SB Nation - Ricky Williams

Dolphins vs Texans: Keys to Victory

Matty I — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:15:09 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

Please, Ricky, protect the ball.

We're getting closer and closer to Sunday's huge game between the Dolphins and Texans down at Land Shark Stadium - a playoff elimination game, in fact. There is one small scenario that gets the Dolphins into the playoffs with an 8-8 record, but it's highly unlikely. So to keep their postseason dreams alive, the Dolphins must win this game on Sunday.

To do so, these are my three keys for the Dolphins on Sunday:

Protect the football
I can't believe I even have to type this about this football team. But last season's terrific job of protecting the football has not carried over to 2009. The Dolphins led the NFL in turnover ratio last year with a +17 - committing just 13 turnovers in the entire season. The '09 Dolphins, however, have turned the ball over 12 times in just their past four games and have 25 turnovers on the season. Totally unacceptable.

Now when you go from a Chad Pennington at quarterback to a young kid with no career starts, it's expected for there to be an increase in turnovers. But that's not the troubling part. What bothers me most is the ridiculous amount of fumbles by this football team. The Dolphins have lost 10 fumbles this year after losing only 6 in 2008. Worse yet, Miami has put the ball on the ground a whopping 25 times this year - the fifth most fumbles in the NFL. They have just been lucky that 15 of those were recovered by a Dolphin or went out of bounds.

The two biggest culprits of fumbling have been Ricky Williams and Davone Bess. Ricky has four fumbles in his last two games - including two lost. Bess, meanwhile, has fumbled six times and lost three of them a year after just fumbling once as a rookie. Considering how good Davone's hands are, that's the really surprising part of all this.

Regardless of who it is, though, the Dolphins can afford to squander away opportunities by turning the ball over. They need to score some points on Sunday and to limit the number of times they let Houston's offense get their hands on the football.

Limit Andre Johnson's opportunities
This one is really a no-brainer and was highlighted in my post yesterday. For the second week in a row, this Miami defense has to deal with another "Johnson" on the field. This time, though, it's a receiver who may be the most dominant receiver in the game right now. Andre Johnson leads the NFL in receiving yards and is just 67 yards away from becoming only the second player in league history to have back-to-back 1,500 yard receiving seasons (any guesses as to who is currently the only player to achieve such a feat?).

Johnson is also a Dolphins killer. He's played in three career games, including his NFL debut back in 2003, and averages 8 catches for 118 yards and has two career touchdowns against the Dolphins. Only in his NFL debut did Miami hold him to fewer than 9 receptions and fewer than 101 yards (he had 6 for 76 that day). And last year, Johnson was a one man wrecking crew, tallying 10 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown en route to a last second win. In that game, Matt Schaub completed 22 passes and 10 were to Andre.

We know that no player in the NFL has more passes thrown his way than Johnson does. In fact, in the last three weeks alone, Johnson has seen 42 balls thrown his way. If the Dolphins want to win this game, they have got to find a way to minimize Andre's impact on Sunday.

Don't fall behind early
Last week the Dolphins did something we haven't seen much of the past few years - they came back from a large deficit to tie it up. But we know that this offense isn't exactly suited to coming back from behind. What the Dolphins have excelled at under Tony Sparano these past two seasons is winning the tight games. In games decided by seven points or less, the Dolphins are 13-4 the past two seasons, including a 6-2 mark in 2009.

That, to me, is how you beat the Texans. You keep it close and force Houston's offense to have to execute plays late in a game. This season, Houston is only 3-5 in games decided by seven or less. And with the way Houston can score points, an early deficit could just be the beginning to a nightmare afternoon for the Dolphins.

The Fins need to run the ball, win the time of possession battle, and make sure they convert in the red zone - something this team didn't do so well last week.

Big Win at a Big Price - Photos from the Titans - Miami Dolphins game

Titanfan — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:12:24 -0000

It was a must win game and a huge win to stay in the wild card hunt. But losing Keith Bulluck for the rest of the season was a big price to pay for it. The loss of Bulluck was evident as Miami mounted their comeback and erased an 18 point second half lead after Keith went down. It felt like the air went out of the defense and seemed like no one knew what they were suppose to do. Bulluck is a big hole to fill because he is usually the one filling the holes and making up for everyone else. Without him and David Thornton in it could mean the season may finish the way it started, with a decimated defense due to injury. Those are big shoes to fill.

More photos after the jump.

I know I've gotten spoiled when Chris Johnson gets 104 yards rushing and it feels like he had an off day. But Miami made some good adjustments in the second half and contained him pretty well.

Jacob Ford got a sack here. Actually he whiffed on this and got up and chased Chad Henne down for his sack. Awesome play.

Bulluck can give that menacing stare across the line as good as any backer in the league.

Tony Brown hit Ricky Williams and forced a fumble. He can play with attitude. Maybe that attitude is, "Albert hell, I'm just damn good."

Not what I wanted to see.

Let's spot that ball right there.

Shoe string tackle.

Chris Hope put an end to that drive with this interception in the end zone.

This concludes my game photos for the season. The final home game on Christmas will find me eating turkey and watching the game on TV with family. There is still some hope of making to the playoffs, but regardless of what happens it's been another exciting and enjoyable season of football. I've enjoyed sharing my football photos with you and I hope you've enjoyed them too. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Dolphins rally but fall in OT to Titans; playoff hopes now slim

Matty I — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:06:29 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

If only Yeremiah Bell was a few inches taller...

