SB Nation - Jason Taylor

Jets Flight Connections 121009

dvdvil — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:15:55 -0000

HC Rex Ryan decided that QB Mark Sanchez will not play this Sunday. Rich Cimini reminds us that he thought of it first.

Fellow rookie and first round pick QB Matthew Stafford will not start either.

Fellow rookie and first round pick QB Josh Freeman is getting ready for the Jets game.

The Buccaneers have their work cut out for them, and having WR Michael Clayton might help.

The state of the upcoming opponent had nothing to do with the Sanchize being inactive. Attached to Dave Hutchinson's article are videos of Rex, Mark and back-up QB Kellen Clemens.

Hofstra product and Tampa Bay HC Raheem Morris knows the Jets just plan to run the ball anyway.

Clemens will get another chance to start, possibly his last shot to show what he can do. WR Braylon Edwards compares Kellen's situation to Browns QB Derek Anderson's experience.

The Jets and the Giants are keeping New York somewhat optimistic.

Former Giants RB Tiki Barber thought Mark would be okay to play.

Speaking of RBs, I once again urge you to vote early and vote often for Thomas Jones for FedEx Ground Player of the Week.

And again, you can send CB Darrelle Revis and other Jets all-stars to Miami by voting them in the ProBowl.

More connections after the jump.

Here is a nice summation of the Jets' clearest path to the playoffs.

ESPN.com says the Jets are in good position with their running backs.

RB Leon Washington is a big bargain. Browns HC Eric Mangini thinks highly of him.

Do the Jets actually have "the best front seven" out of the top five defensive teams right now?

This article names Darrelle Revis as Defensive Player of the Week.

This blogger compares Revis to 1994 Defensive Player of the Year Deion Sanders.

This blogger, for some reason, compares and contrasts the Jets to the Cowboys over the years.

Even K Jay Feely should have a productive Sunday for fantasy football. Pick Thomas Jones for your running back this week, as well as the Jets defense.

This article mentions Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew's no-TD play against New York, as well as his experience with Jets fans.

University of Washington QB Jake Locker looks at Mark Sanchez's decision to turn pro.

Even though Patriots QB Tom Brady recently became a daddy, he still made it to work on time, unlike these guys.

New England activated DL Titus Adams, who used to be on the Jets practice squad.

San Diego activated DT Antonio Garay, who used to be on the Jets practice squad.

Miami LBs Jason Taylor and Joey Porter did not practice.

Bills WR Terrell Owens says, "Just shoot me."

And lastly, here is a video of the Jets defensive players talking about their squad:

Web Rumblings: Buffalo Bills Links, 12/5

MattRichWarren — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:13:22 -0000

Jackson still lead back – Inside The Bills
"Fred is still our featured back," said interim coach Perry Fewell. "We’re just trying to get our playmakers the football. It wasn’t a conscious effort to not give Marshawn the football."

Buffalo Bills' receivers fall short of expectations | Democrat and Chronicle
"Owens and Evans are culpable in Buffalo's offensive fizzle, too. Neither Owens nor Evans has done particularly well regardless of how many defenders are covering them, and that was readily apparent against the Jets."

D-line grinding | BuffaloBills.com
"Buffalo’s starting defensive line turned in 25 tackles against the Jets with almost a quarter of them (6) going for loss in the game with three others going for no gain. They also had four of the team’s five sacks in the game."

Jets/Toronto Leftovers
Line woes encourage Bills' foes to blitz : Buffalo Bills : The Buffalo News
"The Jets blitzed relentlessly on third downs. The Bills could not give quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick enough time to throw downfield. The Bills converted just 1 of 11 third-down situations."

Jets in Toronto - Gang Green Nation
Gang Green Nation gave away two tickets to a father and son. He shared his game experience there.

Final Word: AFC East - AFC East Blog - ESPN
- Toronto doesn't seem to care much about the Bills playing in their town.
- Marshawn Lynch finally looked like himself Thursday night.

Bills in Toronto Tonight, but No Buzz | wgrz.com
"If you walked down Younge Street, which is the largest street in Canada today, and say what's going on tomorrow, most people would say I don't know. There is no buzz about the Buffalo Bills playing the New York Jets tomorrow night here."

Sports on the Air: Millen gets high grades for Xs and Os : The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News TV critic, Alan Pergament, analyzes the broadcast from Thursday night.

Plenty T.O. ponder | Football | Sports | Calgary Sun
"Beyond that, North America's most popular pro league has every reason to consider Toronto as a home for a team. And the gorilla-sized one is, well, size: Toronto's metro population (5.1 million in 2006) would make it 10th largest in the U.S., ahead of such areas as Boston, Detroit, Phoenix, San Francisco and 18 others that lay claim to NFL clubs."

Grounded: Buffalo surrenders six yards a snap and falls to 4-8 with loss in Toronto
"Perry Fewell swears his team wasn’t outmuscled ... but with all due respect he would be wrong," says Chuck Pollack.

