SB Nation - Lex Hilliard

5 Questions: Patriots @ Dolphins

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

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

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

Read on after the jump...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: Keys to Victory

Matty I — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:15:08 -0000

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

I hope to see more "Tyrannosaurus Lex" on Sunday.

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I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. And if you're out shopping today - with it being "Black Friday" and all - I wish you luck. You would never catch me out there on this busiest shopping day of the year.

So with a belly full of turkey, let's talk some football. The Dolphins head up to Buffalo on Sunday as they look to get over .500 for the first time this season. Sure, the Bills have struggled this year. But never underestimate the effect that playing against a division rival can have. This is not a definite win for the Dolphins.

With that said, let's talk about some of the keys to victory for the Dolphins.

Mix in some Hilliard early
With the Bills having the second worst rush defense in the NFL (allowing 165 yards per game, though they did an outstanding job containing Maurice Jones-Drew last week), it's no secret that the Dolphins will make it a point to run the football on Sunday - as they do every Sunday, for that matter. But I think that it's important that the Dolphins work in Lex Hilliard more this week than they did last week - and that's for a couple of reasons.

First of all - and most importantly - the Dolphins need to take some of the workload off of Ricky Williams. The Dolphins are going to want to run the football early and often on Sunday and they can't run the risk of wearing down Ricky for the fourth quarter. I think the Dolphins need to get Hilliard involved early to take some of the workload from Ricky. Keep in mind that Williams is coming off of back-to-back 20+ carry games. So when was the last time Williams had three consecutive 20+ carry games? It was back in November/December of 2003. So it's been a while.

Secondly, the Dolphins do need to decide if Hilliard is a guy who can be counted on as the Dolphins head down the home stretch the playoff race heats up. Like I said, the Bills aren't exactly a good team defending the run and this game could be an important experience/confidence builder for a young back like Hilliard.

Don't surrender any big plays
This is obviously important every single week. But it's particularly important this week against Buffalo's offense. Why? Two reasons. One - the Bills have two explosive receivers. And two - Buffalo's offense is just not very good.

The Bills are just 29th in the NFL in yards gained per drive - averaging just 22.5 yards per possession. And they have just 29 total plays of 20+ yards. Meanwhile, the Dolphins have allowed 36 pass plays of 20+ yards and are 24th in the league in yards allowed per drive - surrendering 30.5 yards per opponent possession.

Back in their first meeting, the Dolphins did a great job defensively, holding the Bills to just 17.17 yards per drive. And when you play against an offense that really struggles to consistently gain yardage, you can't let them off the hook by surrendering chunk yardage through big plays. The Dolphins have to make the Bills work for every single yard they gain.

Be mentally prepared
The Dolphins have battled hard all year long following their rough 0-3 start to get back to .500. Now that the Dolphins have gotten over that hump, their next challenge is to climb to the top of the division - or at least into one of the two wildcard spots. But even with that challenge that this team faces, it might be easy to see an emotional letdown when they face a team like Buffalo - especially with a huge game with the Patriots looming in just a week.

However, that's something that Dolphins have not had happen to them over the past two years. They have done a terrific job at beating the teams they are "supposed to beat." You could even say that they've done a good job of beating the teams who are also close to them in terms of talent level on the roster from top to bottom (a la the Jets this year). This season, the Dolphins have knocked off the Bills, Jets (twice), Bucs, and Panthers - all teams with losing records. Last season, the Dolphins made sure they exposed of teams like Buffalo, Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Kansas City.

Of course, the Dolphins weren't "favored" by Vegas in some of those games I listed above (like the ones against Buffalo). Officially, the Dolphins are 6-1 under Tony Sparano when they are the "favorite" - as determined by the sports books of Las Vegas. Their only loss was to the Ravens during last year's regular season. Yup - the Dolphins were actually favored in that game.

Anyways, this is a credit to the coaching staff, to be honest. They've done a nice job of preventing any kind of let down. They may have had some close calls against these teams. But they still find ways to win. On Sunday, let's hope the Dolphins are mentally prepared to put away a Buffalo team that will be in a feisty mood after losing a tough game in Jacksonville in their first game since the Dick Jauron firing. This will be Buffalo's first home game since the move was made and I expect the Bills and their crowd to be fired up to play spoiler against a hated division rival.

