This defense-first team has scored as many points as they have allowed in the first two games and that will likely not be enough to overcome the next two inter-divisional showdowns to come in primetime. The coaching staff has chosen to start Chad slow this year and give him a couple chances per game to make that big play. Thus far a slow start but as Henne is acclimated to Marshall and a few games under his belt (as well as the WR’s), I believe we will see some growth. Has he held the ball too long at times? Sure. Has he taken a couple needless sacks, perhaps, but he has also shown that he will not force the ball and give a game away either. The main bottleneck in the passing game would be Henne to Marshall. Sure, Henne has gotten the ball to him 12 times but it is blatantly obvious that they are yet to be in accord. Unless of course if you ask Marshall, which I am not. Brandon said he did not believe in chemistry as long as you are in the right place. Being in the right place in your route is important as anything else, but so is timing. Timing would have more to do with a QB’s familiarity to a receiver. How does he run routes? How fast does he get in and out of his break? What are the receiver and QB seeing on the field? That would equate to chemistry. The 5th ranked Defense in the league after two games is a noteworthy statistic, especially if you take into account how. Going into a hostile atmosphere of Buffalo where the Dolphins have not won since 2003 is always good! Rattling the cage of one of the most prolific QB’s of all time is admirable as well. Okay, enough stats, this week the Dolphins hope to go 3-0 and another win against their bitter nemesis. The team that sports a coach who looks like a cross between the clown from Spawn and--- no wait, the clown from Spawn (seriously, Google it!). SOLUTIONS TO VICTORY I am going to do this a little different this week. Instead of numbers with catchy titles, I just need to get this out! The first Solution would be turnovers. If we win the turnover battle, we win the game. That being said, if both play conservative I could see a game without turnovers. If there are no turnovers than this game shall hinge on winning in the trenches, as any good Parcells team, the O-line has to be bulls, as does the D-line. The Jests have a descent cast of receivers and none more-so than TE Dustin Keller. Sancheese had some nice quick shots to Keller out of running formations, against the Patsies, so the Howling D will need to be ready for anything. I also expect the JESTS team who got embarrassed last year by the Wildcat to have something up their sleeve. Better watch the Wake roll in though, Cam beat the TE AND the RT to strip Favre! Can the coaches not see the obvious? What is the obvious, you ask? How about Ronnie with over 5-yards a carry and only 10-13 carries a game--- WHAT (In my best Chris Berman voice)? Ronnie has to have 20 carries against the puke-green slugs of New Jersey (and not just because he is on my Fantasy team!), to go along with 3-5 receptions. Ricky is more than an adequate backup and in this game, he need only be that. Obvious, Part 2 – The South Beach Beast is indeed that! Marshall has shown what he can do, in spite of not reaching the end zone as of yet. Sunday night I expect to see a BEAST UNLEASHED! Revis looks to be a no-show with injury and even if he were, I do not think he would stop Brandon Marshall. Sparano and co. realized they needed to get Hartline going quick after an invisible week 1 and that they did with a couple nice catches including the only offensive TD. Bess, Hartline and Fasano will likely play bigger roles this week. Trickery and high scoring offense would be a bit of a surprise on Sunday. I believe the tempo shall determine this celebratory evening in Miami with a showcase of Latino indulgence and orange overload! Then again, the Dolphins may go out and set the tempo? WOW, I’m as misleading as an interview with Dan Henning! Anyway, the legendary Zach Thomas will take the field of honorary captain as the traitor, known as J.T., takes the opposite side in what looks to be a slugfest between two teams with a genuine dislike of one-another. Last but not least, if you see a good play by the Dolphins please Feed the Wolf and get your HOOOOOOOOOoooooooowwwwwwllllll on! Go DOLPHINS! Dolphins 27 Jests 17
Well, I think we need to create better offensive field position via special teams as we've had 1 return to the 30yd line and in this game they simply have to do better than the 22 yd line on kick off returns.
according to Sparano if he could just call a magic play to Marshall every play he would but its not always there. i paraphrased that but that's basically what he said. i think that he just wants henne to be conservative and not make any mistakes. i think henne feels the same way. we're all still waiting on henne to let loose, but he has to feel comfortable and not force it or else we won't win the turnover battle. if we can get good field position like the Minnesota game, we'll win this game. we did a good job of pinning them back close to thier own end zone just about every drive.
