SB Nation - Davone Bess

Tuesday Thoughts: Talking receivers & more

Matty I — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:25:30 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

D-Bess celebrating his touchdown on Sunday.

When I sat down to write this, I couldn't pinpoint one single topic I wanted to highlight today. So I figured - what the hell - let's make this post a little bit of everything.

Quick thoughts on the receivers
For the first time this year, the Dolphins won a game through the air. Miami's receivers did come up very big on Sunday. And it made me realize - this receiving corps needs a legitimate number one receiver.

Huh?

Let me explain.

Did anyone notice how most of Chad Henne's completions on Sunday came on slants, drags, curls, and comebacks? Part of the reason for that is because the Dolphins - outside of Ted Ginn, who we know isn't the most reliable receiver - don't have any receiver who can get behind the defense. Translation? They're slow. Well, maybe that was harsh. But they're certainly not fast.

With that said, though, just imagine how good this group could become if the Dolphins had that true number one receiver. Just think about how effective Brian Hartline and Greg Camarillo would be with a real threat playing on the other side of them. Or how good Davone Bess would be working the slot week in and week out like Wes Welker does thanks, in large part, to having a teammate like Randy Moss. That one singular addition of a real number one receiver would instantly change this receiving corps from an "average to below average" group to a "good to great" group.

Speaking of Bess, though, let's spend a moment on him. Just how good has Davone been since being an undrafted free agent last year out of Hawaii? Well - he's been really, really good. Some like to call D-Bess a "poor man's Wes Welker." But through their first two seasons, Bess has actually been better than Welker. And let's be honest - if Bess, right now in just year two of his career, was swapped out with Welker and played in that offense with those teammates, he'd be every bit as productive as Welker, if not better.

In his first two seasons, Welker caught 96 balls for 1,121 yards and a touchdown. Bess, meanwhile, has 113 catches for 1,102 yards and two touchdowns. In fact, Bess has a chance to catch Irving Fryar for most receptions in their first two seasons as a Dolphin. Fryar caught 137 passes in his first two seasons in Miami. Second on that list, meanwhile, is Mark Duper - but with an asterisk. His first season was technically 1982. But Duper was only active for two games that year and never even touched the ball. In '83 and '84, Duper caught 122 passes. Bess is only 24 receptions short of Fryar's mark and just nine from Duper's mark.

You'll have a hard time finding any receiver in the NFL who is more efficient than Bess, too. In fact, only six wide receivers in the AFC have a higher catch percentage than Bess. And one of them is a teammate of his. Below is how the Dolphins receivers have done catching the football:

Player	Rec.	Tgts.	Catch %
Greg Camarillo	32	45	71.1%
Davone Bess	59	84	70.2%
Brian Hartline	21	37	56.8%
Ted Ginn	27	61	44.3%

A little '08 draft talk
Watching Joe Flacco make mistake after mistake on on Monday night, I got to thinking about the top quarterbacks in the 2008 draft class. The Dolphins were heavily criticized by some (Mel Kiper and Mike Mayock come to mind first) for passing on Matt Ryan and drafting Jake Long/Chad Henne instead. But now that Henne has nine career starts under his belt, let's compare the numbers of those three quarterbacks (Henne, Ryan, Flacco) through their first nine starts. And yes - some will say it isn't a fair comparison because Henne had a year to sit and learn. My rebuttle is simple. Ryan and Flacco had better supporting casts around them - especially Ryan in Atlanta.

Let's go to the numbers:

Player	Comp/Att	Comp %	Yds	YPA	YPC	TD	Int	W-L
Chad Henne	163/282	57.8%	1,755	6.2	10.8	9	7	6-3
Matt Ryan	149/250	59.6%	1,909	7.6	12.8	10	6	6-3
Joe Flacco	151/243	62.1%	1,649	6.8	10.9	7	7	6-3

You cna make whatever judgments you want from those numbers above. But here's what I know. At this point, there's no reason to think that Henne won't be as good, if not better, than either of the other two quarterbacks. And when you couple the selection of Henne with the selection of a franchise left tackle like Long, I think it's fair to say that these "draft experts" should prepare to dine on some crow in the not-to-distant future.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - to this day, I still draft Jake Long over Matt Ryan. Chad Henne is just an excellent little bonus.

AFC Playoff Picture
I'm not a fan of projecting too far into the future in terms of playoff positioning. But this does deserve a quick examination.

Here are the facts. The Dolphins are currently in 8th in the AFC, only one game behind the final wildcard spot that is currently held by the Jaguars - coincidentally, the Dolphins' next opponent. In fact, Miami's final four opponents are all against teams in the AFC playoff race.