It'll be up to this coaching staff to ensure that these players match Buffalo's intensity.

Bills/Dolphins: Five questions with The Phinsider

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

by Rick Havner - AP

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ugh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Breaking Down the Key Plays in Panthers' Loss to Miami

Ryan Basen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:52:24 -0000

Thursday night's game against Miami was similar to Sunday's game against Atlanta. It was an even game, and it was decided on about a dozen key plays: Turnovers and third-down plays, especially in the red zone.

On Sunday the Panthers made the clutch plays, while their opponent did not. Thursday night, however, the reverse was true. Miami scored touchdowns on two of three jaunts inside the 20, while Carolina went 0-for-2. The Panthers committed the game's lone turnover -- a Delhomme interception -- and it occurred in the red zone. Miami, meanwhile, fumbled twice but recovered both fumbles.

The story of this game, though, was the third downs. Carolina converted only 3 of 13, failing on six consecutive third-down attempts stretching from early in the second quarter until early in the fourth. Miami converted 7 of 15, including four in a row in the second quarter. Those four conversions, along with consecutive stops on Carolina third downs, allowed Miami to turn a 3-0 deficit midway through the second quarter into a 14-3 lead at halftime. The Dolphins did not trail again.

Here is a look at those six key third-down plays:

Situation: Carolina ball, Third-and-7 at the Carolina 44. Carolina led 3-0. 9:40 to play in the second quarter.

Formations: The Panthers lined up in the shotgun with one back and four receivers (two on each side). Miami used three linemen with a linebacker showing blitz and three other defenders in the box.

What happened: A Delhomme pass for tight end Jeff King fell incomplete in Miami territory.

How it happened: King lined up in the right slot and ran a route left to the Miami 46. Delhomme rifled the ball to King in between three defenders. King caught it but could not hold on when the Dolphins' Yeremiah Bell and Reggie Torbor sandwiched him.

The result: The Panthers punted on the next play, ending a third straight drive that died near midfield.

Situation: Miami ball, Third-and-16, Carolina 33. 3-0 Panthers. 5:42 to play in second.

Formations: Miami lined up with one back, one tight end right and three receivers (two right). Carolina used four linemen and dropped several defenders back in zone coverage.

What happened: Lex Hilliard ran for 18 yards and a Miami first down.

How it happened: Hilliard lined up in the backfield and took the handoff, running in between left tackle and left guard. (This was no draw; it was a simple run play). A receiver on the left side blocked a corner, the center got downfield and blocked another defender at the 28, and another defender overpursued to the outside. Hilliard dodged that defensive back's tackle and broke an arm tackle attempt from defensive tackle Damione Lewis at the 28. He cut inside, used a block from a receiver on corner Richard Marshall at the 23 and collided with Marshall and safety Chris Harris at the 19. He then dragged them to the 15.

The result: Miami kept its drive going, avoiding a likely field goal attempt.

Situation: Miami ball, Third-and-9, Carolina 15, 3-0 Carolina, 4:07 to play in second.

Formations: Miami lined up in the shotgun with one back, three receivers (two right) and a tight end left. Carolina used four linemen with one linebacker showing blitz over left tackle and two other defenders in the box.

What happened: Quarterback Chad Henne connected with tailback Ricky Williams on a 15-yard touchdown pass.

How it happened: The Panthers blitzed a linebacker over right tackle, with the linebacker who had shown blitz dropping back into coverage on tight end Joey Haynos. Haynos ran a route towards the sideline, drawing the linebacker out of the play. William flared left out of the backfield uncovered, then cut up and in, settling at the 10. Henne threw low and behind Williams, who caught the ball and turned upfield. He broke a tackle by linebacker Nail Diggs at the 6 and fended off linebacker Jon Beason at the 1, scooting into the end zone.

The result: Despite committing two penalties on the drive, Miami completed an 81-yard march with a touchdown and took the lead for the first time.

