"Lose a game and you lose all control of your destiny," Joey Porter said on ESPN First Take this morning when addressing issues not relating to his views on athletes owning guns. "We feel like we can play with anybody."

By winning six of Miami's last seven games the Dolphins are beginning to prove that. However, to get this team to the next level the defense, which limited Buffalo to 163 net yards, must continue to improve. There's still more potential there that defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni needs to tap.

Two things happened in the Buffalo game I'm proud I predicted.

First, the Dolphins occasionally used a front line that featured their four beefy defensive linemen - Vonnie Holliday, Jason Ferguson, Randy Starks, and Kendall Langford, and then had Porter and Matt Roth on the edges. Buffalo barely got an inch running against that unit.

And second, I predicted, or recommended (your choice) the Dolphins move cornerback Will Allen out of the nickel spot, replace him with Nate Jones, and using Allen on the boundary to defend Lee Evans and the more physical receivers. The boundary to the right of the quarterback has been where teams are doing their most damage the past month, and the Dolphins made the necessary adjustment.

Those two strategies were an effective use of the teams personnel, which has been this coaching staff's strength this season. As a result the Dolphins held Marshawn Lynch to 31 yards rushing, and Will Allen broke up a pass in field goal territory, forcing a punt, and intercepted a pass in the end zone. That's 10 points Will Allen saved.

Jones wasn't phenomenal as the nickel back, allowing two big catches during the course of the game. But he did better than Joey Thomas, who was inactive a week after being penalized twice, and allowing three of the five balls thrown his way to be caught by a Rams receiver. Jason Allen played sparingly on special teams, but wasn't used in the base defensive packages. I do have good news to report on the team's 2006 first-round pick. His fractured right hand wasn't in a cast for the game.

Not to take anything away from the defense, but Bill quarterback J.P. Losman, who replaced regular starter Trent Edwards, was horrible. He was far off the mark on every deep ball he threw (a few of which had open receivers), and didn't move through his progressions quick enough to challenge the defensive backs. That's why the Bills passed for just 123 yards. It wasn't because of stellar coverage because the Dolphins only deflected two passes, and both were by Will Allen.

For the record, this was probably Yeremiah Bell's worst game of the season in terms of coverage. Four of his five tackles came from plays where he got beaten for catches. Bell can, and will play better.....

It was good to see Anthony Fasano get involved again. Before his three catch for 36 yards and one touchdown emergence against the Bills, Fasano had been invisible. He'd only caught two passes for 24 yards in the previous four games. According to Chad Pennington they worked on that route all week in practice and it usually resulted in a pick. It only worked because the Bills had nine defenders in the box, including the strong safety who let Fasano get behind him on the play-action hand-off fake to Patrick Cobbs....

Defensive tackle Paul Soliai played a little and he was very effective blowing up Buffalo's center (I know what the Bills will be drafting early). Soliai, who was suspended for violating an undisclosed team rule last week, moved like a cat who was on his last life. I was surprisingly impressed. Now, let us see if Soliai can keep it up, and his weight down. The way he played last Sunday made me start to change my opinion about the former fourth-round pick being on his way out this offseason....

The Wildcat offense has fizzled as of late, and I suspect part of the reason it is failing has to do with the tendency to run right about 75 percent of the time. The blocking on those Wildcat runs was minimal because there was very little juice coming from the pulling linemen. Ricky Williams took a few direct handoffs and played like he hadn't done it in weeks....

Offensive guard Brandon Frye got into his first game as a lineman and outside of the false start he committed in the first quarter he was decent. Not good, not bad, just decent. But the former Virginia Tech tackle should be commended for playing both guards spots, which requires he master two different stances. I see why the Dolphins rotate the guards. It's because they are all limited strength wise and typically wear down during the games. To compensate for Justin Smiley's absence the the Dolphins occasionally pulled with tackles Jake Long and Vernon Carey. That Dan Henning knows how to mask his team's shortcomings like no one else.

Rotating Andy Alleman, Ikechuku Ndukwe and Frye keeps everyone fresh for the second half. It also allows the Dolphins to discover what they have in all three young linemen. By the end of the season the Trifecta would like to identify at least one keeper for the future because it could preserve a 2009 draft pick for another team need. It would be nice to discover what Shawn Murphy has but coach Tony Sparano keeps hinting that he's not ready. However, one more injury and the fourth-round pick is facing a call up.

At the moment I'm feeling Alleman. He's the better run blocker. Ndukwe is the better pass blocker, but he's probably the worst run blocker in the regular rotation. The only sack the Dolphins allowed was a coverage sack, but it was Alleman's man who brought a scrambling Pennington down behind the line of scrimmage....

On Williams' 14-yard touchdown run I never really saw Fasano hold his defenders, but its possible he did because the lineman rolled over him on the ground....

Ferguson played one of his best games of the season. He didn't just contribute three tackles, he routinely disrupted Lynch's running lanes by driving the center backwards. The Dolphins have used him sparingly for most of this season, but as the stakes get higher it's no coincidence that the 34-year-old is playing more. He's been preserved for these moments.

Deuces.