Bills-Jets notebook: Buffalo’s last prime time win came in 2001
"Anybody entering the Rogers Centre can’t miss two enormous photos attached to the windows. Those two ill-timed photos have been fodder for Toronto columnists to point out the front office failings of both franchises."

Whoop, there it is : Bills & NFL : The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News first quarter report.

Ground control : Bills & NFL : The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News second quarter report from the Jets game.

Catching on fast : Bills & NFL : The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News third quarter report from the Jets game.

Getting the boot : Bills & NFL : The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News fourth quarter report and wrap from the Jets game.

T.O. doesn't pass the test against Revis | National Football Post
"Revis is playing the best football of anyone at his position this year—better than Champ, Woodson, etc—but we used to expect T.O. to win these matchups, regardless," says former Bills DB Matt Bowen

Hog Town First Down | The Goose's Roost
TGR has provided us with a look at the promo video from Toronto about the Bills coming to town.

Other News and Notes
WGR 550 SportsRadio - Let's find some Bills truths
Nick Mendola gives general focus points for what the Bills should do this offseason as well as lists of who can stay and who can go.

Fan Friday 12-4 – Inside The Bills
Chris Brown answers questions on the Toronto series being divisional games, Nic Harris, switching to the 3-4, the jerseys ("Not expecting it to change any time soon."), and the QB position into 2010.

Between the Lines: Who's Given Up The Most Sacks -- NFL FanHouse
Jonathan Scott has given up the fourteenth-most sacks in the NFL but is allowing an average of 2.7 seconds for the QB to throw the ball on those attempts.

Bills to report back Monday – Inside The Bills
After three games in 11 days the Bills were given the weekend off by interim head coach Perry Fewell.

Miami Dolphins LB Jason Taylor: Fined for hit on Bills' QB -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Miami Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor has been fined $5,000 by the NFL for his hit on Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick on Sunday.

Indianapolis Colts worked out former Buffalo Bills quarterback J.P. Losman - ESPN
The Indianapolis Colts worked out former Bills quarterback J.P. Losman Friday.

Driver who hurt 7 after Bills game pleads guilty : Northern Suburbs : The Buffalo News
Brandon McLean pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular assault, reckless endangerment, assault and driving while impaired by alcohol and drugs. He faces about 25 years in prison.

Rauch, Knox deals a bargain; Jauron’s record in middle : Buffalo Bills : The Buffalo News
Mark Gaughan answers questions on paying top coaches in Buffalo's past, the worst coach in Bills history, moving the Thanksgiving game from Detroit, and how much of players and coaches contract are guaranteed.

No jail for theft of $70,000 from Bills : Buffalo/Erie County : The Buffalo News
"Former Buffalo Bills employee Bonnie Krauss, who had been indicted for stealing more than $70,000 from the team, was spared a jail term Friday by a Buffalo judge."

5 Questions: Patriots @ Dolphins

MaPatsFan — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:09:41 -0000

More photos » by Hans Deryk - AP

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Moving on. Divisional game. Miami Dolphins at home. That's all that matters right now. Just as our favorite team and players are doing, it's time to stop mourning and start figuring out how we can make this a W. I'm not simply being nice when I way Miami gives New England trouble. More than any other division rival, they seem to know us pretty well and know our tendencies. However, in the last 5 games, we're 4-1 against the Fins and with Tom Brady under center, 3-0. That being said, Miami has managed an impressive 3rd in yards per game rushing...and that's WITHOUT Ronnie Brown. I also believe Head Coach Tony Sparano has been burning the midnight oil watching game film from our Saints matchup.

But on to the Dolphins. As is our custom, Head Blogger Matty I of The Phinsider and I exchanged questions on our upcoming matchup. Matty offered some excellent insight into how his team is doing this year and how some of the young guys have progressed.

Read on after the jump...

What impact has Ronnie Brown's absence had on the Dolphins? Can you think of any situations where his presence might've swung a game in your favor?

Well the Dolphins have only played two full games since Brown went down with his foot injury. In those two games, the Dolphins are 1-1. But I'll admit I can't help but think that if Ronnie was still healthy, the Dolphins wouldn't have lost to Buffalo last week.

Why? First off all, the 'Wildcat' really lacks any teeth without Brown. Ricky Williams is a talented back and all - but he's not nearly as good as the 'Wildcat' triggerman as Ronnie is. Truth be told, Brown is the 'Wildcat.' Secondly, I get the feeling that offensive coordinator Dan Henning doesn't attempt that ridiculous 'Wildcat' pass on first and goal from the three yard line against Buffalo on their first drive of the game last week - which resulted in an interception, of course. If Brown was healthy and the 'Wildcat' was as effective as usual, I think they decide to just pound it in. Also, if they were planning on throwing it there out of the 'Wildcat,' at least it would have been Ronnie - who has experience and some success throwing the football - rather than Ricky. In fact, Ronnie might decide to not even make the throw after seeing how the defense reacts. Ricky, on the other hand, doesn't have the experience and tried to force it in.