Situation: Carolina ball, Third-and-9, Carolina 23. 7-3 Miami. 3:09 to play in second.

Formations: Carolina lined up with two backs, including a fullback left and tailback in I-formation. The Panthers also had a tight end left and a receiver on each side. Miami used four linemen and three other defenders in the box.

What happened: Miami linebacker Joey Porter sacked Delhomme for a 6-yard loss.

How it happened: Porter lined up at right defensive end and rushed wide of left tackle Travelle Wharton. Fullback Tony Fiametta accidentally picked Wharton and Porter ran free around him, nailing Delhomme.

The result: The Panthers' first three-and-out of the game forced them to punt from inside their own 20 with plenty of time for Miami to try for another score before the half. Jason Baker shanked the punt and Davone Bess returned it to the Carolina 29.

Situation: Miami ball, Third-and-6, Carolina 25. 7-3 Miami. 2:16 to play in second.

Formations: Miami lined up with one back, three receivers (two left) and a tight end left. Carolina used four linemen with two linebackers in the box and three corners in press coverage.

What happened: Henne completed an 8-yard pass to Bess for a first down.

How it happened: The tight end went in motion right, settling on the right side of the line. Henne took a five-step drop and fired towards the right sideline for Bess, who was well-covered by corner Chris Gamble. Bess ran a buttonhook and got in position to make the catch. He jumped and corralled the ball in front of Gamble.

The result: Miami again avoided a likely field goal attempt and continued a drive.

Situation: Miami ball, Third-and-goal, Carolina 2. 7-3 Miami. 1:04 to play in second.

Formations: Miami lined up in the wildcat, with Williams in the shotgun and a fullback right. Miami used eight linemen and a receiver left. Carolina had seven linemen.

What happened: Williams ran outside for the touchdown.

How it happened: The fullback buried a defensive back and Williams sprinted outside right. He hesitated briefly, leading Beason to stall too. Beason then chased Williams from the middle towards the sideline, but Williams dove ahead of him and hit the pylon with the ball.

The result: Miami led 14-3 after the extra point with 57 seconds to play in the half. Despite being dominated for much of the half, the Dolphins were in control at halftime.

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.

Fears confirmed: Ronnie Brown's season is over

Matty I — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:33:00 -0000

So I'm in my car driving home when my cell phone starts blowing up with text messages. And it was not good news.

Various sources - including ESPN, the Palm Beach Post, and the Miami Herald - are confirming that the Dolphins have indeed placed Ronnie Brown on Injured Reserve, ending his 2009 season with a foot injury.

We should learn more about the severity of Ronnie's foot injury in terms of long-term issues in the coming days. But speculation is that Ronnie suffered the dreaded Lisfranc fracture - which is treatable but requires rest for weeks.

This means that Ricky Williams will suddenly be thrust back into the workhorse role - a role he isn't exactly a big fan of. Expect to see some opportunities for Lex Hilliard and Kory Sheets as well.

You also can't help but wonder about Ronnie's future in Miami. If a new CBA is not reached between the players and the owners, then Brown is under contract in Miami for one more season - with a salary of $5 million. But if a new CBA is reached prior to the start of the 2010 "league year" - meaning that the uncapped season does not happen - then Brown is a free agent.

It's a tough break for Ronnie, no doubt about it. And it's sickening to me as well - as one of the NFL's "good guys" suffers his second season-ending injury in three years. Talk about bad luck.

Defense lets down Dolphins in 27-23 loss to Colts

Matty I — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:28:16 -0000

More photos » by J Pat Carter - AP

Indianapolis Colts' Jacob Lacey (27) applies pressure as Miami Dolphins Ted Ginn Jr. (19) misses a pass in the end zone during the fourth quarter.

Browse more photos »

It had the makings of what could have been a great night for the Miami Dolphins. The offense ran the football for over 230 yards. They converted 15 of 21 3rd downs (71%). They had the ball for over 45 minutes. But in the end, it was the defense that just couldn't get the job done. And now the Dolphins will have to come off of a heart-breaking Monday night loss and travel to San Diego to avoid going to 0-3 in this young season.