So what happens if the Dolphins win their remaining four games and get to 10-6? Well that would mean that the Jaguars, Ravens, and Jets would all have at least six losses to go along with Miami. Thanks to Miami's two game sweep of the Jets, New York is a non-factor if the Dolphins win out. So that would bring us to the Dolphins, Ravens, and Jaguars.

The first tie-breaker for three teams and one wildcard spot is if any of the teams have defeated both of the other teams. In this scenario, no team would have accomplished this. The next tie-breaker is conference record. In this scenario, with the Dolphins and Ravens winning out and the Jags winning all but their game this week against the Dolphins, Jacksonville would only have three conference losses while both Miami and Baltimore would have four - giving that final wildcard spot to the Jaguars.

But the Jaguars still face the Colts at home and the Patriots in New England. So I don't think it's likely we see the Jaguars end the season with only three conference losses. And if they were to lose to New England or Indy, then that would give the Jags seven losses - eliminating them from this particular discussion in which we are examining what would happen should the Ravens and Dolphins win their remaining games.

So that would leave the Ravens and Dolphins. The next tie-breaker after conference record would be each team's record in common games. In this scenario, with the Dolphins and Ravens winning their remaining games, the Ravens would be 3-2 in games against common opponents (which are SD, NE, Ind, Pit) while the Dolphins would be just 2-3. Hence - the Ravens would get that final wildcard spot.

What's this all mean? It means that the Dolphins do not control their own destiny. But it also means that they have got to take care of their own business if they even want to worry about these playoff scenarios. And that continues this week in Jacksonville.

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.

Dolphins vs Patriots: Game Capsule

Matty I — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:30:13 -0000

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (7-4) AT MIAMI DOLPHINS (5-6)

SERIES

	PATRIOTS	DOLPHINS
SERIES LEADER		48-37
STREAKS	4 of past 5
COACHES VS. OPP.	Belichick: 12-9	Sparano: 1-2
LAST WEEK	L 38-17 at Saints	L 31-14 at Bills
LAST GAME	11/8/09: Dolphins 17 at Patriots 27. New England QB Tom Brady passes for 332 yards, including 71-yard TD to WR Randy Moss. Pats RB Laurence Maroney runs for 82 yards & TD.
LAST GAME AT SITE	11/23/08: Patriots 48, Dolphins 28. New England QB Matt Cassel passes for 415 yards with 3 TDs - his 2nd straight 400-yard game - & adds 8-yard rush TD.
BROADCAST	CBS (1:00 PM ET): Jim Nantz, Phil Simms. Westwood One Radio: Howard David, Dan Reeves. SIRIUS: 126 (NE), 108 (Mia.). XM: 103 (NE).

STATS

PASSING	Brady: 282-429-3,286 (2L)-20 (3C)-8-96.5	Henne: 144-249-1,512-7-7-73.2
RUSHING	Maroney: 131-519-4.0-8	R. Williams: 154-792-5.1-9 (T2C)
RECEIVING	Welker: 85 (1L)-886-10.4-4	Bess: 49-431-8.8-0
OFFENSE	411.5 (1C)	317.9
TAKE/GIVE	+10 (1C)	-3
DEFENSE	313.4	341.0
SACKS	Banta-Cain: 5	Porter: 7
INTs	Bodden: 5 (T2C)	V. Davis (R), N. Jones: 2
PUNTING	Hanson: 40.2	Fields: 46.0 (3C)
KICKING	Gostkowski: 95 (2C) (32/32 PAT; 21/26 FG)	Carpenter: 76 (28/29 PAT; 16/17 FG)

NOTES

PATRIOTS: Since 1900, club is NFL-best 50-28 (.641) in Dec...Club aims for 3rd consecutive win vs. Dolphins...Pats rank 1st in AFC & 2nd in NFL w/411.5 yards per game...QB TOM BRADY (29,732) surpassed DREW BLEDSOE (29,657) for most career passing yards in Patriots history. In last game at Mia. (10/21/07), Brady completed 21 of 25 passes (84.0 pct.) for 354 yards & tied career-high w/6 TDs vs. 0 INTs & 158.3 passer rating. Brady is 26-4 (.867) in Dec. w/43 TDs vs. 19 INTs & 89.1 passer rating...RB LAURENCE MARONEY aims for 7th game in row w/rush TD & has career-high 8 rush TDs in '09...WR RANDY MOSS (992) needs 8 receiving yards to join JERRY RICE (14) as only players in NFL history w/10 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Moss aims for 3rd consecutive game w/100+ receiving yards vs. Mia. (125, 147). WR WES WELKER leads NFL w/85 rec. & aims for 10th consecutive game w/6 or more rec...WR SAM AIKEN had career highs in rec. (7) & yards (90) last week...S BRANDON MERIWEATHER & DT VINCE WILFORK attended Miami (Fla.)...

