JETS WEEK

Well, here we are again Dolfans, another December another meaningless game.  I have to admit it is getting really hard to believe the Dolphins will ever turn the corner.  There is one thing to get excited about this week though and that is to BEAT THE JETS!  Whether the Fins are in a playoff scenario or not, a Jets, Dolphins game is always one I look forward too.

The Dolphins have many issues as we all know and most of them will have to be dealt with after the season.  That being the; coaching staff, the interior offensive line, the running backs and the biggest one the quarterback position.  That being said lets leave that stuff alone until things become more clear.

The Jets are coming off a humiliating loss to the Pats on Monday night.  The so called unstoppable Jets defense looked pretty suspect as Tom Brady carved them up all night.  Because of this I think the Dolphins will have a shot at exploiting some of these deficiencies.  Another thing the Dolphins have going for them is that the Jets have huge games against Chicago and Pittsburgh coming up, so the Dolphins may not be the only team on their mind.

The current QB of the Dolphins Chad Henne has had some of his best games against the Jets so far in his young career so hopefully he can put another big game together.  Brandon Marshall should also be making his return which you wouldn't think could hurt this offense.

The Defense of the Dolphins is the only unit that has played with any type of consistency this year so I am expecting them to have a good game.  The Dolphins D was able to shut down Peyton Hillis last week, something that no other team has been able to do thus far this season so I think they should be able to stop the Jets tandem of Greene and Tomlinson.  If that happens they will force Mark Sanchez to beat them, which is what any team playing the Jets hopes for.  Sanchez has had some good games this year, but he has also gotten very lucky and still makes some very mind numbing decisions, something we Miami fans are very used to this season. Channing Crowder should be back in at middle linebacker, and he has a lot to prove in order to keep his job after the season, I am looking for him to have a big game.

That being said it should be a good game like the Jets and Dolphins usually are!

Go Phins

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Huge Win For The Dolphins!!!

What a game!  That had to be the most complete game the Miami Dolphins have played all year.  For those of you who missed yesterday's game the Dolphins beat the Oakland Raiders 33 - 17.  The game didn't start out well with Jacoby Ford returning the opening kick-off 101 yards for a touchdown, but the Dolphins stayed with their game plan and executed when they needed to.

There were a lot of great story lines in this game for the Dolphins; Chad Henne coming back and having his best game of the year, Davone Bess and the rest of the receivers picking up the slack for the injured Brandon Marshall, Yeremiah Bell and the Defense shutting the door on the Raiders, but my favorite has to be the tandem of Ricky and Ronnie, going off for a season high 180 yards rushing combined.  Click Here for the complete game stats, courtesy of the Miami Herald.

There were a lot of positives for the Dolphins yesterday, now lets just hope they can build on this victory and get some help to get into the playoff hunt once again!

Lets get ready for Cleveland!!

Go Phins

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Brandon Marshall OUT V.S. Oakland

Brandon Marshall has been downgraded from doubtful to out for this Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders.

This will mean Hartline and Bess will have to pick up the slack.  More importantly, Ronnie and Ricky will have to have a big game this week.  They will need to take the pressure off of whoever is starting at quarterback, especially now that Marshall is out

Not great news for the Dolphins

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Miami Minute: Who will start at QB? Henne or Thigpen?

Well as you saw in the video courtesy of Jeff Darlington's Miami Minute, nobody knows who the starting quarterback will be this Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. That is not the biggest or most important news of this game though. Regardless of who starts, this is a must win for the Dolphins!

With New England and the Jets winning their games yesterday and improving to 9-2, they have all but secured playoff spots for themselves. This means that for the Dolphins to make it they will have to get the last wild card spot available, and to do that they will have to beat out four other teams that are ahead of them. What that means is the Fins have no room for error, no more losses are acceptable.

As for this must win matchup the Dolphins do not know who will be behind center for them, but they do know that they will have their starting center back as Joe Berger has practised all week. But Brandon Marshall could very well be out for this game which will be bad news for the Dolphins. If he is out that will mean Bess, Hartline and Fasano will have to pick up the slack and have big games to help this offense move the chains. The Dolphins running backs must finally have a coming out party, regardless of who is playing quarterback the Dolphins need Ricky and Ronnie to be who we all know they can be.