Let's talk about some of the headlines.

Want to play the blame game? Then blame the defense
There's no way around this. You can point to a couple examples of how the offense might have cost the Dolphins the game. But most of the blame goes squarely on the play of the defense. Peyton Manning just had a field day - throwing for 303 yards on just 14 completions. That's a whopping 21.6 yards per completion for Manning. All total, the Colts ran 35 plays in the entire game and averaged over 10 yards per play. That's just ridiculous.

Most of the blame for the defensive struggles has to go to the Dolphins' safeties. Gibril Wilson missed tackle after tackle. There's no excuse for missing the tackle on Dallas Clark on the first play of the game and turning a 35 yard pass completion into an 80 yard touchdown. Wilson was also trucked by rookie RB Donald Brown as he steam-rolled into the endzone for his touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The linebackers get some blame as well. Basically anyone that even attempted to cover Dallas Clark shares some responsibility. Clark caught 7 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. And to a certain extent, you have to blame the coaches. There were a couple of plays where Channing Crowder was matched up on Clark - which is a total mismatch. Most linebackers wouldn't be able to cover Clark one-on-one - let alone Crowder, who isn't exactly speedy. Crowder was also asked to cover Donald Brown on his big 24 yard reception to help set up that field goal attempt right before halftime. You can't put Akin Ayodele and Channing Crowder in those kinds of situations - especially asking them to cover Clark, who is essentially a bigger wide receiver more so than a tight end.

On the plus side, the Dolphins actually limited Reggie Wayne to just 3 catches for 37 yards. But this is why we talked so much about the tight end than the receivers this week. I'm no worried about the cornerbacks. They played pretty well. But this team simply can't cover athletic tight ends at all - which is going to be a season-long problem. The Dolphins still have to face Antonio Gates, Dustin Keller (twice), Ben Watson (twice), and Jeremy Shockey to just name a few.

The pass rush was also non-existent, which was a major problem. Peyton Manning was never rushed at all - even when the Dolphins did try to blitz. And then on the biggest play of the game, the Dolphins showed blitz way too early, let Manning read it and change the play, and the result was a WR screen to Pierre Garcon for a 48 yard touchdown. There's no reason why the Dolphins didn't change their defense when Manning changed the play - or at least try to disguise the blitz a little bit better. That's basic football. If I was playing the Madden video game, I would have done exactly what Manning did. Once the ball was snapped, there was nothing the secondary could do - they were beat before the snap ever took place.

Defensively, all I can say is that at least Sean Smith and Will Allen had pretty solid games.

Don't blame the offense
I can't believe the people out there who want to sit here and blame the offense for this loss. The Dolphins held the ball for over 45 minutes and piled up over 400 yards of total offense. They converted 71% of their 3rd downs and did almost everything they were asked.

The running game was outstanding. Ronnie Brown showed how good he can be when he gets a little blocking out there. He shows patience for the hole to open, then can explode, runs hard through tackles, and gets extra yardage. Ricky Williams showed that he's still got it. And the offensive line was outstanding - both in the running game and in pass protection. They dominated in the trenches.

And that brings me to Ted Ginn - who, for some reason, is getting the blame for the loss. So let's talk about those two touchdown catches he almost made. Yes - the first one he probably should have had. It seemed like he slowed down at the end of the play because he thought he had less room in the back of the endzone than he really had. And yes, he "alligator-armed" it. But it certainly wasn't an easy catch. And perhaps the ball could have been thrown a little better.

The second "near-catch" is the one most are talking about - the one in the endzone with under a minute left. Did Teddy get both hands on the ball? Yes. But he also had a corner draped all over him - to the point where it was borderline pass interference. But more importantly - here's the question you ask yourself. If Ginn makes that catch, do we all go nuts about how amazing of a catch it is? If you answered "yes" then I don't see how you can get on him for not making it. You can't have it both ways and say that while it would have been an amazing catch if he caught it, it's a terrible drop of a bass he should have caught since he didn't.