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I could sit here and talk about the heart, toughness, and resiliency that this Miami Dolphins team showed on Sunday in Nashville. As fans, we have every reason to be proud of this football team. They battled all game long, rallying from an 18 point second half deficit. But at this point in the season, "heart" doesn't get you into the playoffs. If it did, this team would be a shoe-in. But as it is, the Dolphins just made too many mistakes and failed to take advantage of too many opportunities, resulting in a heart-breaking 27-24 loss to the Titans.

Missed opportunities and very costly mistakes
I could sit here all day and talk about the numbers with you (and I will highlight a few in a bit). But the bottom line of any football game is you have to score touchdowns when you get into the red zone and you can't turn the ball over. The Dolphins did both. And perhaps it as fitting that it was a Chad Henne interception in overtime (and a completely bogus unnecessary roughness penalty) that wound up souring what could have been a remarkable comeback victory. I say it's fitting because Henne made a few bad throws. However, the Dolphins somehow kept their head above water and climbed back into the game despite those earlier miscues. But you just can't continue to make mistakes and expect to win a football game.

In a way, this game was a microcosm of the 2009 season for the Dolphins. They fell behind early, battled their way back, but eventually came up short.

I won't kill Chad Henne here like some will want to do. He's a kid who is just 11 starts into his career. These kinds of mistakes are to be expected. What is impressive is how he battled back, leading touchdown drives of 80 yards and 90 yards in the fourth quarter to get this thing into overtime. That's pretty damn impressive for as young quarterback if you ask me.

Henne, aided by a ridiculous catch by Brian Hartline, was 11/16 in the fourth quarter for 150 yards and a touchdown - recovering from a 17/27, 195 yard, 2 interception first three quarters. Entering overtime, you got the feeling that Henne would again march down the field, as he did on his two previous drives, and get the Dolphins into scoring position. But he made a horrendous throw. No excuses - and Henne owned up to it after the game:

"There are excuses, but I am not going to make them. I will just say that I missed the pass, and next time I will connect on it."

Honestly, there's no reason not to believe him, either.

Of course, this game goes deeper than just Henne's miscues. The Dolphins were unable to cash in on their first two red zone opportunities. After the Vontae Davis interception, the offense stalled out and settled for a field goal. Then, trailing 10-3, the Dolphins had it first and goal inside Tennessee's 10 yard line. That's when Pat White ran for a yard, Lex Hilliard ran for two yards and Brian Hartline got called for a false start. An incomplete pass on the next play forced Miami to settle for a FG once again.

That's two red zone trips resulting in six points - surprising considering how good this team has become at converting red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Then, of course, we had the Henne interception on the pass intended for Ricky Williams - a pass that was under-thrown, and should not have even been thrown on first down from Tennessee's 14 yard line.

And we can't forget about Ricky's most fumble that stalled another drive just outside Tennessee's 20 yard line.

Four turnovers and eight penalties. It's almost a miracle the Dolphins came as close as they did to winning.

Defense steps up in second half
Like most of you, I was ready to kill this defense for their terrible first half performance. They let the Titans convert on 6 of their first 8 third downs, including three on their first touchdown drive. They let these mediocre receivers get behind them way too often. Vontae Davis got beat. Nathan Jones got beat. Gibril Wilson, of course, got beat as well. All of this resulted in the Titans gaining 228 yards and scoring 17 points in the half.

But the second half was different. The defense actually stepped up. They held the Titans to just 136 yards, 57 of which came on their one touchdown drive. They limited Chris Johnson to just 33 second half yards on 15 carries. And Tennessee was just 2 for 7 on third down - an impressive turnaround from a unit that is known to collapse in the second half.

This was the third consecutive game, by the way, in which the Dolphins shut out their opponent in the fourth quarter - quite the improvement from where they once were. The coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for that.

In the end, though, this defense did all it could but couldn't overcome having to play against the referees, too. They held the Titans to -1 yard of offense following the overtime interception. But the terrible call by the refs to hit Greg Camarillo with a 15 yard penalty set the Titans up for a 46 yard field goal. A tough way to lose - but kudos to the defense for doing their part in the final 30+ minutes of the game.

Playoffs?
I know this will be asked a million times. But the bottom line here is that it's just not likely. To even think about the playoffs, the Dolphins have to first do their part and win their final two games - both at home. Then they need help. Lots of it.

If the Patriots were to collapse and lose both of their remaining games, Miami could win the division. Not likely.

I won't even get into the numerous other playoff scenarios. Let's first let next week play out and then we can (hopefully) look at some of these crazy ways the Dolphins can sneak in.

But don't be disappointed. Think about this. After starting 0-3 and losing Chad Pennington for the season, would you have signed up for 7-7 with two weeks left? I bet most would have - especially with Chad Henne going 7-4 in his first 11 career starts and leading three fourth quarter comebacks (two of which came against the Jets and Pats).

Instead of getting angry or being disappointed about how this season is probably going to end, think about where this team has come from and just how close they are getting to being where we all want this team to be. Despite the loss, it's an exciting time to be a Dolphins fan, folks!

QUICK HITS
Just a few more quick thoughts on Sunday's game:

Jason Taylor played exceptionally well on Sunday. And I'm not even talking about his sack. He was a key reason why the Dolphins contained Chris Johnson in the second half, setting the edge and keeping CJ inside. I was REALLY impressed with JT's performance. This is the first time where he actually looked like a strongside linebacker.
I really like this group of receivers. But don' get fooled - they are indeed missing that one key piece: a true #1 receiver. And I'm not ready to buy the idea that Brian Hartline or Davone Bess will become that guy. They could be great complimentary guys, though.
How much do you think we miss Ronnie Brown?
Enough with Gibril Wilson. It's time to send him to the bench - and then to unemployment once the season is over. He flat out stinks.
We desperately need new return men. Ted Ginn runs sideways way too much and Davone Bess is just not fast enough to be a real threat back there.