Most importantly, though, is how I think too much of the load is falling on Ricky's shoulders. The Dolphins got away from running the ball in the second half. And I can't help but think that if the Dolphins had a healthy Brown to go with Ricky, Dan Henning wouldn't have gotten away from the running game.

The bottom line is simple: Ronnie Brown was this offense's best player. And they aren't the same offense without him.

The Dolphins are #3 in rushing yards per game. Tell us about some of the guys who have stepped up in Brown's absence.

Well since Brown went down, it's mainly been Ricky Williams as the guy who has stepped up. Beginning with the game against Tampa Bay three weeks ago, Ricky has three consecutive 100 yard rushing games. He had just one all of last season. In fact, he hasn't had a run of 100 yard games like this since November of 2003. Dolphin fans everywhere just hope that he can keep it up as the increased workload takes its toll on him.

The other player who has stepped up - and who will probably see more carries on Sunday than he ever has - is running back Lex Hilliard. Hilliard is a second year player (spent '08 on practice squad) out of Montana who is a big, physical runner with lots of power. And he got his first career carry just two weeks ago against the Panthers. It was a 3rd & 16 and Hilliard ran up the middle, bouncing off defenders, for 18 yards and a first down. But in his two weeks of experience, he has just 9 carries for 46 yards. The coaches, I'm sure, just wanted to ease him into the role. Keep in mind that Hilliard is this team's fourth running back and just narrowly made the cut out of training camp. But injuries to Brown and to third running back Patrick Cobbs has thrust Hilliard into a bigger role. So far, he's looked promising in limited action. But I think he'll see a good 7 to 10 carries on Sunday - his biggest test yet.

Now that Jason Taylor has been around for a while, do you feel like he's been able to make significant contributions on the field or do you feel he's more valuable as a veteran locker room guy?

It's hard to know for sure how much of an impact in the locker room Jason Taylor has had this year. Keep in mind that this is a team that is not short on locker room leaders, especially on defense (Jason Ferguson and Joey Porter, for example). But it says a lot that Taylor was voted one of the team's captains back in the preseason by his teammates even after that ugly 2008 offseason mess that resulted in his trade to Washington.

On the field, Taylor has made significant contributions. Has he been as good as he was when he was younger? Of course not. But to even expect that is crazy. He's still an effective pass rusher, though. He is tied for second on the team with 6 sacks and probably gets more pressure on the quarterback than anyone else on this team other than Cameron Wake. Throw in a fumble return for a touchdown and an interception that set the Dolphins up deep in opponent territory - and yes, I'm pretty happy he's back in Miami.

Chad Henne was going to ease into the roll of starting quarterback until Chad Pennington's season ended abruptly. Was Henne's "instant" promotion a positive or a negative? Where have you seen Henne improve and where has he struggled?

I don't want to say his promotion was either a positive or a negative. He obviously brings something to this offense that they didn't have with Chad Pennington under center - a big arm. But that doesn't replace all of the things that Pennington brought to the table. His accuracy, his knowledge of the game, his leadership. With all that said, however, Henne's promotion to the starting role this season is definitely a positive in terms of what it means to this franchise's future.

As far as his play is concerned, his big arm comes as advertised. He can make all of the throws. We've seen his decision making improve. He had a tendency of holding onto the ball too long. But recently, we've seen him throw the ball away when necessary. And outside of last week's game, he hasn't really had issues with forcing the ball into coverage. I've also been impressed with Henne's ability to roll out and throw on the run.

But there are two main areas that Henne still needs to improve in. One - his accuracy. Sometimes he's perfectly on the money. Other times he's off. It's more of a consistency issue than an accuracy issue - which is a good thing. He has the ability to be extremely accurate. He just needs to be more consistent. Two - his tendency to stare down receivers. This is the biggest issue, in my opinion. He still tends to telegraph where he's going to throw by staring down his receiver. But I've seen him do this less and less as he has gained experience. Hopefully this is just something that goes away as he gets more comfortable in this offense with these receivers.

In our last matchup, Brady threw for 332 yards, 147 of those to Randy Moss. Do you feel like the Dolphins' young secondary has made some positive strides? Is Vontae Davis the guy who will get Moss and if so, will Randy Moss have a tough day?

I think that Vontae Davis and Sean Smith have definitely made some positive strides. And every time either one gives up a big pass, I see it as a learning experience for those two kids. With that said, I'm very worried about Sunday because it's beginning to look like both of those two young corners are hitting the dreaded "rookie wall." Most rookies only played in 12 or 13 games per year at the college level. We're now getting to that point where their bodies aren't used to taking this weekly pounding. And if either of them are a step slower because of this, Sunday could be a long day.

As far as who covers who, I'm still not too sure. I thought we'd see more of Sean Smith on Randy Moss last time - simply because of his size. But Vontae got the duty last time and didn't play poorly outside of one or two plays. Unfortunately, you can't give up one or two big plays per game and hope to win. The only thing I can guarantee you is that we'll see plenty of Nate Jones covering Wes Welker whenever Wes is lined up in the slot. Outside of that, it's anyone's guess.

