Channing Crowder News

The Dolphins worked through the preseason without Matt Roth, last year's starting strong-side linebacker.

Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter watches his team during the closing seconds of the fourth quarter of their NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Nov.

The Miami Dolphins went into Sunday without several key players. Outside linebacker Joey Porter , left guard Justin Smiley , tight end Anthony Fasano and defensive tackle Paul Soliai were missing from the lineup.

The Dolphins matchup with the 1-7 Bucs looks like a mismatch on paper. But the 3-5 Dolphins aren't playing with a full deck.

Facing two games in five days, including Sunday against the Bucs, losing focus could put the Dolphins' season in jeopardy and hinder the growth of their younger players.

This is the first time all season the Miami Dolphins are picked as a heavy favorite to win a game.

Brady is on a 400-yard pace with way too much time way too often to sit in the pocket and cherry-pick open receivers.

Dolphins running game vs. Buccaneers run defense Over their last 10 quarters, the Dolphins have averaged just 3.4 yards per carry out of their base offense in sliding to fourth in the league.

Just five days after making his NFL debut, Miami Dolphins linebacker J.D. Folsom has been released.

The underbelly of the Dolphins defense has been exposed all season, and the unit is desperately trying to cover it up.

Channing Crowder wasn't just deactivated the past two weeks. The Miami Dolphins left their starting inside linebacker home in South Florida for the two road games he missed.

Porter and Smiley worked out on stationary bikes while the team practiced. They were joined by nose tackle Paul Soliai and linebacker Erik Walden, both reserves.

During the first half of last season, the Dolphins' weekly injury report was too good to be true.

FOXBOROUGH, MASS. -- The Miami Dolphins had just spent more than 10 minutes marching to a Wildcat touchdown when Randy Moss used one stiff-arm to wipe out their lead.

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For 24 straight games, including the 2008 playoffs, Jason Ferguson had been a run-stopping force in the middle of the Dolphins' defensive line.

They spoke this summer of wanting to be something more than a good defense, which was how they assessed themselves in 2008.

The Miami Dolphins were without two key defensive players for Sunday's game against New England, as linebacker Channing Crowder and defensive lineman Jason Ferguson were listed as inactive.

You are what your record says you are. That's a legendary Bill Parcells -ism that defines teams in the NFL, separating them from winners and losers.

Reggie Torbor might get his second consecutive start at inside linebacker for the Dolphins in Sunday's 1 p.m. game at New England.