SB Nation - Lousaka Polite

Dolphins in the red zone: Week 14

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

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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.

Henne leads comeback as Dolphins defeat Patriots to remain in playoff hunt

Matty I — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 06:02:35 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne walks off the field after the Dolphins defeated the New England Patriots 22-21 on Sunday. And notice - the robot still refuses to show any emotion. Is he a machine?

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Just a little over fifteen minutes into Sunday's game and it seemed as though the Dolphins' slim playoff chances were fading away right before all of our eyes. But then something happened. On the brink of disaster, the Dolphins - led by their passing attack of all things - finally fired back, showing the kind of intensity that this team lacked last week in Buffalo. By halftime, it was just a four point game. The second half then saw the Dolphins go toe to toe with a perennial championship contender as the team rallied back from an 11 point third quarter deficit to knock off the Patriots in thrilling fashion - thrusting themselves right into the thick of things in the AFC playoff picture.

Henne has career day
Sure - it isn't saying much that a second year quarterback with just nine career starts had his best day as an NFL starter. After all - it has only been nine starts. So how's this for a better statement? Chad Henne has his first career-defining game in the NFL. I think that explains it better. After all, it's not every day that a quarterback goes punch for punch with Tom Brady in a quarterback duel - and actually wins. And it's even more rare that the quarterback out-gunning Brady is in his first year as a starter.

Coming into the game, I wrote that I really wanted to see the Dolphins attack New England's secondary. But I really didn't expect Tony Sparano and Dan Henning go with that kind of aggressive, attacking game plan on offense. So I was absolutely thrilled to see the Dolphins come out firing on Sunday. This was the first time that the coaching staff really took the training wheels off of Henne and he didn't disappoint.

Were there times when he made mistakes or missed on throws? Of course. That interception was both a bad decision and poorly placed throw. His accuracy is still inconsistent at times - which you can say about most rookie quarterbacks. That inaccuracy almost cost the Dolphins - when Henne missed an open Lousaka Polite on a 3rd & 6 play with 2:15 left. Henne explained after the game that Polite was the "hot" receiver. With the blitz coming, he anticipated Polite running to the flat. But Polite cut it up field - as he had open field in front of him. That explains why Henne double-clutched before throwing that pass over Polite's head.

With that said, it's no secret that Henne still has to work on avoiding tipped balls at the line of scrimmage and improving on those passes that require some "touch."

But still, Henne made up for these mistakes and missed opportunities, showing the kind of mental toughness a quarterback in this league needs. On the very next play - on a 4th & 6 with the season basically on the line - Henne rolled right and fired a bullet to Greg Camarillo for the first down, getting his team into field goal range. After the game, Tony Sparano praised Henne for his ability to overcome these kinds of things:

"He's a pretty resilient guy. He missed a couple of throws there. But Chad just keeps battling. He made some big throws, and the one to Camarillo down there at the end, that's a heck of a throw.''

A "heck of a throw" indeed.

All told, Henne threw for 335 yards while the running game ran for less than 100 - accomplishing one of the things I've been waiting to see from the young quarterback. He was finally asked to win a game with his arm from start to finish. He passed this test with flying colors, leading his third career fourth quarter comeback in just nine career starts.

After his busy day full of 52 pass attempts - the most pass attempts by a Dolphins' quarterback in a win since 1990 - Henne was asked how his arm felt. You got to love his response:

"If you want to, we can throw all day. I love it. Put it in my hands. Put the pressure situations upon me. I really thrive on that."

Defense steps up in fourth quarter
The day got off to a rough start for the Dolphins - allowing a 58 yard touchdown pass a little over three minutes into the game. On that play, we saw terrible coverage by rookie Vontae Davis and poor deep help from Gibril Wilson.

Then less than three minutes into the second half, on the Pats' first play of the half, we saw more ugly defense as fellow rookie corner Sean Smith had outstanding coverage on Sam Aiken but still couldn't even break up the pass along the right sideline. The 6'2 receiver made the catch over the 6'3 1/2" corner and then sprinted down the sideline - as Gibril Wilson basically stood and watched at mid field - for just his second career touchdown. I'm confident that Smith breaks up that pass 99 times out of 100. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, this was that one.

At 21-10 just minutes into the second half, it was beginning to look like more of the same from this defense in the second half. And the fourth quarter - also known as the quarter in which this defense likes to collapse - was still 12 minutes away.

However, rather than fold like a cheap suit, this defense stepped up. Coming into the game, the Dolphins were allowing 118.4 yards per game and 40.7 yards per drive in the fourth quarter alone. On Sunday, of the 448 yards of offense that the Patriots gained on Sunday, only 60 of them came in the fourth quarter (15 yards per drive).

It all started with NE's first possession of the final quarter. The Pats only needed four plays to get inside Miami's 5 yard line. But then Tom Brady made a terrible decision and a poor throw - allowing Vontae Davis to redeem himself for his bad play on NE's first drive by having perfect coverage on Randy Moss and making the key interception. In my opinion, this play was the turning point of the game.

As far as New England's fourth quarter offense goes, that one drive was about it. The Dolphins forced two consecutive "three and outs" on their next two possessions. And those "three and outs" were huge - getting the ball back to the offense as the Dolphins trailed by two points.

Following the Dan Carpenter field goal, the Pats had one more shot. But again, the defense made a stand. Following an 11 yard completion and an incompletion, Cameron Wake used a quick first step to get around Nick Kaczur and get Brady in his arms. Brady then threw up an ill-advised desperation pass hoping to at least stop the clock. But Channing Crowder (of all people) was "Johnny on the spot" - making the interception on a pass thrown right to his gut. Hell of a time for Channing's first career interception - who then showed excellent football intelligence by going to the ground rather than trying to return the interception.

Some will tell you that the Dolphins caught some lucky breaks. That's true. One of them was a huge break - as Sain Aiken had gotten by Sean Smith by about five yards but was overthrown down the left sideline on what would have been a touchdown to put the Pats ahead by nine points. Yes - the Dolphins caught a break there. But we've seen a ton of breaks go against the Dolphins this year. For once, they caught one of their own. It's about time.

