SB Nation - Will Allen

Bills/Dolphins: Five questions with The Phinsider

Brian Galliford — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:30:17 -0000

by Rick Havner - AP

You know what time it is. The Miami Dolphins will be gracing Ralph Wilson Stadium with their presence this Sunday for the first time since December 9, 2007, when the Trent Edwards-led Buffalo Bills put a 38-17 beat down on a Dolphins team that finished 1-15 that year. Now Buffalo is attempting to avoid losing their fourth straight game to their biggest rival.

Joining us, as always, for Bills/Dolphins week is Matty I from The Phinsider. His interview with me is after the jump, and his interview of me is over at his site, so make sure you check both out. Away we go.

Chad Henne. He's the present and future of the Dolphins, and Miami is now 5-2 in games he's started. He's been a pretty solid game manager, only throwing 4 INT - but it's also pretty clear that he's not doing some of the things he was supposed to do, like improve Miami's deep game (he's averaging just 6.1 yards per attempt). Have you in any way been disappointed by this guy?

Disappointed? Not at all. Henne is a guy who has stepped in when he wasn't even expected to (at least not that early in the season) and has played relatively well. He's still inconsistent with his accuracy. But his strong arm has come as advertised, and he's made some throws that Chad Pennington's arm just wouldn't allow him to make. He looks very poised in big spots and has been exceptional on third down.

As far as the deep passing game goes, you can't say that Henne isn't doing something he is supposed to do. Those long passes will come in time. The fact of the matter is that the Dolphins don't have any receivers to throw to down the field. Ted Ginn is the only receiver the Dolphins have who can actually stretch a defense - and he has suddenly forgotten how to catch the football. The rest of this team's receivers look like they're running in quicksand. But once the Dolphins actually get some speed at the receiver position, I'm pretty confident that we'll see an improved deep game.

Here's how desperate Bills fans are about our current quarterback position: any chance Miami re-signs Chad Pennington as a backup for the 2010 season?

Ugh.

I say that because I think it makes a lot of sense for Chad Pennington to consider going to Buffalo. And that's the last thing I want to see. Having had the pleasure of seeing how valuable a guy like Pennington is to a franchise in the year and a half he's been in Miami, I would really hate to see him go to a division rival. He's exactly what a team like Buffalo needs.

As far as Pennington's future in Miami goes, I don't think anyone can say with any certainty that they know what will happen. With that said, I don't find it likely that Pennington - if he decides to play next season - is a Dolphin in 2010. I think that both the front office and the coaching staff have decided that Henne is their guy. They also seem determined to develop Pat White as both a backup and a "spread option" quarterback. And I'm not sure Pennington would want to come back to Miami knowing that he was, at best, only going to be the No. 2 guy - especially if a team like Buffalo comes calling offering their starting job to him.

Like I said, it's the last thing I want to see. But if he was to end up in Buffalo, I'd wish him all the luck in the world, because he's among the classiest athletes I've ever seen.

Obviously the Ronnie Brown injury hurts - less so for the Dolphins than for the championship run I was plotting in my fantasy football league. I've spoken with you before about my immense respect for Ricky Williams, but at 32 years old, is he capable of being the workhorse back for a physical team trying to make a playoff run?

Tell me about it, Brian. Ronnie was also on one of my fantasy teams - in the league that has "a lot" on the line (if you catch my drift). So his injury was a double whammy for me.

As for Ricky, that's the million dollar question. I don't doubt his ability and I wasn't very surprised at how effective he was last week against the Panthers. But he did carry the ball 22 times just four days after carrying it 20 times against Tampa Bay. His season high in carries last year was just 16 - back in Week 3. And he hasn't carried the football 20+ times in back to back weeks since the end of the 2005 season. So I'm not as confident as some are that Ricky can handle a much increased workload for six more weeks.

But I also think we're going to see Lex Hilliard get more chances as the year goes on. The Dolphins kept Hilliard on the 53-man roster out of training camp as the fourth running back because they did like what they saw from him. Now he's the primary backup and I think we'll start to see 10-12 touches per game for Lex as we move forward. Rookie Kory Sheets might also get a few looks - particularly in the "Wildcat" taking Ricky's spot as the "sweeper" while Ricky mans Ronnie's old spot as the triggerman.

It's hardly surprising that Cameron Wake had his coming out party against Buffalo, but he's been much more than a flash-in-the-pan of late. How has his role changed, and will it continue to do so in the future?

Cameron Wake has proven to be a real pass-rushing monster, to be honest. Despite playing just 100 defensive snaps this year, Wake is tied for second on the Dolphins with 4.5 sacks and leads the team in quarterback pressures with 15. But the coaching staff still isn't comfortable with Wake's ability to set the edge on rushing plays and to drop into coverage when it's necessary to do so. And that's why his snap count has been so low.

But his game reps are increasing. Back in Week 8, Wake saw just one defensive snap. The following week, he saw 12. But then in Week 10 - with Joey Porter sitting out due to a "coach's decision" - Wake saw 33 reps. Then last week, with Porter returning, Wake only saw 10. But I get the feeling that his role is going to slowly increase as the weeks go by - especially to keep the team's two starting OLB, Porter and Jason Taylor, fresh.

Sean Smith and Vontae Davis have been your full-time starting corners for about a month now. How well have they progressed this season?

I think I echo most Dolphin fans when I say that I'm very excited about both Vontae Davis and Sean Smith. Smith has been starting since day one and he's played quite well. In fact, it seemed like teams were picking on Will Allen to avoid throwing in Smith's direction. But over the past few weeks, Smith has been a little more inconsistent. I don't know if it's the "rookie wall" - though that would make a lot of sense considering he's been a starter all season - or if it's just a situation where he's making some mental mistakes. Either way, though, I'm not too worried about it because I think he's going to be a very good player.

Meanwhile, Davis just stepped into the starter's role once Allen went down for the season. And he's progressed very nicely since his increase in snaps. He's making fewer mental mistakes and, right now, might be out-playing Smith. But even still, he does get beat at times. But I've also noticed that when he gives up a big play, it's not because he's beat or out of position. He just needs to get his head around quicker on deep balls.

All in all, though, it's hard for any Dolphin fan to sit here and not be pleased with how these two are coming along. Quite honestly, I think the Dolphins are going to be strong at cornerback for years to come.

Sunday Fish Fry Part 2: Man the Longboats! Patriots offense v. Dolphin D

JohnHannahRules — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:36:34 -0000

More photos » by Matt Dunham - AP

New England Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson (84), left, crosses to score a touchdown game at Wembley. Pats' tight ends could play a key offense role against the Dolphins this week. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

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The Dolphins will let you score. Well, they won't let you, but teams do seem to rack up the points on Miami. Even teams with rookie quarterbacks who ultimately lose. Miami allows just over 25 points per game, good enough for 23rd league wide and a tie with Jacksonville.

Their D ranks 18th overall when adjusted for strength of schedule. Not horrid, I guess, but not scintillating either. Since playing Buffalo, the Phins have surrendered 27, 46 and 30 points (Jest, Saints, Jest). But the question tonight isn't "how good is Miami generally," but rather "How good will Miami be against New England?" On paper, at least, the answer is "not good."

According to Football Outsiders, Miami has the worst pass defense in the league against Tight Ends. They're quite good against other receivers, but simply cannot seem to locate that skinny-looking lineman when he runs out for a pass. On a per game basis, they allow almost seventy yards receiving to the TE. That's a lot.

Sticking for the moment with FO's system, New England has one of the best tight ends in the league right now and two in the top 30. Ben Watson ranks 6th overall in his value over a replacement player. His per play value over an average player ranks him first in the league. While Chris Baker doesn't rank as high as Watson overall, both players suffer in the rankings somewhat because they aren't used all that often. Expect that to change on Sunday. Note, however, that Watson is listed as questionable.)

For the first time in its history, Miami is now starting three rookies in its defensive backfield. Young cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Sean Smith have been thrown into the fire this year, and have been described by Coach Tony Sparano as forgetful youngsters. In other words, they're cocky SOB's who remember their successes and instantly forget their mistakes. Perfect CB material, but young is young.

At the safety position Miami entered the season with maturity, and could have felt about as good as any team about the two rangers. Yeremiah Bell and Gibril Wilson were expected to be steadying hands on the tiller. The high-priced Wilson struggled, however, and Sparano boldly elevated rookie Chris Clemons against the Jest, the same week Davis got the full time nod due to WIll Allen's season-ending injury.

