But the drought is finally over. For the first time since December 10, 2006, the Dolphins can finally call themselves winners. Reserve wide receiver Greg Camarillo scored the winning touchdown in overtime to give the Dolphins a 22-16 victory over the Ravens.

I won't lie to you. The losing was really starting to take a toll on my mental health. For over a month, I stopped posting on this blog. It got to the point where I was not going to post anything until the Dolphins won a game. I figured it was easier to keep this promise than to rather stop shaving or showering until the Dolphins won again. Thank God I didn't resort to those extreme measures.

Every Dolphin fan should celebrate this victory. Nobody who calls themselves a Dolphin fan wanted to see this team go 0-16. But let's be honest. Cam Cameron tried his best to lose this game. He really did. Week after week, Cameron and the Dolphins would find ways to pull defeat from the jaws of victory. But this time Ravens coach Brian Billick decided he would top Cameron with a special blend of incompetance of Rich Kotite proportions.

After the Dolphins took a 16-13 lead on a Jay Feely field goal, Feely was instructed to boot a pooch kick on the ensuing kickoff. Unfortunately instead of executing the kick, Feely should have been executed after he kicked the ball out of bounds, giving the Ravens excellent field position. Baltimore quickly took advantage of Feely's mistake by driving down the field behind the arm of last year's Heisman winner Troy Smith, who replaced an injured Kyle Boller. The Ravens drove to the Dolphins 1 yard line. But with time for only one more play in regulation, Billick decided to kick a tying field goal rather than win the game with a touchdown. Consider this, the Ravens had Willis McGahee, who had rushed for 104 yards in the game. The Dolphins rush defense ranked last in the NFL. But despite those stats, Billick decide to bring in kicker Matt Stover who tied the game with an 18 yard chip shot field goal.

The Ravens won the coin toss in overtime and quickly drove deep into Miami territory again. But this time Stover missed a 44 yard attempt. Cleo Lemon finished off the Ravens by finding reserve reserve receiver Greg Camarillo over the middle. Camarillo found a soft spot in the Ravens coverage and raced 64 yards for the winning score.

Several people deserve game balls for this victory. First, let's give a warm round of applause to Brian Billick for his complete lack of balls and not going for the winning touchdown. Cameron should send Billick a gift basket for basically saving his job. If the Dolphins had lost, there's no doubt this team goes 0-16 and Cameron is kicked to the curb with a pink slip in his hand.

Secondly, Jason Taylor was not going to let the Dolphins defense lose. Taylor had a pair of sacks. The first came on a 3rd and goal at the 3 yard line and held the Ravens to a field goal. The second sack took the Ravens out of field goal range.

Thirdly, you gotta give some love to Greg Camarillo. When the season began, I didn't even know who this guy was. Apparently neither did Dolphins radio broadcaster Jim Mandich. When Camarillo crossed the end zone, Mandich screamed, "I love Rich Camarillo!" The problem is Rich Camarillo was a punter who played for the New England Patriots in the 1980s. Oh well. In a season of imperfection, it was only fitting Mandich would butcher the call of Miami's lone winning touchdown.

Another game ball should go to Wayne Huizenga. Through all the losing, no man had to feel more anguish than the Dolphins beleagured owner. There's no doubt in my mind the rumors of Huizenga selling the team would not exist if the Dolphins had won a few games. The tears of joy running down Huizenga's face after the game said it all.

But no game ball should go to Cam Cameron. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the Dolphins won. But Cameron deserves absolutely no credit for this victory. The players rose up and won this game on their own--with a little help from the Ravens idiot of a coach Brian Billick. Thanks Brian. I hope you and Cameron are in the same unemployment line soon.

A special thanks should also go to the 1972 Dolphins, who were honored at halftime during the game. As a firm believer in kharma, I'm convinced just the mere presence of our perfect geezers helped raise the team to victory. Maybe Wayne Huizenga should invite the 72 Dolphins back again next week when the Dolphins travel to New England to face the unbeaten Patriots. Maybe the site of a pot-bellied Bob Kuechenberg and Larry Csonka on the sidelines will inspire this team and scare the Patriots. Somehow, I doubt it. In the meantime, enjoy this win Fin fans. You deserve it.