Great job by the defense in the fourth quarter. The unit still isn't where it needs to be. But that late game performance is definitely something to build on.

QUICK HITS
More quick hit thoughts on Sunday's game. Let's start with the positives and end with some "not so positives":

Final thought for right now about Henne. He just seems to have that "it" factor that no Dolphin quarterback has had since you know who. That's what is most exciting about him, in my opinion. He has "it."
Bill Belichick will be questioned again for going for it on a fourth down. This time it was inside the 10 yard line late in the second half. Three points there would have been huge for the Patriots. But Belichick went for it on 4th & 1 and Paul Soliai, Joey Porter, and others came up huge in stopping Sammy Morris. The Dolphins would then march down the field and get a FG of their own - resulting in what was essentially a critical six point swing.
Dan Carpenter is money. There's nothing more to say. Is his leg the strongest? No. But a reliable kicker from inside 50 is even more important than a big leg. And DC$ is just that - reliable. Think Tony Sparano trusts Carpenter? On 3rd & 5 from the 23, the Dolphins ran the ball and gained nothing before DC$ drilled home the 41 yard FG to put the Dolphins ahead. If he has any doubts, the Fins pass the football there. That says a lot about the second year kicker.
The Dolphins may not have any number one receivers. But they have a plethora of reliable number two receivers. Davone Bess is essentially a poor man's Wes Welker, making clutch catch after clutch catch. Brian Hartline is on his way towards becoming a very good complimentary receiver. Greg Camarillo - or "Old Reliable" - always tends to make a clutch catch. None were bigger than his 4th & 6 completion along the right sideline to keep that game-winning drive alive. And even Ted Ginn got in on the act - making two critical receptions. His first catch was on that final drive of the first half, converting a 3rd & 2 into a 19 yard gain along the left sideline. His other reception was a 15 yard gain on a 3rd & 10 in the 4th quarter. At least that's progress, folks.
Anthony Fasano has looked like the TE we knew and loved last season. He has back to back 5 reception, 65+ yard performances.
The offensive line was excellent in pass protection. For the most part, Henne had all the time he needed in the pocket.
Ricky Williams. There - I just wanted to get his name involved here. He had a "workman-like" 75 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. When that's a "ho-hum" kind of game, you know you have a good back.
Want more reasons to like Hartline? The kid has become a special teams monster. You can't help but appreciate tough kids like that.
While I'm not saying Yeremiah Bell has been very good this year, Gibril Wilson has, by far, been the worst safety. He just can't cut it as a free safety. A true coverage free safety would make this defense instantly better.
Not enough pressure at all on Tom Brady. Can I see more Cameron Wake, please?
Better play-calling out of Dan Henning today. But one major gripe still remains: ENOUGH WITH PAT WHITE! Listen - I'm not a "Pat White hater." I actually wanted the Dolphins to draft him. But I just don't think he's ready...yet. Now he's just an instant drive killer. So let's give it a rest.
I really didn't like the decision to go for two with three minutes left in the third quarter. It's too early to start chasing points at that point. If the Patriots score a touchdown on their first possession of the fourth quarter, the Dolphins would have been down by two scores instead of just one. Luckily, though, this decision didn't come back to bite the Dolphins on the ass.

FINAL THOUGHT
What more can you ask for? The Dolphins are 6-6, one game out of the playoffs, and have a meaningful month of football ahead. And for us fans, we not only have meaningful December football to look forward to - we also get to enjoy the maturation process of a young quarterback week in and week out.

Enjoy the ride, everyone. And for those of you who were crying about how the season was over after last week's ugly loss in Buffalo - welcome back aboard the bandwagon.

Playoff hopes take big hit as Dolphins fall in Buffalo

Matty I — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:48:36 -0000

More photos » by Mike Groll - AP

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens (81) reacts to his fourth-quarter touchdown in front of Miami Dolphins defender Vontae Davis (21).

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The Dolphins arrived in Buffalo this weekend with nine days of rest since scratching and clawing their way back to .500 and back into the AFC playoff picture. But they left Buffalo again under the .500 mark after losing 31-14 to the Bills on Sunday. Just like that, the playoffs suddenly seem out of sight.

Generally, losses don't bother me too much. They won't stay with me for too much longer after the game is over. And if this was a loss to a quality opponent, I'd probably be over it already. But it's hard to swallow the idea that the Dolphins, after fighting so hard to get back to .500, would lose to this Bills team. If it were the Patriots, for example, I'd chalk this loss up to losing to a better team and move on. But the Bills are not a better team. That's why this one is so painful.

Play-calling a big problem
I know already that I'm going to get crap for talking about this. But if you've been around here long enough, then you know that I try my best not to ever kill the play-calling of any team - especially the Dolphins. Why? Calling plays is a tricky thing. When a risky play works, it's a great call. When it doesn't, it's a terrible call. Fans are fickle when it comes to this - which is why I try my best to stay out of it.

With that said, it's impossible not to highlight just how absolutely disgusting some of Dan Henning's play calls were on Sunday.

It all begins, of course, with that atrocious decision to let Ricky Williams throw the ball on Miami's first possession on a 1st & goal from Buffalo's 3 yard line. The Bills had just gone three and out to start the game and the Dolphins had methodically driven down to Buffalo's three on just eight plays. Chad Henne had converted a 3rd & 7 pass to Davone Bess for 15 yards just three plays into the drive. From there, Ricky had run for gains of 11, 7, 6, and 5 to get down to the 3 yard line. So what does Henning decide to do? He decides to let Ricky throw the ball out of the 'Wildcat" on 1st & goal - resulting in that costly interception.

For a team that prides itself on power running football - which was clearly working - they sure do go away from it pretty quickly, don't they? The Bills looked like they wanted no part of stopping Williams on that first drive. So let's have Ricky pass it. Sure - great idea.

I'm not against the idea of passing it down around the goalline. But at least let Chad Henne attempt the pass. Don't have Ricky - who hasn't attempted a pass in the NFL since 2000 - throw it.