The upshot? Mark Sanchez went 20 of 35 for 265 yards. Ouch. Still, as the Phaithful will quickly remind you, they won. (Thanks, boys.) Although Smith was drafted to handle the tall guys, Cotchery torched him and now he gets Moss. There's no one in the league who can cover Welker.

Why they won is mostly to do with special teams (about which more briefly). But let's not rush to phase three. Our running game is average; their run D is average. (Though FO ranks our run game a defense-adjusted seventh, so it's more effective than given credit for.) But like I said in Part I, running isn't going to be the whole story and when Miami is on defense it isn't going to be half of the story. Injuries are why.

Nosetackle Jason Ferguson and old friend Channing Crowder are both listed as questionable for the game. Coach Sparano states confidence in Crowder's replacement, Reggie Torbor, but NT understudy Paul Soliai would be making his first start. (Bonus: Joey Porter still tender in the hamstringal region.) But those aren't the injuries I'm most interested in.

I know Matt Light doesn't have many fans anymore. But no one does very well against Jason Taylor, which is a left-handed way of saying Light does as well as anyone. Light will sit with a bum knee and rookie Sebastian Vollmer will get his second start. He did pretty well in his first shot of big playing time against Tennessee, but struggled against an underwhelming Tampa Bay from time to time. On Sunday he'll confront the toughest competition he's ever faced.

How he performs may well determine the outcome of the game. Just as safety play by the Patriots will key the defense, I think that our offensive success rides on how well Vollmer handles Taylor -- or fails to. Miami has been very frank about the need to get pressure on Tom. Indeed, it's the only way they'll likely accumulate enough of an edge to win (more, again, below). Expect them to bring the house.

Finally, the "more." The Jets dominated the game in every category last week, yet still came up short. Key plays by the defense were a big reason -- including one from JT -- but the numerical advantage came on the feet of Ted Ginn. The Patriots absolutely must contain him in the return game. If things are going well, GInn is going to get the ball a lot. New England can not afford to let him do a lot with it.

That's all I've got time for and I'm sorry. Blogging from the road isn't a joy, but I'll be back in time to watch the game tomorrow. Add your own analysis in the comments and thanks to you all for helping Marima and me keep the place warm for MaPatsFan. Family issues are front and center for him right now, so let's all hold him warmly in our thoughts. I'm sure we'll have him back before long.

Enjoy the balance of your weekend -- see you at Game Time!

Joey Porter Wants to Make Mark Sanchez Wear an Ice Pack

John B — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:49:49 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

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Joey Porter said he wants to hit Mark Sanchez hard tomorrow.

"He (Rex Ryan) made a little comment about Will Allen being hurt, saying, 'Boo hoo hoo,' as if it's a joke or something. We'll see if it's a joke on Sunday," Porter said. "I'm not worried about [Sanchez] eating hot dogs on the sideline. I'm worried about how I can get him on sideline, with an ice pack."

But hey, the Jets are just a classless team full of obnoxious trash talkers if you ask some Dolphins fans.

I really don't have any problem with what Porter said. When you play defense, you should want to hit the other quarterback hard. If he uses this to motivate himself, more power to him. Let's see if he can deliver against a really good line.

I wonder what certain Miami backers who reside in glass houses think.

Rex Isn't Sympathetic to Miami's Injury Woes

John B — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

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Rex Ryan doesn't feel bad for the Dolphins over losing cornerback Will Allen for the year, which forces them to start two rookies at corner.

"I don't care about that," Ryan said. "We lost a Pro Bowl nose tackle (Kris Jenkins) and a Pro Bowl running back (Leon Washington), so boo hoo hoo."

I'm sure that won't make him many friends in South Florida, but the main point stands. Good teams find a way to overcome injuries. Bad teams use them as excuses.

New York Jets Pass Offense vs. Miami Dolphins Pass Defense

John B — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:30:39 -0000

by Ben Margot - AP

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I think it's fair to say the coaching staff lost a bit of confidence in Mark Sanchez after the 5 interception performance against the Bills. The almost 4-1 run to pass ratio indicates that. So do the almost exclusively safe, simple reads he was given on the pass plays. The Jets are probably going to run first and second, but they'll need more from Sanchez this week. They won't be able to run the ball on Miami's physical front to the degree they did on Buffalo and Oakland.

The Jets should have some areas to exploit in the passing game. Braylon Edwards had that big debut a few weeks back working against Miami's secondary. He'll work against rookie Sean Smith. The Dolphins need the big and athletic Utah product to hold Edwards in check. If Edwards goes off like he did in the first meeting, Miami will have to double him.

On the other side, Jerricho Cotchery will probably be back for this one. He'll operate against rookie Vontae Davis. Starter Will Allen is gone for the season for Miami with a torn ACL. Davis has looked pretty good for the Dolphins and has plenty of athletic ability, but the Jets have to like this matchup. Cotchery was getting open even when he was the focal point of the opposing passing game, and he'll have the opportunity to work against a guy making his first NFL start and who is still learning technique at the position.

David Clowney has put up a big performance in two of the past three contests. He burned the Dolphins deep in Miami and will see action against a relatively slow straight line corner, Nate Jones.

The real question is whether the real Dustin Keller will please stand up. The Dolphins have had trouble with athletic tight ends this year. There may be no bigger disappointment on the team than Keller. This is a matchup made in heaven for him. Channing Crowder and Akin Ayodele are subpar linebackers in coverage. Neither Gibril Wilson nor Yeremiah Bell is spectacular as safeties. Edwards and Clowney will have a great chance to force those safeties to stay deep and give Keller room against the linebackers.

The offensive line will need to hold up against Jason Taylor, Joey Porter, and Cameron Wake. Sanchez will need to have it in his head that throwing it away quickly instead of forcing a throw under pressure is not a bad thing.

Horse Tracks 10/26/09 - Broncos lead down to 3 games after Dolts pound Chefs; Jokeland smoked by Jets

Douglas A. Lee — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:58:33 -0000

Good Morning, MHR Friends! Apparently yesterday was Blowout Sunday, as six games were decided by a margin of 28 points or more - another four games were of margins 10 points or greater. The Dolts dismantled the Chefs and are now 3 games behind the Broncos in the standings. Meanwhile, Jokeland was shut out at home versus the Jets and JaMarcus the Hutt was benched. Meanwhile, Denver's draft position improved another notch with the Bungles' drubbing of the Bears. It's on to Baltimore for the Broncos, who play their first East Coast game of the year on Sunday at 1pm ET.

PFW - Mile-high miracle in works?

DB - Catching Their Breath - Mike Rice

DPP - Broncos' Elvis Dumervil had model for success in Chiefs great Derrick Thomas - Lindsay Jones

DPP - Krieger: Broncos' piping-hot 6-0 start readjusts expectations

CSG - Broncos' Elvis isn't all shook up about pursuit of sack record - Frank Schwab

CSNP - NFL Notebook: Dawkins Key in Denver’s Success - Ray Didinger

DPP - Numbers: Broncos generally fare well after bye week

SPI - What's Right and Wrong this Season - Kevin Coe
"The Broncos record. How did this happen? It looked preseason like we'd be using the pick we got from Denver to pick high in next year's draft."

DP - Steelers stay hot with Broncos next - Jeff Legwold

DP - Steelers safety concerned about returning to Denver - Jeff Legwold

NFL Results

NFL - San Diego Chargers 37 at Kansas City Chiefs 7

NFL - New York Jets 38 at Oakland Raiders 0

NFL - Green Bay Packers 31 at Cleveland Browns 3

NFL - San Francisco 49ers 21 at Houston Texans 24

NFL - Indianapolis Colts 42 at St. Louis Rams 6

NFL - New England Patriots 35 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7

NFL - Minnesota Vikings 17 at Pittsburgh Steelers 27

NFL - Buffalo Bills 20 at Carolina Panthers 9

NFL - Chicago Bears 10 at Cincinnati Bengals 45

NFL - Atlanta Falcons 21 at Dallas Cowboys 37

NFL - New Orleans Saints 46 at Miami Dolphins 34

NFL - Arizona Cardinals 24 at New York Giants 17

Ravens News

BS - Breakdown of Ravens' remaining games - Jamison Hensley

BS - Before they were Ravens - Edward Lee

AFC West News

SDUT - Smilin' in the rain - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Bolts regain some grip, take big chunks off Chiefs - Nick Canepa

SDUT - Beating good team will be true test - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Offense needs work inside the 5-yard line - Tod Leonard

Y! - LJ's Twitter page rips Haley, uses homophobic slur - Charles Robinson
Stay classy, Larry. Stay classy.

