After an amazing 2008 campaign, the Miami Dolphins started off their 2008 campaign flat; while the Falcons sent a message to the league that their «here to stay.»

What was supposed to be the beginning of an example of continuous improvement, was a utter disgrace.

The Fins were scoreless until a touchdown and field goal was scored within the last few minutes of the game. Even then, it was not enough to even come close to the Falcons who led them by close to two touchdowns.

It appears that the Dolphins have forgotten the lessons learned from the 2007 and 2008 season. In the process, they made mistakes that led to interceptions and the Falcons taking advantage of their errors.

The Dolphins seemed complacent; even worse, they looked like a team who has failed to listen to their sideline and front-office leaders, Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells.

The Falcons [and the writer is a fan of the Dolphins] deserve to be congratulated for its tenacity, discipline, and continuity. On the other hand, the fish have to go back to the drawing board by practicing in the trenches instead of the comfort zone of South Beach.

The Fins can start by listening to the song interpreted by the British Rock Group Queen «We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions,» before and during hard core practice [mountains, cold weather, heat, and the Everglades].

They have to be a lean and mean team if their goal is to advance to the Super Bowl. They have to be consistent in their plays with Chad Pennington avoiding interceptions.

The example of being a mean and lean team is to go on the offensive, reinforce the defensive, and place emphasis on tackling.

In other words, be tough, but at the same time play by the rules.

Until that happens, I don’t see a bright future for the Dolphins we all fell in love with last season.