DOLPHINS: Club is 4-0 in Dec. under head coach TONY SPARANO...QB CHAD HENNE is 3-1 as starter at home & has completed 69 of 115 passes (60.0 pct.) for 742 yards with 4 TDs...RB RICKY WILLIAMS posted 23rd 100-yard rush game w/Miami last week (most by any Dolphin) & aims for 4th consecutive game w/100+ rush yards. Williams (9) needs 1 rush TD to reach double-digit rush TDs for 2nd time in career (16 in '02)...WR DAVONE BESS (49) needs 6 receptions to surpass career-high of 54 in '08 rookie season. Rookie WR BRIAN HARTLINE (Round 4, Ohio St.) had 2nd career TD rec. last week...TE ANTHONY FASANO is averaging 15.7 yards per catch in past 2 (6 catches, 94 yards)...LB JASON TAYLOR (126.5) needs 0.5 sack to surpass DERRICK THOMAS for 11th-most sacks all-time. Taylor has 12 sacks against Patriots, 3rd-most vs. any opponent...LB JOEY PORTER aims for 3rd game in row with 2 or more sacks. In past 5 vs. NE, Porter has 8 sacks...S YEREMIAH BELL posted 1st INT since 11/13/05 last week.

STILL TIME FOR A TURNAROUND: Since the current 12-team playoff system was instituted in 1990, 13 teams have reached the postseason despite having a losing record after 11 games. This includes the current streak in which a sub-.500 team has reached the playoffs for five consecutive seasons. And in four of those five seasons the team has advanced to the Divisional playoffs.

Since 1990, teams with a losing record after 11 games that rebounded to make the playoffs:

YEAR	TEAM	RECORD AFTER 11 GAMES	FINAL RECORD	ADVANCED TO
1990	New Orleans Saints	5-6	8-8	Wild Card
1993	Minnesota Vikings	5-6	9-7	Wild Card
1994	Detroit Lions	5-6	9-7	Wild Card
1994	New England Patriots	5-6	10-6	Wild Card
1995	Detroit Lions	5-6	10-6	Wild Card
1995	San Diego Chargers	4-7	9-7	Wild Card
1996	Jacksonville Jaguars	4-7	9-7	AFC Championship
1997	Detroit Lions	5-6	9-7	Wild Card
2004	St. Louis Rams	5-6	8-8	Divisional
2005	Washington Redskins	5-6	10-6	Divisional
2006	Philadelphia Eagles	5-6	10-6	Divisional
2007	Washington Redskins	5-6	9-7	Wild Card
2008	San Diego Chargers	4-7	8-8	Divisional

Dolphins vs Patriots: Keys to Victory

Matty I — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:15:08 -0000

More photos » by David Duprey - AP

I say - what the hell - let him air it out and see what happens.

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On Sunday, the Dolphins will look to do what only one team has been able to do since Bill Belichick took over as Patriots head coach - beat the Pats and send them to their second consecutive loss. That's right - since Belichick took over, the Patriots are 24-1 when they are coming off of a loss. Just this year, the Pats are 3-0 following a loss and have outscored their opponents by an average of 30 points. That number is skewed, of course, thanks to their 59-0 drubbing of the Titans. But still, their closest game this year following a loss was against the Falcons in which the Pats won by 16 points.

So no - this is obviously no easy task that the Dolphins face on Sunday and logic tells you that the Dolphins don't have too much of a chance. Luckily, games aren't won on paper - they are won on the field. And below you will find what I consider to be the three keys to a Dolphins victory.

Attack New England's secondary
No - the Dolphins aren't exactly loaded with talent at the receiver position. But at this point, what do we have to lose?

On Monday night, we saw the Saints regularly spread out New England's defense and just pick on their corners all game long. The biggest culprit was Jonathan Wilhite, who gave up completion after completion in that game. In fact, one of the biggest contributors to Pats Pulpit came onto this site and wrote of the Patriot secondary, "Brees picked it apart Monday night, throwing at CB Jonathan Wilhite like he wasn’t even there. In fact, it would have been better if he wasn’t because at least then there would have been an excuse."

Now we all know that these Dolphin receivers aren't even close in terms of talent to what New Orleans can throw at you. But what the hell? Let's go for it.