Dolphins vs Titans: Matchup Analysis

Matty I — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:34:32 -0000

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

If the Titans want to force Chad Henne to beat them, with the secondary they have, I'll take my chances.

Browse more photos »

Rather than do a simple five question exchange this week to discuss the Dolphins/Titans game with a blogger from Music City Miracles - SBN's Titans blog - we've done something different this week. Jimmy from MCM and I have decided to share our thoughts on which team has an advantage in each phase of the game. Check it out below and then tell us what you think.

Dolphins Offense vs Titans Defense

Matty I: Advantage Dolphins
Any way I seem to look at this matchup, I can't see how the Dolphins don't have at least a little bit of an advantage. Tennessee's secondary has been giving up yards through the air at a rate worst than most of the NFL. And while the Titans haven't been overly hurt by the departure of Albert Haynesworth, their 4.2 yards allowed per carry is average at best. Miami has been playing their best offensive football all season over the past four weeks, averaging 355 yards per game in that span and I think that the Dolphins will use a well-balanced offensive attack on Sunday to move the football with relative consistency.

Jimmy: Push
The reason I go push here is because the Titans struggles on defense have come against the pass, and the strength of the Dolphins offense is running the ball. The Titans haven’t been outstanding against the run, but they have been solid. Chad Henne appears to be playing pretty well, but I am not sure he has the weapons to take advantage of the Titans weaknesses in the secondary like Manning, Brady and Schaub have done this season. The Titans are going to try to take away Ricky Williams and make Henne beat them. I am not sold yet that he will be able to.

Titans Offense vs Dolphins Defense

Matty I: Advantage Titans
If you've been reading my thoughts at all this week, then you'd know the amount of respect I have for Chris Johnson. He's the most explosive player in the NFL and, quite frankly, scares me to death. It's mind-boggling that CJ has done something this season that no player has ever done in their career - rush for 3 85+ yard touchdowns. I think he'll get his yards on this Miami defense. The key for the Dolphins will be limiting the impact CJ's yards have on the game. I also think that the matchup between the Titan receivers and Dolphin corners should be very fun to watch.

Jimmy: Advantage Titans
The Titans offense has actually been really good since VY took over in week 8. He has actually been a very good passer since re-entering the offense, and he also adds the extra dimension of being able to make a play with his legs when things break down. His presence has also really opens the playbook up for offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, i.e. QB draws and little option.

The other advantage the Titans offense has in this game is the fact that the Dolphins have never seen CJ live. Hearing about his speed and watching it on tape is very different than defending it. He usually gets some extra yards on runs early in games against teams he has never played because the underestimate their angles.

Dolphins Return Team vs Titans Coverage Team

Matty I: Advantage Dolphins
I think that this is one aspect of Sunday's game that the Dolphins have got to exploit. The Titans have one of the worst kick coverage units in the NFL, allowing 25 yards per kick return. Ted Ginn, meanwhile, has been one of the best kick return guys in the AFC this year. His average of 28 yards per return leads the conference and is second in the conference in kick returns of 40+ yards. Recently, it seems as though there were a few returns where Teddy was one more block away from busting a big one. Sunday could be the day he finally breaks through again.

Jimmy: Advantage Dolphins
I would imagine the Dolphins have the advantage against pretty much anyone with Ted Ginn returning kicks, but that will be especially true in this game. The Titans coverage teams, especially kick-off, have been horrendous this season. Kicking the ball to Ginn might be the scariest thing about this game for Titans fans.

Titans Return Team vs Dolphins Coverage Team

Matty I: Advantage Dolphins
Prior to this season, the Dolphins had been struggling for years covering kicks and punts. But they've turned things around this season, holding opponents to 22.8 yards per kick return and 8.2 yards per punt return. Nothing spectacular, but certainly an improvement over past seasons. They also held some of the top return men - Clifton Smith, Fred Jackson, Wes Welker, and Darren Sproles - under their season averages. The Titans, meanwhile, are ranked towards the bottom in both kickoff return and punt returns and I just don't see any reason to think the Dolphins won't continue their consistent performance on Sunday.

Jimmy: Advantage Dolphins
I haven’t looked at any stats for this one, but I have watched the Titans play all season so I don’t need too. The Titans have gotten better at returning kick-offs since they put Kenny Britt back there, but they still don’t have anyone that could return a punt for a touchdown against a middle school team.

Coaching

Matty I: Push
Titan fans probably will disagree with this. After all, Jeff Fisher is one of the top coaches in the league and I have a great deal of respect for him. But you can't argue with the results that Tony Sparano and his staff have gotten out of this football team in the almost two seasons as head coach. They took over a 1-15 team and completely turned them around. This season we've seen the Dolphins - despite being far less talented - hang tough and come very close to knocking off the unbeaten Colts and Saints. This coaching staff has helped overcome injuries to many key players (Chad Pennington, Ronnie Brown, Will Allen, Jason Ferguson to name a few). More recently, they've done an excellent job of game planning for their opponents - deciding to put the pressure on their young quarterback against a porous New England secondary, for example. Sparano knows how to motivate his team. He gets as much out of his players as any head coach can get from theirs. And I just don't see how anyone can prepare for a game against these Dolphins and think that they can actually "out-coach" or "out-prepare" this team. It's not going to happen.