Some of you might be asking why I'm spending so much time on this one play call when the Dolphins lost by 17. Well that's simple. And I said this during the game in our game thread - and it turned out to be true. When you're playing a bad team in their own stadium in a game you have to have, it's important not to let that bad team hang around. It's that simple. A touchdown on that opening drive changes the entire complexion of this game. It doesn't give the Bills any life or any confidence. And who is to say that if the Dolphins get off to a 14-0 lead when Brian Hartline scores his touchdown that the Bills just don't begin to collapse?

But that wasn't the only bad play call. The other occurred on the Dolphins third offensive possession. The Bills had just gone three and out again and the Dolphins were leading 7-0 (should have been 14, but I guess I have to let it go). The Bills had not even come close to stopping Miami's offense on their first two drives - except for that poor decision to have Williams throw it. The Dolphins were at their own 46 yard line following an 11 yard pass completion and two Ricky runs of 6 yards and 5 yards. Up to this point, in fact, the Dolphins were averaging a robust 6.7 yards per play. So what does Henning dial up? An end-around to Ted Ginn. Are you kidding me?

The play loses four yards. The Dolphins gain 11 more over their next two plays, not enough for the first following the drive-killing end-around, and are forced to punt.

Time and time again, it seems like Dan Henning gets too "cute" with his play calls. On Sunday, the Bills defense looked like a mess in the first half. But Henning let them off the hook with some piss-poor decisions. And while I'm not one to over-react too often, I suddenly went from defending Henning from those who were calling for his head to not caring one way or the other if Henning was to get fired.

The Dolphins could have easily had put away the Bills early on Sunday. But they let a bad team hang around, gain confidence, and the end result was a potentially season-ending loss to a team that really isn't any good (on paper, that is).

Tale of two Henne's
Sunday was the first time since becoming the starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins that Chad Henne laid an egg. But I guess the bigger story here is how surprised I was to see him lay that egg considering this was only his eighth career start.

What made his late-game struggles even more frustrating was how good Henne looked through the first three quarters. His throws were very strong and on target en route to completing 13 of 17 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. And that touchdown pass was a beautiful throw by Henne, buying time and letting Brian Hartline go up and make a play in the back corner of the endzone. Kudos to Hartline for making that outstanding play, too.

But the fourth quarter was a disaster for Henne. Following Buffalo's game-tying touchdown early in the fourth, Henne was just 4 of 14 for 50 yards and three interceptions. The interceptions, however, don't bother me too much. The first one was a result of Henne getting hit when he threw, causing an underthrow to an open Hartline. The third was a tipped ball by a lineman during garbage time that landed in the arms of a defender. The second one, though was a little bothersome because it wasn't the first time I noticed Henne staring down his receiver.

What worries me more than the staring down of a receiver on occasion was how inaccurate Henne looked during the fourth quarter. His throws were all over the place, it seemed, during that fourth quarter. I don't get it. He was impressively accurate through the first three quarters. And it's not like Henne to get rattled in a close game - as we saw against the Jets and the Bucs.

Hopefully we can just chalk it up to his maturation process as a starting quarterback in this league and move on.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
I was tempted to make the Ricky Williams interception the turning point of the game. But with 3:30 to go, the Dolphins had the football and were down by just three points. The turning point was just three plays later when Henne was hit as he threw, causing his pass to an open Brian Hartline to fall short and get intercepted. On the next play, Terrell Owens caught a long touchdown pass to seal the deal.

QUICK HITS
Some more quick thoughts on the game:

Ricky Williams had another great day - turning in his third consecutive 100 yard game. But you have to wonder if the Dolphins should have used a little more Lex Hilliard - especially in the first half - to keep Ricky fresh. Williams had just 12 carries for 36 yards in the second half.
The end of the first half was painful - as the Dolphins left more points on the field. It started out with two drops - one by Ted Ginn and one by Davone Bess (though Davone's was a very tough catch - he's just been so good recently I expect him to catch everything). And then on a 4th & 1 from Buffalo's 40 and the Dolphins going for it, Nate Garner gets caught holding - negating Lousaka Polite's 3 yard run and forcing Miami to punt.
Speaking of Ginn, he looked lost returning kicks today.
And speaking of looking lost, Vontae Davis had a rough day. He mistimed a pass to Terrell Owens in the fourth quarter that could have been an interception deep in Buffalo territory. Instead, it was a 17 yard gain for Owens. Miami's pass rush bailed him out, though, stalling the drive a few plays later. And then later, Davis was badly beaten by Owens for the game-sealing 51 yard touchdown pass. He claims Owens pushed off. I don't know if that's true. Either way, it was a tough game for the rookie. But both he and Sean Smith have bright futures in this league - my opinion hasn't changed one bit.
I love the pass rush today as the Dolphins tallied six sacks. But keep in mind that it was against one of the worst offensive lines in football and one that was without a number of starters.
Miami's offensive line, on the other hand, disappointed me. Chad Henne was getting drilled a lot in this game - though the stat sheet only shows one sack allowed. I counted at least 5 or 6 times in which Henne was hit as he threw or right after he threw - including on the first interception thrown by Henne.
Anthony Fasano looked very good today - showing those flashes he showed last season.
Brian Hartline also looked good. What a tremendous catch in the endzone. But what an even more impressive play by Hartline on their first possession of the second half - when he caught a pass at Buffalo's 8 or 9 yard line but had the presence of mind to get up and gain about 7 more yards after falling to the ground making the catch. He realized he wasn't touched while he was down, got up, and almost got into the endzone for the second time in the game.
After surrendering 24 points in the fourth quarter on Sunday, the Dolphins are allowing an average of 12.2 points per game in the fourth on the season - the most in the league.
Lots of poor tackling in that fourth quarter, by the way. Not good.

FINAL THOUGHT
Want to see something upsetting? Look at the AFC playoff picture. A win over the Bills today would have tied the Dolphins with three other teams for that second wildcard spot. And the Dolphins still have games against two of those teams they would have been tied with.

Even so, the Dolphins still have a slim chance to get back into the thick of things. At least, that's what the "homer" in me will believe for the time being.

But somebody said in one of the posts that not making the playoffs doesn't make this season a failure. That's 100% true. But if the Dolphins miss the playoffs by one game, this is the game that I will think back to most. Not the game against the Colts. Not the game against the Saints. This one.