The last time these teams met, Chad Henne did throw for 220 yards. Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo each had good days. And Brian Hartline has continued to improve each week. In that game, the Dolphins did a good job of picking on New England's weaker corners. They threw at rookie Darius Butler 10 times, completing 7 passes for 76 yards against him. They threw at Shawn Springs four times, completing all four passes for 46 yards. Leigh Bodden was the guy who was most effective, allowing only three completions and just 4.1 yards per attempt in his direction. Bodden was especially good against Bess, allowing just one completion in five attempts to Davone.

Wilhite, meanwhile, didn't see too much of the field in large part because the Dolphins didn't use too many three or four receiver sets. I really hope to see - dare I say - more four receiver sets on Sunday. Spread out that defense, keep Ricky Williams in the backfield, and have Ted Ginn split out wide just running fly patterns all game in hopes of occupying one of the safeties.

What's the worst that could happen?

Mix up the defense
One of the things the Saints did so well against the Patriots was to mix up the defense and keep the Patriots on their toes. Following the loss, when asked about how the Saints were able to contain Randy Moss so well, Bill Belichick responded, "They did what they do. They played zone. They double-covered. They played man. They rushed. They did what they do and they did it pretty well."

There's something to be said about how important it is to not do the same thing over and over again. And we saw back in week nine that man coverage with minimal safety help is not the route to go against this Patriot offense. So I really hope that this isn't the plan of attack that Paul Pasqualoni dials up again.

What should the Dolphins do defensively? I'm no defensive coordinator so I won't try to talk like one. But I know for a fact that this defense has become too predictable. Countless times this year, the Dolphins have used the same boring blitz packages and same coverages in the secondary. Their blitzes have become predictable and their coverages have become tired and old.

I know that Sean Smith and Vontae Davis are only rookies, but would it kill them to play a little zone? Probably not. Sure - zone is harder to learn. But it would keep a veteran like Tom Brad on his toes.

Right now, I can sit at home and read the Dolphins' secondary before the snap just as well as a quarterback can. That, my friends, is a big problem. We've seen all of the good quarterbacks that Miami has faced just eat up this defense with simple pre-snap adjustments. Peyton Manning has done it. Tom Brady has done it. Drew Brees has done it. And now even Ryan Fitzpatrick has done it. Enough is enough. Be different. Take some chances. Grow a set.

Show a little emotion
Sometimes I can't help but wonder about this team and these players. Why was it on Sunday that Tony Sparano was showing more emotion on the sideline than his players were on the field? Did anybody else notice that?

I know - they were just the Bills. But I can't imagine that this coaching staff didn't drill it into their players' heads that any loss - even one to the Bills - would severely cripple their playoff chances. And yet, in a game the Dolphins had to have, these players on the field just looked uninspired for pretty much all of the second half.

Well I'll tell you what. If I don't see much more emotion and fire on Sunday in a game at home against the Patriots, we'll all have to start questioning the heart of this team - and of their supposed leaders.

Dolphins vs Patriots: Three Key Matchups

Matty I — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

Miami Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis makes an interception behind New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss during their week nine game in Foxborough.

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Last week's loss in Buffalo still stings - I know. But nothing helps heal wounds like a win the following week. With the Patriots coming to town on Sunday, a win would be even more enjoyable. But it obviously won't be easy. The Patriots rarely ever lose two games in a row and they are going to be angry following their blow out loss to the Saints on national television a couple of nights ago.

But still - we need to keep the faith. With that said, here are three of the most critical matchups for Sunday's game:

Randy Moss/Wes Welker vs Vontae Davis/Sean Smith
It seems like we mention our two rookie corners every single week in this post. But that's because Vontae Davis and Sean Smith have had to go up against some of the NFL's best receivers this season. I'm sure it's been a terrific learning experience for these two kids. But on Sunday, these two need to apply some of the lessons they've learned this year and do their best to contain one of the league's best receiving duo.

Wes Welker and Randy Moss are at the top of all of the key statistical categories. Welker is first in receptions (85) while Moss is sixth (66). Moss, meanwhile, is first in receiving yards (992) while Welker is fifth (886). And the duo has combined to score 12 touchdowns this season. But they can be contained. Look no further than just two nights ago when the Saints held the two to a combined 9 receptions for 99 yards and no touchdowns. And that's with using a rookie corner and two veterans who were both just signed within the last two weeks. How did they do it? The Saints used an excellent mixture of coverages - man and zone - to keep the Patriots guessing. That's probably the game plan the Dolphins should use on Sunday.