Jimmy: Push
Honestly I am close to giving this one to the Dolphins. Last year I would have taken Jeff Fisher over 95% of the coaches in the league, but he has made a ton of boneheaded decisions this season that have really lowered my confidence in him. It started in the offseason when he didn’t bother to get the team anyone who could return kicks and has continued in season with his refusal to remove Nick Harper from the starting line-up. Plus you have to be really impressed with the job Tony Sparano has done, especially with all of the injuries they have suffered. All of that being said, Jeff Fisher is still a very good in game coach who has been through all of the battles which is why I went push.

Dolphins vs Titans: Game Capsule

Matty I — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:26:45 -0000

Usually we have some kind of cross-blogging take place on Thursday or Friday with this site and the site of the opponent. I still hope to have that posted later on Friday. For now, though, I just wanted to throw out a couple interesting little statistical tidbits followed by the game capsule provided by the league.

First off, you may or may not know that Ricky Williams is closing in on history. With just 25 more rushing yards, Ricky will become just the seventh player in NFL history 32 yars of age or older to rush for 1,000 yards. And he would set a new league record for most years between 1,000 yard rushing seasons. Five players have had 1,000 yard rushing seasons that were five years apart. But the last time Ricky ran for 1,000 was in 2003 - meaning it's been six years since his last 1,000 yard season. Very impressive - but also kind of sad in terms of the "what might have been."

Williams is also just 1,120 yards away from the franchise career rushing record held by Larry Csonka - and just eight rushing touchdowns away from Csonka's record of career rushing touchdowns. At the moment, Williams is also the franchise record holder of rushing yards per game - averaging 75.9 as a Dolphin. Second place, by the way, is a tie between Ronnie Brown and Lamar Smith - at 68 yards per game.

That brings me to my question: is Ricky Willims the greatest running back in Dolphins history?

I also just wanted to throw out some "props" to Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo.

Camarillo doesn't get much national attention. But he's been as reliable as any receiver in the NFL despite being a year removed from a torn ACL. On the season, he's caught 75% of the passes thrown his way - which ranks him 4th among all receivers in the AFC. Davone Bess, meanwhile, is catching 69.7% of the balls thrown his way - tied with Hines Ward for 7th among all AFC receivers. Bess is also second in the entire NFL in first down receptions on 3rd down. He has 24, just two behind the Giants' Steve Smith.

Both Davone and Greg, by the way, went undrafted coming out of college.

Game capsule is after the break...

MIAMI DOLPHINS (7-6) AT TENNESSEE TITANS (6-7)

SERIES

	DOLPHINS	TITANS
SERIES LEADER	17-13
STREAKS	7 of past 9
COACHES VS. OPP.	Sparano: 0-0	Fisher: 2-6
LAST WEEK	W 14-10 at Jaguars	W 47-7 vs. Rams
LAST GAME	9/24/06: Titans 10 at Dolphins 13. Miami K Olindo Mare converts 39-yard FG with 3:39 remaining as Dolphins rally to win. QB Daunte Culpepper rushes for 5-yard TD.
LAST GAME AT SITE	11/9/03: Titans 31, Dolphins 7. Tennessee QB Steve McNair passes for 201 yards with 2 TDs & 0 INTs for 129.1 passer rating. Titans DE Jevon Kearse has 2 sacks & 1 FF.
BROADCAST	CBS (12:00 PM CT): Dick Enberg, Dan Fouts. SIRIUS: 123 (Mia.). XM: 106 (Mia.).

STATS

PASSING	Henne: 194-330-2,067-9-9-74.9	Young: 113-183-1,383-7-3-90.9 OR Collins: 119-216-1,225-6-8-65.5
RUSHING	R. Williams: 200-975-4.9-10	Johnson: 272-1,626 (1L)-6.0-11 (T3L)
RECEIVING	Bess: 62-570-9.2-1	Johnson (RB): 42-391-9.3-2
OFFENSE	328.2	360.4
TAKE/GIVE	-5	-3
DEFENSE	339.7	357.5
SACKS	Porter: 8	Tony Brown: 5
INTs	V. Davis (R): 3	Finnegan: 5 (T3C)
PUNTING	Fields: 45.9 (3C)	Kern: 44.8
KICKING	Carpenter: 88 (31/32 PAT; 19/21 FG)	Bironas: 99 (30/30 PAT; 23/27 FG)

NOTES

DOLPHINS: Club is 6-0 in Dec. under head coach TONY SPARANO...QB CHAD HENNE is 7-3 as starter & has 9 TDs vs. 8 INTs...RB RICKY WILLIAMS (975) needs 25 rush yards to reach 1,000 for 5th time in career & 1st since '03. Can set NFL record for longest span between 1,000-yard seasons (6) & can become 7th RB in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in season in which RB was 32+ years old at start of season. Williams has 100+ rush yards in 4 of past 5...WR DAVONE BESS leads AFC & ranks 2nd in NFL w/30 3rd-down rec. in '09. WR GREG CAMARILLO had season-high in rec. (7) & receiving yards (110) last week...DE RANDY STARKS has career-high 6 sacks in '09. Starks was selected in 3rd round of '04 NFL Draft & spent 4 seasons w/Ten...Since 2000, LB JASON TAYLOR leads NFL w/38 sacks in Dec. Taylor (126.5) needs 0.5 sack to surpass DERRICK THOMAS for 11th-most sacks all-time...LB JOEY PORTER has 5.5 sacks in past 4...