With all that in mind lets get ready for some football!!

This Sunday is it for the Dolphins, We Need This Win!!

Go Phins

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This Loss May Have Sealed The Dolphins Fate

Well , I guess Tyler Thigpen isn't going to be the second coming of Tom Brady, it didn't even look like he would be the second coming of AJ Feely last night.  Last nights loss was not just about the disastrous performance of Thigpen, it was much worse than that.
The Dolphins had 3 players that stood out to me last night, Karlos Dansby, Cameron Wake and Vontae Davis.  Everyone else on the Dolphins seemed confused and beaten after the very first series of the game.  The offensive line, took another hit with Cory Proctor going down early.  This forced the Dolphins to go with their emergency centre Richie Incognito.  With Jake Long playing at 50% this once proud O-line crumbled to Chicago's front seven yielding 6 sacks. 

The Running game was absolutely non existent, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams rushed for a combined 11 yards in the game.  That is completely unacceptable.  The most alarming thing about that is they had 6 carries between the two of them.  That is all on Dan Henning, I do not understand how this guy still has a job.  The passing game was just as horrible, there were dropped passes from numerous players including Brandon Marshall who was eventually injured in the second quarter.

The Defence at times looked solid, but when it came down to it they could not get off the field.  The Bears went 10 - 18 on third down conversions which is awful if you are a Dolphin fan.

Lets just say the Dolphins have a lot of work to do to get ready for Oakland next Sunday.  With this loss the Dolphins fall to 5 - 5 and basically out of the playoff picture.  There are only 6 games remaining so to grab a wild card the Dolphins need help and a lot of it.  That is not good news for any Dolphin fan.

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Thigpen ERA Begins in Prime Time Thursday Night!!

Well lets not get ahead of ourselves, but yes Tyler Thigpen will be starting for the Miami Dolphins this Thursday against the Chicago Bears.  For an Early look at this weeks match up here is a link to Dolphins Digest. 

We have some news to deal with following the Dolphins hard fought victory over the Titans this past Sunday.  As we all know Chad Pennington started the game and was quickly forced out of the game due to another shoulder injury.  His season is done, the Dolphins have placed him on the IR.  Chad Henne took over for Pennington and was pretty solid.  He too eventually went down with a knee injury and will miss sometime.  The good news is the Dolphins are expecting Chad to be back this year.  That brings us to Tyler Thigpen, Thigpen came into the game when Henne left and looked very impressive.  He drove the Dolphins down the field using his arm and his legs and eventually threw a touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano to cap off the drive.  Thigpen will get the start this Thursday against the Bears and from everything I have seen and heard people around the Dolphins are excited about Tyler getting a shot.  He will bring a new look to this conservative offense, because he plays anything but conservative.  If nothing else Thigpen will make it exciting!  Here are Thigpen's career stats from NFL.com.

Now for some bad news.  Jake Long suffered a dislocated shoulder against the Titans.  Word has come out that Long will have to have surgery on the shoulder eventually.  Jake has said that he is going to try to play the rest of the year with it, we will see how that goes.  The potential loss of Jake Long is far bigger news than the injuries to both the Chad's.  Long is having another Pro Bowl type season and to lose him would be devastating to this offence.  Long did practice today but was limited.

In other news the Dolphins re-signed Anthony Fasano today to a 2 year extension, locking him up through the 2012 season.  This is coming off of Fasano's career game having 107 receiving yards with a touchdown.  Lets hope this is a sign of things to come for Fasano.

Finally to fill the hole that placing Chad Henne on the IR has created the Dolphins signed Patrick Ramsey to be their 3rd quarterback.  Lets hope he stays as the third quarterback!!

I will leave you with a quote from Tyler Thigpen today from Armando Salguero's Twitter feed.
Miami Dolphins QB Tyler Thigpen: "For all the people out there doubting me, I want to prove I can be a starter."

Here's to hoping you prove it Tyler!!

Go Phins!
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Must Win For The Dolphins V.S Tennesee

I know I said this in an earlier post but this game has become huge for the Miami Dolphins.  With the Jets and Patriots now 6 - 2 the Dolphins have to win this game to stay in the chase!