In reality, I expect Randy Moss or Andre Johnson to make that catch. And I'd be disappointed if one of those two were on my team and they didn't make the catch. But I don't expect that from Ted Ginn because he isn't as good as those two. So let's be real here for a second. I'm disappointed he dropped it, of course. But Ginn is what he is - a 5'11 quality #2 receiver. Just because he's forced to be our #1 receiver due to lack of talent doesn't mean he'll actually play like one. He dropped the pass - deal with it. The offense shouldn't have even been in that position to begin with.

Terrible time management.
So you have 3 minutes to go 82 yards to win the game with 2 timeouts in your pocket. So you run the ball on first down, take a timeout because the play clock is winding down, and then run it again on second down? Seriously? Suddenly you go from 3:13 left at your own 18 yard line with 2 timeouts remaining to the two minute warning at your 24 yard line an only 1 timeout. Terrible. That might be the worst 1:13 seconds I've ever seen in terms of play-calling and clock management.

Speaking of play-calling, you also have to wonder about the QB sneak with 50 seconds left on 3rd & 1 from Indy's 46. That seems like the perfect time to take a shot down the field and then worry about the 1 yard on 4th down if it gets to that point. No matter whose decision it was to do that - Chad Pennington's on the field or the coaching staff's on the sidelines - it was a poor decision.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
It would be easy to declare Garcon's touchdown as the turning point of the game. But I don't think it was. I think the turning point was the Colts' drive following Ronnie Brown's 3 yard touchdown to put the Dolphins ahead 20-13. The crowd was into it as the Dolphins held a 7 point fourth quarter lead. And then the Colts march right down the field and go 71 yards in 6 plays for a touchdown to tie the game back up. That drive - highlighted by a 49 yard completion to Dallas Clark, was the turning point of the game.

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
This week the honor could go to a lot of people. But I'm going to highlight just one player - and one play - because it seems like it's the most obvious bad decision of the game. Following the last Colts touchdown, what in the world was Patrick Cobbs thinking taking the kickoff out of the endzone? It was six or seven yards deep into the endzone and Cobbs isn't exactly known for his speed? Not surprisingly, he doesn't even get back to the 20. Just a bad decision and a risk not worth taking.

QUICK HITS
Some other quick thoughts from this disappointing loss:

One play-call that had me up in arms was the decision by Dan Henning to run the football on that 3rd & 6 play from Indy's 30 with just over 4 minutes left. Field goals don't beat Peyton Manning. Why play the game scared? Chad Pennington was on fire on 3rd down tonight. Let him put it in the air and try to pick up the six yards. Don't get conservative after calling a great game all game long.
Enough with the Pat White package for now. All it's doing is killing momentum.
Here's something to think about - the Dolphins only punted one time in the entire game.
I thought Gibril Wilson could at least tackle. I guess not. How did he lead all safeties in tackles last year when he misses tackles all over the place?
For all of his faults, 7 of Ted Ginn's 11 receptions resulted in 3rd or 4th down conversions. That's impressive.
Much improved kick coverage on Monday night headed by Lex Hilliard and Erik Walden. The Colts averaged just 18 yards per kick return.
If you want to play the "what might have been" game - what might have been if Dan Carpenter doesn't miss that one FG and Adam Vinatieri misses his FG that hit the crossbar? Or - for that matter - what if Tony McDaniel doesn't ge called for encroachment and give Indy five extra yards during the final first half drive? Or what if Gibril Wilson does something right and makes the interception in the final moments of the first half rather than let the ball slip out when he comes to the ground? Yes - lots of "what if" moments.
I do love the 'Wildcat' - it went for 107 yards on 12 plays. Happy Birthday to the 'Cat!

Final Roster Predictions

Matty I — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:30:35 -0000

After a long, grueling training camp and preseason, some players will no longer be Miami Dolphins as of 4 pm eastern on Saturday. The Dolphins went into Thursday's preseason finale with 66 players on their roster. They must be down to 53 players by the 4 pm deadline.

Below is my final roster prediction. I've included some explanations after my prediction. Check it out and then tell us your final predictions.