TITANS: Aim for 5th win in row at home...Team ranks 2nd in NFL w/165.3 rush yards per game...Club has 2,149 rush yards & is on pace (2,644) to surpass franchise record of 2,635 in 1980...QB VINCE YOUNG is 4-0 as starter at home in '09 & has completed 65 of 94 passes (69.1 pct.) for 854 yards w/4 TDs vs. 1 INT & 107.3 passer rating. Since '08, QB KERRY COLLINS is 12-9 as starter (.571)...RB CHRIS JOHNSON (1,626) needs 72 rush yards to surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer EARL CAMPBELL (1,697 in '79) for 2nd-most rushing yards in season in franchise history. Leads NFL w/franchise record 2,017 scrimmage yards (1,626 rush, 391 rec.). Has franchise record 8 consecutive games w/100+ rush yards. Ranks 3rd in NFL w/13 total TDs (11 rush, 2 rec.)...Rookie WR KENNY BRITT (Round 1, Rutgers) leads AFC rookies & ranks 3rd among NFL rookies w/642 receiving yards...LB KEITH BULLUCK posted 2 INTs last week & is tied for league-high among LBs w/3 INTs in '09...CB CORTLAND FINNEGAN tied career-high w/2 INTs last week...S VINCENT FULLER posted 2nd INT-TD return of season last week.

Dolphins vs Titans: Keys to Victory

Matty I — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

If he plays, this is what I don't want to see on Sunday - VY running free and our big linemen chasing.

Browse more photos »

For most Dolphin fans, Sunday's game cannot get here fast enough. Any time you get into these situations where there are crucial December football games on the horizon, it seems like the work week just drags on in between these games. Of course, Chris Johnson's tale about Ted Ginn ducking him in a race has made the week a little more interesting. But who really cares? Let's talk some football.

The Dolphins have their work cut out for them - especially defensively - when they travel up to Tennessee on Sunday. Here are my three keys to victory for this week - and note that the Dolphins did an excellent job of hitting on the three keys I laid out for them last week in their win against the Jaguars.

Be prepared for two different quarterbacks
Perhaps one of the worst things to come out of last week was that Vince Young suffered that hamstring injury that kept him from returning to their game and makes him a question mark for this week. Now the Dolphins have got to prepare for two different quarterbacks with two completely different styles.

If the Dolphins have to face Young, that means they have to worry about much more than Chris Johnson running and the quarterback throwing. Not only has Young been the better passer out of him and Kerry Collins this season. He's also a dynamic runner when the situations lends itself to VY escaping from the pocket - forcing opposing defenses to account for his legs. In three of his starts this season, Young has at least 30 yards rushing - including a 73 yard performance against the Texans and one long run of 40+ yards last week - the play in which he injured himself.

Last week the Dolphins had to worry about Jaguar quarterback David Garrard scrambling. And on Jacksonville's lone touchdown drive, Garrard ran three times for 18 yards. But the Dolphins made the necessary adjustments and limited Garrard to just 10 more rushing yards the rest of the game. They'll need to be aware of Young's legs if he is indeed the quarterback for Tennessee on Sunday.

But the differences between Young and Collins go beyond their ability to move in the pocket and run. If Collins is the quarterback, look for shorter passes. But if it's Young, we can expect shots down the field. On the season Collins is completing 10% of the passes thrown beyond 20 yards (2/20). Young, meanwhile, is completing 38% of those passes (10/26).

One of the challenges the Dolphins face this week in practice is preparing for two very different possible quarterbacks. Hopefully Paul Pasqualoni has his defense well prepared on Sunday.

Take away Chris Johnson at all costs
This is probably not possible. But the Dolphins do need to do whatever it takes to limit the impact Chris Johnson has on this game. He's the most talented player in this game for either team and can change the momentum of a game with a single touch of the football.

Johnson not only leads the league in rushing yards, but he's also topped 2,000 yards from scrimmage and is just over 400 yards away from the NFL single-season record in that category. And he's also done something no player has ever done - rushed for 85+ yard touchdowns three times in a career. He just happened to do it three times in one season. Yeah - pretty remarkable stuff.

The closest the Dolphins have come to playing against a back of CJ's style this year was either last week against Maurice Jones-Drew or back in week 3 against Darren Sproles. The Dolphins did a good job at containing both. Sproles was limited to just 55 yards of offense on 20 touches while MJD was limited to 83 yards of offense on 20 touches. But one thing the Dolphins did last week to limit MJD's opportunities to catch the football out of the backfield was to blitz early and often, forcing the Jaguars to keep Jones-Drew in to block rather than release into a route. If it's Vince Young under center, he has the mobility to stay alive facing a blitz long enough for Chris Johnson to release. So I'm not sure if employing that same strategy this week is a good idea.

What I am sure of is that no player the Dolphins have faced in 2009 scares me as much as Johnson.

Don't forget about Ricky Williams
I know I really ripped into Tennessee's porous secondary yesterday and highlighted the matchup of Miami's receivers against the Titan cornerbacks. As much as I do want to see the Dolphins throw it on the opposing defense for the third consecutive week, it's important that the Dolphins don't get too one-dimensional and too aggressive.

I know Ricky might be wearing down a little bit due to the extra workload. After all, he is averaging 23 carries per game over his past five games after seeing just 10 per game prior. But I don't think you want to put it all on Chad Henne's shoulders. That's probably not a good idea.

