SB Nation User Blog: Matty I

A little bad luck?

Matty I — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:17:15 -0000

A little bad luck?

It seems as though the Bears didn't plan ahead for the blizzard in Baltimore. Now the Bears might not even be able to make it to Baltimore to play the Ravens until Sunday morning.

I bring this up because the Dolphins need a Ravens loss in one of their last three to control their own Wildcard destiny.

Dolphins vs Titans: Prediction Time

Matty I — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:26:37 -0000

Last week, there was a pretty even split among the "experts" about the Dolphins/Jaguars game. This week, I get the feeling that it'll be another close split between the Dolphins and Titans. Let's see:

Chris Mortensen - Ten	Adam Schefter - Ten	Ron Jaworski - Mia
Tom Jackson - Mia	Cris Carter - Mia	Peter King - Mia
PFT - Ten	Jason Cole - Ten	Michael Silver - Ten
Pete Prisco - Ten	Harmon Forecast - Ten	Clark Judge - Ten

A lot of people seem to like the Titans here. And I'll admit - this Titan team is a lot closer to least year's 13-3 team right now than they are to the 0-6 team that started this season.

With that said, I don't know what to make of this game. I don't think Vince Young will be playing at 100% - which certainly helps the Dolphins. But even an 80% Young is athletic enough to give this defense headaches.

I guess what this game comes down to is how well the Dolphins can contain Chris Johnson and how well the offense can move the football. For some reason, I just have this feeling that we're in store for a high-scoring 30-27 kind of game. I think Chad Henne will play well and I expect the Dolphins to score points. If they can just limit CJ's impact, the Dolphins have a good shot at leaving Nashville with a win.

My Week 15 Locks
Saints -6.5 over Cowboys - I really love the Saints in this spot. They're going for 16-0 100% and I think Drew Brees will have another big game.
Cardinals -10.5 over Lions - The Cards bounce back in a big way with a win over the lowly Lions. There's no chance Detroit contains Arizona's offense and I don't think the Cards will turn the ball over a ridiculous amount of times like on Monday night.
Texans -9.5 over Rams - The Rams are just terrible - and now they have a swine flu issue. Houston will roll big in this game.
Chargers -6.5 over Bengals - I'd love to see Cincy win this. But the Charger are really hot right now and emotion can only carry you so far. The Chargers are the better team and they'll win this game and take command of the AFC's #2 seed.

Last Week: 2-2
Season: 23-21-1

Dolphins/Titans Friday Injury Report

Matty I — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:02:33 -0000

Both sides have key players listed on report. So let's get to it:

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Probable
Davone Bess, WR (ankle)
Vernon Carey, RT (back)
Joey Porter, LB (knee)
Reggie Torbor, LB (hamstring)
Yeremiah Bell, SS (back)

Questionable
Jake Grove, C (ankle)

Notes
-Grove was limited in practice on Friday after going full the two previous days.
-All the players listed as "probable" practiced in full on Friday except for Porter, who was limited.

TENNESSEE TITANS

Probable
Kevin Mawae, C (back)

Questionable
Vince Young, QB (hamstring)
Nate Washington, WR (ankle)
Eric Bakhtiara, DE (concussion)
Tony Brown, DT (knee)

Doubtful
Craig Stevenson, TE (concussion)
David Thornton, LB (shoulder)

Notes
-Mawae practiced in full on Friday.
-Young practiced in full on Friday and will most likely start.
-Brown did not practice on Friday, nor did Thornton.
-Washington was limited on Friday.

Dolphins vs Titans: Matchup Analysis

Matty I — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:12:02 -0000

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

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

Browse more photos »

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

Dolphins Offense vs Titans Defense

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

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

Titans Offense vs Dolphins Defense

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

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

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

Dolphins Return Team vs Titans Coverage Team

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

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

Titans Return Team vs Dolphins Coverage Team

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

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

Coaching

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

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

Dolphins vs Titans: Game Capsule

Matty I — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:07:29 -0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game capsule is after the break...

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

SERIES

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

STATS

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

NOTES

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

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

R.I.P. Chris Henry 1983-2009 Be sure to head over to Cincy Jungle to show your support.

Matty I — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:33:31 -0000

R.I.P. Chris Henry
1983-2009

Be sure to head over to Cincy Jungle to show your support.

Dolphins vs Titans: Keys to Victory

Matty I — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:53:22 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

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

Browse more photos »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dolphins in the red zone: Week 14

Matty I — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:40:44 -0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dolphins vs Titans: Three Key Matchups

Matty I — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:09:28 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

Most important part of Sunday's game: containing this man.