What they shouldn't do is try the same game plan that they used back in week nine when these two teams met in New England. The Dolphins used a similar game plan to what the Giants used in the Super Bowl two years ago - trying to apply a lot of pressure while having the corners in man coverage. That didn't work. Davis was thrown at nine times while covering Moss or Welker, allowing six completions for 125 yards and a touchdown. He did have an outstanding interception early in the game, though. Smith, meanwhile, was thrown at three times while defending either of the two dynamic receivers, surrendering 2 completions for 23 yards.

These two young corners need to put together good performances for a full 60 minutes if the Dolphins want to steal this game and get back to .500.

Dan Koppen vs Paul Soliai
Back in week nine, the Dolphins were without starting nose tackle Jason Ferguson. Well it showed. The Patriots ran for 109 yards and averaged 4.5 yards per carry - which is not good considering the Pats are averaging under 4 yards per carry against the rest of the NFL. That day up in Foxborough, Paul Soliai played 29 snaps at either defensive tackle (when the Dolphins were using four down linemen) or nose tackle as he attempted to replace Ferguson. Quite frankly, he was owned.

Patriots center Dan Koppen really dominated Soliai for much of the game. Koppen weights under 300 pounds but was still able to manhandle the 340+ pound Soliai for much of the game. Sure, Soliai admitted that he probably shouldn't have played once he injured his ankle in that game because it was bothering him. But even before he hurt himself, Koppen was blowing Soliai off the ball - not even needing a double team on the much bigger nose tackle.

Last week against Buffalo, Soliai continued his struggles as Bills running back Fred Jackson ran for 73 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries. On Sunday, Soliai has got to play better and help make the Pats one-dimensional on offense.

Dolphin receivers vs Patriot corners
While the Pats did a good job containing Miami on the ground back in week nine (Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for just 81 yards on 22 carries), the Dolphin receivers were able to get open against this New England secondary. Greg Camarillo and Davone Bess combined for 11 receptions and 127 yards receiving while rookie Brian Hartline added an 18 yard reception. And we saw just how vulnerable New England's secondary is on Monday night when the Saints just lit them up.

Of course we all know that Drew Brees is a top three quarterback and he has a number of weapons at receiver. But still - the Patriots knew that the Saints would throw, spent the week drawing up a game plan to defend them, and still couldn't even come close to containing that offense.

Personally, I wouldn't even mind seeing Chad Henne come out and throw it around left and right on Sunday early in the game to loosen up that Patriot defense before turning to the usual run-heavy offense. I hope to see the Dolphins use some play-action passes early and take some shots in the 10 to 20 yard range to keep New England honest. But for this to work, Miami's receivers have got to step their game up and create some separation from these average (at best) Patriot cornerbacks.

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.

Bills Fantasy Friday: Week 12 Start 'Em/Sit 'Em

Kurupt — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Stephen Morton - AP

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Amazingly, it's already Week 12. The fantasy football regular season is coming to a close in the next few weeks, and it's time to make one final push to the playoffs. The Buffalo Bills might be out of it, but most fantasy teams are still fighting for that championship. Congratulations to all those teams that have been good enough to clinch a playoff berth already. For the rest of you (us!), buckle up, the crazy roller coaster ride of fighting for playoff berths continues! Head on in after the jump for the individual players of note for this Sunday's Miami Dolphins visit to the Buffalo.

Quarterbacks
Chad Henne - Henne made his first NFL start the last time these teams met. He threw for just 115 yards and was sacked 6 times that day, but the Dolphins hardly needed him to do much. That trend has continued for much of the season, as Miami continues to rely heavily on the ground game. However, Henne has thrown 26 or more passes in five of his last six games. Many of those passes are of the short, underneath variety as Henne has averaged 6.4 yards per attempt or less in all but one of his starts. Expect that trend to continue, as well. He has done a nice job protecting the football, throwing just four interceptions and not losing a fumble over 218 pass attempts. On the other hand, he has just 6 touchdowns. Expect the Bills to force Henne into making plays, just don't expect him to make many big plays. He might not make many mistakes, though, either. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Ryan Fitzpatrick - Fitzpatrick looked much better against the Jaguars, although he was still amazingly erratic and inaccurate. The final numbers looked good (297 yards, 1 touchdown, 9.6 ypa) even if most of his passes didn't. Fitzpatrick continues to look downfield more than Trent Edwards ever dreamed of, and was finally able to get Terrell Owens involved. Lee Evans also caught a long touchdown that was negated by penalty. Expect those attempts to continue. I wouldn't expect 297 yards any time soon, or even 200 yards, but if he continues to throw it around, the big play potential is there. Fitzpatrick and the Bills get to face the 22nd ranked Dolphins' pass defense this week. With all that said, he still stinks as a starting quarterback and shouldn't even be a consideration for fantasy owners, especially those of you with playoff aspirations. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Running Backs
Ricky Williams - Is the holistic one the fantasy story of the year? Probably not, but he is one of the nice surprises for fantasy owners. With Ronnie Brown out for the season, Williams is going to be a huge part of the rest of the fantasy season. If you are lucky enough to have him for your playoff run, enjoy! Wiliams already has 10 touchdowns this year, has averaged 5.3 yards per carry and has even added 212 receiving yards. He also needs to average about 54 yards per game to have his first 1000 yard season since 2003. He's going to get that, barring injury, and is going to help a lot of fantasy teams win down the stretch. With the juicy Bills matchup, expect a big week out of him again this week. Even after holding Maurice Jones-Drew to just 66 yards on 25 carries this past week, don't expect that type of success for the Bills defense to continue. Williams had 85 yards and a touchdown in shared duty the first time around. Expect those numbers to go up this week. Verdict: Start 'Em