Sure, the Titans have the 7th ranked rushing defense, giving up only 98.8 yards per game on the ground. But they also see the fourth fewest rushing attempts against them out of all 32 NFL teams - only 23.5 per game. With that said, the Titans are surrendering 4.2 yards per carry, which isn't bad but isn't too good, either.

I'm not saying that the Dolphins will be able to run over the Titans. But they just have to be careful not to completely abandon the ground game. After all, the Dolphins have a $160+ million offensive line and want to be known as a power running team. So let's put those big guys up front to work and make them earn their money against a very physical Tennessee front four.

Dolphins in the red zone: Week 14

Matty I — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:30:14 -0000

This post is sponsored by Comcast and their NFL RedZone channel. Want to see every touchdown from every NFL game as it happens as well as live look-ins to all of Sunday's games in key situations? Then you need Comcast's NFL RedZone.

On Sunday, the Dolphins continued their excellent execution and performance inside the red zone in 2009, converting two red zone opportunities into two touchdowns.

Their first opportunity came on their second possession of the game. The Dolphins needed only seven plays to get into the red zone. They then converted on a 4th & 1 play by giving the ball to - who else - Lousaka Polite. Polite is now 13 for 13 on 3rd or 4th and two yards or less to go. Ricky Williams then gained four on the next play - and got lucky that his first fumble of the game went out of bounds. Another Polite run and a four yard pass to Polite set the Dolphins up at Jacksonville's one yard line. That's when Ricky ran it in behind Jake Long completely untouched for the touchdown.

Of course, that got me thinking - isn't it about time the Dolphins give it to Lousaka Polite from the one yard line and let him have a scoring opportunity? He only has one touchdown in his career - a receiving touchdown back in 2005 with Dallas. I say we let the big man punch one in!

Anyways, following a Jaguar three and out, the Dolphins again found themselves inside Jacksonville's 20 yard line. This time, it was thanks to a Chad Henne bullet pass to Brian Hartline over the middle for 25 yards, setting themselves up at the 14 yard line. That's when Polite carried for five yards and Henne found Joey Haynos for eight. After a Ricky run for no gain, Chad Henne rolled right on 2nd & goal and ran it in untouched for his first career rushing touchdown.

On the season, the Dolphins are converting red zone opportunities into touchdowns at an efficient rate of 64%. So I don't want to nit-pick. But I'm squarely on the "Let Lousaka Score" bandwagon. The big man deserves at least one shot.

Defense leads the way as Dolphins defeat Jaguars

Matty I — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:40:15 -0000

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

Miami's defense did an excellent job of containing MJD.

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This is the time of the year where you take wins any way you can get them. While it wasn't pretty at all and sure was stressful at times, the Dolphins went up to Jacksonville and knocked off a Jaguars team that had just one home loss all season heading into Sunday, improving to 6-0 in December under head coach Tony Sparano.

In doing so, the Dolphins did what they were looking to do - make next week's game in Tennessee against the Titans yet another important must-win game as they look to work their way into the playoffs. As for the playoff picture itself, there's some info about that below. But enjoy the fact that as Dolphin fans, we have yet another meaningful December football game to look forward to. After starting 0-3, that's all us fans can ask for.

Just keep winning. Pretty or ugly. Big win or nail-biter. Doesn't matter to me. Just keep winning.

It's all about the defense
Earlier this week, we talked about how important it would be to contain Maurice Jones-Drew. He's the most explosive player on that Jacksonville offense and the Dolphins were struggling against the run over the past few weeks. Heading into the game, the Dolphins were allowing an average of 127 rushing yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry over their last five. But on Sunday, we saw this Miami defense make a stand. Actually, we saw them make multiple stands, holding Jones-Drew to just 59 yards rushing (3.3 ypc) in the process.

Perhaps the most impressive stat on Sunday, though, was how the Dolphins held the Jaguars to just 4/17 on third or fourth down. That's ridiculous, really. And it's just proof of how dominant this defense was and of why this game really shouldn't have been as close as it was.

Quite frankly, we saw this Dolphin defense dominate on Sunday. It's that simple. The Jaguars had just 217 yards of offense. Of that total, 63 yards came on one play. On that play, Sean Smith did a poor job of biting on the double move. But it's important to note that Gibril Wilson was really the guy who blew the coverage. He was supposed to have inside contain in that bracket coverage. But he also "took the cheese" of the Torry Holt double move, allowing Holt to make the big play. Of course, the defense rebounded by holding Jacksonville to a field goal on that drive.

The Jags gained 68 yards on that drive. They also gained 62 yards on their third possession of the game - which ended on a MJD touchdown run. But on Jacksonville's 10 other possessions, the Jaguars gained just 87 yards of offense and averaged just 2.4 yards per play. Those 10 possessions include the Jaguars going "3 and out" on 6 of their first 8 possessions. That, my friends, is domination.

The defense also put together their second consecutive scoreless fourth quarter. In doing so, the Dolphins limited Jacksonville's offense to just 57 yards of offense on four fourth quarter possessions. That's how you win football games even when your offense sputters in the second half. Kudos to every single player on that defense (except for maybe Gibril Wilson) for an outstanding performance.

The "Henne to Camarillo" connection
All season long, I've been waiting (and hoping) to see the Greg Camarillo we saw last season before he went down with his knee injury. On Sunday, I saw that Camarillo. It was a terrific sight to see.

Camarillo picked on this Jaguar secondary all game long, catching all seven passes that were thrown his way for 110 yards. This was Camarillo's best game since the game against Denver last season. And now after just catching three passes from week 10 against Tampa through week 12's loss to Buffalo, it seems as though Chad Henne is finally getting more comfortable with Camarillo - who has 11 catches for 171 yards over his last two.