As if there wasn't enough pressure on the Phins already Brandon Marshall guaranteed a playoff spot this season...uggghhh.  I  hope he knows something we don't

With the quarterback change taking place yesterday, the Dolphins surprisingly will not have to alter their offence much.  They Dolphins have not really even tried to stretch the field very much this year and have played an ultra conservative offense.  I believe this type of offense actually suits Pennington much better than Henne.  Pennington relies on his accuracy and game management skills to run an offense, I am expecting the Dolphins to be improved in this area.

Team Matchups!

Offense
The Dolphins surprising rank better in total offense this season over Tennessee with the Fins ranking 17th overall and the Titans ranking 24th.  That number may be skewed because the Dolphins have been able to move the ball all year but not score!  Tennessee has scored 224 total points so far this season where the Dolphins have 143 total points.  If you look at it that way advantage Tennessee.

Defensively

Once again the Dolphins are ahead in the overall rankings in total defense, they rank 13th overall, the Titans rank 19th.  The Defense has been the Dolphins strength this year, but they have been inconsistent all year.  In Pass Defense the Dolphins rank 13th and the Titans rank 23rd overall, this may be the game for Marshall and now Pennington to have a big outing!!  As for rush defense the Dolphins rank 16th, where as the Titans rank 14th.  I would say that is pretty much a wash, except for the fact that the Dolphins have to stop Chris Johnson, who now has Randy Moss to stretch the field for him.  Tennessee has to stop the struggling duo of Ronnie and Ricky, advantage Tennessee.

Overall

I am very excited for this game and I think it is a winnable game for the Dolphins.  I am hoping the Pennington still has some life in that throwing shoulder after his third surgery, which he had last year.  If nothing else I am hoping Pennington brings a calming/confidence to this struggling offence.  If the offence gets that spark and the defense can slow down Johnson and not let him dominate, I think the Dolphins can come out of this game 5-4.

GO PHINS

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Miami Minute: Henne and Pennington react to QB switch

The Newest Miami Minute from Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald. All I can say is I hope they both do what they are saying! The Dolphins need Pennington to step up and prove that he still has something left. They also need Chad Henne to not give up and know that this could be his team again in the blink of an eye!


GO PHINS!!

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Big Moves For The Miami Dolphins Pennington and Al Harris In!

Today the Miami Dolphins, have made what they believe to be two improvements to their football team.  The move the Dolphins made was to cut starting corner back Jason Allen and  sign veteran Al Harris who was cut by the Green Bay Packers earlier this week.   In Al Harris the Dolphins are getting a veteran(36 years old) corner who hasn't played since week 11 of last year.  What they are losing in Jason Allen is a player that led the team in interceptions, but also a player who it seemed was victimized by  the opposing wide receivers weekly.  I think that this is a last gasp for something positive to happen to the Dolphins secondary.  Al Harris will most likely be included in nickel packages and as a backup, so expect Sean Smith to start opposite Vontae Davis.  Here are Al Harris's career stats:

Defensive
			Tackles					Interceptions
Year	Team	G	Comb	Total	Ast	Sck	SFTY	PDef	Int	TDs	Yds	Avg	Lng
2009	Green Bay Packers	10	34	29	5	1.0	--	5	2	0	29	14.5	29
2008	Green Bay Packers	12	24	23	1	0.0	--	9	--	--	--	0.0	--
2007	Green Bay Packers	16	37	33	4	0.0	--	9	2	0	17	8.5	17
2006	Green Bay Packers	16	41	35	6	0.0	--	14	3	0	39	13.0	34
2005	Green Bay Packers	16	53	46	7	3.0	0	10	3	1	30	10.0	22T
2004	Green Bay Packers	16	62	56	6	0.0	--	19	1	0	29	29.0	29
2003	Green Bay Packers	16	47	45	2	0.0	0	11	3	1	89	29.7	56T
2002	Philadelphia Eagles	16	24	22	2	0.0	--	17	1	0	0	0.0	0
2001	Philadelphia Eagles	16	22	20	2	0.0	--	10	2	0	22	11.0	14
2000	Philadelphia Eagles	16	--	--	--	0.0	--	0	0	0	1	0.0	1
1999	Philadelphia Eagles	16	--	--	--	0.0	0	0	4	1	151	37.8	84
1998	Philadelphia Eagles	16	--	--	--	0.0	--	0	--	--	--	0.0	--
TOTAL		182	344	309	35	4.0	0	104	21	3	407	--	84

The second move and the move that will have the biggest impact on the team is that they have benched starting quarterback Chad Henne in favour of Chad Pennington.  Chad Pennington was the one leading the Dolphins to their 2008 AFC division title a year in which he won the Come Back Player of the Year Award, for the second time in his career.  Last season Pennington started at quarterback but was injured early in the season and replaced with Chad Henne.