Browse more photos »

It's time to turn our attention to Sunday's game in Tennessee between the Dolphins and Titans. For the third consecutive week, the Dolphins will play in what is essentially another "playoff game" - meaning a loss and their season could be over. A win and they live to play another meaningful December football game the following week. After the rough start that Miami went through, this is all we could ask for.

The Titans also had their own rough start but have battled back themselves, recovering from an 0-6 start to win six of seven and get back into the playoff picture. Their lone loss in their last seven came at the hands of the undefeated Colts. Needless to say, this one promises to be a battle.

Onto my weekly critical matchups:

Chris Johnson vs Dolphins rush defense
This is obviously a no-brainer. If the Dolphins are to win this game, then they must find a way to slow down the most dangerous runner in the NFL. Chris Johnson leads the NFL in rushing yards, over 300 yards in front of the second ranked rusher. He's run for over 100 yards in eight consecutive games and has his sights set on a 2,000 yard season. And his 6 yards per carry average is tops among all backs with at least 100 carries. He's simply a dynamic play-maker who has 20 runs of 20+ yards this season and 7 of 40+ yards and is a threat to score every time he gets his hands on the football.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, have done a much better job over the past few weeks in stopping the run. They held the Patriots to just 96 yards rushing and 3.8 yards per carry. Then last week, Miami limited Maurice Jones-Drew to just 59 yards and 3.3 yards per carry. Impressive, for sure - especially for limiting MJD like they did. But this unit has not faced a back as fast and elusive as Chris Johnson. And outside of MJD, the most talented runner the Dolphins have faced this season, DeAngelo Williams, ran for 122 yards on just 13 carries against this defense.

Needless to say, the Dolphins most focus this week on limiting Johnson's impact on this football game.

Dolphin receivers vs Titans Secondary
While the Titans will look to run the ball on Sunday, I have a feeling that the Dolphins' game plan will be to throw. The Titans are seventh in the league defending the run but 31st defending the pass. Now part of that is because Tennessee has had to play some games without starting corners Cortland Finnegan and Nick Harper. But still, with both of those guys in the lineup, Matt Leinart was able to complete 68% of his passes for 220 yards.

On the season, the Titans are allowing over 258 yards per game through the air and have surrendered 27 touchdown passes - the second highest total in the league, just two fewer than the Lions. But one of my favorite pass defense statistics is even more telling. The Titans are letting over 67% of the passes thrown against them get completed. And don't let a Titans fan tell you this is because of the injuries they've sustained in 2009. Finnegan is allowing 64% of the passes thrown his way get completed while Harper's completion percentage against is a staggering 73.3%. In fact, opposing quarterbacks have a rating of 115 when throwing in Nick Harper's direction.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, have really been looking to throw the football more often these past two weeks. Chad Henne is completing 62% of his pass attempts over these last two weeks and is averaging 278 yards in that span. Miami's receivers have been the key. Henne has had places to throw the football and his receivers have been consistent catching the football. In these last two games, the Dolphins have had two different 100 yard receivers - Davone Bess against the Pats and Greg Camarillo last week in Jacksonville.

For all of their faults, one thing you can say about this group of receivers is that they have a number of reliable targets. And I think the Dolphins will be able to exploit Tennessee's nickel corner. Whether it's Vincent Fuller or Jason McCourty, the Dolphins should get a favorable matchup against either - or both - of these two. Fuller has allowed 83% of the passes thrown his way to get completed while McCourty has let 89% get completed for an average of ober 14 yards per reception.

This is one matchup the Dolphins have got to exploit.

Ted Ginn vs Titans kick coverage
Here's a little "did you know." Did you know that Ted Ginn Jr. leads the AFC in yards per kick return, averaging 28 yards per attempt? Did you know that no player has more kickoff returns for a touchdown this season than Ginn - and only one player has as many? Did you know that Ginn is fourth in the AFC in kickoff returns of over 20 yards and second in the AFC in returns of 40+ yards? In fact, 72% of Teddy's returns result in at least 20 yards - the same percentage as "return star" Josh Cribbs. And only one player has more 40+ yard kick returns in the AFC than Ginn.

Meanwhile, the Titans are one of the worst teams in the league in kickoff coverage, surrendering 25 yards per kickoff return - the third most in the entire league. And with only 9% of Tennessee's kickoffs resulting in touchbacks, Ginn figures to have some opportunities to make plays on Sunday.

So how about it? Can we see something special out of one of the most polarizing players on this Miami roster?

Ronnie Brown recovering well

Matty I — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:51:46 -0000

Ronnie Brown recovering well

So well, in fact, that he thinks he'll be participating in OTAs this offseason. Good news!