Speaking of Henne, he's progressing pretty nicely, huh? No Dolphins quarterback has ever completed more consecutive passes in a game than Henne did on Sunday when he connected on 17 straight pass attempts - tying a team record set by Chad Pennington last season. But CP did it over the span of two games. And five of those 17 completions went to none other than the aforementioned Camarillo.

Yes, I know Henne also threw what could have been a costly fourth quarter interception. But again - I'm not too worried about it. I've seen enough from Henne to know that he'll learn from that mistake and he'll get better. The kid's gotten better every week. His accuracy is getting more consistent as the weeks go by. He looks more and more in command of this offense every time he steps on the field. And really, that interception was just a poor read - something he'll fix when he sees the film. But all in all, I continue to be impressed week in and week out with Henne - who is now 7-3 as a starting quarterback.

AFC Playoff Picture
For the Dolphins, it's pretty simple. First of all, they have to win their last three games. If they slip up, then it'll be very hard to squeak into the playoffs.

But the Dolphins can't get into the playoffs by just winning their last three. They need some help. In a nut shell, the Dolphins need either a Patriots loss OR a Ravens loss. If the Dolphins win out and NE was to lose once, the Fins would be division champs. If the Dolphins win out AND the Pats win out, then the Dolphins would need the Ravens to lose one game. If that was to happen, the Dolphins make it in as a wildcard.

So that's the situation. Three Dolphins wins AND either a Patriots loss OR a Ravens loss and the Fins are in the post-season.

QUICK HITS
More random quick thoughts on Sunday's win:

Interesting stat courtesy of Ethan Skolnick. The Dolphins faced 15 offensive 3rd downs. But their average distance "to go" on 3rd down was just 4.4 yards. And on 10 of those 3rd downs, the Dolphins needed just 3 yards or less. That's how you keep the chains moving. You put yourself in manageable 3rd downs by gaining positive yardage on first and second downs.
Ricky Williams went over 100 yards rushing for the fourth time in five games. But that doesn't overshadow his three fumbles. Luckily only one resulted in a turnover. But that one turnover cost the Dolphins at least a field goal attempt. This is nothing new with Ricky, though. Williams has fumbled 45 times on 2,422 career touches - or one fumble every 53.8 touches.
Speaking of mistakes, this game should not have been this close. But the Dolphins left so many points on the field. I think back to the terrible play call to hand the ball to Davone Bess on an end-around on first down from Jacksonville's 33 yard line. Terrible call there when Chad Henne was slicing up that Jaguar secondary and Bess isn't the guy who can turn the corner. Bess ends up fumbling and that stalls a drive that could have resulted in at least three points. On their next possession, a sack and a missed 38 yard field goal from Dan Carpenter (it was bound to happen eventually) squandered away another potential scoring drive. And then Ricky's fumble inside Jacksonville's 30 squandered another scoring opportunity. And that's why the Dolphins can out gain a team by 137 yards and win by just four.
Randy Starks is having just one hell of a season. On Sunday, Starks continued his Pro-Bowl caliber season by making a number of key plays - non bigger than his tackle for a loss on David Garrard on 4th down with under 90 seconds to play. It wasn't a sack (technically) because it was a called QB draw. Regardless, Starks just shoved his blocker back and gave Garrard nowhere to run. He's the defensive MVP of this team right now. Who would have thought back in camp that we'd be saying that?
Cameron Wake has got to play more. All he does is get to the quarterback. And now he has a bullrush to go along with his speed rush. For the second consecutive week, Wake made the game-clinching play - this time sacking Garrard on the game's final play. It's getting to the point where he needs as many snaps as possible on gameday. It's that simple.
Vontae Davis played very well today - after sitting out the opening drive, that is. It was called a "coach's decision" to start Jason Allen over Davis. But Davis was back out there following Jacksonville's first "3 and out" of the game. Vontae said after the game, "It was just one series. I'm not in the doghouse. It's all part of learning." Most likely, Vontae was late for something and this was his punishment. No big deal. What was a big deal was Vontae's play - doing an excellent job all game on Mike Sims-Walker, though Sims-Walker was slowed with a calf injury. Still, Vontae has the skills and swagger to be an elite corner eventually.
I've come to realize that Yeremiah Bell is every bit as good as he was last season. He could be a very, very good strong safety if only he had a capable free safety playing next to him. Gibril Wilson is obviously not that. Bell just seems to make big pass deflections in big spots and remains stout against the run.
Great job by the offensive line on Sunday. They protected Henne well all game long and gave Ricky room to run. Lousaka Polite was also excellent once again. He converted on 3rd and fourth downs when asked and continued his excellent lead blocking.

A Bad Week For Patriots Nation Just Got Worse...This Time It Involves Mascots and Prostitutes.

PSTIM1 — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:59:33 -0000

More photos » by LEFTERIS PITARAKIS - AP

I'll just go ahead and leave this one alone - feel free to submit your own caption in the comments.

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First Bill Belichick causes an unnecessary media frenzy by sending home four of his player's for being late to meetings due to a snow storm, then it is disclosed that Tom Brady has suffered injuries to his ribs and finger and now...well now the Patriot's mascot has been busted in a prostitution sting! Hahahahaha - I guess when it rains it pours. Sucks to be you Pat's fans! I just pray that Sunday's game is uneventful and someone from the New England media has the balls to ask Belichick about the mascot, that would be priceless!