RickyNeverInhaled - SEE!!! Perfect likeness... Padre31 - Yeah, ST isn't the sexy part of the game but really important.
Like I said last week. Turnovers are our #1 priority. We won vs Minny because of turnovers and almost lost because of turnovers (Ronnie, Ricky, looking at you!). We get a couple of pics vs Sanchez and this game is over, assuming Henne doesn't return the favor.
So far, penalties haven't been an issue for us. That's huge, and we need to continue that Sunday night in what will indeed be a heated, emotional game. We have to keep our wits and let the JESTS do the imploding. We have to capitalize on TOs. We generated 4 TOs against the Vikes and only one did we turn into a score and that was because we stipped Mr. INT in the end zone. I think we'll force Sancheese into some mistakes. We'll get plenty of pressure from qWake, Dansby, Misi, etc. When we get those turnovers, we have to turn them into points. We can't continue to win only defensively. We have to generate some offense. The defense was tired at the end of the Vikes game. Not only does that wear a defense out during the individual game, but it also will effect them over the course of the season. Our offense needs to sustain drives. We can do this, IMO, by passing on early downs and shortening the down and distances for 2nd and 3rd downs. We can shorten the down and distances by utilizing Fasano and hitting RB and RW out of the backfield. If we get into 2nd and short situations consistently, we can start taking more shots down field because the Jets will have to ready themselves for the run. Play action will be huge in 2nd and short situations.
I'm usually not in this crowd of thinking the crowd can factor into the game. But, if this orange out works, the crowd could be really loud and effect Sanchez.
Marshall will get worked in eventually. His numbers were outrageous in Denver because of the offense.
Yeah I agree, special teams especial our return game has been awful - although I guess it was to be expected since we didn't really have a bonafide kick returner going into the season. It would be nice if someone from the lower portion of the roster could emerge.
I think both Henne and Marshall will be a little bit more active this game, as will Bess and Hartline since Marshall gets so much extra attention. I fully agree with the OP that Ronnie is the absolute key to the offense's success...the run sets up the pass like nothing else can. It's been said on other sites as well; if the Fins can rush for 100 we should win the ballgame. The biggest weakness I see is our special teams...we need a return man with that extra oomph and I don't think we've found the right person just yet. On ST coverage we have looked pretty good though, so hopefully that continues. As far as special plays go, I'm really anticipating an extension of the Wildcat this Sunday...maybe with Thigpen lining up at WR or QB. It seems like we save all of our trickery for 4 games each year (2 NY, 2 NE), but if the defense comes out and dominates we may not see anything really special this week. I really expect that we will be all over Sanchez this week and the defense will probably extend the trend of putting points on the board. NY's keys to winning is of course the exact opposite; stuff Ronnie and avoid passing (or any, for that matter) turnovers. NY knows that they will have to exploit our secondary to have a chance this week, and I simply do not see it happening.
My thoughts: With Revis out and Cromartie presumably covering Marshall (a matchup I like btw), Bess could be in line for a huge game, in at the very least moving the sticks. If Rex takes Kris Wilson off of Hartline and onto Bess then I see things opening up for Hartline or Fasano (as Wilson was covering the TE at times). In this matchup I see Rex prioritizing K.Wilson on one of the WRs more so than the TE so I hope we take advantage as their 3rd CB (Dwight Lowery?) may be a weak link. I think we will emphasize the run as usual to wear out their Defense, which seems to be our modus operandi (especially when playing the Jest as of late). I like how our defense matches up against their O. Stopping Keller will be key and I expect Sean Smith to cover him this game. I hope he is up for it. I think our front seven matches up well with their run game and Soliai could be huge if Mangold is out; his absence will likely screw them in more ways than one: pressure + run game. The crowd is behind us and we are 2-0, the city is buzzing. I saw footage of the Cheerleader fashion show (damnnnnn) and my family tells me people are amped up down there. I hope we do not turn the ball over as the Jests are very capable of causing us to do so. Rock and Roll
Honestly, this is two similar teams with comparable game plans. Fortunately our Quarterback is further along (in spite of this season's numbers) and our team is more physical. That gives us the edge, but we have to take advantage. It may be hard for either team to overcome mistakes.