Why? Because the Dolphins are a better football team than the Bills. I can tolerate losses where this team is competitive against superior teams. However, I simply can't stomach losing to teams that the Dolphins should beat.

All I was hoping for this season in terms of wins and losses was for Miami to be in the playoff hunt in December so we could watch meaningful December football. We still have that. But this upcoming month of December would have been a million times more exciting if the Dolphins had won this game in Buffalo.

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.

Ricky Williams leads the way as Dolphins defeat Panthers

Matty I — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:06:00 -0000

It sure did get nerve-racking a few times on Thursday night. But when all was said and done, the Dolphins went up to Charlotte and officially dug themselves out of the 0-3 hole they put themselves in to start the season by knocking off the Panthers 24-17.

Ricky steps up in Ronnie's absence to lead the way
There was a lot of panic amongst Dolphin fans over the past few days as we all awaited word on how serious Ronnie Brown's injury was. We then learned yesterday that Brown would be done for the season with a Lisfranc fracture to his right foot (he'll have surgery Friday, by the way). That's when we all began to wonder whether Ricky Williams could step into the role of workhorse and lead this offense. We all learned on Thursday night that - at least for now - Ricky's still got it.

In an outstanding performance, Williams carried the ball 22 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns - adding a receiving touchdown as well. This, by the way, was Ricky's third career three touchdown game and the first time in his career that he scored a touchdown both running and receiving. Not bad for a 32 year old back.

Don't let the numbers fool you, though. It was an up and down game for Williams. Nine of Ricky's 22 carries went for two yards or less - including four runs for negative yardage. Of course, it's not all Ricky's fault - sometimes he just got no blocking help from his line. But what impressed me most was how explosive Ricky was on some of those other carries. He looked very spry on that 3rd & 1 toss left to get down to the one yard line on Miami's second touchdown drive. And then, of course, there's the 46 yard scamper by Ricky in which he showed good burst and long speed on his way to the endzone - on carry number 22 on the night, by the way.

We said this week that without Ronnie and on a short week with little preparation time, the Dolphins would get back to the basics and play "conventional" football. They did just that - and it worked thanks to Ricky Williams. Now can Ricky keep it up for the rest of the season?

Henne and the receivers make some critical plays
For all the talk about how the Dolphins badly need a receiver - and they do - it's worth noting how well Chad Henne and his current group of receivers played on Thursday night. The stats aren't special by any means. And Henne was still a bit too inconsistent with his accuracy for my taste. But when they absolutely had to make a play, this passing offense got it done - against a pass defense that was ranked fourth in the NFL heading into this game.

Here's a stat I like a lot. When asked to pass on third down, Chad Henne started the game 0 for 3. But he then converted 5 of their next 7 3rd down passing situations - which included some of the biggest plays of the game.

It all started on Henne's completion to Ricky Williams out of the backfield on a 3rd & 9 inside the red zone. Ricky was running a Texas route out of the backfield (a zig zag where he runs towards the sideline out of the backfield and then cuts it inside like a slant once he hits the line of scrimmage) and Henne did a nice job of being patient and finding the open man.

On their next scoring drive, Henne converted a big 3rd & 6 by throwing a strike to Davone Bess, who made a remarkable lunging catch for the first down. Five plays later, Williams got into the endzone.

And then there was the biggest play of the game - which we'll get to in a moment.

All in all, you have to really like what you continue to see out of Henne. He didn't make any mistakes. He didn't take any sacks - a credit to both the offensive line and to Henne for getting rid of the ball when necessary. I'd like to see more consistency with his accuracy, of course. But it's not like he has an accuracy problem. Some of his throws are absolutely perfect in where they are placed (a couple throws to Bess, the throw to Brian Hartline, and the throw to Ted Ginn along the sideline). It's a consistency issue with him - especially when he needs to put some touch on the ball.

Henne's getting better, though. And I think his future is pretty bright.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
Some might say the turning point of the game was the 46 yard touchdown run by Ricky Williams. But that play never happens if not for the play that Chad Henne and Davone Bess made one play earlier.

Momentum was beginning to shift in Carolina's favor. The Dolphins were leading by only three late in the fourth quarter, staring down a 3rd & 12 and very close to a potentially costly three and out. The crowd was loud and the Panther defense was fired up. So what does a young, first year starting quarterback do? He takes the snap, rolls right, waits, waits, and waits some more. Then he shuffles left a little bit and throws a strike to Davone Bess - who was running right to left away from Henne, but also away from the coverage. Chad Henne showed outstanding poise and vision while Bess showed terrific awareness.

If the Dolphins don't make that play, who knows how this game plays out.

QUICK HITS
Many more quick thoughts on the game:

Some many performances deserve to be mentioned. But I'll start with Joey Porter. A team-high 8 tackles and 2 sacks? That's the "Peezy" I know and love. Welcome back! Put back-to-back games like this and I'll officially apologize to him.
Lousaka Polite is a monster. He's officially one of my five favorite current Dolphins. All he does is pick up short yardage first downs and knock heads. Even Joey Porter, speaking on NFLN after the game, talked about Polite's play tonight - and he wasn't even asked. It's easy to see why his coaches and teammates love this guy.
Jake Long simply owned Julius Peppers on Thursday night. Great job, Jake!
Speaking of the offensive line, how about that depth? Players kept going down left and right and it just didn't matter. Henne was never sacked and they opened up enough holes for Ricky. Huge shout-out to Nate Garner, by the way. The man played left guard, right tackle, and center at different times in this game. That's manning up.
Lex Hilliard - welcome to the NFL, kid. After back-to-back penalties by Jake Grove, Hilliard powered his way on a 3rd & 16 draw play - picking up 18 and a first down. Tacklers were just bouncing off of Hilliard on the run. He's not a bad fourth running back, huh? Again, props to the front office for the solid depth at running back as well.
Davone Bess - wow. How about those hands, folks? He had a few hiccups along the way this season. But it looks like our favorite undrafted wide receiver is back to his consistent form. That highlight lunging catch he made on a critical third down was the kind of catch that superstars make.
We have to give a shout-out to Ted Ginn. He didn't have any drops, made a couple of tough catches, and averaged 42 yards per kickoff return. He came into the game third in the league in kick returning. He now has a very real shot of leading the league in yards per kick return this season. At least that's something - and maybe will help build his confidence again.
Nice job by the defense getting pressure - at critical times, too. All four of Miami's sacks came on third down. Two of them were red zone sacks, too, forcing Carolina to punt. I think we need to dial up those safety blitzes a little bit more often - especially on third downs - moving forward. They seem to work and free up others to make a play.
Randy Starks is having a hell of a season. Starks was one of the two guys who made the initial stop on that 3rd & 1 run by the Panthers midway through the third quarter to stuff Carolina and force them to punt. He then sacked Jake Delhomme early in the fourth quarter on a 3rd & goal play to force the Panthers to settle for a field goal.
Nathan Jones is one of this team's unheralded key role players. He's made a number of big plays this season - including an interception to end a Carolina drive and a big pass break-up with under two minutes to go. He's becoming a terrific nickel corner.
Why not kick a field goal with 44 seconds left? It would have only been a 45 or 46 yarder for Dan Carpenter and would have sealed the game. A very bad decision by Tony Sparano here. Luckily, it didn't come back to bite him in the ass. But let's not have that happen again, alright?
Joey Haynos with two bad drops. Do I hear more calls for Kory Sperry?
Let's hope Jason Ferguson isn't hurt badly. Without him, this defense looks drastically different.
Just how important was it to get out in front of the Panthers 14-3 and take Carolina out of their game plan? Very. DeAngelo Williams was averaging nearly 10 yards per carry against the Dolphins. But he only got 13 carries thanks to a combination of poor play calling by Carolina and having to play catch-up late in the game. This game could have been ugly if Miami didn't get in front before the half.

New Orleans Saints' Defensive and Special Teams Player Grades @ Miami Dolphins

saints-nation — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:00:28 -0000

by J. Pat Carter - AP

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Below are the grades for the Saints' defensive players and special teams @ Miami. The grade represents the player's performance in the game, and the GPA represents the player's cumulative grade for the season.

Saints vs Dolphins recap

Saints vs Dolphins boxscore

Will Smith: C (2.56) Smith disrupted the Dolphins' passing attack on occasion with nice pass rushes, but he was quieter than usual. Facing off with emerging superstar Jake Long was no easy task. He finished with just 1 tackle and a tipped pass, but did knock down Chad Henne a couple times.

Charles Grant: C- (2.33) Grant regressed a little from his stellar form of late. Just 1 tackle in the game and he was mostly neutralized on passing downs. He did a good job of holding his ground on running plays, especially against the wildcat, but I didn't see the hustle from him that had become such a pleasant surprise this season.

Bobby McCray: D (2.07) When he played, he literally did nothing. He hasn't had the kind of pressure on passing downs that I hoped he would have this season. Hopefully he can have a breakout game soon because I know for a fact he is capable of better.

Anthony Hargrove: A- (2.40) Speaking of breakout games, it's sad to say it but the Saints almost benefited from Sedrick Ellis going down to injury. From the second Hargrove stepped into a full time role, he dominated. He registered two sacks, including one where he completely ran over the left guard and pushed his way into Henne. He also dropped Ronnie Brown for a loss on a running play and ended with 4 tackles. With Ellis injured, expect more playing time for Hargrove and hopefully more big plays.

Sedrick Ellis: B- (2.78) Too bad he went down with a sprained knee, he's a big part of what the Saints do defensively. He had 3 tackles and provided good push and pressure up the middle. Hopefully he can come back quickly, his injury does not sound like a season ender but could linger a while.

Remi Ayodele: B- (2.34) Pretty good game from Ayodele. At times he played the wildcat masterfully and at others he was pushed around by the Dolphins' line. He ended with 4 tackles and was present up the middle. The Dolphins did convert twice on 3rd and short, running right at Ayodele with fullback Lousaka Polite.

Scott Shanle: B+ (3.11) Shanle was blown up a couple times by a lead block on running plays and he was manhandled out of position on the 68 yard touchdown run by former Saint Ricky Williams. Other than those plays, he was his usual solid self in run support and pass defense, and tackled as good as always. He finished with 6 tackles, including one in the backfield for a loss. His biggest play was a HUGE fumble recovery before halftime that led to a big touchdown. That fumble recovery was the start of the big momentum shift.

Jonathan Vilma: A (2.95) Vilma was pretty much dominant throughout. He was constantly in the backfield and all over the field making tackles. This was by far Vilma's best game of the season and he ended with 10 tackles (3 for losses). He stopped a run on 3rd and short absorbing a big block and standing his ground before laying a vicious tackle, getting the Saints the ball back when they needed it badly. His tackling ability was stellar all day and he was on point. Great to see him play that way. After that long Ricky Williams touchdown run, you saw very few successful plays by the Dolphins on the ground and that was largely due to Vilma's presence.

Jabari Greer: B+ (3.61) Per usual, he was helpful in run support and very good in pass defense. He jumped a flag route beautifully but let a sure interception go through his hands. 4 tackles and 2 passes defended. Could Greer be inching close to the "lockdown corner" label? Maybe not, but at the least he's VERY good.

Tracy Porter: B+ (3.11) Porter had a couple egregious plays overshadowed by his tremendous plays. He had 9 tackles and was picked on often with mixed results. He defended 3 passes, including a deep ball that was played perfectly and a tipped pass into the hands of Darren Sharper that set up a 42 yard touchdown return. Porter took a horrible angle on Ricky Williams' long touchdown run and he played a slant route poorly that resulted in a 67 yard pass to Brian Hartline. Porter did show impressive aggression on his hits and impressive speed catching up to Hartline at the Saints' 5 yard line. Ultimately his most memorable play was the game sealing 54 yard interception return for a touchdown. The Saints are lucky to have such a good young corner.

Randall Gay: B- (3.09) Randall Gay was victimized on the Dolphins' first third down conversion pass of the game covering Davone Bess. While it was clear on the replay that Bess dropped the pass, the replay booth magically "malfunctioned" during the Saints' challenge. Suspect at best. Gay had 3 tackles. Nothing special, no big mistakes.