Henne has really struggled the last few weeks for the Dolphins, last game against Baltimore being his worst.  Is Henne's time with the Dolphins done?  I really hope not, I still think that he will one day be a good starting quarterback in this league, but in the situation that the Dolphins are in they need to win now.  That means for right now Chad Pennington is once again the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins.

Here was a quote from Chad Pennington during today's press conference courtesy of the Miami Herald and Armando Salguero.

"I just think as an offense, we've got to make sure we create a spark," he said. "Offensive football is about energy, it's about momentum. It's about synergy. It's about a feeling you have. And none of that happens with stats, it's not a statistic you can throw at it. So we have to find a way to create sparks during games. And when there's a chance to stick a dagger in a team and take their heart out, we got to do it. And when there's a chance to make a big play and get our crowd involved, we've got to do that. It's really important our crowd comes and supports us and so our we. So we have to create sparks and create energy and feed off that."

Go Get Em Chad!!  We Need Ya!!

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Will Ferrell Goodbye Dan Marino

Just thought I would throw this beautiful song on the Blog to remember the Greatest Quarterback that ever lived!!

Go PHINS!

MIAMI DOLPHINS V.S, BALTIMORE RAVENS

Well here we go again Dolfans, week 9 is upon us and once again the Dolphins seem to be in a do or die situation.  With a 4 -3 record they currently sit third in the AFC East behind the Jets at 5-2 and the Patriots at 6-1.  To keep pace with these two teams the Fins will have to pull out a victory, as the Jets and Pats have almost guaranteed wins this week against Detroit and Cleveland respectively.  With that in mind here are the key match ups for the Dolphins this week.

Key Matchups

Chad Henne V.S. Ravens Secondary

Chad Henne played very well last week in the second half and if he keeps that up he will start to prove he is the quarterback everyone thought he could be.  Baltimore has once again one of the best defences in the league.  The Ravens do have some weaknesses that have been exploited, there secondary gave up a 4 touchdown and 382 yard performance by Ryan Fitzpatrick and the lowly Bills 2 weeks ago.  This should give the offense some confidence going into this game.  The X-factor really will be Ed Reid.  He is back in the lineup and looks as good as ever.  Chad Henne will have to watch out for Reid floating around the secondary looking for interceptions.  If he can be aware of Reid at all times, Chad has a shot at having a big game!

Dan Henning V.S. Himself

This will continue to be a key to the game for the Dolphins until Dan Henning starts to show consistency in his play calling.  He is obvious and predictable when you shouldn't be and completely unpredictable when you should be.  This has been one of the biggest reasons for the Dolphins having such an inconsistent offence this year.  The Ravens typically play man to man in the secondary and usually refuse to double team receivers, which they will continue to do even against Brandon Marshall this coming week.  This is the perfect opportunity for Dan Henning to finally use Marshall as a deep threat and take some chances with him.  If Brandon Marshall has one on one coverage on him,  Henning and Henne should be taking shots with him all day. This may finally be the day we see Brandon get his touchdowns.

Baltimore's Offense V.S. Miami Defense

The Dolphins defense showed last game that they are for real!  If the Dolphins D can continue to play the way they did last game against the Bengals they should have a good chance of shutting down Baltimore's offence.  However Joe Flacco does have Anquan Boldin and Derek Mason as wide receivers.  These two can cause a problem for any defense and the Dolphins are no different.  The Fins will have to be aware where those two are all the time and work as a complete unit to shut them down.  From the Front 7 look for Cameron Wake to get back to collecting some sacks this week.  This will need to happen to give the secondary a chance at covering the wide outs effectively.

If the Fins can do these 3 things I think they have a great chance of going 5-3 and staying right in the hunt for the AFC East title as well as a Wild Card.