	1st Team	2nd Team	3rd Team
QB	Chad Pennington	Chad Henne	Pat White
RB	Ronnie Brown	Ricky Williams	Patrick Cobbs
FB	Lousaka Polite
WR	Ted Ginn	Greg Camarillo	Brandon London
WR	Davone Bess	Brian Hartline	Patrick Turner
TE	Anthony Fasano	David Martin	John Nalbone
LT	Jake Long	Andrew Gardner
LG	Justin Smiley	Brandon Frye
C	Jake Grove	Joe Berger
RG	Donald Thomas	Shawn Murphy
RT	Vernon Carey
	1st Team	2nd Team	3rd Team
DE	Kendall Langford	Tony McDaniel
NT	Jason Ferguson	Paul Soliai
DE	Randy Starks	Phillip Merling	Lionel Dotson
SOLB	Jason Taylor	Charlie Anderson	Quentin Moses
ILB	Channing Crowder	Reggie Torbor
ILB	Akin Ayodele
WOLB	Joey Porter	Cameron Wake	Erik Walden
CB	Will Allen	Vontae Davis	Jason Allen
CB	Sean Smith	Nathan Jones
S	Yeremiah Bell	Chris Clemons
S	Gibril Wilson	Tyrone Culver
	1st Team	2nd Team	3rd Team
K	Dan Carpenter
P	Brandon Fields
LS	John Denney

PUP: Matt Roth
Last 5 On: Brandon London, Erik Walden, John Nalbone, Brandon Frye, Quentin Moses
First 5 Off: Lex Hilliard, William Kershaw, Joey Haynos, Courtney Bryan, Nate Garner

Quick explanations:

The final roster spot, for me, came down to Brandon London, Lex Hilliard, and William Kershaw. But I think Kershaw could still make the team if the Dolphins decide to only keep five outside linebackers as opposed to six - possibly in place of Erik Walden or Quentin Moses. I think they'll try to sneak Hilliard onto the practice squad. The bottom line is that London is more valuable in terms of the number of plays he sees on gameday because of special teams. Although, truth be told, regardless of if it's London or Hilliard, I'm not sure either is a lock to be active on gameday.
I'm confident that the Dolphins will keep three tight ends. Some think David Martin could be a surprise cut, but he's still head and shoulders better than either John Nalbone or Joey Haynos. With the number of two TE sets Dan Henning uses, I don't see why the Dolphins would need to cut Martin. You could see the Dolphins keep Haynos over Nalbone, though - which would mean Nalbone is a prime practice squad candidate. But I also wouldn't be shocked to see another team (Kansas City or Cincinnati, for example) poach Nalbone off wiavers. Both teams have a need at tight end. I wouldn't even take the risk, if I were the Dolphins - which is why Nalbone is on my final 53.
I think Dotson has shown enough to earn a roster spot. But barring injury, he's likely going to be inactive on most gamedays.
I wouldn't be shocked if the Dolphins decided to waive Andrew Gardner in favor of Nate Garner. If that's the case, the Dolphins would obviously hope to get Gardner on the practice squad.
If I had to come up with a list of possible practice squad candidates based on my 53-man roster prediction above, I'd say J.D. Folsom and Lex Hilliard would be locks. Mark Lewis and James Robinson would be other possibilities. And I'd expect the Dolphins to go outside the organization for other potential guys.

Dolphins at Saints: What to watch for

Matty I — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:15:08 -0000

A lot of casual football fans feel that the preseason is meaningless. These same fans probably feel like the fourth preseason game is a total waste of time and not worth watching. But these fans aren't the kind of diehard football fans that we all are. And they are certainly not Dolphin fans. Why? Because Dolphin fans know that this fourth preseason is indeed worth watching. There are a number of things to focus on tonight when the Dolphins head to New Orleans to face the Saints to close out their preseason.

Below are just some of the storylines to watch.

THE ROSTER BATTLES
One of the things I love about the fourth preseason game is how those "roster bubble players" get a lot of playing time. These are the guys fighting not just for the win but for their own jobs. And nothing will motivate you more in life than the risk of being out of work. Sure, football is just a game. But to these "bubble" guys, it's their livelihood. Therefore, I've always enjoyed watching the final preseason games - and I'm not just talking about the Dolphins' final game. There's nothing like watching players compete with their own teammates to be the 52nd or 53rd player on the roster.

