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DAVIE, Fla. -- Overused expressions become cliches because they contain a high degree of truth.

For instance, players and teams need to take their seasons one game at a time.

Thankfully, the rest of us don't have to. We can look as far down the road as we want. And let's not kid anybody here; players peer into the future, too. They just don't talk about it publicly.

The Miami Dolphins know the remaining schedule that awaits them. They're 4-4, one game out of first place in the AFC East. They have a legitimate shot to win the division.

The Dolphins mustered one victory last year, and with such a favorable schedule ahead, they could challenge the NFL record for the most dramatic improvement from one season to the next.

Remaining foes have a .375 winning percentage. Miami's five nondivisional opponents have two wins or fewer.

Games against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the Oakland Raiders next week and the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 14 will be played in Dolphin Stadium.

Teams that travel from the Pacific Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone are 0-11 this year. Miami's farthest road games are at Kansas City and St. Louis, a manageable one-hour time difference.

And the Dec. 7 game against the Buffalo Bills will be played in a comfy Toronto domed stadium instead of Western New York's blustery elements.

"It's a tremendous opportunity for us," Miami defensive end Vonnie Holliday said. "We've got a nice, little stretch, but we have to worry about the Seahawks first. This is our first test and we'll go from there. We are certainly set up right now, looking at our schedule, to make a nice push."

If the Dolphins go 6-2, they will tie the 1999 Indianapolis Colts, who won 10 more games than the year before, for the greatest turnaround. The 1929 New York Giants, 1963 Raiders, 1999 St. Louis Rams and 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers each enjoyed nine-game improvements.

The '63 Raiders were the only team on the list to have one victory the year before. The others had at least three victories.

"You've got to focus on each game as if it was a big game, approach it that way and try to take advantage of it," Miami running back Ronnie Brown said. "We're not going to overlook anybody. Any team can be beaten any given Sunday."