GO PHINS!!!!

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Miami Minute: Dolphins react to FG-heavy win

Here is the Dolphins reaction to their win over the Bengals today courtesy of Jeff Darlington's Miami Minute! It wasn't pretty but I think every Dolfan will take it!!

DOLPHINS WIN!!! with Complete Game Stats

The Miami Dolphins pulled out a close one today! beating the Cincinnati Bengals, 22-14.  As a Dolphin fan I cannot remember watching a more frustrating game!  The Fins should have had this game won many times.  The coaching staff and offensive play calling continues to be a huge concern.  This coaching staff seems to be ok with mediocrity "field goals".  It got to a point today where I wasn't sure if the Dolphins knew they didn't have to settle for field goals but could actually score touchdowns!  That being said the play calling has alot of work to do to get this team to be where it should be.

On a positive note the Dolphins Defense played outstanding in crucial times today!  They shut down the duo of Ochocinco and Owens in the second half when they needed too.  That was great to see as a fan.  The offense also had times during this game where they seemed to be unstoppable.  This was when they were being unpredictable and throwing the ball to Brandon Marshall, which opened up the running game.

The best news of today other than the Dolphins victory came when the Jets & Packers game was finalized, with the Packers winning 9-0.  Now to make this day great the Vikings have to beat the Patriots, which would put the Dolphins right back in the race!

