Dolphins knocking on playoff door

Who would’ve thought? After last year’s 1-15 debacle (come on, we didn’t even beat the right team! It was destiny to go into the New England game winless and hand them defeat!), the Dolphins are a very real threat to make the playoffs. They’re 7-5 so far, their best win total since Nick Saban’s first year.
The Phins have played pretty well in three of their losses this year, by my accounts. They almost beat the hated Jets at the beginning of the year, and the only thing that kept them from winning their first ever game against Houston was leaving too much time on the clock.
I’d have to say, the thing that has surprised me the most about their season isn’t the fact that they’ve won seven games- with Parcells at the helm, I was among those who expected improvement immediately, but the fact that they continue to get mileage out of their wildcat formation. Hell, it surprised me that they would use a gimmicky formation like that to begin with. But I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
But back to the task at hand- making the playoffs. Last week’s loss to the Patriots still hurts, but the Dolphins played them close until a late-game meltdown. But easier times lay ahead for the Phins.
It’s pretty simple- win out, and you’ll probably nab a wild card playoff spot. They’ve got four games left- Against the bumbling Bills (in Toronto- essentially a home game for the bills), then they finish up their tilt against the NCF and AFC west, hosting the lackadaisical 49ers, and traveling to Arrowhead to take on the Chiefs. The finale? A matchup with those hated Jets. The key? Win those next three games against the Bills, 49ers and Chiefs. They’re a combined 12-24. That seems like a fairly easy task- hell, three wins and a 10-6 record may even get you in. But sometimes this Dolphins team scares me.
See, while the can play up to the level of quality teams, they also play DOWN to the level of inferior opponents (see @ Houston, vs Seattle, vs Oakland, @ St. Louis). This is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team- so which one will show up for the remaining games? Will the Dolphins come out fired up against the three ho-hum teams left on their schedule? Will Ronnie and Ricky run wild on the defenses? Will Pennington be hitting Bess and Fasano for big gains on critical third downs? Or will we see the Dolphins that struggled to beat a 2-win St. Louis team?
To be honest, I expect the Dolphins to know what is on the line, and not trip up before the season finale in the Meadowlands. I have no reason to believe that Sporano won’t have the team ready for a playoff run, sitting at 10-5 going into the game against the Jets. He’s a good coach, and the Dolphins are a solid football team. The playoffs aren’t out of the realm of possibility. The Dolphins just need to do what they’ve been doing, and take care of business. Finish 11-5, and you're in for the first time since 2001 (with an identical record, too).