A big shoutout to Matty I from for his most excellent answers. Head on over to The Phinsider for my answers to his questions.

Focus on the Dolphins - Patriots prepare for another divisional matchup

MaPatsFan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:47:01 -0000

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Hoodie likes Jason Taylor. He likes him so much that he went after him during the off season. Taylor ultimately made the right decision and decided to go back home for the 2009 season. 2010? Taylor's keeping an open mind:

"We’ll see what happens after the season’s over," Taylor just said on a conference call. "I know my deal ends at the end of the year and we’ll reevaluate at the end of the year, and what the teams are wanting to do and go from there. You never close off any of your options, you don’t burn any bridges and you always keep an open mind."

Taylor's no dummy. Belichick would have Jason's babies if he could. He loves the guy. Even in his mid thirties he could make an impact on a Patriots defense suffering from "No pass rush-itis". However, I still don't think Taylor should come here and it's not for any football reason - well sort of. Turn the tables and think about this for a minute: if Mike Vrabel became available, would you want him going to the Miami Dolphins? I can't see it. Same situation. I don't think a Fins fan could tolerate Taylor rocking a Flying Elvis.

After a very disappointing smackdown in the Big Easy, we're back to the AFC and a division rival. As you all know, conference games, especially division ones, are key. You could have the weakest division on the planet but as long as you win it, you're playing in January. Remember how aggravated we were last year? 11-5 and we lose a tiebreaker to the Dolphins while an 8-8 Chargers heads to the playoffs. With our remaining schedule (Dolphins, Panthers, Bills, Jaguars, Texans), it appears we don't have much standing in our way. I know, any given Sunday but you know what I mean.

Is there a loss in there? If there is, it could happen in any one of the five remaining games and Miami is just as likely an axeman as any of them. We have traditionally had trouble with the Dolphins, but recently have been 3-0 with Brady at the helm (2007: 2-0, 2009: 1-0). Read what you want into it. I always think Miami spells trouble, especially when we play them in their house.

The absence of Ronnie Brown is an issue, but the Fins' rushing offense still ranks third in yards per game. Not too shabby when you lose one of your best running backs. I'll be writing more about this in the next few days, but I think Belichick will use a similar strategy when facing the Dolphins this time around. That is, pick on the young secondary. Wes Welker seems to have success against Miami and when Randy Moss matches up against talented rookie Vontae Davis, I believe experience wins out.

Face-to-face wins is the first tie breaker for a playoff spot. If it comes down to that (again), it'd be nice to have this one in the W column.

Bills/Dolphins: Five questions with The Phinsider

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

by Rick Havner - AP

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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.

Dolphins vs Bills: Three Key Matchups

Matty I — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:15:08 -0000

More photos » by Lynne Sladky - AP

Good coverage. Good throw. Good dropped pass by Terrell Owens back in week four.

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It's been days now since the Dolphins knocked off the Panthers to get back to .500 but it feels like it's been much longer. But on Sunday, the Dolphins will finally get back on the field and head up to Buffalo to take on the division rival Bills. With the holiday approaching on Thursday, now is probably a good time to start looking ahead to Sunday's game.

So let's focus on three of the most important matchups:

Terrell Owens/Lee Evans vs Sean Smith/Vontae Davis
Sure, the Bills have obvious quarterback problems. But no matter who is under center, receivers like Terrell Owens and Lee Evans are always dangerous. Last week against Jacksonville, in fact, Owens had his best game as a member of the Bills - catching 9 balls for 197 yards and a touchdown. That 197 yard receiving performance was actually the second highest total for Owens since 2000. So don't sleep on him.

Back in week four, the Dolphins did a solid job on Owens and Evans - holding each to just 60 yards receiving. Of course, at that time, the Dolphins did still have Will Allen. And Allen was thrown at three times while covering either Evans or Owens, intercepting two of those passes with the third falling incomplete.

But Vontae Davis and Sean Smith didn't play badly themselves. Smith was thrown at 6 times while covering either Evans or Owens and he allowed 2 receptions for 39 yards. Davis wasn't as effective, allowing 2 completions to Evans for 60 yards on just two targets.

On Sunday, both of the rookies have got to play well and limit the number of big plays either of those two receivers - Buffalo's two biggest play-makers - make during the game.

Miami's interior offensive line/Lousaka Polite vs Paul Posluszny
While Buffalo's rush defense is pretty bad - 31st in the NFL allowing 165 yards per game on the ground - the Bills did manage to limit Maurice Jones-Drew last week to just 66 yards and just 2.6 yards per carry. How did they pull that off? From what I saw of the game, middle linebacker Paul Posluszny was just all over the place making plays - finishing the day with 11 solo tackles (his highest total of the season). And he now looks like he's back in game shape after missing about a month earlier this season due to injury (including the first meeting between these two teams).

Posluszny - when he's healthy - is a beast in the middle of Buffalo's defense. He does a great job recognizing plays and getting to the football. He isn't the fastest or the biggest guy around, but he has a nose for the football (a la Zach Thomas). And since returning from injury, Posluszny has looked like the budding star he is.

