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Amazing how quickly a season can turn upside down, isn’t it?

It must be the October blues. Days shorten and, in recent years, so do Dolphin seasons.

Or, this time, it could be something more systemic.

Rewind to one month ago. That Monday night game at New Orleans is when this party began to lose the fun. Many, far too many, waived off that loss as just a tough assignment against a very good team playing at home. And that excuse probably would have held water had the Dolphins not followed it up with back-to-back disappointing losses at home to the Ravens and Bills, and a terrible second half collapse at New England in blowing a 17-3 halftime lead.

Against the Saints, the Dolphins laid an egg in a game where an up-and-coming team competes hard at the minimum. That subpar performance carried forward, uncorrected, through the next three games and into the Bengals tilt.

Good teams win 3 of those 5 games. The Dolphins won one, barely. And so gone is any credibility they had built up from their fast 3-0 start. Head coach Joe Philbin’s honeymoon is effectively over, even with the gritty win over the Bengals.

Thank God for Cam Wake, but don’t be fooled; the Dolphins haven’t stemmed the bleeding yet. And now we have off-the-field distractions as well.

C Mike Pouncey was confronted on his way to the team bus in Foxborough by Massachusetts law enforcement personnel and served with a subpoena tied to the Aaron Hernandez situation, which has now been expanded to include illegal gun sales. This is a very serious matter which could result in charges. It will also be a distraction for the rest of the season.

Then, on Monday, OT Jonathan Martin reportedly had an emotional meltdown in the team dining room after some members of the offensive line played a joke on him. Martin stomped off and hasn’t been seen since. He is listed as doubtful versus the Bengals with an undisclosed illness. The timing of his return is unknown. It may be never.

[Editor's Note: Martin reportedly went directly to the hospital on Monday following his meltdown and is now at home with his family. He was not at the stadium for last night's game, but current reports say he does plan to return to the team.]

On Wednesday, the Miami Herald reported a rift in the Dolphins front office between Philbin and GM Jeff Ireland, with VP Dawn Aponte taking Philbin’s side versus Ireland…the very man owner Stephen Ross just extended for another year.

And this is just the off the field nonsense.

In matters of football…the actual business of playing and, you know, winning…the list of issues seems to grow by the day. The offensive line still can’t protect the quarterback after three months of practicing, the quarterback still can’t protect the football after 7 games of action, and the defense is struggling to keep that aforementioned football out of the endzone. The offensive coordinator is under siege for allegedly shoddy playcalling, and players are privately seething over perceived and real slights.

Does this sound like a cohesive, winning team to you?

Didn’t think so.

Yet the season can still be saved, a happy ending realized. For this to happen, one man needs to step forward and re-gain control of this ship: Joe Philbin. It’s up to him and his staff to quickly solve the issues dragging down the team’s playoff hopes.

This is a man who has been compared to Don Shula in many ways by well-respected team watchers. If that comparison is truly valid, here are a few suggestions.

First, understand that there is no cavalry coming over the mountain. The trade deadline has passed, and the street free agents out there are not difference makers. This means Philbin and his staff must come to understand and ACCEPT what his players do well – and what they don’t do well – and that more practicing won’t make them better at these things. Shula excelled at adjustments in his philosophy to suit his team’s strengths.

Asking RT Tyson Clabo to single block elite pass rushers like Bills DE Mario Williams 40 times a game is an example of what I mean. Asking DB Nolan Carroll to cover elite WRs one-on-one is another.

Second, Philbin needs to recognize that the coaches aren’t getting what they should out of the talent they have. He needs to understand why that is and fix it, quickly. Shula would adjust game plans so his playmakers, his best players, could make a positive impact on games. Philbin and his staff haven’t done that.

The Dolphins paid $60 million to WR Mike Wallace to knock the top off of defenses. They invested heavily to draft DE Dion Jordan, a Demarcus Ware clone. Philbin and his staff would do well to start maximizing the return on these investments with better game planning and schemes. In other words, put their best players in a position to be successful. Having Jordan in on just 25% of the snaps is not winning football.

Third, Philbin and his staff need to get the persistent mistakes corrected. Shula was relentless about not allowing mental and physical errors to go uncorrected. Philbin needs to be just as demanding, on the practice field and in the meeting rooms. Does the quick pace of practice allow time for proper corrections to be made?

QB Ryan Tannehill has a persistent fumbling issue. It doesn’t matter why it happens; the bottom line is that the QB has to protect the football. Tannehill hasn’t been properly coached, which is why the problem persists. Philbin should make him carry a ball around under his arm all day long if that’s what it takes. Confront the issue and solve it!

Fourth, Philbin needs to demand more from his coaches, especially at halftime where corrections need to be made. The Dolphins were badly outcoached in October, the most glaring  examples being Buffalo and New England. In both cases, one could argue that Philbin had a better roster to work with. In the case of the Buffalo game, he and his staff even had an extra week to prepare. In the case of the New England game, Belichick and his staff simply out thought and out coached Philbin and his guys. That is inexcusable.

If Philbin will just see to it that these four things are addressed, the Dolphins’ ship can still be righted. The Bengals win was nice, and fortunate. But don’t be fooled;  these Dolphins are far from being out of the woods. 13 offensive points versus the Bengals confirms that. Philbin needs to act now or this season will soon be lost.