"I just told them that I don't believe that's who we are one bit," said Miami interim coach Dan Campbell, per the team's official website. "Not one bit do I believe that's really who we are."
Said Campbell, sounding nothing like the sleepy, dispatched Joe Philbin: "I told them that I don't want them to forget that feeling right there. Don't forget it. I hope it eats away at them just like it's eating away at me and I hope it drives them to not want to have that taste in their mouth ever again."
Following convincing back-to-back wins, Campbell's collection of 'Fins players were taught the same lesson that every upstart in the AFC East has learned this season: You aren't the Patriots. Not yet.
Rex Ryan's Bills came out of the opener squawking about taking down New England in Week 2, only to surrender an outrageous 40 points to an amped up Tom Brady and friends. The Jets played admirably against the Pats last Sunday, but three stingy quarters gave way to Brady executing a pair of insane fourth-quarter scoring marches that left Darrelle Revis back on the losing side of this uneven rivalry.
In a loss that also saw white-hot Dolphins pass rusher Cameron Wakeexit with an Achilles injury, Campbell wasn't the only one angling to wipe the loss from memory.
"That wasn't us tonight,"Â Dolphins center Mike Pouncey said, per CSN New England. "... I think we are just going to learn from this. This just put a sour taste in our mouth. We were on a real high by winning two back-to-back games by blowouts. We just know that it is not going to happen like that each week."
At least not against the Patriots, who have left seven straight opponents rampaged by the side of the road. It's a familiar story, one that feels headed for yet another heat-seeking romp through the playoffs by a New England outfit operating like an irate gaggle of war droids unleashed on a doomed society.
Good luck, NFL.