The Dolphins will obviously look to pound the rock against this bad rush defense. But to be effective, the Dolphins interior linemen - whether it's Jake Grove or Joe Berger at center - have got to do a better job than the Jaguars did last week at getting Posluszny blocked off. He does only measure in at 238 pounds. And we know that Miami's offensive line is big and nasty. They have to make sure they get through Buffalo's defensive line and get to the second level.

Of course, it's not only the linemen's jobs to do this. Fullback Lousaka Polite - a budding star at the fullback position, if you ask me - also will be asked at times to find #51 and get a hat on him. We've all seen just how tremendous of a run blocker Polite has become and he's coming off what was probably his best game as a Dolphin last week in Carolina. Hopefully we see the "Lousaka Monster" knock a few heads on Sunday - preferably Paul Posluszny. He's a difference maker in Buffalo's defense when he's on the field.

Miami's pass rush vs Buffalo's offensive line
Describing Buffalo's offensive line as bad would be an understatement. They have struggled all season long - including back in week 4 against the Dolphins when Miami sacked Trent Edwards six times. If you remember - and I'm sure you do - that game was Cameron Wake's coming out party, picking up 2.5 sacks. Jason Taylor also had 2.5 sacks. The Dolphins also pressured Edwards on at least 6 or 7 more drop backs.

We've also seen the Dolphins' pass rush really step up the past two games - tallying four sacks in each of their last two. It'll be interesting to see how the snaps get divided between all of Miami's pass-rushing outside linebackers (Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, Cameron Wake, Charlie Anderson). Whoever is out there, though, I anticipate the Dolphins putting consistent pressure on Ryan Fitzpatrick all game long.

The Joey Porter saga continues in Miami, but is he even needed?

Matty I — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:15:08 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

The bench. Perhaps Joey Porter should get used to it.

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In case you haven't heard, Chris Mortensen reported during Monday Night Countdown that Dolphins LB Joey Porter is not expected to play on Thursday night when his team travels up to Carolina to take on the Panthers. In fact, Mortensen added that Porter might not be playing again "anytime soon." And all this comes after Porter was deactivated for this past week's game against Tampa Bay - described by the Dolphins as a "coach's decision."

There have also been multiple reports that the original reason for Porter's deactivation against the Buccaneers was related to Joey, who was nursing an injury and not feeling well, being allowed to leave the facility early to go home. However, Joey allegedly didn't go home - he went "elsewhere." The team learned of this and made the decision to sit him against the Bucs.

But you have to wonder if Mortensen's report on Monday night is actually accurate. Joey spoke to the media earlier on Monday and did said, among other things, "It was coach's decision. There's nothing else to talk about. It's already behind me."

Head coach Tony Sparano made it seem like this whole situation was behind him as well. In fact, he actually defended Porter's lack of production this season when asked about it by the media:

"I see different things that Joey does, different things that Joey has gotten better at, things that you guys won't see unless you watch the film with us. That is a credit to Joey. When you can teach an old dog a new trick — that is a positive."

This is why I'm having a hard time believing Mortensen's report that Porter won't play on Thursday night. Maybe he won't start - and maybe he doesn't even deserve to (we'll get into that in a minute). But you can't sit here and tell me that Joey Porter isn't as good as a guy like Quentin Moses - who would be the player who would get Porter's spot on the 45-player gameday roster if Joey is indeed deactivated again.

I also find it hard to believe that Tony Sparano would tell the media one thing - and defend Joey to the reporters - while bashing him behind closed doors. I just don't see Sparano as that kind of coach - one who would be that disingenuous.

With that said, Sparano did make it clear to the media that he plans to use a rotation among all of his outside linebackers from here on out:

"I will be honest with you and I might have mentioned this after the game, but our plan going in was to have a rotation and we will continue to have a rotation and get as many of these guys in the game that we can get into the game. I think Cameron and Charlie were both productive yesterday so there is no reason for them not to get into the game and play."

This means that, with or without Porter, the Dolphins will continue to rotate in all of their top outside linebackers - Jason Taylor, Charlie Anderson, Cameron Wake, and Matt Roth. But wouldn't the Dolphins benefit from including Porter in this rotation?

You would think so. But it's important to also keep in mind that we don't really know what has been going on behind closed doors. Perhaps Joey was told by Sparano that he would be rotating the outside linebackers in and out of the game more often moving forward and Joey - being the competitor he is - was not happy. Again, that's just speculation - but it would make sense.

Regardless of the reason, however, would the Dolphins really miss Joey Porter on the field if he is indeed deactivated again? The statistics lead you to believe they would not.

On the season, Joey Porter has played 378 defensive snaps. Of those, Porter has 2.5 sacks and 8 quarterback pressures. Meanwhile, everybody's favorite CFL transplant - Cameron Wake - has taken just 90 snaps. In those 90 snaps, Wake has 4.5 sacks and 12 quarterback pressures (which are the most pressures of any Dolphin, one more than Jason Taylor). It's also worth pointing out that Charlie Anderson has taken 92 snaps on defense and has one sack and two quarterback pressures.