Roman Harper: B- (3.17) Harper laid some big hits but over-pursued a lot. He didn't play the wildcat perfectly, but he was active. He finished with 4 tackles, but misplayed two of the short touchdown runs. His grade could have been worse, but he forced the fumble before halftime that Shanle recovered.

Darren Sharper: A- (3.28) Sharper stepped up and made some plays in the running game, and had yet another interception run back for a touchdown. That's 6 interceptions in 6 games, and 3 touchdowns. That guy is incredible, and he's having a Pro Bowl season. He finished with 4 tackles including a terrific open field tackle on Ronnie Brown. The one bad play was a bad angle on the long pass play to Hartline, but overall Sharper was solid.

Troy Evans: C (1.67) Evans filled in for Fujita and was attacked on running plays often. Luckily, Vilma moved well sideline to sideline and helped the Saints defense immensely. Evans finished with 2 tackles and he was quiet. He seemed a little lost at times in the Saints' complex defense, but didn't have any serious errors.

Jo-Lonn Dunbar: C+ (2.33) Dunbar was subbed in often for Evans in the second half and did some nice things, especially in pass coverage. On Ronnie Brown's pass to Fasano he laid a nice hit to make sure the ball fell incomplete once Fasano bobbled it. He had 2 tackles as well, and I'm thinking he might be a better option than Evans if Fujita needs to miss another game. Ultimately Dunbar didn't play enough or do enough to earn a better grade.

John Carney: B- (2.72) I was really impressed by the 46 yarder that Carney hit early on. It was right down the middle and had some distance. I thought to myself, "he's going to get an A today". He missed from 50 later on just a little wide, but had nice distance on the kick - hard to blame him for that one. He missed an extra point but it was largely Mark Brunell's fault for bobbling the snap. Still, 2 missed extra points in 6 games is inexcusable. The Saints need to get that rectified immediately because it left them up 6 points late in the game and potentially exposed to a loss if the Dolphins had gotten into the end zone. He did bounce back to hit a chip shot that extended the lead to 6.

Thomas Morstead: A- (3.22)
Morstead had a bad punt early that went 35 yards and still got a 14 yard return from Davone Bess. Besides that weak effort he was very solid, including a big 53 yarder from the end zone to get his team out of trouble that was aided by a terrific Courtney Roby tackle. He averaged 45.7 yards per punt on 3 punts, and the Saints yielded 8.7 yards per return on 3 returns. Most importantly he gave the Dolphins no chance at a kickoff return late with 3 straight kickoffs for touchbacks. He did have a kickoff out of bounds, but I'll give him a pass on that since the game was out of reach after the Porter touchdown.

Courtney Roby: B+ (2.67) Roby finally broke a kick return free, returning it 87 yards. While that was a big play that got the Saints right back into the game after going down 7-0, he was caught from behind and he spiked the ball resulting in a 5 yard penalty. Overall his returning the rest of the way was perfectible. The punt coverage play mentioned above where he hit Ted Ginn Jr. for a 2 yard loss following a 53 yard punt was one of the better kick coverage plays of the season.

Defensive Player of the Game: Jonathan Vilma
Special Teams Player of the Game: Thomas Morstead

Poll

Who Was Your Defensive Player of the Game?

Jonathan Vilma

303 votes

Tracy Porter

35 votes

Darren Sharper

135 votes

Anthony Hargrove

52 votes

Jabari Greer

18 votes

Scott Shanle

5 votes

548 votes | Poll has closed

Dolphins vs Saints: Miami's Keys to Victory

Matty I — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Hans Deryk - AP

I hope to see a large dose of Ronnie on Sunday!

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Sunday's big game between the Dolphins and Saints is now just days away. All Dolphin fans know that this game certainly will not be easy. But it's definitely not an "unwinnable" game. The Dolphins certainly can win this game. But they'll have to play a near-perfect game. And these three keys below will be very important:

Keep it close
This one almost goes without saying. Even with the stronger armed Chad Henne under center, the Dolphins are not a team that can come back from big early deficits. They do not have the firepower and that's just not their way. Meanwhile, the Saints have the kind of explosive offense that allows them to score quickly and score often. The Dolphins obviously can't allow this to happen.

In three of their five games, the Saints have had halftime leads of 18, 14, and 17. And the Saints have scored on their first possession in all five of their games - putting up four touchdowns and a field goal. They've also never trailed in a game all season. And excluding when the game was 0-0, the Saints have only been tied for 19:22 of game time - meaning the Saints, after scoring on their first possession, have only been in a tie for 19 minutes and 22 seconds combined in all five games. That's insane.

But that also presents an opportunity. The Dolphins have been in tight games in the second half in all but one of their games. So this team is familiar, and comfortable, playing in tight, pressure-packed situations. The Saints might not be. Who is to say how New Orleans will react as the game progresses into the late 3rd and early 4th quarter of a tight, one-score game?

Linebacker Akin Ayodele, whose brother is a starting defensive tackle on the Saints, agrees:

"We've really faced adversity early in this season. I think it has put us in a better situation when certain things come about that we're prepared. Mentally we're prepared. We know how to deal with it."

"That's what we're shooting for: the fact that maybe nobody has pushed them. We're not the team that's going to just sit back and let them come on our home turf and push us around."

Frankly, I'm actually borderline over-confident that the Dolphins can pull off the win if they can keep this game close in the fourth quarter. And I say this only because I don't know how the Saints will react if/when the Dolphins refuse to go away. Like Akin said, nobody has pushed them yet in 2009. The question, if the Dolphins can indeed push them, is if the Saints have the right mentality to push back - especially when their on the road with the stadium rocking.

Get in manageable 3rd downs and convert
On paper, the Saints have the top 3rd down defense in the league - allowing opponents to convert on just 27% of their 3rd down attempts. But I think that stat is misleading in that many of the 66 3rd downs the Saints defense has faced have been 3rd & long situations due to incomplete passes on early downs as teams attempt to play catch-up. But I'm still not sold on New Orelans' ability to get off the field on 3rd and short situations. And the Dolphins are one of the league's best in converting those opportunities.