KCS - Chiefs take a step back in loss to Chargers - Adam Teicher

KCS - Haley needs to change some things in order to survive - Jason Whitlock

KCS - Chiefs blunder as the Chargers thunder to a 37-7 victory at Arrowhead - Randy Covitz

KCS - Chiefs notes | Page a healthy scratch - Randy Covitz

SFC - JETS 38, RAIDERS 0 / Raiders own up to blame in shutout defeat / All except one: QB Russell accepts no fault in big rout - David White

SFC - Far too much for ailing team to fix at once - Scott Ostler

OT - Poole: Russell takes Raiders down path of destruction

OT - Russell shrugs off benching - Cam Inman

OT - Peterson: The seven deadly signs of Raiders resignation

NFL News

NFL - Jets' Washington out indefinitely after surgery to fix broken fibula

FH - Report: Vikings' Winfield Has Broken Foot, Out 4-6 Weeks - Bruce Ciskie

FH - Colts' Donald Brown, Bob Sanders (Surprise!) Hurt in St. Louis - Chris Burke

FH - Will Allen Reportedly Done for Season - Chris Burke

NFL - Texans WR Johnson injures chest during fourth quarter vs. 49ers

NFL - Rodgers-Cromartie out with ankle injury

NFL - Saints DT Ellis leaves game against Dolphins with sprained knee

FH - Bradford to Have Surgery, Enter Draft - Michael Smith

NFL Opinion

NFP - Sunday rewind: Week 7 - Matt Bowen

SI - Forgotten Smith could be 49ers' answer at quarterback - Don Banks
"With 11 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions through his first six games, it's getting tougher all the time to make the case that Jay Cutler has been a difference maker in Chicago. At the very least, he's no Kyle Orton."

UPDATE 10:43 ET SI - Pittsburgh's defense, Miles Austin's second big game, more - Peter King

SN - Week 7 Checkdown: AFC powers flex their muscles - Vinnie Iyer

USAT - Week 7 Bests, Worsts: Saints' historic comeback keeps dream season rolling - Sean Leahy

NYT - N.F.L. Week 7 in Quotations: What Losing Sounds Like - Andrew Das

ESPN - Last Call: Wrapping up Week 7 - John Clayton

CBS - Week 7 Judgements: Cardinals fly right away from their coop - Clark Judge

Y! - Fans, Quinn lose as Browns stick with Anderson - Charles Robinson

USAT - Powered by 'fluke accident,' Steelers rein in Favre, Vikings - Jarrett Bell

FOX - Steelers defense shows their Super side - Alex Marvez

CBS - Favre meltdown vs. Steelers a fluke or sign of things to come? - Pete Prisco

NFL - While hype surrounded QBs, it was defense that ruled in Pittsburgh - Vic Carucci

SN - Bengals, a joke no more, now amongst NFL's best - Dennis Dillon

NFL - Renewed emphasis in running game makes Bengals hard to stop - Bucky Brooks

SN - Romo magic turns critics into fans -- for a day - Clifton Brown

FH - Confident Cowboys Deliver Billion-Dollar Performance Against Atlanta - Thomas George

NFL - Unheralded Austin is the impetus behind Cowboys' resurgence - Steve Wyche

FH - Patriots Put on a Show in England - David Whitley

FH - Cardinals Flip Script on Giants - Dan Graziano

FOX - Sunday Scoopage: Light goes on for Peppers - Jay Glazer

PFW - NFL's oldest, youngest making early impact - Mike Wilkening

Tale of two halves as Dolphins collapse in loss to Saints

Matty I — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:27:55 -0000

More photos » by Jeffrey M. Boan - AP

I think this photo says it all. Darren Sharper would catch this ball off of Ted Ginn's hands and return it for a touchdown.

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With less than two minutes to go in the first half, it seemed like the Miami Dolphins were on their way to one of their best wins in years, holding a 24-3 lead over the undefeated New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately, football games require a full 60 minutes. The Dolphins put together an outstanding 28 minutes - followed by about 32 minutes of complete disaster - which is what makes this game so hard to swallow.

Defensive breakdowns in second half
Even after that disappointing end to the first half - which we'll get to in a little - the Dolphins still held a 14 point lead at halftime. But Miami's defense collapsed in the second half, allowing the Saints to just march up and down the field on seemingly every possession.

There are a number of places you can lay some blame for this loss. But the defense certainly has to get a lot of blame. They played so well in the first half only to allow 23 points and 317 yards on just 38 plays. Worse yet, the Dolphins surrendered 285 yards of offense and 9.83 yards per play over the final 20 minutes of the game. So while a lot of you will point the finger at others - who do deserve some blame as well - don't let an outstanding defensive first half taint your view of how this defense performed. The final quarter and a half was just disgusting.

What exactly was the problem? Some of it was probably execution and players not being where they were supposed to. That could explain why Saint receivers were running wide open down the field for much of the second half. Missed tackles were also a problem - such as Gibril Wilson's whiff on Reggie Bush on a key 3rd down. There was a lack of pressure on Drew Brees in the fourth quarter as well, which is not good. We saw in the first half how much consistent pressure on Brees makes him uncomfortable.

But the biggest issue might be what we don't know and likely will never know: did the Dolphins coaching staff go into halftime anticipating the adjustment New Orleans would make in the second half? During our live game thread, somebody said at halftime how it would be important to see how the Dolphins react to the halftime adjustments the Saints make on offense. That's hitting the nail right on the head. We won't ever know for sure - especially without being able to see the film. But there were clearly issues in the second half. We didn't see nearly the amount of receivers running wide open - especially over the middle - in the first half as we saw in the second.

Questionable play-calling a factor
I generally try not to harp too much on in-game play-calling because we simply don't know as much as the guys on the sidelines making the decisions. But it's impossible to not question a number of decisions regarding play-calling on Sunday.

Some will point to the play-calling on Miami's final possession of the first half as bad. Some will say Miami's decision to try passing on a 1st & 10 at NO's 40 yard line with 1:51 left was a bad decision - made worse by the screen pass to Davone Bess on the next play that resulted in a fumble. But let's be fair. If the Dolphins run the ball three times and then try a long field goal, many fans would be complaining about how conservative the Dolphins were playing it. Instead, the Dolphins were clearly going for seven before the half - the right move when you're facing a potent offense like the one the Dolphins faced on Sunday. Hindsight is always 20/20, though, and that's why some will probably complain about Miami's decision not to just run the ball and get into position for a long field goal.

However, a couple of possessions certainly deserve some criticism. The Dolphins' second possession of the 3rd quarter - the one following the Darren Sharper pick six - was terrible. If you have the top rushing offense in the league, it might be a good idea to run the football after your young quarterback, making only his 3rd career start, threw a pick six to cut your lead from 14 to 7. He might be a bit gun-shy. It might be a good idea to use your best offensive players - Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. But no - the Dolphins come out and go with three passes, resulting in a sack, a short completion, and an incompletion - a lovely little three and out.

The other possession that really bothers me was the one following Reggie Bush's touchdown to cut Miami's lead to 34-31. Again, the Dolphins should have attempted to get back to what they do best and run the football. Instead, the Dolphins go with three passes - all incompletions - and punt the football away. And they would never again have a possession where they weren't trailing.

Too many miscues
From missed tackles to blown coverages to penalties to dropped passes, the Dolphins made mistake after mistake to help aid the epic collapse on Sunday. You can't commit eight penalties - especially dumb penalties like personal fouls. Channing Crowder and Joey Porter each had one of those on Sunday. Porter, meanwhile, who is supposed to be a leader, left the locker room on Sunday without speaking with the media. Good leadership.

As far as drops go, there were a ton of them. Some of the bigger ones include Ted Ginn's drop on a beautifully placed ball on the first possession of the second half as well as Anthony Fasano's drop on a pass by Ronnie Brown. Ginn's drop resulted in an interception as Darren Sharper plucked the bobbled ball from the air and took it into the endzone. Fasano's drop would have been a 20+ yard gain and would have helped swing the momentum back a little.

But even after all those mistakes, the Dolphins still found themselves with the ball, needing a touchdown to win, and having 3:23 to accomplish that. But that drive had even more mistakes. On 2nd & 3, Ginn again dropped a pass - this time with nobody even bothering him. It would have been a first down plus a little extra. Luckily, Chad Henne connected with Greg Camarillo on the next play for a first down. But on the next play, Camarillo made the mistake of attempting to fumble the football out of bounds after a 7 yard reception. He was trying to get to the sideline to stop the clock, couldn't make it, and then then basically flung the ball towards the sideline as he fell - which is illegal and resulted in a penalty. After the game, Camarillo admitted that he was trying to do that and wouldn't do it differently now if he could. On the ensuing play, Ricky Williams dropped a pass in the flat that would have sent for a likely first down. And then on the very next play, Jake Grove was called for a false start - making a 3rd & 8 now a 3rd & 13.