If you wanted to average these figures out, Wake is getting a sack or pressuring the quarterback on one out of every six snaps and Anderson one out of every 31 snaps. Porter, meanwhile, is averaging just one sack or pressure out of every 36 snaps.

Of course, Wake is rushing the passer on pretty much every snap he sees. That's what he does. Anderson and Porter are asked to do more - like drop into coverage. You also need to adjust those numbers for opponent's play selection. And if we did that, odds are that Wake sees a much greater ratio of passing plays to running plays than either of the other two.

But still, these stats aren't really telling us something that we haven't seen with our own eyes when watching these games. And the fact has been that, for most of the season, Joey Porter has not been effective at getting to the quarterback. And when you are the weakside outside linebacker in a 3-4, that is your primary job.

If I was Joey, I'd be on my very best behavior - because I think we might be getting to the point where these Miami Dolphins no longer need Joey. Or perhaps Joey has already realized this, possibly resulting in the spat between Porter and the team behind closed doors.

Henne makes big mistake followed by big plays to help Dolphins pull out ugly win

Matty I — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:36:42 -0000

More photos » by Hans Deryk - AP

Miami Dolphins' Joey Haynos (81) and Dan Carpenter (5) celebrate after Carpenter kicked the go-ahead field goal with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter in Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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For some reason, things just can't be easy for the 2009 Miami Dolphins. In a game against the one-win Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dolphins blew a 13 point halftime lead and needed late heroics to just eek out a 25-23 win on Sunday.

Before we discuss the game, though, here's what we know about the injury sustained by Ronnie Brown. He left in the third quarter with an injured right ankle. He had x-rays taken after the game and, according to Armando Salguero, Ronnie told him the x-rays were negative - meaning nothing is broken. But he was on crutches. Ronnie will undergo an MRI on Monday. However, I'm really not expecting to hear that Brown will be available for Thursday's game in Carolina against the Panthers.

Now let's talk more about the game.

Henne's big mistake, and even bigger response
With just 1:52 seconds to go, the Dolphins faced a 3rd down and needed to pick up seven yards to convert and to essentially seal the game. Instead, Chad Henne made a huge rookie mistake - rolling out right and trying to force a throw into traffic. Tampa Bay intercepted the pass and then scored the go-ahead touchdown just four plays later with only 1:15 to go.

The young quarterback could easily have just lost confidence and folded under pressure. Instead, he responded in a big, big way. Following a return gaffe by Ted Ginn, the Dolphins started the final drive of the game at their own 16 yard line with just 1:10 left and one timeout remaining, needing a field goal to win. And all Chad Henne did was make two outstanding throws to Davone Bess for gains of 25 yards and 16 yards. Coupled with a 9 yard pass interference call, the Dolphins were suddenly down at Tampa's 34 yard line with 23 seconds to go. A Ricky Williams 27 yard run on the ensuing play set up the Dolphins to kick the game-winning field goal.

To me, of all the things we saw on Sunday - both good and bad - it was Henne's mental toughness and unwavering confidence that was the biggest story. His physical talent, of course, was just as impressive - making some very nice throws. His two passes to Ted Ginn - which were both incomplete - and his two late-game bullets to Davone Bess were among his best throws of the game. But it was his ability to overcome his own costly mistake - a mistake that almost cost his team the game - that has made me inch ever so closer to thinking Henne very well could be the "franchise quarterback" this team has needed for so very long.

After the game, Henne himself was the first to admit he made a huge mistake, saying:

"In that situation I had a running lane where I could have just slid and we could have gotten the punt off and lived another day."

"I will learn from that definitely."

Henne made the kind of mistake that all young quarterbacks make at least once. But it's rare that he gets to redeem himself in that very same game by then leading his team on the game-winning scoring drive.

Jason Taylor was also impressed:

"I told him after the game, 'You grew up today.'"

"It's a maturation process. He's going to make mistakes. We all make mistakes. I still do after 13 years. The key is to bounce back when you do, and that's what he did today."

The critics will question a number of decisions
Whether it's clock management or play calling, there are bound to be a number of fans who will question Tony Sparano and his coaching staff for a number of decisions they made during Sunday's game. I wanted to quickly address a few.

The first questionable decision was the decision to kick the field goal with 10 seconds left in the first half rather than take a shot into the end zone from Tampa Bay's 12 yard line. But I agree with Tony's decision here. I think you take the guaranteed points in that situation to give yourself a 13 point lead against a team that has only scored 6 points in the first half and is led by a rookie quarterback. Too many things could go wrong if you decide to go for the end zone. There could be a turnover. There could be a sack, which would end the half since Miami had no timeouts left. Or Henne could make the mistake of passing it to a player who isn't in the end zone and that player gets stopped short of the goal line. So I don't see this as a bad decision by the Dolphins.