Marshawn Lynch - As of the time I'm writing this, it's unclear as to whether Lynch will play this Sunday. I'm going to say he is simply because we haven't heard of any major damage. Assuming he does give it a go, I wouldn't expect him to have big numbers again. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that Fred Jackson sees more carries anyhow. The Dolphins are 12th in the NFL in run defense giving up about 106 yards per game. Lynch has been a major fantasy disappointment this year. I'd expect it to get worse before it gets better. Keep him benched until we see some signs of life out of him. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Fred Jackson - Jackson continues to see roughly 10-12 touches a game on offense. I would guess that number goes up this week with a banged up Lynch being questionable. If Lynch were to miss the game, Jackson is probably a solid RB2 this week. Remember late last season when Lynch was out and Jackson ran wild? Well forget about that. Other than Lee Evans, every single other starting player on offense is different. Don't expect a similar close to the season for him this year. BUT you can expect solid numbers, especially if he gets the full workload. If Lynch plays this week, I'd still consider Jackson a flex option as he seems to be getting involved in the passing game more, while continuing his kick return duties. Verdict: Start 'Em as a flex, and a RB2 if Lynch sits

Wide Receiver
Davone Bess - Bess leads the Dolphins with 46 receptions for 397 yards. When your leading receiver averages 8.6 yards per catch, it's safe to say none of these guys are startable. I actually really like Bess as a slot receiver in real life, but he's not a fantasy option and neither are his fellow Dolphin receivers. Bess does have 16 catches for 191 yards in his last three games, so he does have some PPR value. If you are stuck and need a guy to get you 6-8 points in your PPR league, Bess could be your guy. Other than that, don't start him or Ted Ginn, Brian Hartline and Greg Camarillo. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Lee Evans - Poor Evans. He lost out an amazing 53 yard touchdown catch last week because Jonathan Scott couldn't avoid the Three Stooges penalty. He finished with just one catch for 15 yards. Many people wanted to start Evans after his nice game the previous week against Tennessee and his solid production with Fitzpatrick under center before. Pity you folks. If there's one fantasy football mantra to follow, it's never start Lee Evans, ever! He will burn you. He has routinely hurt the Dolphins in the past, but again, don't. start. Lee. Evans. If he puts up big numbers on your bench, so be it. That means the Bills offense did something good and you didn't have to worry about whether he'd actually do anything in your starting lineup. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Terrell Owens - Welcome to the 2009 NFL season T.O.! You were missed. I really don't know what to make of his performance against Jacksonville. Is it a sign of things to come down the stretch, or is it just a blip on an otherwise quiet radar? Did the promotion of Perry Fewell to head coach mean anything for Owens? There are too many questions and too many useless performances from Owens this year to consider moving him back into your starting lineup. He is, however, back in the discussion. If Fewell's gameplans are to get Owens involved early and often, he could be one of the playoff heroes in fantasy football this year. It wouldn't surprise me if Owens were to have a nice finish to the season, I just want to see how he's used this week before recommending him again. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Tight Ends
Joey Haynos and Anthony Fasano - Both barely have 100 yards receiving on the season. They are barely a part of the Dolphins' passing game, they shouldn't be a part of yours. I'd rather start a Bills Tight End. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Shawn Nelson - Nelson made a beautiful catch over the top of the defender against Jacksonville, but again wasn't much of a factor overall. That should continue, although it'd be nice to try utilizing him more in the passing game. He's not even worth considering here. I'd rather start a Dolphins Tight End. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Kickers
Dan Carpenter - Carpenter has been rather good for Miami this year, connecting on 16 of his 17 field goal attempts. Against the Bills, he might be worth a spot start. As always, I'd be looking at a guy on a team with a better offense. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Rian Lindell - Lindell has also been quite good for Buffalo, hitting 17 of his 19 field goal attempts. Just like Carpenter, I'd be looking at a guy with a better offense. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Defense/Special Teams
Miami D/ST - This unit had four sacks and an interception last week against Carolina. Going against the sieve that is the Bills' OL and Ryan Fitzpatrick, those numbers look likely again. I wouldn't start them, though. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Buffalo D/ST - They sacked Henne six times in the first matchup, but don't go expecting that again. Expect a sack or two and maybe an interception. Injuries have ravaged this unit that was only mediocre to begin with. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Sleepers
None. Really, I don't see a surprise performance out of anyone in this game. It'll probably be a boring field goal contest with Ricky Williams running wild.

