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Don't eat the cheese
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Ah yes, the winless team on the schedule has arrived. Each year there is only 1 maybe 2 games in the entire year that teams just hate to face. This week it's the Houston Texans instead of the Miami Dolphins. Through the hollow halls of the Miami Dolphins training facility, around the corner and into the locker room, up the elevator to floor number 2 that holds the office of the head coach who is standing on the practice field below his office window the words are being spoken, booming, loud, and direct. "Don't eat the cheese".
The "cheese" is not from Wisconsin, it's the task of defeating your own mental images of a team that you are preparing for who has won nothing. Desperate for a win. The Dolphins were that team last year, the holdovers remember exactly what it is that the Texans are feeling right now.
The Texans schedule was not full of Rams, Raiders, and Bengals, it started with Steelers, Titans, Jaguars, and Colts. One of if not the toughest schedule of any team opening the 2008 season. When the season began, this week was the week the Texans likely eyed as a chance to not worry so much, they never likely looked at it as a must win game against a team that is not only coming off two consecutive wins against two playoff teams themselves, but are being reminded daily of the cheese they are trying to avoid.
The Dolphins have not won consecutive games dating back to November of 2006. That all changed last week with a 17 - 10 win over visiting SD. The Dolphins are a young team who are learning how to win and learning that winning is not only possible, but fun. The Texans have only played 4 games, as they were forced into a 2nd week bye after a hurricane canceled their 1st home game.
Last week, had the Texans not watched in horror as their fill-in QB Sage Rosenfelds made 3 consecutive and very costly turnovers in the 4th quarter, they would not be facing an early season crucial game against Miami. The Texans for all intent and purposes will find themselves behind the proverbial 8-ball if they lose. 5 games behind division leading and unbeaten Tennessee, the Texans will find a tough and almost impossible road to recovery ahead.
While the Texans face a mental elimination, a win by the Dolphins could put the team into a prime slot for a playoff chase. At 3-2 the Phins would find themselves in unfamiliar territory as they prepare for the rest of their own schedule. A 3 game winning streak will buy this team some respect, but that of course is only if they don't eat the cheese.