That's not how you execute the two minute drill. And miscues like these cost the Dolphins a potential win over an unbeaten team on Sunday.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The turning point of the game is pretty easy. The Dolphins had a 24-3 lead with less than two minutes to play in the 2nd quarter. That's when Brees and the Saints' offense got going, driving down the field and getting down to the one yard line in about a minute and a half - converting two third downs along the way. Then, following an official review, the Saints had the ball inside the one but were seemingly going to settle for a field goal before the half. That is, until Tony Sparano called an ill-advised timeout. That gave the Saints the time they needed to change their mind and go for the touchdown. The end result was Brees taking a QB sneak over the top and into the endzone for a touchdown.

Whether you want to call the turning point of the game the Davone Bess fumble that led to this possession, either of the 3rd down conversions by the Saints, or the timeout by Sparano - most probably agree that this possession was the turning point - and the beginning of a disgusting collapse.

QUICK HITS
Some more quick thoughts on this game:

Will Allen was lost for the season with a torn ACL. This is a big loss, but gives Vontae Davis and Sean Smith a great opportunity to both start and learn as much as possible on the fly.
Say what you want about Ted Ginn, the bottom line is we can't just get rid of him this year. Yes - he's far too inconsistent. But he's also the only deep threat this team has. Without him, opposing defenses have no reason to be worry about the long ball. If nothing else, he's still a necessary decoy until the Dolphins can find another deep threat. Also - wasn't it just last week many raved about him after making a huge play against the Jets?
I was disappointed with the offensive line today. They didn't play as well as they have in the run game and had issues protecting Chad Henne in the second half. Let's hope this was just a one-game issue.
Related the the OL problems, the Wildcat only gained 30 yards on 14 carries on Sunday.
I don't have a problem with Chad Henne's performance on Sunday. He hung tough in the pocket and did make some nice throws. But he also had his receivers drop at least five passes. He'll also learn a lot from this game once he goes back and watches the film. Now I'm anxious to see how he does in his first career road start next week against the Jets.
Jason Taylor - you still got it. I apologize.
I do love the safety blitz. Both Yeremiah Bell and Gibril Wilson seem to be very good blitzers. I hope to see more of that in the coming weeks.
Nathan Jones - who knew? He had his best game as a Dolphin. And now he will see even more snaps with the injury to Will Allen.

Dolphins vs Saints: Three Key Matchups

Matty I — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Donald Thomas and company will face their toughest challenge yet against an underrated Saints defensive line.

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After a bye week that felt like forever, the Dolphins will get back to their regular practice schedule beginning on Wednesday as preparations for Sunday's big game against the Saints rev up. And with that, our preparations for Sunday's big game will rev up as well.

I already talked yesterday about how some might feel that tthis game on Sunday is this team's "defining game" of the first half of the season. Even if you disagree, there's no way around just how big of a game this is. With that, let's focus on three key matchups. And allow to to point out that the Dolphins did indeed win two of the three matchups I highlighted against the Jets two weeks ago - resulting, of course, in a classic Monday Night Football victory. Hey, I'm just sayin'...

Dolphins offensive line vs Saints defensive line
The key to all of Miami's offensive success this year has been their offensive line's ability to dominate the line of scrimmage. They have shown their ability to just physically dominate the trenches and provide that initial surge Miami's talented running backs need to get going.

However, they also haven't exactly faced top rushing defenses. In fact, statistically speaking, the best rushing defense Miami has faced this year happens to be the Colts - who rank 14th in the league, but themselves allow 4.1 yards per rush. Meanwhile, the Saints are actually 5th in the league against the run, allowing 83.4 yards per game and just 3.8 yards per carry.

More importantly, the Saints front four is probably bigger and more physical themselves than any Miami has faced this year. Their starters weigh in at an average of 298 pounds and they are a talented, underrated bunch. A lot of Dolphin fans seem to think the Dolphins will be able to just run over every team they face this year with their physical ground attack - especially in this upcoming game. But I'm not entirely sold. Sunday's game is a big test for this unit.

Saints passing attack vs Dolphins secondary
Obviously, this is going to be perhaps the most important matchup on Sunday. The Dolphins have struggled defending the pass and they are yet to face a passing attack that is as dynamic as this one. The Saints can go four deep at receiver, have a talented pass-catching tight end, and have backs who can catch the ball out of the backfield. The Dolphins, meanwhile, have two rookie corners - one of which is a starter - and a very suspect safety tandem. On the surface, things don't look good for the Dolphins.

Drew Brees leads the Saints' 7th ranked passing attack. Sure, the Dolphins faced the Colts back in week two - and Indy currently ranks first in passing offense - and they were exposed despite owning a three to one advantage in time of possession. So some Dolphin fans might say that stopping the Saints aerial assault won't be as tough as it was back in week two trying to defend Indy's attack. But the Saints are much deeper than the Colts at the skill positions and Brees is every bit as good as Peyton Manning.

In that game against the Colts, Sean Smith did a very good job when he was matched up on Reggie Wayne. And on paper, Smith matches up well with Marques Colston - the Saints top receiver. But the Saints have a unique offense and a great offensive mind calling the plays. And I expect the Saints to dictate who covers Colston by keeping him away from Smith's side. Instead, we'll probably see Devery Henderson and/or Robert Meachem - both of whom possess blazing speed - on Smith's side of the defense, allowing the 6'4 Colston to be matched up on the smaller Will Allen.

But the biggest matchup problem probably comes from two guys - Jeremy Shockey and Reggie Bush. The Dolphins have had a tough time defending athletic tight ends and versatile running backs. I fully expect the Saints to find ways to get Shockey matched up on either of Miami's safeties and Bush matched up with a linebacker - clearly presenting matchup nightmares for the Dolphins.

I'll tell you one thing - if ever was there a time for Yeremiah Bell and Gibril Wilson to step up their performance - Sunday is the time. If they don't, this game could turn into a high-scoring affair - which is not a good thing for the Dolphins.

Chad Henne vs Darren Sharper
The offseason move of the year could very well be the Saints acquisition of safety Darren Sharper. He has been absolutely outstanding for New Orleans and could very well be the front runner for Defensive Player of the Year. He already has five interceptions and has returned two of them for touchdowns - each returns of at least 97 yards, by the way. And he's been a young quarterback's nightmare. All five of his interceptions have come against inexperienced quarterbacks - two against Matthew Stafford, one against Kevin Kolb, and two against Mark Sanchez.

Chad Henne, meanwhile, is virtually of a rookie himself. He's making only his third career start. And while he's been excellent in his first two starts, he has shown in the past that he does have a tendency of staring down his receivers. That crap won't fly against Sharper on Sunday. Henne will have to make sure he is able to effectively manipulate the safeties.

The Dolphins can't afford to make any mistakes on Sunday. And it all starts with our young quarterback.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:30:15 -0000

More photos » by Chris Schneider - AP

2 months ago: Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels salutes the crowd after the Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 20-17 in overtime in an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/Chris Schneider)

Browse more photos »

Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. Is anybody else feeling like they could get used to feeling like this on a Tuesday? It's great to be 5-0, isn't it? Maybe Mark Kiszla is right, and we should all join him in welcoming Kyle Orton to Denver, since MHR is clearly bringing up the rear, there. Y'all know how skeptical I have been. Despite our ongoing skepticism, and community-wide propensity for all things negative, we press on. Ready..... BEGIN!!!!

1. Speaking of my skepticism, I was pretty high on this team, heading into the first game.

This is an 11-5 football team, and it's one that is only going to improve as it adds more quality talent in the next few years. I put my money where my mouth is too, donating $11 to the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, on John Bena's wife's behalf. Please do the same thing, if you can, by donating $1 for every win you think the Broncos will get this season. Things have to break right for that to happen, sure, but I think they will. Forget last season, this is a totally different thing.

Well, that caused a stir. John Bena took a beating on Twitter about it, and even my brother Chris thought I was about 4 games too generous. At this point, I am frankly wondering if I shorted the Susan G Komen outfit by a buck or two. One mea culpa though.

By the way, the Broncos five losses are to the Patriots, Giants, and Raiders at home, and the Chargers and Eagles on the road. I know a lot of people will groan at the thought of losing to Oakland at home, but let's face it, the Broncos annually lose a game they have no business losing, and I had a feeling that that would be the one. I think they can beat Baltimore and Pittsburgh, because they protect the QB, and will be strong defensively against the run. It's about matchups, in those cases. Really, I believe that the Broncos can beat any team on their schedule if they execute, and consistently do the things you need to do to win football games.