This season, the Dolphins are number one in the NFL in coverting 3rd and 2 yards or less to go - converting at an 85% clip (17/20). That stat is a big reason why the Dolphins lead the NFL in 3rd down conversions, with a rate of 56% - 5 percentage points higher than the numer two team. Of course, the percentage drastically dips when the situation is not a 3rd & 2 yards or less - from 85% to 45%. Not bad at all; but not as impressive, either.

Meanwhile, Ronnie Brown ranks third in the NFL since 2000 in 3rd down conversion percentage with two or fewer yards to go (among backs with at least 25 attempts). Ronnie has converted 40 of 53 attempts (75.5%) - less than four percentage points lower than Joseph Addai and just over two percentage points lower than Adrian Peterson, who ranked one and two.

When you factor in Ricky Williams and Lousaka Polite, it's easy to see why the Dolphins are so effective in short-yardage situations.

On Sunday, the league's top 3rd down offense will face the league's top 3rd down defense. And whoever wins more of those matchups will obviously go a long way towards determining the outcome of the game itself. The Dolphins must do a good job of staying in manageable 3rd down situations.

Win the third phase of the game
We all know that the Dolphins don't exactly possess the best special teams units in the league. But the Dolphins have the rare opportunity of going up against a team whose own special teams units are nothing special, either. Both are mediocre and the Dolphins would really benefit from making a big play or two to gain that "hidden yardage" and swing field position in their favor.

The Dolphins average only 22 yards per kick return. The Saints average only 22.1 yards. The Dolphins average 8.6 yards per punt return. The Saints only average 3.9.

As far as kick coverage goes, there's a big discrepancy. The Dolphins have been surprisingly effective covering kickoffs. They rank 3rd in the league in yards allowed per kick return - only 20. The Saints, however, allow 26.8 yards per kick return - the 3rd highest figure in the league. So whoever replaces Patrick Cobbs as Miami's primary return man - likely Ted Ginn Jr. or Kory Sheets - should have an opportunity to at least make a big play, which could really create some momentum for the Dolphins as they bid for the upset.

Are the Bears getting out-coached?

SackMan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:00:27 -0000

More photos » by John Froschauer - AP

Chances are... Lovie Smith is probably dialing up a blitz in this picture from the sidelines in Seattle on Sept. 27, 2009. The Bears had blitzed on 45% of their opponent's drop-backs prior to that game. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

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After Sunday night's painful loss in Atlanta, I found myself questioning the abilities of the Bears coaching staff once again. The Bears had two weeks to prepare for that game, yet they littered the field with penalties and blunders which ultimately cost them a chance at victory. Three of the biggest coaching mistakes in that game are flat out inexcusable.

1. The Roddy White TD - The Bears were caught out of position when 3 receivers were covered by only 2 defenders. The Falcons had two wideouts and TE Tony Gonzalez lined up in trips right at the LOS, and Gonzalez was MLB Nick Roach's responsibility. The Bears were running a safety blitz, and outnumbered in coverage. No timeout was called on the field by Roach... and, no timeout was called from the sidelines either. The result: Matt Ryan threw an quick screen to Roddy White, who was uncovered with two blockers, and ran for one of the easiest TDs you'll ever see in the NFL.

2. The no-huddle - The Bears defense was caught off guard by a no-huddle attack, and the Falcons finished a 12-play drive in the first half that ended with a Tony Gonzalez TD. Gonzalez was wide open in the back of the endzone, where MLB Nick Roach once again failed to cover him. When asked by reporters after the game about the Falcons no-huddle offense, Love Smith said they were unprepared for it, even though Matt Ryan said they've used the no-huddle a lot this season when he was asked a similar question. It was later discussed the the Falcons used the no-huddle very often vs New England earlier in the season. So, the Bears had two weeks to prepare for it, and were unprepared? Hmmmm... go figure.

3. Twelve men on the field - For the second time this year on Sunday Night Football, the Bears found themselves in a numbers crunch. The first time this happened, in Green Bay, the Bears were punting in the 4th quarter from their own 26 yard line with a 12-10 lead. When they thought the Packers had too many men on the field, they ran a fake to try an take advantage of a "free play." But, they were wrong, lost a challenge and a timeout, and turned it over on downs at their own 30 yard line. The Packers kicked a field goal to take a 13-12 lead.

This time, in the 4th quarter once again, the Bears had just forced the Falcons to punt on a 4th and 4 from the Bears 36 yard line. But, 12 men on the field gave the Falcons a 1st down at the Bears 31 in the 4th quarter with a 14-7 lead. Thankfully, Matt Ryan was intercepted by Nathan Vasher at the Bears 7 yard line on the very next play.

When I reflect on those 3 things... I sit here and scratch my head.

Then, I start to think of some other concerns that raise my eyebrow.

The Bears blitz
Over the past two seasons, the Bears have blitzed more than almost every team in the NFL.

Per Dan Pompei, on Sep 27th:

Last year, they blitzed on 34 percent of their opponents' drop-backs. This year, with coach Lovie Smith handling the defensive play-calling for the first time, they have blitzed on 45 percent of their opponents' drop-backs.

Only six teams -- the Jets, Bills, Steelers, Browns, Cowboys and Cardinals -- have run more blitzes than the Bears this season. And of those, only the Bills and Cardinals operate out of a four-man front as the Bears do.

I also remember it being documented that the Bears led the NFL in blitz % last season... although I can't find a source.

Sunday night vs the Falcons was no exception. The Bears blitzed Matt Ryan repeatedly in that game, however they failed to register a single sack or QB hit. Ryan's jersey never even touched the ground. When a team blitzes that many times, you'd figure they would eventually get to the QB... right? But, the Bears blitzes over the past several years have been practically useless... which raises another coaching question: Why?

Leading the league in blitz % in 2008, the Bears ranked 22nd in the league with 28 sacks. So far this season, the Bears have vastly improved their pass rush with 14 sacks... however, 10 of them are from defensive lineman. Why aren't the blitzers actually getting to the QB?

