## Inconsistent performance by Joe Philbin’s team has been one of the hallmarks of his 36-game tenure as Dolphins coach (17-19 record), and nobody is more irked or cognizant of that than Philbin.
There have been a number of impressive wins in the two-plus seasons (at Indianapolis, twice against Cincinnati, at Pittsburgh, New England twice, Seattle, among others) but also a fair share of embarrassing, puzzling losses.
This season has mirrored Philbin’s first two seasons: two resounding wins and two lopsided losses, one to a team (Buffalo) that hasn’t made the playoffs this century (the only NFL team that can say that) and another to a Kansas City team that entered 0-2 and without several top starters.
This team’s future, and probably Philbin’s, rest largely on whether the Dolphins --- and to a large extent, their quarterback - can snap out of that exasperating penchant of mixing dynamic games with dreadful ones.
“I am looking for consistency out of this team,” Philbin said Monday, a day after the Dolphins dismantled Oakland, 38-14, in London to move to 2-2 heading into the bye week. “I see things on tape I really like. We have to consistently put it together for 60 minutes. I told the team there is still a lot of untapped potential there, a lot of room for improvement.
“The one thing we talked to the team about it how do we capture momentum and how do you sustain it. There were periods of time we had momentum in the second half of those [two losses this month]. After the opening kickoff yesterday we grabbed some momentum. That’s one of the things we’ll pose to the ball club. Now we have to play at a consistently high level. It’s time. I told them before the game we‘ve been at this since July 24. We haven’t changed a lot. Let’s go out and play football.
### Safety Reshad Jones, suspended the first four games because of a violation of the league’s drug policy, is eligible to practice beginning Tuesday but the Dolphins do not need to reinstate him to the 53-man roster until next week, according to the team.
Philbin was guarded in discussing Jones, saying only: “Can he be contributor for Green Bay game? We’ll see. Anything is possible.”
Defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle sounded far more excited about having him back.
He said “we have to see where he is from a conditioning standpoint,” but wants to reincorporate him into the defense “as quickly as we can. He’s an outstanding player. We want to get him up to speed as fast as possible. He can be a difference maker for us.”
### Coyle also anticipates the return of linebacker Koa Misi from an ankle sprain. “Our depth is going to be better than it has been,” he said. “I’m excited because having a healthy Koa Misi makes our team better.”
### Jones’ return would suggest that he and Louis Delmas would start at safety, with Jimmy Wilson moving from safety back to nickel cornerback. But Coyle said there still should still be opportunities for Will Davis or Jamar Taylor against teams that play a lot of four-receiver sets, such as Green Bay, Miami’s next opponent on Oct. 12.
Taylor played more than Davis on Sunday (33 snaps to 23), and Coyle said the plan going into the game was to split their snaps.
### Philbin, on Tannehill and the offense Sunday: “He threw the ball well in practice last week. It was clicking. He made a heck of a throw on the opening drive of the second half. I like what [the offense] did. The production was good. The balance was good. There weren’t a lot of third and longs. That’s always helpful. [Oakland] came in 12th in the league in defense. We were able to keep them at bay. We got sloppy in the second half.”