I had the Broncos going to 4-0, (in case anybody claims nobody did), before losing both (Sunday) to the Patriots and next Monday night to the Chargers. They beat the Patriots, and I am pretty sure they'll beat the Chargers too, to move to 6-0. I also don't think there is any way they lose to the Raiders, with the consistent preparation and focus they've shown, and Oakland's extreme awfulness. So, even the most optimistic reasonable guy you know may have been underselling this team.

I am not much of a stats guy, but are you ready for an unbelievable one? In five weeks, the Broncos have made zero personnel moves. For all you hear about how much "turmoil" surrounded this team in the offseason, there has been absolutely none in the regular season. Of course, having had no major injuries helps, but it's really indicative of the quality of the team's personnel plan. There was no area where the staff thought incorrectly that the personnel would be good enough. It's good enough everywhere.

There is a lot of reason to really like this team. When the score was 10-0 in the first quarter, my father (Ed) called me, like he does when things aren't going that well for the Broncos. This is the conversation, practically word-for-word.

Ed: What's going on with your boys?

Ted: (A little annoyed.) Nothing, they had a good drive, but missed a field goal, and then they fumbled. Then they held the Patriots to a field goal despite really favorable field position. I'm not worried about it yet. These things happen.

Ed: I don't know...

Ted: This team has shown an ability to be resilient, and make adjustments. I think they'll hang in there, and be okay. (More annoyed, because the commercial was ending, and the game was restarting.) They just (bleeped) up a couple times, it's not the end of the world.

Ed: We'll see....

Ted: Yes, we will. I have to go, so I can pay attention.

Ed: Okay, when you write your analysis, you should mention that your expert father thinks they played like (bleep) because of those ugly uniforms.

Like me, my father is a former United States sailor (a Chief Nuke Machinist Mate), and we tend to employ some sailors' vocabulary when we speak. (In the interest of authenticity, I thought everybody should know that.)

I think back to the last few years, and there is a striking difference with this team. I think of 2005, and the Broncos hardly ever trailed in that season. Jake Plummer was made to play low-risk football, the defense was solid, and the Broncos ran the ball very well. If the plan was executed, the Broncos were going to win. Once it wasn't, in the AFC Championship Game, there was no coming back.

Between 2006-2008, the team was very mistake-prone, on both offense and defense (after the first 6 games of 2006). Generally, you'd have the feeling that if a player or unit made a mistake, that a long day of repeat mistakes would be sure to follow. Think of all the times Jay Cutler played the team out of games, or the defense took a holiday from tackling (or both happened in the same game, like the early season Chiefs game last season). There was always a puncher's chance, but you felt like every mistake was the killer.

I have a tremendous amount of faith in this team's ability to overcome mistakes. In the short amount of time they've been together, I've seen them do it a lot of times. It's not like they're making a lot of mistakes, but they show the ability to settle down and re-focus, no matter what happens. The 2008 Broncos would have gotten blown out today, no question about it. This team hangs in there, gets back to playing solid football, and gets in position to win in the end. It happened against Cincinnati, it happened against Dallas, and it happened again today. (Of course, there never was one second where the Browns or Raiders had an apparent chance, so there was no particular need to hang in there in those games.)

Check out this tweet from Darrell Reid, from Sunday night:

@Footz95: Bronco Fans Please 4Give Me 4 My Penalty That Almost Cost Us The Game. Luckily Its A Team Sport And My Teammates Overcame That Play. Thank U

That's pure class and accountability, and it's emblematic of this team. There was nothing about how the penalty was kind of ticky-tack, even if it was. He knows the rules, he ran into the guy's leg, and he is accountable for his mistake.

It's a gift to be able to feel like this, and I think only probably Patriots, Steelers, and Colts fans have been able to do so consistently, in recent memory. I think Giants and Saints fans probably can right now. Somehow, our team is going to keep focused, and find a way to be in the game until the final gun. What a great new Broncos fan reality.

2. Information From My Eyes, Patriots at Broncos:

a. The WRs for the Broncos did great work all game on Sunday. They ran a ton of hitches, and really got out of their breaks well on them. They also really caught the ball.

b. Andra Davis and D.J. Williams both missed clean sacks on Tom Brady, on delayed blitzes. It sure would have been nice to have those sacks, at the time.

c. I thought the use of Russ Hochstein as a FB was a nice touch a few times. It's been hit or miss this season, and it hit Sunday.

d. Both Brandon Marshall TDs were emblematic of his improvement as an all-around player. He made plays with his physicality, which he hadn't ever fully harnessed in past years. There was no sideways running Sunday, just good routes and power.

e. That Ben Watson TD was evidently a mistake by D.J. Williams, who from the looks of the rest of the scheme, and Wesley Woodyard's reaction, should have stayed in zone coverage, instead of following the underneath crosser.

f. Maybe Kyle Orton was so fantastic because he read Mark Kiszla's column before the game. Feeling like "one of us" has to go a long way, right?

g. That was a joke, of course, but Orton really did look as good as I have ever seen him. His feet were calm, active, and precise, his decisions were quick and correct, and his throws were consistently on the money. He looked like Tom Brady looks on a good day, and that's no overstatement.

h. I want to see a QB sneak on a short-yardage play one of these days. I am tired of seeing these handoff plays get blown up by quick penetration, usually over Ben Hamilton.

i. WOW, did Josh McDaniels ever flame-spray Mike Priefer and Keith Burns over that Darrell Reid penalty. He had a point. There was no particular need to be halfway rushing that punt, in that situation. Honestly, I am a believer in not trying to block a punt at all, unless there's 6 or more yards to go. That mitigates the risk of running into the kicker.

j. If you remember the second-down play in the 4th quarter, with about 10 minutes to go, where Brady threw deep and the ball was broken up by Brian Dawkins, the real play was made by D.J.Williams, in covering Wes Welker one-on-one. Brady clearly wanted to go there, and it was blanketed. On the next play, Brady did throw to Welker, and Champ Bailey had great coverage. The Broncos did a great job taking Welker away in the second half.

k. Everybody knows I wasn't that high on the Knowshon Moreno pick when it was made, but I have come to really love this player. He is going to be a superstar for years to come. I especially appreciate his skill at picking up the blitz, which is rare for a rookie.

3. Information From My Eyes, Other Games:

a. I had the Bengals-Ravens game on my fixed screen Sunday, for the duration. The key observation from that game is that I had it slightly wrong a couple weeks ago, when I said that the Ravens were without any glaring weaknesses. Their cornerbacks are below average, and they can be killed outside the numbers. Old friend Domonique Foxworth is a good guy, but an average-at-best player. Fabian Washington isn't even as good as that. Particularly if you can block the Ravens' pressure packages, there is a lot of opportunity for success.

b. It is, however, best to stay out of the middle of the field, with any kind of risky throws. Ed Reed is as great as ever, and we all know about Ray Lewis. Reed made a couple big plays Sunday, stripping Chad Ochocinco on a long gainer before the first half ended, and then also returning an interception for a TD later. The Bengals dominated this game, and Reed and Ray Rice were the Ravens' only real positives, and managed to keep the Ravens in it.

c. Matt Cassel says he wants to find the right "anecdote" to losing. The Chiefs ought to start by drafting a lot more speed, because they're the slowest team in the NFL, ahead of their opponent Sunday, Dallas. The Chiefs are going to have another very high draft pick this year, because they are really horrible. If I were Scott Pioli, I would do everything possible to get below the Top 10, because a third straight very high pick, along with Cassel's contract, is going to really mess up their salary structure, a la Oakland. I would give a top pick away, straight-up, for the 12th pick, in their situation. Bill Polian had it right when he said that you don't get good by picking high in the draft every year. Unless you're taking a can't-miss QB, like Peyton Manning, nobody is worth the money you have to pay out.

d. Speaking of the Chiefs, this has gone mostly under the radar, but they're not playing Derrick Johnson, their best linebacker. He was their best defensive player in 2008, and now he's frozen out for some undisclosed reason. If I were a 40-front team, I'd be calling the Chiefs before the trade deadline next week. I bet he could be had for a 5th-rounder.

e. Have you ever seen that show, Intervention, on A&E? I know I have a pretty male-heavy readership, and it's mostly targeted toward a female demographic, so I ask, rather than assume. Anyway, it's not what I would call uplifting television. There's always some really troubled person, with drugs, or gambling, or compulsive shopping, or whatever. Their family loves them, and wants to help get them on the straight and narrow, but addiction is really hard (my 3-year anniversary of quitting smoking is next Monday, so trust me, I have an idea about addiction).