********

The Thanksgiving games have come and gone, so your Week 12 matchup is likely well under way. This Sunday will make or break a lot of fantasy seasons. Good luck and enjoy the games!

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.

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

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

More photos » by Hans Deryk - AP

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

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

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

Now let's talk more about the game.

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

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

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

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

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

"I will learn from that definitely."

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

Jason Taylor was also impressed:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dolphins Mid-Season Review: Shifting expectations

Matty I — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:15:18 -0000

by Lynne Sladky - AP

Can this head coach/quarterback (Sparano/Henne) duo eventually do what the greatest head coach/quarterback (Shula/Marino) duo in team history couldn't do?

View full size photo »

We've officially hit the halfway point of the 2009 Miami Dolphins season and are now a season and a half into the Bill Parcells-Jeff Ireland-Tony Sparano era in Miami. Considering where we were when the "trifecta" took over, nobody should be disappointed about where this team is in terms of the long haul. With that said, of course, it's difficult to not be disappointed with Miami's current 3-5 record.

In this league, you are what your record says you are. That's generally true. But in the grand scheme of things, the Dolphins are much more than just an average run-of-the-mill 3-5 football team.

A shift in expectations

Entering the season, I was among the many who declared we wouldn't just be satisfied with an 8-8 or 9-7 season because of the "tougher schedule" the Dolphins faced in '09 as compared to '08. I wanted to be a playoff team once again and I honestly thought this team could pull it off. But lo and behold, wouldn't you know that it was indeed these "tough games" that have dug the Dolphins into a deep hole in the AFC playoff picture.

Now I'm not saying that I'm giving up on the playoffs in 2009. In fact, if the Dolphins take care of their next three games (against Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Buffalo) and they get a little help from New England's tougher opponents (@ Indianapolis and @ New Orleans), the Patriots could potentially be heading down to Miami on December 6 with a 7-4 record to face the 6-5 Dolphins. While those are a ton of "ifs" that must break in favor of Miami, it's not totally out of question.

With that said, my own personal expectations have shifted. I'm no longer as concerned with making the playoffs in 2009. If the Dolphins somehow pull it off and reach the postseason, that's terrific. But if they don't, that's fine too. Why? Because injuries and a lack of talent at critical positions have made me more concerned with developing this team for the long haul - not just for the immediate future.

The injuries to Chad Pennington and Will Allen, in particular, have changed what this season means to the Dolphins. I'd say that most fans would agree. But it's been these losses to teams like the Colts, Saints, and Patriots that have made me realize that this Dolphins team just isn't ready to really compete with their talent level. However, the strides that this franchise has made since the 2007 disaster are remarkable.

Integration of young players

Want to know why I'm not as distraught as some other Dolphin fans seem to be about this 3-5 season? It's because of how the Dolphins are setting themselves up for the future. The coaches are doing something that you don't see too often - they are trusting a number of rookies and young players. And the result is that we're seeing tangible reasons of why we should be excited for the future of this franchise.

First and foremost, there's Chad Henne. As you all know, I was squarely on the "start Chad Pennington" bandwagon all offseason long. While I hate to see what happened to CP - he deserves better but his body continually lets him down - letting Henne play and gain experience has been huge, and will continue to be huge, for this franchise. Ffor the first time in a long time, fans, coaches, and the front office can all be excited about the quarterback position. Folks, I really think we've found "our guy."

Has he been great? No. Has he been terrible? No. Has he shown flashes of greatness? Yes. Think back to just his second career start when Henne put together one of the best fourth quarters a young quarterback has put together in recent memory.