Talent has underachieved on the Bears, and excelled on other teams

Players come and go... and sometimes perform better on other teams. I get it... it's just the way it is. However, in the Bears case, there's a long list piling up. These players have had limited success as a Bear, and have left Chicago and prospered in other places. And, when you break it down... you wonder why they aren't achieving this success in Chicago?

It's not like the Bears have lacked talent... this list is proof.

QB Kyle Orton (traded) - Has led the Broncos to a 6-0 start and has a QB rating of 100.1

RB Thomas Jones (traded) - Led the AFC in rushing in 2008 with the Jets, and is currently #5 in the NFL in rushing yards

RB Cedric Benson (released) - The former #1 pick is experiencing a revival as a Bengal, and is currently #3 in the NFL in rushing yards

WR Justin Gage (released) - Led the Titans in receiving in 2007 & 2008, and is starting for them again in '09

WR Bobby Wade (released) - Led the Vikings in receiving in 2007, and is still in the league as the #3 WR for the Chiefs

WR Mark Bradley (released) - Is the 2nd leading WR for the Chiefs, and in 16 total games for Kansas City, has 45 catches for 557 yards & 4 TDs... nearly equaling his total output with the Bears in a span of 34 games over 4 seasons.

S Chris Harris (traded) - Has been the starting SS for the Panthers for 3 seasons, and led the league with 8 forced fumbles in 2007.

T Mark Colombo (released) - The former #1 pick, who battled knee injuries with the Bears, has started 53 consecutive games for the Cowboys at RT

FB Lousaka Polite (released) - He joined the Bears after 3 years in Dallas, and has been the starting FB for the Miami Dolphins for the past 2 seasons

It pains me to say it, but the evidence is stacking up here against Lovie Smith and his staff. Maybe it's a narrow-minded view, since my eyes are focused so much more on the Bears, than the rest of the NFL as a comparison. But, the overall picture sure doesn't look too good.

Poll

How would you grade the Bears coaching staff?

A: Great: They give the team a very strong competitive advantage

14 votes

B: Good: They are sometimes a step ahead, but usually pretty even with the opposition

149 votes

C: Average: They don't make or break the team

266 votes

D: Below average: They get out-coached way too often

498 votes

F: Bad: They are always unprepared

82 votes

1009 votes | Poll has closed

Dolphins vs Colts: Miami's Keys to Victory

Matty I — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:24:28 -0000

This is what I want to see more of!

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Monday's home opener against the Colts can't get here quick enough. We're all still pretty disappointed in how last week's season opener played out and the only remedy for all of us is a Dolphins win over the Colts. But that obviously won't be easy. Below are my three keys to victory for the Dolphins.

After reading them, be sure to tell us your thoughts below.

Pound the rock
There's been a lot of talk this week about whether or not the Dolphins might have abandoned the run too quickly last week against Atlanta. There might be some truth to that. While the Dolphins did run for just 38 yards on 10 carries in the first half, it was still only a 10-0 game to start the third quarter. But to open the second half, rather than feeding the ball to the two best offensive weapons on this team - Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams - Dan Henning decided to run it twice in a row with Lousaka Polite. The end result? A 3rd & 5 and a three and out. Following an Atlanta three and out, the Dolphins again had a chance to establish the run. But again, they decided not to. Chad Pennington dropped back to pass three consecutive times and the Dolphins again went three and out.

On Monday night, the Dolphins face one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time and they must do whatever they can to keep Peyton Manning off of the field. The easiest way to do that is to run the football effectively. It keeps the clock moving and keeps the team in manageable 3rd down situations.

Despite the fact that Indy's defense will be better against the run this year than in years past thanks to having bigger, more physical defensive tackles, the Jaguars still ran the ball for 114 yards on 26 carries last week. Last season, the Colts ranked just 24th in the NFL in rush defense, surrendering 122 yards per game on the ground. And in 2008, the Colts were 7-3 when they allowed over 100 yards rushing and 5-1 when they didn't. But 5 of Indy's 7 wins when allowing over 100 yards on the ground were by 4 points or less.

To keep the score close and have a chance to win, the Dolphins must run the ball on Monday night.

Don't let Reggie Wayne beat you
Marvin Harrison remains a free agent and Anthony Gonzalez will miss the game with an injury. So there are just two major offensive weapons the Dolphins must contest with when the Colts pass the ball - Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. We know how Miami has struggled in 2009 covering opposing tight ends. But I still think it's more important to take Reggie Wayne out of the game. Last week against Jacksonville, Wayne was targeted 14 times by Peyton Manning and caught 10 balls for 162 yards and a touchdown. If you let Wayne catch that many passes, the Colts will beat you.

So how do you do this? If I'm the defensive coordinator, I get physical with Wayne and beat him up at the line of scrimmage. Cornerbacks have five yards to bump receivers and I think the Dolphins must do just that. Wayne isn't a burner - he beats you with great route running and amazing timing with Manning. To disrupt that timing , you have got to get in his face and physically abuse him within those five yards.

If the Dolphins can keep Wayne relatively quiet and force Manning to go to guys like Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie more frequently, then the Dolphins could really surprise the national audience that will be tuning into this game.

Be the aggressor
So often last week it seemed like the Dolphins were playing scared. It seemed like they were tentative on both sides of the ball. Well you don't beat good teams like that. And they won't be the Colts like that.

I want to see the Dolphins be aggressive on offense and on defense. I want to see Chad Pennington take some shots down the football field. I don't care if they fall incomplete. Just let Indy know you're willing to go long if it's there. Force Indy's defense to keep that in the back of their minds all game.

Defensively, I want to see this team get after Peyton Manning. Don't be afraid that Manning will beat you. You know what - if you give Manning enough time in the pocket, he'll be you regardless. So why not get after him aggressively? I don't want to see the Dolphins react on defense to what the Colts are doing. I want to see the Colts be forced to react to what Miami is doing. Bring some pressure. Use some exotic blitz packages. Make Peyton Manning as uncomfortable as you can. And most importantly, knock Manning around a little.

The Dolphins aren't expected by many to win this game. So what do they have to lose? Play physical and be aggressive. Don't play not to lose - play to win.