Anyway, the Jaguars remind me of an addict who is trying to get clean, and tries hard, and does well for a while, and then has a staggering, messy relapse. Jacksonville's addiction is to playing undisciplined and stupid football. The last two weeks, against Houston and Tennessee, the Jags had their act together. Sunday, against Seattle, they relapsed, and got completely embarassed. Rashean Mathis, a good CB, had a horrid game, and got out of position repeatedly. I think Jack Del Rio's days have to be numbered, because his program just isn't getting the team to where they need to be. I'm not picking them in any more games this year, either, unless it's against an obviously terrible team. Sometimes, even though you may love the addict, they won't let themselves be helped, and you have to cut them off.

f. The 49ers are not addicted to undisciplined football, but they sure played like the Jaguars West on Sunday. Watching the Short Cut, I really feel like they lost their composure after Roddy White's 90-yard TD in the second quarter. Nate Clements got beat on that play, and had a tough game overall. The defense was physical, and maintained their run lanes, but didn't tackle well, at all. I expect that Mike Singletary will re-focus his team, and they'll show better in their next game, after their bye. Since they're clearly not built to play from behind, they need to establish early leads.

g. A lot was made of Dre' Bly's idiotic celebration Sunday, but Donnie Avery deserves some scorn too, for dancing after a TD catch, when it made the score 31-10 Vikings, with 6 minutes to go. That's just clown-like. Hand the ball to the Field Judge, and get back to your sideline.

h. Matt Schaub threw a noodle-armed out route Sunday, which Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie took back for the game-winning TD. Even after that, Schaub drove the team the length of the field, before the Cardinals held them on 4th and goal from the 1. The problem with being a zone-blocking team, as we've seen, is that you tend to struggle in short yardage situations, and the Texans really struggle with them.

i. I got called "ignorant" once by our dear friend/Colts blogger BigBlueShoe for saying that Anthony Gonzalez was a below-average starter. I considered it an honor, because I am happy to disagree with anybody. (Evaluation is a function of what I see, not what anybody thinks they know, and by extension, that they think I should "know.") In any case, Gonzalez, who is from 3 towns west of where I live, is going to stuggle to get on the field when he gets healthy. Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon have done fantastic work this season, and they're both better players than Gonzalez. Collie is smooth in his routes, and fundamentally sound, and Garcon is fast and fluid. Gonzalez struggles to get off press coverage, and as Mike Shanahan once said, if you can't get off press coverage, you'll be selling cars before too long.

j. The Steelers defense looks extremely beatable lately, especially if you can pass protect. The Lions did a lot of good stuff offensively Sunday, and lost only because they couldn't contain James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. Trust me, they're not a terrible team team this season.

k. Josh Johnson looked like an NFL starting QB on Sunday, which is an accomplishment, for your second career start, against a defense like Philadelphia's. His stats were pedestrian (26-50, 240 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT with 5 carries for 40 yards), but he passed the eye test. His throws were mostly accurate and decisive, and he was victimized by quite a few drops, at least 6 or 7.

l. I haven't gotten a great look at Jason Peters yet this regular season, and I have been wanting to. Sunday's game didn't show me much, because Gaines Adams just looks clueless on the field. LDE Jimmy Wilkerson got 3 sacks for the Buccaneers, and lazy analysis would lead me to criticize RT Winston Justice, who I am typically not a big fan of. Thing is, I looked at the plays, and none were particularly bad plays by Justice. One was an overload, where the RG picked up Wilkerson, and on the other two, Donovan McNabb rolled into a decently-blocked Wilkerson.

m. ST&NO favorite Channing Crowder had a fantastic game on Monday Night, and really backed up his smack talk from the spring with Rex Ryan. Another ST&NO favorite, Sean Smith, did not have a particularly great game. He struggled a little with Braylon Edwards, and while he didn't embarass himself, he has looked a lot better in other games. He was still the best CB the Dolphins had, as Vontae Davis and Will Allen both struggled worse.

n. I called this just last Tuesday with Edwards. He got out of Cleveland, and he's going to flourish in New York. He always thought of Cleveland as a non-cosmopolitan place, even to a greater extent than what is really true. (It's medium in its cosmopolitan-ness; well behind the major cities, but well ahead of a place like Jacksonville.) Edwards also felt like Ohio fans secretly hated him because he is a Michigan guy. The enmity between OSU and Michigan people is pretty real, for Big 10 country anyway, but Clevelanders are almost universally Browns fans before they're OSU fans. It's an NFL town, first, no question about it. If Edwards did well for the Browns, he'd have gotten plenty of love here.

My read on Edwards' personality, from living in the same town, is that the fact that he comes from a fairly affluent, two-parent, suburban background works against his ability to be a great player. He knows he has options outside of football. Poor kids need football, and many dedicate themselves fully to it, but I don't think Edwards has ever felt like he needs it. (For an example, there's the famous story of him asking Will Demps how to get into modeling and acting, between plays, during a game with the Texans).

I expect that Edwards will be very good for the Jets, and get himself a good contract extension after this season. New York is the town he wants to be in, and at his best, he can be like Tiki Barber, a guy who is interested in a lot of other stuff, but finally focuses pretty well on football, and has some good years under some tough coaching. Just don't be the person who believes the nonsense about him being a bad player, because he is not one.

n. The Dolphins offensive line is really one-dimensional, because their Tackles, Jake Long and Vernon Carey, severely lack foot quickness. Both guys can really move defenders off the ball in the running game, though. I am a big fan of Justin Smiley at LG; he's a mauler. The Dolphins do well in their wildcat stuff, but I think they should play more with their QB under center, to generate opportunities in the play-action game. It's the only way their QB will ever be able to consistently take a very deep dropback, unless they want to max-protect with a limited pattern.

o. Wow.... two successful fake punts in one first half by the Jets. I don't know if I have ever seen that before. Brad Smith was almost stopped on the second one, but he managed to get away from the tackle.

p. Chad Henne has looked much better than I thought he could play the last two weeks, but I am not sold on some things. For one thing, since when do QBs have lousy, jail-house looking tattoos, or any tattoos at all? It's like when an enlisted guy in the military becomes an officer, and suddenly looks a little different, sporting a bunch of ink. (My buddy who is getting married in Dallas in about 2 weeks is actually one of these.) Anyway, it's weird to see a QB with that going on. As a player, he looked really good, though.

q. Ted Ginn put a pretty humbling move on Darrelle Revis in the 4th quarter Monday Night. When you hear scouts talk about suddenness, Ginn is not a guy who really has it, as opposed to somebody like Percy Harvin, who does. Ginn does, however, have world-class speed once he gets going, and he ran by the outstanding Revis for a go-ahead TD.

r. I usually ignore MNF while I write the bulk of ST&NO on Monday nights, but this Dolphins-Jets game was terrific. Both of these teams are playoff-caliber teams, and only one of them will probably make it.

s. The Packers had a bye week, and signed Mark Tauscher, which was smart. I think he is below-average, (and so is Chad Clifton), but they are a damnsight better than Daryn Colledge and Allen Barbre. If Aaron Rodgers can get sacked only 3-4 times per game, as opposed to 8-9, the Packers would have a better chance to beat good teams. Rodgers does tend to hold the ball too long at times, and I am sure the Packers are working with him on that, as well.

t. There were a lot of lousy games this weekend, which weren't particularly relevant to anything. I didn't bother with them. (That means you, Buffalo-Cleveland and Washington-Carolina.)