Does he have a lot to work on? Of course. His accuracy is shaky at times. He holds the ball too long sometimes. At times, he runs backwards when pressure is closing in - especially when he's pressured on those designed roll-outs.

At the same time, I've seen just as many positives. I've seen that strong rocket arm. I've seen some perfectly thrown balls. I've seen a toughness to hang in the pocket and deliver a pass with pressure bearing down on him. I've seen him get back up after taking a nasty shot in the pocker - like Sunday's "roughing the passer" hit by Patrick Chung. Most of all, I've seen the poise and mental toughness necessary to lead a team in hostile situations. Sure, against both the Saints and Patriots, Henne was unable to lead a game-winning or game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter. But both times, it wasn't because Henne failed. His teammates failed him.

There's a lot to like about Henne, that's for sure. But there are also other young players with a lot to like.

You got two rookie corners who are being trusted to start. And neither of them have played poorly. Both Sean Smith and Vontae Davis have had their ups and downs. But there have been more positives than negatives and they will only continue to get better. Over the long haul, the Dolphins are set with their starting cornerbacks.

The offensive line is also set for the foreseeable future. Only one starter, Jake Grove, is over 28 years old. And two, Jake Long and Donald Thomas, are only 24 and in just their second season. The way an offensive line gets better is by playing together for a long time, and that's what we're going to see in Miami over the next few seasons.

The defensive line also suddenly has a nice young core to build around. Kendall Langford, Phillip Merling, and Randy Starks all look like long-term contributors at defensive end for the Dolphins. And none of them are older than 25 years old (Starks). Tony McDaniel also looks like he could become a solid backup and he's only 24 himself.

The Dolphins also have other young contributors who could become major long-term factors. Chris Clemons and Tyrone Culver are two young safeties who will probably see more and more opportunities as the season goes on. Davone Bess and Brian Hartline are two young receivers who, ideally, would be very good complimentary receivers. Greg Camarillo is also relatively young and is looking more and more recovered from his knee surgery every week. I will continue to stand by my belief that Camarillo, once he's healthy, can be a starting #2 receiver in this league.

And let's not forget our favorite former CFL stand-out, pass rusher Cameron Wake. He's only 27 and has the potential to be a pass-rushing force for years to come. But he is still raw, which is probably why he hasn't seen the amount of snaps many would like him to see.

Clearly defined needs

One of the positives - if you can call it that - to come from Miami's 3-5 start has been how well defined this football team's needs have become. We all know what this team needs - some needs more pressing than others, of course.

Perhaps the most pressing need is at the wide receiver position. This offense will never be what it needs to be to get to that next level until they get a true "go-to" number one receiver. Opposing defenses have no reason to respect Miami's passing attack, allowing them to go all-out to stop the only real threat this offense has - their ground attack. But Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams will become less and less effective on the ground as teams continue to put eight, and sometimes even nine, in the box to shut them down. In all honesty, can you blame them? I'd do the same thing. None of these receivers would even scare me a little bit.

This need has been magnified even more the past few weeks, too. In their last two losses, the Dolphins have been within a touchdown and had possession of the ball with over three minutes left. But each time, the Dolphins failed to move the ball, thanks in large part to receivers who just can't make the plays necessary to win football games.

But there are other needs as well. The Dolphins need upgrades at both inside and outside linebacker. A play-making free safety is another obvious issue. And we saw on Sunday that Paul Soliai might not be anything better than a back-up nose tackle. He underwhelmed as a starter, replacing the injured and aging Jason Ferguson. So nose tackle is also a need.

See this team for what it is

As a fan, we all want to see our team win championships. Year in and year out, we all look through "aqua and orange colored glasses" and view our team as either championship caliber or playoff caliber. But let's be real - this team just isn't as talented as the league's elite teams. That's why it's so impressive that the Dolphins were able to play teams like the Colts, Saints, and Patriots and nearly knock them off. Is it frustrating to lose those games? Of course. But we need to see what these losses show.

The Dolphins played teams with superior talent and gave them all they can handle - with a number of rookies and second-year players being key contributors. That says a lot about where this team is.

It says a lot about this coaching staff. Say what you want about some of their questionable play-calling and their gameday decisions. But this staff knows how to prepare to play more talented football teams.

It also says a lot about the mental toughness of these players. Some young players will go into a shell and back down to the elite NFL teams. But not this group of guys. They battle. And they're only going to get better.

The future is bright, people. We just need to give this front office time to address those remaining needs and the young players on this team more time to mature. But we're clearly on the right path.