Since I posted a longer article focusing in on the key battles that remain yesterday - and you can view it by clicking here - I won't get into it too deep here. I will say, though, that I'm most interested in two battles. Being the Jersey guy I am, I'm very much pulling for John Nalbone to make the team over Joey Haynos. To his advantage, Nalbone is a very good blocker and is also a special teams contributor. He has two special teams tackles in three preseason games. Haynos, on the other hand, is a massive guy (6'8, 270). But I think that hinders him on special teams. I'm not so sure a guy his size can run down the field and cover a kick as well as others can - and that could hurt him.

The other battle I'm interested in is between Lex Hilliard and Brandon London. I'm fully confident that both will not make the team but am fairly certain that one will. The contract extension handed out to Ricky Williams could be a factor here. With Ricky and Patrick Cobbs signed for 2010, Hilliard would again be, at best, a fourth running back in 2010 if he was to stick around that long. He is practice squad eligible, but if the Dolphins like Lex enough, it would be a risky move to try and sneak him through waivers. Meanwhile, London is not eligible for the practice squad and is probably the better special teamer of the two. But he hasn't impressed as a receiver as much as he should have thus far.

CAN HENNE BOUNCE BACK?
If you have at least one good eye, then you can't argue that Chad Henne's performance last week against Tampa Bay was pretty bad. And I was one of the most critical of Henne - that I'm aware of. But that doesn't mean I'm rooting against him - which is why I'm very interested in seeing how Henne performs tonight. It's expected that Henne will play the second and third quarters. Yes, that means he'll face backup defenders pretty much exclusively. But that doesn't change anything to me. If anything, it actually adds more pressure on Henne. A bad performance against New Orleans' backups would make Henne get scrutinized even more. What I hope to see are more accurate throws, quicker reads, and better decision making. I'm not looking for some big performance, just an improvement - just something that shows he can bounce back off of a very poor outing.

Henne knows he has to improve and is putting pressure on himself to have a much better game against New Orleans as well. "It wasn't me out there, says Henne. "I don't want to have a game like that again." I can't wait to find out how he responds.

STARTERS WILL PLAY
While most NFL teams will rest their starters in their final preseason game, Tony Sparano is taking a different approach. Chad Pennington is expected to play the first quarter and the starting offensive line will probably play at least the first half. Why? Simple - to get better.

This is where Sparano and most other head coaches differ. Coming off of a sub-par offensive performance last week, Sparano is sending out his starting offense tonight so they can at least get in some work and build some confidence for their season opener against Atlanta. I hope to see the starting offense get into a rhythm out there and make some plays. We can't have two or three 3-and-outs to start the game like we did last week.

Meanwhile, Sparano - a former OL coach - has always been a believer in getting your starting offensive line extensive playing time in the preseason to help them gel. This unit is no different. It has a lot of talent - but has to work together and become a cohesive unit. Last preseason, the starting offensive line played the entire first half of the finale. I expect to see the same thing tonight. After all, the more this unit works together in real game situations, the better off they will be in the long run.

QUICK HITS
Here are some more things to look for tonight:

A lot of attention will be paid to the battle for the starting WR spot. But the reason I didn't bring it up above is because I'm fairly confident that whoever actually wins the starting job isn't necessarily going to be more important to the offense than the other two. The Dolphins did a great job of rotating their receivers based on the situation last season and I foresee that happening again in 2009.
The outside linebacker position is an interesting one to keep an eye on. Matt Roth will likely land on the PUP list, so he has no relevance to this discussion. Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, and Cameron Wake are obviously locks. But then you got guys like Charlie Anderson, Quentin Moses, and Erik Walden all hoping to stick on the 53-man roster. Will the Dolphins keep 6 outside linebackers? Those three are probably hoping. But if the Dolphins only keep five, which one turns out to be the odd man out? Moses has been the most impressive of the three. But Anderson and Walden are the better special teams players.