4. Between The Lines - Patriots at Broncos

a. The Patriots pass-protected very well in this game, much better than I expected them to. Matt Light and Nick Kaczur really held their own against Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, and others. The Broncos mostly tried to play coverage, and generally didn't blitz a lot, but the Patriots handled their 3- and 4-man rushes virtually every time. Once Light was injured, and replaced by Sebastian Vollmer, I felt like the Patriots expressly didn't want to have him singled up on anybody, and they got more conservative with their protection calls. Of course, on the key play where Vonnie Holliday sacked and stripped Brady, and Dumervil recovered, that was only a 4-man rush, and Vollmer was the victim. The Patriots won this battle on volume, but he Broncos got the biggest play.

b. The Broncos also were outstanding in protection. Orton was never significantly pressured during the game, and the two sacks he took were both coverage sacks, delivered by LBs Rob Ninkovich and Tully Banta-Cain. Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris were outstanding as usual. Although Clady did have Banta-Cain on his sack, it's hard to call the play Ryan's fault. Pressure up the middle forced Orton to step backwards, into the area where Clady had ridden Banta-Cain. Sometimes you take a hit for doing your job right. The interior was strong in protection too, especially Chris Kuper. He does a great job anchoring against power rushers. The Broncos were terrific in this area, and won it going away.

c. The Patriots seemed to want to run the ball at Ryan McBean and Mario Haggan, and had a bit of success at it early with Sammy Morris. After that, they seemed to get away from that plan, only running much from shotgun looks. The Broncos defensive line was up to the task, consistently holding the line of scrimmage, as they have in all five games. Noteworthy performances were turned in by Ronald Fields, Le Kevin Smith, and Kenny Peterson, in addition to McBean. These big guys just continue to hold up. Logan Mankins was tough for the Patriots, and Dan Koppen was steady and crafty. Kaczur had a couple nice early blocks on the opening possession too. This battle was pretty even, in the final analysis.

d. Vince Wilfork was the best all-around player on the field on Sunday, and he couldn't be blocked. If the Patriots don't pay him, I'll be shocked, but there are actually rumblings that they may not. The rest of the Patriots defensive line got pushed around in the running game. The Broncos blockers were terrific in opening up holes for Knowshon Moreno and LaMont Jordan. Clady, Harris, and Kuper were especially noteworthy for their efforts in the running game. Wilfork did make a key stop on third-and-short, and blew up Hamilton on the play. Moreno's 4.2 yard average was a lot better than teams usually get from the Patriots. This is a win for the Broncos.

e. Remember a year ago, when the Patriots physically dominated the Broncos on both lines? That did not happen Sunday. The matchup was pretty even, with a slight edge going to the Broncos. This was very important to the final outcome of the game, as always.

(I am scrapping the BTL feature for another game. I am pretty overloaded lately, and I need to save the 90 minutes per week. It seemed like the best place to cut from. Sorry for anybody who will miss it.)

5. Weird comment from Pat Kirwan on NFL.com:

5. Things I didn't like

When the visiting Patriots lost the coin toss in overtime and the Broncos drove the field and kicked a winning field goal, it left me wanting more than that to decide a winner. Wouldn't it have been great if, after Denver's field goal, Tom Brady had one drive to score a touchdown?

Is Kirwan saying that Brady should get even more special treatment, because he's Brady, or is he saying that the NFL should allow both teams to get the ball at least once in overtime, as a rule for all teams? I typically like Kirwan's work, but this has me pretty confused.

And for the record, I don't think it would have been great if Brady had one drive to score a touchdown. To me, moving down the field after winning the toss, and kicking a winning FG is legitimate. I also think the Broncos play-calling would have been a bit different, once Knowshon Moreno got them inside the 30, if they felt like they really needed to play for a TD.

6. Big up Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post, for reminding us, via Twitter, of somebody who hasn't come forth with their mea culpa yet. I'm looking at you, Rick Reilly, purveyor of puff pieces.

Actually, Reilly's words were more mean-spirited than anybody's, so he really owes Josh McDaniels an apology.

@DenverBroncos : Deadspin compiles all the not-so-nice things Rick Reilly wrote about McDaniels last spring. Pretty interesting. http://deadspin.com/5379838/delighting-in-rick-reillys-massively-wrong-broncos-predictions

I don't normally read Deadspin, but nice work by Tommy Creggs here. Some interesting reminders:

Reilly on April 3rd: "And none of it would've happened without McDaniels' ham-handed style and his Macy's-balloon ego. I have a buddy who honestly believes McDaniels thinks this is fantasy football; that Pat Bowlen gave him a whole team to play with and screw over in his own image and what the hell, if his moves don't work out, his league has a special "mulligan" rule and he can start over. Only there's no "oops" rule in the NFL. Years from now, the Cutler Catastrophe will go down as the dumbest thing in Boy Blunder's very short coaching career. By then, perhaps he will be your waiter at Olive Garden."

That was right after the Cutler trade. Nice, huh? Try this one out:

Reilly on April 29th: "To repeat: Boy Blunder used a [first-round pick] to take a second. And if the Broncos are going to be as lame as I think they're going to be-4-12 perhaps-that first-round pick will be very high. McDaniels is the worst combination of things: Terribly naïve and doubly confident. Bronco fans, you're screwed."

And one more pearl;

Reilly on September 29th: "You can't just bolt your team because you think it's going to suck. (Which the Broncos are. There is no debating that. They are going to lose more than France. Just because you worked under Bill Belichick and you wear your sweatshirt like Bill Belichick does not mean you are Bill Belichick.)"

I would have been glad to debate Reilly on September 29th, or any other day. And if Josh McDaniels was my waiter at Olive Garden, I'd tip him pretty well, because I tip well, and because I bet the service would be outstanding.

I mean, like they say on ESPN, C'mon Man! This drivel was worse than what came from any of the serious-ish reporters, right? Your garden-variety John Clayton, Peter King, or Don Banks were smug and disconnected from reality, but it wasn't personal. With Reilly, this was clearly PERSONAL. Where are you at, Rick? Being a Denver guy, I suspect you'll see this, or at least hear about it, from somebody who does. Ted Bartlett from MileHighReport.com wants to know where you're at with this today, and is directly, publicly asking, on behalf of the thousands who realize how wrong you were, and think we have a great Head Coach.

Hell, if I find out that Chad Henne's tattoo is actually beautifully and tastefully done, and I had it all wrong, you can bet that I'll man up to it publicly. Same goes for anything I ever say, in all seriousness. Maybe accountability to readers is a blogger thing, I don't know.

7. Retired for John Elway

8. So, there's a hellaciously stupid line of thought that's circulating throughout the punditry (as always, meant negatively.) It seems that there are two kinds of people: those who dichotomize, and those who don't. The punditry tends to dichotomize, and there are two kinds of coaches right now. Hot Coordinators (including some retreads like Mike Nolan, Gregg Williams, and Mike Mularkey), and Super Bowl Winning Retreads. And lemme tell you, nobody wants a Retread. Why not? Because they're Retreads, stupid!

My favorite contrarian Andrew Perloff tells us so in his crack column Against The Grain: ("A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis." Just in case you were wondering....)

3. The NFL information men are hot on the trail of finding out where former Super Bowl-winning coaches like Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren and Bill Cowher will end up. But shouldn't we be asking ourselves if those coaches are the right hires for franchises like Washington, Dallas and Carolina? A retread coach with a ring is still just a retread. Duplicating that kind of success is still a longshot in the NFL. Some of the organization problems within those teams would cause just as big a headache for a proven winner.

Perloff has a point about the organization problems, but calling somebody a retread, and assuming that they suddenly can't coach is asinine. Analysts who don't know how to analyze always look for correlation, and assume causation, where there often is none.

Some teams, like the Redskins and Cowboys, will almost certainly make big-splash hires. Some, like the Bills and Jaguars, will be cost conscious, and probably hire a coordinator. Some, like the Panthers, could go either way. You can believe that whatever is deemed to be the trend du jour, (probably hiring coordinators), the other path will be criticized. Such is life with the dichotomizing punditry.

9. Another fun Ted Bartlett prognostication from the preseason:

The Broncos are going to have the best defense in the AFC West.

I guess I am just hot this year. :)

That's all I have for this week. Have a great Tuesday, and beyond, and we'll see you Saturday for Lighting Up The Scoreboard, even as I will be at Notre Dame this weekend for their game against USC. It will be my first time seeing Touchdown Jesus, so we'll see what that does for me as a guy who grew up Catholic. Maybe I will tweet from the game. Follow me at @TedBartlett905. Thanks for reading, and go Broncos!!!

Henne, Brown, and Williams lead Dolphins to outstanding comeback win over Jets

Matty I — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:26:46 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Ronnie Brown celebrates after scoring the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Jets (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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After the last Jets touchdown, the one that put them ahead by three points with 5:19 left, those thoughts about how much I hate writing these posts after losses started creeping into the back of my head. Thirteen plays later, I was quickly reminded that I should really never doubt the Miami Dolphins - when they wear the orange jersey, of course. That's when Ronnie Brown took the 'Wildcat' snap with ten seconds remaining and powered his way into the endzone to give the Dolphins a 31-27 win over the Jets in what will become a Monday Night Football instant classic.

Now us Dolphin fans can go into the bye week with our sanity intact.

So it is with much joy that we know talk about what we saw a few hours ago at Land Shark Stadium.

Henne has huge game in just second career start
Remember I said before Chad Henne's first career start that I wasn't going to buy into any of the hype? I said I'd wait until I saw something out of Henne with my own eyes. Well, my wait is obviously over.