Here are the Stats from today's game courtesy of NFL.com

Passing CP/AT YDS TD INT C. Henne 24/37 217 0 1 Rushing ATT YDS TD LG R. Brown 16 61 0 13 R. Williams 9 47 1 18 B. Hartline 1 30 0 30 L. Polite 2 6 0 4 C. Henne 3 -7 0 -2 Receiving REC YDS TD LG B. Marshall 5 64 0 25 D. Bess 7 53 0 20 B. Hartline 5 53 0 24 A. Fasano 3 36 0 15 R. Brown 1 7 0 7 L. Polite 2 2 0 3 R. Williams 1 2 0 2 Fumbles FUM LOST REC YDS D. Bess 1 1 0 0 Kicking FG LG XP PTS D. Carpenter 5/5 54 1/1 16 Punting NO AVG I20 LG B. Fields 4 43.0 1 55 Kickoff Returns NO AVG TD LG P. Cobbs 3 23 0 40 Punt Returns NO AVG TD LG D. Bess 4 7 0 17 Defense T-A SCK INT FF Y. Bell 6-3 0.0 0 0 K. Dansby 5-3 0.0 0 0 B. Sapp 4-6 0.0 0 0 C. Crowder 3-1 0.0 0 0 K. Langford 2-2 0.0 0 0 C. Clemons 1-0 0.0 0 0 V. Davis 1-3 0.0 0 0 T. McDaniel 1-1 0.0 0 0 K. Misi 1-0 0.0 0 0 R. Starks 1-1 0.0 0 0 C. Wake 1-2 0.0 0 0 J. Allen 0-2 0.0 0 0 S. Smith 0-1 0.0 1 0 P. Soliai 0-1 0.0 0 0 Passing CP/AT YDS TD INT C. Palmer 17/38 156 2 1 Rushing ATT YDS TD LG C. Benson 20 69 0 13 B. Scott 2 22 0 18 C. Palmer 3 13 0 8 B. Leonard 1 2 0 2 Receiving REC YDS TD LG T. Owens 5 65 2 37T C. Ochocinco 3 34 0 14 J. Shipley 3 28 0 14 J. Gresham 3 17 0 8 C. Benson 3 12 0 8 Fumbles FUM LOST REC YDS M. Johnson 0 0 1 0 Kicking FG LG XP PTS M. Nugent 0/0 0 2/2 2 Punting NO AVG I20 LG K. Huber 9 36.8 3 61 Kickoff Returns NO AVG TD LG B. Scott 6 19 0 28 Punt Returns NO AVG TD LG Q. Cosby 2 12 0 12 Defense T-A SCK INT FF M. Trent 9-2 0.0 1 0 R. Maualuga 5-4 0.0 0 0 D. Jones 4-1 0.0 0 0 R. Nelson 4-2 0.0 0 0 C. Crocker 3-0 0.0 0 0 C. Dunlap 2-0 0.0 0 0 L. Hall 2-0 0.0 0 0 K. Rivers 2-2 0.0 0 0 P. Sims 2-1 0.0 0 0 G. Atkins 1-0 0.0 0 0 R. Geathers 1-0 0.0 0 0 T. Johnson 1-1 0.0 0 0 M. Johnson 1-0 0.0 0 0 B. Johnson 1-0 0.0 0 0 F. Rucker 1-3 0.0 0 0 T. Nelson 0-1 0.0 0 0 D. Peko 0-1 0.0 0 0 Total First Downs 20 Total First Downs 16 By Rushing 8 By Rushing 7 By Passing 10 By Passing 7 By Penalty By Penalty Third Down Efficiency 5/15 - 33% Third Down Efficiency 6/16 - 37% Fourth Down Efficiency 0/0 - 0% Fourth Down Efficiency 1/1 - 100% Total Net Yards 354 Total Net Yards 262 Total Rushing/Passing Plays (includes Sacks) 68 Total Rushing/Passing Plays (includes Sacks) 64 Average Gain per Offensive Play 5.2 Average Gain per Offensive Play 4.1 Net Yards Rushing 137 Net Yards Rushing 106 Total Rushing Plays 31 Total Rushing Plays 26 Average Gain per Rushing Play 4.4 Average Gain per Rushing Play 4.1 Tackled for a Loss (Number-Yards) 0-0 Tackled for a Loss (Number-Yards) 3--9 Net Yards Passing 217 Net Yards Passing 156 Times Sacked (Number-Yards) 0 - 0 Times Sacked (Number-Yards) 0 - 0 Gross Yards Passing 217 Gross Yards Passing 156 Pass Comp-Att-Int 24 - 37 - 1 Pass Comp-Att-Int 17 - 38 - 1 Average Gain per Passing Play (includes Sacks) 5.9 Average Gain per Passing Play (includes Sacks) 4.1 Kickoffs (Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks) 6 - 1 - 0 Kickoffs (Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks) 3 - 0 - 0 Punts (Number-Average) 4 - 49.0 Punts (Number-Average) 9 - 39.9 Blocked 0 Blocked 0 Net Punting Average 43.0 Net Punting Average 36.8 FGs Blocked - PATs Blocked 0 - 0 FGs Blocked - PATs Blocked 0 - 0 Total Return Yardage (excludes Kickoffs) 46 Total Return Yardage (excludes Kickoffs) 24 Punt Returns (Number-Yards) 4 - 28 Punt Returns (Number-Yards) 2 - 24 Kickoff Returns (Number-Yards) 3 - 69 Kickoff Returns (Number-Yards) 6 - 117 Interception Returns (Number-Yards) 1 - 18 Interception Returns (Number-Yards) 1 - 0 Penalties (Number-Yards) 4 - 42 Penalties (Number-Yards) 4 - 36 Fumbles (Number-Lost) 1 - 1 Fumbles (Number-Lost) 0 - 0 Touchdowns 1 Touchdowns 2 Rushing 1 Rushing 0 Passing 0 Passing 2 Interceptions 0 Interceptions 0 Kickoff Returns 0 Kickoff Returns 0 Fumble Returns 0 Fumble Returns 0 Punt Returns 0 Punt Returns 0 Extra Points (Made-Attempted) 1 - 1 Extra Points (Made-Attempted) 2 - 2 Kicking (Made-Attempted) 1 - 1 Kicking (Made-Attempted) 2 - 2 Two Point Conversions (Made-Attempted) 0 - 0 Two Point Conversions (Made-Attempted) 0 - 0 Field Goals (Made-Attempted) 5 - 5 Field Goals (Made-Attempted) 0 - 0 Red Zone Efficiency 1/3 - 33% Red Zone Efficiency 1/1 - 100% Goal To Go Efficiency 1/1 - 100% Goal To Go Efficiency 0/0 - 0% Safeties 0 Safeties 0 Final Score 22 Final Score 14 Time of Possession 33:29 Time of Possession 26:31

Dolphins and Bengals Injury Reports and Stats

Hey Everyone, here is a quick report on the Dolphins and Bengals for this coming Sunday courtesy of  The Palm Beach Post.

