Maybe it was the throwback uniforms that inspired the Bills. Or maybe they were pumped up to play their first home game under new coach Perry Fewell. Maybe the Dolphins were overconfident and looking ahead to New England. All I can say with certainty is that Miami was outplayed by Buffalo.

Miami is not a strong enough team to overcome the many mistakes they made on Sunday. The defense continued to perform inconsistently, again missing tackles and providing poor coverage in the secondary. Our biggest problem: the 4th quarter collapse. Once again, everything came crashing down with the game on the line. The Dolphins gave up 24 points in the final quarter, raising their total points allowed in the 4th quarter this season to 135. Since the late game let-down is a pattern that keeps repeating itself, I suspect it is caused by something more than the players getting tired or complacent. It stems from poor coaching.

Poor coaching was definitely a huge factor in creating situations that led to Miami turnovers. Once again, I was left shaking my head at the bozo play-calling and especially at these two instances of glaring stupidity:

Stupid moment #1: Asking Ricky Williams to throw a TD pass at the end of the opening drive. There are times for trickery. This was not one of them. The Dolphins had run the ball down the field with ease. Why they felt they needed to throw a new wrinkle into the game plan in this situation, I haven’t a clue. Ricky Williams is not Ronnie Brown. Throwing the ball is not one of his strengths, and Ricky will be the first to tell you that is he uncomfortable doing so. Two of the most important rules in coaching are: Design your playbook around your players’ strengths, and resort to trickery only when the straightforward approach is not working. These are not rules that are meant to be broken. This first mistake really set the tone for the fiasco that was to follow.

Stupid moment #2: Let me paint the scene for you: You are down three points with two and a half minutes left in the game and you have the ball, 1st and 10, at your own 34 yard line. Gain 35 yards or so and you can tie the game with a field goal. Your team ground out 105 yards rushing in the first half and you have plenty of time left. What would you do? It’s easy, right? Run the freaking football! But as Forrest Gump says, “Stupid is as stupid does.” And what does Stupid do in this instance? Stupid puts in reserve QB Pat White. Why? What was the goal? Only Stupid knows for sure. What was accomplished? Two measly yards gained. Did it disturb Chad Henne’s rhythm? Maybe. Not content to leave stupid behind and return to basics by running the ball, Sparano then decided we had to play catch up and calls for a deep throw. What happens? Interception. Does Tony Sparano not know or understand the old adage, If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? (See stupid moment #1.)

It’s no wonder the defense gave up a huge play to Terrell Owens (who may or may not have pushed off to create separation). After his big TD, it was game over for the Dolphins. There was nothing more to see but ugly—unless you were a Bills fan.

Well, congratulations, Coach Fewell: You’ve just won your first game and have joined the ever-growing ranks of coaches who are smarter than Tony Sparano. Play on!