Sparano did obviously make a clock management mistake when he called a timeout following Ricky's big run with 14 seconds left in the game instead of letting the clock run down, preventing Tampa from ever getting their hands on the ball again. Luckily, this didn't prove to be costly.

Play calling was again an issue. On Miami's first possession of the second half, the Dolphins ran an end-around on a 3rd & 4 with Ted Ginn that resulted in no gain. Bad call. Then later on in the fourth quarter with 6:49 to go and a three point lead, the Dolphins decided to get conservative on a 3rd & 4 and run the ball with Williams - gaining just a yard and settling for a field goal. Again, bad call.

One play call I have no problem with is the play that resulted on Chad Henne's big mistake. The Dolphins were looking at a 3rd & 7 and knew that a first down seals the game. So why not trust your quarterback and go for the win right there on that play? Would I have called a different play? Maybe. But I love the idea of putting the ball in the air. And I guarantee that if the Dolphins had run the football on that play and failed to get the first down, many fans would be crying about how Dan Henning's play calling is too conservative and would kill Sparano for playing "not to lose" instead of playing to win.

My major gripe, though, is that if the coaching staff trusts Chad Henne enough to put the ball in the air in that situation, deep in their own territory, then why not trust him enough to put the ball in the air on a 3rd down earlier in the quarter rather than running it and settling for the field goal? At least be consistent - that's all.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
This one was difficult. If Tampa never makes the comeback, then I think Jason Taylor's interception is the turning point. But Tampa did come back. So I think this week's turning point was Chad Henne's first down strike to Davone Bess over the middle with 1:10 left in the game. The Dolphins were backed up to their own 16 to start the drive but instantly, after one play, were up at the 41 yard line and snapping the next play with about 50 seconds left. It was a huge throw and catch and if Bess doesn't make that grab, I don't know if we're sitting here right now with a 4-5 team.

QUICK HITS
Here are some more quick thoughts on Sunday's game:

Luck was finally on the Dolphins' side on Sunday. Jason Taylor's interception was a "lucky break" for the Dolphins. The refs tried to explain the reasoning behind the call (explained here) but I still don't get it because the receiver possessed the ball, went to the ground, and was touched down. I understand the rule about having to possess the ball as you hit the ground. But it seemed like the ball came out a second or so after the receiver had hit the ground and been touched down. Either way, I'll take it. The Dolphins also benefited from a fumbled snap from center that Miami recovered and a drive-stalling dropped shotgun snap by Josh Freeman. So let's be fair - lady luck was, for once, pulling for the Dolphins.
Dan Carpenter is officially "DC$" and anyone who disagrees is banished from this community! Well - fine - maybe that's overreacting. But what more can this second year kicker do? Carpenter connected on four field goals - including one from 49 and one from 45. And then he connected on the chip shot game-winner.
I don't want to hear about Ted Ginn's dropped pass on the Dolphins' first play from scrimmage. I'm serious. I'm not surprised he dropped it, to be frank, so I don't even think it's worth talking about. What is worth talking about is how Chad Henne was dead-on accurate on that throw. That's a great sign.
Who needs Joey Porter? The Dolphins sacked Josh Freeman three times, just missed about three or four additional sacks thanks to Freeman's size, strength, and athleticism, and probably got more consistent pressure today than they have all season - with the exception of the game against New Orleans. Charlie Anderson played very well. Cameron Wake picked up a sack and was around Freeman on a number of more plays. In all honesty, you have to wonder if Porter even deserves to start from this point on.
Jason Taylor is still the man. No sacks for JT - but he had a tackle for a loss, two pass deflections, and an interception.
Ricky Williams looked good - and will likely be asked to see even more carries on Thursday. I hope he's up for the increase in his workload.
I've talked a lot about Henne - but I'm going to take a little more about him. Is it me or does it seem like Henne has a knack for converting on 3rd downs? Just on their first possession of the game, Henne connected with Greg Camarillo twice to convert two 3rd downs. Henne also fired in a strike to Brian Hartline on a 3rd & 15 to convert again.
Off topic - anyone see Mark Sanchez go into the post-game press conference with a prepared speech? What a joke! I'm so glad he's on the Jets - he's ready to crash and burn.
Sean Smith got beat for a touchdown - and yet I'm still not worried at all about our two rookie corners. I'm either an overly confident idiot or I see a lot to look forward to from both of those kids.
Please - let's wait a bit before we holler for Kory Sperry to be Miami's starting tight end. Why are we so quick to anoint players? Relax. It was one game and he had just three catches. Who is to say Anthony Fasano doesn't make those exact same catches? Or Joey Haynos?
I've gone on too long already. Here's the bottom line - the Dolphins are in second place in the AFC East - just 2 games out of first place - and will have a chance to get back to .500 in just four days!

Joey Porter benched for Sunday's game vs Bucs

Matty I — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:03:10 -0000

No - you didn't read that headline wrong. It was announced today by the team that Dolphins OLB Joey Porter will not play in tomorrow's game against Tampa Bay. Porter was officially downgraded to "out" on Saturday - but not because of an injury. Officially, his downgrade is being listed as a "coach's decision" - which is distinctly different than being downgraded due to injury.

