National Football League

Dolphins defense playing well, could be better

Published Dec. 14, 2010 4:23 a.m. ET

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The Miami Dolphins' defense is keeping the team's slim playoff hopes alive. While the unit is ranked fifth in the NFL, they could be doing even better.

The secondary has dropped at least four potential interceptions this season that could have been returned for touchdowns.

During Sunday's 10-6 victory road victory against the New York Jets, cornerback Sean Smith dropped a potential pick-six on the third play of the game.

Coach Tony Sparano didn't have to look far to find one area of improvement for his defense.

''Well, I don't want to be an idiot here,'' Sparano said Monday, ''but I guess we could've had more turnovers.''

Still, Miami's 3-4 defense, which hasn't allowed more than 17 points in a game the last four weeks, has been sturdy.

The Dolphins (7-6) can't win the AFC East because New England (11-2) has a four-game lead with three games remaining. But the Dolphins, who host Buffalo on Sunday, still have scant wild-card hopes.

''There are so many things that have to happen that are out of our control from a playoff standpoint,'' Sparano said. ''All I know is that in Week 14 we're still alive.''

That's due largely to Miami's stubborn defense.

Offseason acquisitions, including defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and linebacker Karlos Dansby, have helped greatly. Nolan, a former San Francisco 49ers head coach who was Denver's defensive coordinator last season, has pulled together a group that only has one career Pro Bowl appearance - strong safety Yeremiah Bell last year - and made it a force.

Dansby (team-best 93 tackles), who helped lead Arizona to the 2008 Super Bowl, has had a similar role on the field as the defensive leader.

But the evolution of other players such as outside linebacker Cameron Wake, the NFL sack leader (14), cornerback Vontae Davis, the younger brother of 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, and nosetackle Paul Soliai has also greatly enhanced the performance of a suspect unit at the start the season.

Wake was a mortgage broker in 2006 before re-entering pro football and becoming a two-time Canadian Football League defensive player of the year. Davis, a rookie starter last year, was called the best cornerback no one has heard of by Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre earlier this season.

Soliai, foundering in his previous three years, anchors the middle.

For Miami's defense, carrying the flag for a so-so special teams unit and a struggling offense is necessary, and it's not unprecedented in recent NFL history.

''You have to understand it has been done before,'' Dansby said. ''Look at teams like the 2000 (Baltimore) Ravens ... We have to set our sights on trying to be perfect and strive for perfection. If we do that and we execute, we can have a lot of success down the stretch.''

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