Poll

If You Heard That A Mascot Was Arrested What Would You Immediately Assume The Charge Was?

Five Questions: Miami Dolphins @ Jacksonville Jaguars

silencecs — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:16:09 -0000

Earlier this week, your's truly had an opportunity to speak with the head blogger over at The Phinsider. It was a cordial and civil discussion, and we exchanged "Five Questions". Here's his response to BCC's five questions about the Fins...

1) Ronnie Brown is injured... Can Ricky run the wild-cat effectively, or can we expect a more traditional offense? What about Pat White, will we see him at all?

No - Ricky Williams is not nearly as effective as the Wildcat "triggerman" as Ronnie is. It's not even close, in my opinion. So I don't think you will see the Wildcat much - if at all - on Sunday. Last week, the Dolphins didn't use the Wildcat at all against New England. And quite frankly, Ronnie Brown is the Wildcat. He is what makes it work.

As for Pat White, you could see a play or two with him. Recently, the only game in which he hasn't played was against Carolina on that Thursday night. Last week, White took two snaps. One was a botched option play. The other was a sweep that went for nothing. You might see him once or twice. But I think the "non-conventional" offensive packages will be kept to a minimum.

2) Coach Tony Sparano is 5-0 in December. Was that due more to facing weaker competition last season, or is Tony a great clutch coach?

He was actually 4-0 last year and is 1-0 this year. Now last season, you could say that Miami's weaker opponents played a role in their 4-0 December. The Bills, Niners, and Chiefs were all below average opponents. But this team did go to Kansas City in December, play in the coldest game in Dolphins' franchise history, and leave with a win. They also went up to the Meadowlands in week 17 and knock off the Jets in what essentially was a playoff game for both teams. So it's not like these games were cakewalks.

Then last week, the Dolphins beat a Patriots team that everybody was picking to be Super Bowl contenders prior to their ugly Monday night game against New Orleans. They clearly aren't "weaker competition."

So I think Tony Sparano does deserve some credit for preparing this team well late in the season. I think that he knows how to motivate a team. I think that his players love him and will work their asses off for him. And I just think that Sparano knows how to handle a team week in and week out to make sure his players aren't worn down for these important late-season games.

3) Chad Henne's got a cannon and the Jaguars have a weak secondary. We know Ginn can't catch, is there anyone else we should be concerned with?

You know it's bad when non-Dolphin fans know that Ted Ginn can't catch. But don't just write Ginn off. He isn't a number one receiver - and probably isn't a number two, either. But he will surprise you from time to time - like he did last week by making two big catches against the Pats. But you're right in saying you don't need to concern yourself with Ginn.

Who you do need to concern yourself with is Davone Bess. He's coming off of a career high 10 reception, 117 yard game against New England. He's 7th among AFC receivers in catch percentage - hauling in 70.2% of the passes thrown his way. And he's second in the entire NFL in both 3rd down receptions (29) and 3rd down conversions (23). Basically think of Bess as a poor man's Wes Welker.

But also don't sleep on Greg Camarillo (6th in AFC among receivers with a 71% catch percentage) or rookie Brian Hartline (leads team with 3 receiving touchdowns and 14.8 ypc average). Camarillo seems to make a clutch reception in every game - such as his 4th & 6 reception to keep Miami's game-winning drive alive last week. And Hartline seems to be really clicking with Chad Henne.

4) The Dolphins traded the Jaguars a 7th round pick for Tony McDaniels. How has his production been this season?

Most Dolphin fans would agree that only giving up a seventh round pick for McDaniel was a steal. He's really transitioned well into Miami's 3-4 defense. Somebody with his combination of size (6'7, 305) and athleticism is rare. And it's shown. His role has expanded since Jason Ferguson was lost for the season. But he's still only played in about a quarter of Miami's defensive plays. His production, though, has been surprising. He's got a sack and a half and has made a handful of big plays/stops in his limited action.

I think that the 24 year old will be in Miami for a while as part of the team's young defensive line rotation with guys like Kendall Langford, Randy Starks, and Phillip Merling - all players who are 25 or younger.

5) The Dolphins picked Jake Long 1st overall after Cam Cameron's debacle. How has he progressed, and what's the state of your offensive line on the whole? Are they better in pass-blocking or run-blocking situations?

Jake Long has come along as well as we all hoped he would. He's quieted his critics who believed he might not have the foot quickness to play left tackle in the NFL. He was a Pro Bowl player last year as a rookie (albeit as an alternate) and has a good chance at returning this year. He had a few hiccups earlier this season. But he's been outstanding of late and solidifies Miami's LT spot for years to come.

As a whole, the offensive line is very good. They're very well balanced. I'd say that they might be a little bit better of a run-blocking unit than a pass-blocking. But that might be hard to tell to outsiders who don't realize that because of Miami's lack of firepower on the outside, teams stack the box and make it a point of emphasis to shut down the run. With that said, this offense is still fourth in the NFL in rushing and averages 4.5 yards per carry.

Injuries have hurt this unit at times this year. Starting center Jake Grove - who has been outstanding, by the way - has missed some time recently and is questionable to play on Sunday with a high ankle sprain. Justin Smiley missed time as well at left guard with a shoulder injury. But their replacements - Joe Berger at center and Nate Garner at guard - have even played well. This is a pretty young unit as well, which bodes well for the future. After all, lines that stay together for a long time and gel tend to be among the best in football. So needless to say, Dolphin fans are optimistic.

Thanks to Matt from the Phinsider.

-Collin Streetman