So what gives? The Miami Herald speculates that something happened between Porter and the team since Friday's practice, when Porter participated and was listed as "probable" on the injury report:

Something clearly happened between Friday afternoon when Porter left the practice facility and this afternoon to cause Sparano to bench the weakside outside linebacker. Sparano, it should be noted, seemed quite pleased with Porter during his Friday press conference.

Could Porter's benching be because of poor performance? I doubt it. Even if the team was unhappy with Porter's play on the field, you'd have to imagine he'd at least be active on Sunday - even if he doesn't start. But for Porter to be inactive? Something had to have gone down.

Whatever it is, though, I don't expect us to hear the truth from Porter. After last week's game against New England, Porter high tailed it out of there before the media could get to him. I expect more of the same from Porter this week.

There are a few possibilities as to how the Dolphins will shuffle the starting lineup without Porter. We could see Jason Taylor move to the weak side and Matt Roth start in JT's spot on the strong side. Or we could see Taylor remain on the strong side and either Charlie Anderson or Cameron Wake start on the weak side. Wake will obviously be the popular pick to see start by the fans - but I don't think it's likely because he's still not a complete outside linebacker and would be a liability in coverage and/or run defense.

Regardless of who starts, though, we should definitely see more snaps out of Wake tomorrow - which is a good thing.

Hat tip to Rzayo24

A Patriots fan's favorite Colt: Dallas Clark

MaPatsFan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:30:36 -0000

by J. Pat Carter - AP

2 months ago: Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark shakes off a tackle attempt by Miami Dolphins safety Gibril Wilson on his way to a touchdown during the first quarter of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, in Miami. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

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I get asked this question a lot during blogging exchanges: if you were to pick one player on our team to wear a Patriots jersey, who would it be? Ugghh. Invariably, I usually miss totally on this question. If I pick my favorite player, I then get hammered because it isn't usually based on a need; it's simply because I like the guy. Conversely, if I pick based on need, I may miss an obvious talent.

If I were to pick based on need, it would be Dwight Freeney. Now, I know the thought of Dwight Freeney in a Patriots uniform will make many of you hurl, but just hear me out for a second. The Patriots have been struggling mightily with pass rushing duties. OLB Adalius Thomas is decent enough at sealing the edges, but he hasn't been the rusher we thought he'd become. In the off-season, you may have noticed a much rumored play for DE Julius Peppers that never came true, or a very aggressive play for Jason Taylor (who, IMO, made the right move by going back to Miami). We ultimately brought back ex Patriot Tully Banta-Caine and traded some picks for Oakland's Derrick Burgess. Both these rushers, like Thomas, are serviceable, but not game changers. Dwight Freeney is one of those rushers that can cause serious problems for an offense. He would be my vote, IF I was choosing based on need. I am not.

Dallas Clark is the man because I'm choosing solely based on who I like.

This is not a fickle opinion based on Clark's impressive 2009 numbers. I've always like him. I even said so in an interview with KingRichard during the offseason:

Can I have two, pretty please? ;-) Given the Patriots' need for a strong, young ILB, I'd have to choose Gary Brackett. Granted, he's an MLB in a Tampa-2 style D, but I don't think it'd be that much of a stretch to move to ILB in a 3-4. Besides, pairing him with Jerod Mayo would be a lesson in silliness.

My number two would be Anthony Gonzalez. He's young and already tremendously talented. Putting Moss, Welker, and Gonzalez on the field at the same time would scare defenses crapless.

Ok, three: Dallas Clark. I love the guy, when he's not playing against us, that is. Of late, NE has rarely utilized their TE's for reception duties, opting for blocking type ends. Clark would change all that. There's nothing I like more than a big tight end steam rolling a little defensive back.

Well, I put him at three but have since altered my opinion. As far as the Pats' ILB situation, it's very much improved since the off season; ILB Jerod Mayo was knocked out 7 plays into the MNF season opener against Buffalo and backup ILB Gary Guyton had to step in. He did an excellent job and is now a mainstay in 4-3 rotations with Mayo and stands next to Jerod in our 3-4 packages.

Anthony Gonzalez I still like, but I believe Dallas Clark would be the weapon I would choose right now. The Patriots' Benjamin Watson is very dangerous, but he's more of a secret weapon than one of Tom Brady's mainstays. Like Brady and Wes Welker, I believe Clark is a frequent look for Peyton Manning, especially when Manning is in trouble and needs to checkdown.

You guys know Clark better, but I think it's too simplistic to label him a TE exclusively. Sure, at 6-3 252 lbs he has the body type of an end, but his speed and elusiveness (clearly demonstrated by his YAC), puts him in more of a hybrid TE/WR category. Don't get me wrong - I love Benjamin Watson and how well he's doing this year, but Clark would eliminate that incessant "who's your third receiver" question. With Clark in a Pats uniform, it wouldn't matter.

Wes Welker, Randy Moss, and Dallas Clark. Wow...