While Henne did a decent job against Buffalo in his first career start at managing the game, he displayed some "special" qualities in Monday night's win over the Jets. He showed the poise of a veteran. He showed the arm strength of a great gun-slinger. And all told, he showed that he just might be the long awaited solution to Miami's long-term quarterback problem.

There were numerous defining moments in this win that involved Chad Henne. Let's talk about just some of them.

How about the two types of Henne's arm strength, which he displayed on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter. The first is the ability to zip it into a tight spot, which he showed on that critical 3rd & 3 play with 11 minutes left in the game - throwing a bullet to Anthony Fasano, who had David Harris draped all over him. On the next play, Henne then showed that ability to fling it deep but with great touch and accuracy - dropping a 50 yard pass right into the arms of Ted Ginn. It was perfectly in stride and was just an outstanding throw.

How about the ability to make perfect throws in the most pressure-packed moments late in a football game? Yup, he showed that the moment isn't bigger than he is. I think back to two critical plays on that eventual game-winning drive. The first was a 3rd & 5 play from NY's 30 with 2 minutes left. Henne took the snap and quickly floated a beautiful pass out left that was perfectly placed into the arms of Greg Camarillo. Three plays later, Henne rolled out right on a 3rd & 10 play, and threw a perfectly accurate pass on the run to Camarillo for another first down.

All game long, Henne also showed great awareness in the pocket, went through his progressions well, made good decisions, and showed that he has the toughness in the pocket to deliver an accurate ball with a defender bearing down and knowing a hit was coming.

Let's talk some numbers now. The Jets came into the game with the 6th ranked passing defense in the NFL, allowing just 177 yards passing per game. Henne threw for 241. The Jets were second in the league in QB rating against, with opponents having a combined QB rating of 56.4 when facing the Jets. Chad Henne's quarterback rating on Monday night was 130. That's better than Drew Brees (78.9) and Tom Brady (53.1) - despite those two teams having far better receivers.

Of course, don't underestimate the effect Miami's terrific ground attack has. Chad Henne was 7 for 7 when using play-action for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns.

I did just need to point out one thing from after the game. Rex Ryan, when speaking to the media, said, "We made that quarterback look like Dan Marino." Three problems with that. First of all, no. Marino would have put up even more yards and points. Second of all, "that quarterback" has a damn name - I suggest learning it. And third of all, could it be that Chad Henne made your defense look foolish rather than your defense making Henne look great? Just a thought.

Defense disappoints, but isn't as terrible as it looks
Obviously, the Dolphins didn't play very well defensively. They let one of the NFL's worst offenses (though they did have a new play-making receiver making his Jet debut) put up 27 points and gain over 300 yards of total offense. But before I talk about the negatives, let me just defend them a little.

Ten of New York's points came on drives in which the Jets picked up first downs out of their punt formation. In theory, those drives "should have" been over. Another three points came before the half when the Dolphins were clearly playing too conservative, giving the Jets the football at their own 44. And another touchdown came courtesy of a phantom pass interference call on Will Allen, who was defending Braylon Edwards but did nothing to even remotely deserve that flag. Even ESPN and NFL Network analysts agreed. That gave the Jets the ball at Miami's three. Who knows how that drive ends if that call isn't made.

I also wouldn't blame the defense for that ridiculous catch made by Edwards along the left sideline early in the fourth quarter. Perhaps Vontae Davis could have played the ball better in the air. Perhaps Gibril Wilson should have gotten over there quicker. Regardless, it was an amazing catch that only a handful of receivers probably make. Sometimes you just have to tip your cap and that is an example of when to do so.

With all that said, there are still issues. Sean Smith, who put together a solid game all told, did miss a tackle early in the game turning a short pass into 19 yard gain. But that'll get corrected.

Will Allen did struggle. Even with that phantom pass interference call, Braylon still beat him and a more accurate pass results in a catch. He was also beat inside by Edwards for NY's first touchdown. He needs to step up. He played much better last year.

Vontae Davis also had some very bad plays. The most glaring was when he was caught peeking into the backfield on the play-action completion to David Clowney that resulted in 53 yards. Davis should have never gotten beat that badly. But he's an aggressive corner who will have to learn not to peek and bite on the play-action. Rookie mistake right there.

The rushing defense also struggled against what is a very talented NY offensive line. I really didn't envision the Jets gaining 138 yards on the ground (though to be fair, 26 of them came on a run by the punter). It seemed like every time Leon Washington touched the ball, he made had a hole to squeeze through, made a defender miss, and was one or two missed tackles away from a huge gain.

The biggest issue I had on the defensive side of the ball, however, was Miami's inability to get to Mark Sanchez. The Dolphins had one sack and forced one intentional grounding penalty. But on Mark's 20 or so other drop-backs, he had all the time in the world. Where were Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, and Cameron Wake? Did Porter even play tonight?

Ronnie & Ricky: What more can you say?
What is there to say about these two that hasn't already been said? They are simply outstanding. I'm now ready to call the Dolphins the best rushing team in the NFL. They ran for 150 yards on a talented Jets defense. That's just impressive - with a nod to the offensive line, of course, which just dominated the trenches.

Nobody runs the 'Wildcat' like Ronnie Brown. It's a beautiful thing to watch, to be honest. He has the vision, patience, burst, and power needed to effectively orchestrate the formation. I just hope the Dolphins' front office and coaching staff realize how special Ronnie is.

And did anyone see Ronnie up on the bench when the defense was on the field, trying to fire up the fans? I love it!

Ricky Williams, meanwhile, continues to thrive in his role as the complimentary back. He still has that terrific acceleration and power. But we saw on that screen pass that his long speed isn't what is used to be. In his prime, Ricky takes that to the house. But the man is 32 years old - which makes what he can do even more impressive.

One thing he shouldn't do anymore, though, is take the snap out of the 'Wildcat.' He just doesn't have what it takes to be consistently effective as the "quarterback" of that formation. Leave that role to Ronnie.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
If the Dolphins didn't pull out the win, I knew exactly what the "turning point" was going to be - the first fake punt that resulted in a 26 yard gain. But the Dolphins did win - and the turning point of the game, in my opinion, was that beautiful pass to Greg Camarillo on 3rd & 5 from NY's 30 with two minutes left. If Henne doesn't make that absolutely perfect throw to Camarillo against NY's jailbreak blitz, the Dolphins are facing a 4th down with 1:55 left and a 48 yard field goal needed to tie the game. But the Jets would have gotten the ball back with over a minute and a half left and some timeouts in hand, only needing a FG to win.

So Henne to Camarillo on 3rd & 5 with two minutes to go was Monday night's "turning point."

QUICK HITS
Some more quick thoughts on the win:

The Dolphins desperately need a kick returner. Patrick Cobbs will never get the job done. He averaged just 18 yards per return on Monday. And on his three returns, the Dolphins began their drives at their own 21, 16, and 16 yard lines. At least Ted Ginn got it across the 30 on his lone return. He should probably handle the duties until the team finds a better option.
Some cool stats. The Jets came into the game ranked 4th in total defense, surrendering 277 yards per game. They were also 5th in 3rd down conversions allowed, only letting opponents convert 31% of their 3rd downs. The Dolphins gained 413 yards and converted 64% of their 3rd downs. That's impressive.
I alluded to it earlier but will say it again. I hate the conservative play-calling on Miami's final 1st half drive. Take some shots at at least converting a first down. Don't let the Jets get the ball back near midfield. That was playing "not to lose." And it almost cost them.
Too many penalties almost cost the Dolphins.
Ted Ginn made one play. Yes, it was a big one. But let's not go overboard. Let's just hope this starts to build his confidence back up and is a sign of things to come from the speedster.
Nice to see Anthony Fasano making some plays again. But still, tight end will be a position of need next offseason.
Was that really Channing Crowder making a play in the backfield? Yes it was, folks. But it was also Crowder getting lit up by little Leon Washington.
Why did it seem like the ESPN announcers were making verbal love to the Jets all game long? Oh - because they were, that's why. I felt like I was listening to New York's local radio announcers all game long.
Speaking of the telecast, I'm all for recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month. Hell - my girlfriend is half Cuban. But holy crap - do we need to see Spanish graphics and hear penalty calls in Spanish during the game? Really? During "Asian Heritage Month," do I get to look forward to hearing the ref speak Mandarin, too?
Injury updates after the game, via Ethan Skolnick. Patrick Cobbs left on crutches. Teammates don't think he'll play again this year. Tough loss for sure. Meanwhile, Ricky Williams - who was seen limping off the field, but did return later in the final drive - "looked fine" leaving the locker room. That's good news. But now Lex Hilliard will have two weeks to get ready to roll as the third back in the 'Wildcat.'