Amazing what a weekend without the Miami Dolphins can do. Suddenly there's time to stare at all those other teams, with all of their warts and all of their injuries and all of their fan bases screaming for something, anything, that works. Maybe 2-2 isn't a half-full or half-empty proposition for the Dolphins, but just another cracked glass that even in the best of times can be expected to dribble all the way from here to January. Green Bay, of prime importance, has a serious leak going on. When Miami gets to Lambeau Field on Sunday, the pre-game warmup session will be as important as the kickoff, for that is when decisions might be made on the availability of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has a concussion from Sunday's overtime loss to Washington, and linebacker Clay Matthews, who aggravated a hamstring injury and missed the fourth quarter of that game. Just like that, Green Bay, one of the summer's solid Super Bowl picks, is 3-2 and scrambling. Coach Mike McCarthy's Monday report included more bad news on tight end Jermichael Finley (knee) and linebacker Nick Barnett (wrist). Both are scheduled for Wednesday surgery and won't play against the Dolphins. Oh, and Donald Lee, Finley's backup at tight end, is out for a few weeks with a fresh shoulder injury. None of this helps Miami in the coming weeks, when Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Baltimore are strung across the schedule like barbed wire, but it's a big break on this particular Sunday, and for that the Dolphins will not apologize. Parity, after all, means never having to say you're sorry. 'I wasn't sure where some of these teams would be right now,' Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said of all those picked to make the playoffs, 'but some of them are no different than where we are, to be honest with you.' Maybe he's talking about 3-2 Indianapolis, which has lost both of its division games so far. Maybe it's the 2-3 Bengals, who somehow figured out a way to lose to Tampa Bay at home the other day. Maybe it's New Orleans, which is coming off a loss at Arizona in which Drew Brees, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, was outperformed by Max Hall, an undrafted rookie quarterback. So cursed were the Saints that one of the Cardinals' touchdowns came on a fumble by Hall that was picked up and carried across the goal line by a teammate. Hey, let's face it. Everybody's taking their lumps in 2010, the first season in 40 years without a single team making it to 4-0. 'There's an opportunity there for us,' Miami running back Ronnie Brown said. 'We've seen some crazy things happen these last few weeks. ... Just collectively, teams have been winning games in lots of different manners.' And losing them, too. The Packers, for instance, seemed ready to put the Redskins away Sunday, but the last seven Green Bay possessions produced four punts, two missed field goals and a Rodgers interception. An overtime loss, though cruel, was deserved. Green's Bay Week 3 loss to Chicago was another mess, with a franchise-record 18 penalties, a late fumble by the Packers' James Jones and a pass interference call to set up the Bears' winning field goal at the buzzer. Asked what he took away from watching NFL games during the Miami bye week, linebacker Cameron Wake said, 'The margin of victory is so small. 'You sit there watching games where one little thing happens, and when it happens, you have no idea that it's going to change the game, win or lose, for a particular team.' If only that could be said of the Dolphins' last game, a 41-14 blowout loss to New England. It's been three years since Miami was thumped by so wide a margin, and for that reason this bye has seemed to stretch on for about three years, too. Over the break, however, the Dolphins stayed exactly where they were, at 2-2, with no losses and no injuries. Green Bay, among others, would take some of that inertia right now. The Packers are down to former LSU quarterback Matt Flynn, who has attempted 17 passes in three NFL seasons, if Rodgers' head isn't clear enough to play Sunday. Not saying the Dolphins are guaranteed a win or anything. Far from it. It's somehow comforting, though, to know that every NFL coach takes the field just short of a panic attack, and that includes all of those who will run into Sparano's shaky bunch in the pivotal month of October. Dave George writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: dave(underscore)george@pbpost.com. 