Miami Dolphins Injury Report

Out: S Reshad Jones (knee)
Questionable: CB Nolan Carroll (ankle), FB Deon Anderson (tricep)

Cincinnati Bengals Injury Report 

Out: DE Jonathan Fanene (hamstring)
Doubtful: S Roy Williams (knee)
Questionable: HB Brian Leonard (thigh), LB Brandon Johnson (knee), CB Johnathan Joseph (ankle), S Chinedum Ndukwe (knee), CB Morgan Trent (knee)
Probable: CB Leon Hall (hamstring), WR Terrell Owens (hand), QB Carson Palmer(hip), LB Keith Rivers (foot), OT Andre Smith (ankle)

2010 Team Rankings

Miami Dolphins

Offense: 13th (Rushing: 16th; Passing: 13th; Points: 24th)
Defense: 10th (Rushing: 12th; Passing: 17th; Points: 21st)

Cincinnati Bengals

Offense: 8th (Rushing: 19th; Passing: 6th; Points: 16th)
Defense: 20th (Rushing: 22nd; Passing: 19th; Points: 25th)

2010 stat leaders 

Miami Dolphins

Passing: Chad Henne – 1,452 yards, 8 TDs, 6 INTs, 63.1 comp pct, 84.9 rating
Receiving: Brandon Marshall – 42 for 524, 1 TD; Davone Bess – 32 for 348 yards, 3 TD; Brian Hartline – 20 for 234, 1 TD
Rushing: Ronnie Brown – 313 yards (4.1 ypc), 1 TD; Ricky Williams – 288 yards (4.3 ypc)
Tackles: S Yeremiah Bell – 46 total; LB Karlos Dansby – 42 total; CB Jason Allen – 32 total
Sacks: LB Cam Wake — 6.5, LB Koa Misi — 3.5
Interceptions: Allen – 3, CB Vontae Davis — 1

Cincinnati Bengals

Passing: Carson Palmer – 1,699 yards, 10 TD, 6 INT, 61.9 comp pct, 86.1 rating.
Receiving: Terrell Owens – 40 for 564 yards, 3 TD; Chad Ochocinco – 36 for 424 yards, 2 TD; Jordan Shipley — 21 for 321 yards, 1 TD
Rushing: Cedric Benson – 476 yards (3.9 ypc), 2 TD
Tackles: LB Dhani Jones – 46 total; LB Keith Rivers — 35 total; S Chris Crocker – 35 total
Sacks: Crocker — 2; Three players – 1 each
Interceptions: CB Leon Hall – 4; Four players – 1 each

A few things stick out to me for this upcoming match up.  

1.The Dolphins will really have to watch out for Jordan Shipley in the slot, he can kill you if you only focus on the big duo at wide receiver!

2. Miami should be able to really exploit the poor run defense of the Bengals, which will hopefully set up Brandon Marshall well as a deep threat in the passing game.

3. Chad Henne can not try to force it into receivers, the Bengals corners really have the ability to pick the ball off and go for 6.

This should be a good game Phinatics!

Let me know what you all think!!

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MIAMI DOLPHINS V.S CINCINNATI BENGALS

Now that I have finally put the past in the past, regarding last weeks debacle we can finally focus on this weeks matchup between the Miami Dolphins & the Cincinnati Bengals.

Key Matchups

Miami Secondary V.S. Batman & Robin


At 2-4 there hasn't been much the Bengals have done well this year.  One thing they have done well is throw the ball.  The Bengals possess 2 elite wide receivers in Terrel Owens and Chad Ochocinco.  This may turn into a problem for Miami considering their pass defense and secondary continue to be an issue for them.  They are doing things to fix this.  Sean Smith will most likely start his first game of this season.  Smith was the starter opposite Vontae Davis last year, but lost his starting job to Jason Allen in training camp.  This isn't to say that Allen won't play.  The Bengals run a 3 wide receiver set often so he will also get his chances.  The move to put Smith has a lot to do with Terrel Owens being on the Bengals.  Smith at 6 ft 4 215 has the height and size to play the physical style of football that Owens likes to play.  To be successful against this duo the Dolphins secondary will have to come to play and play for 4 quarters.

Dolphins Running Game V.S. Bengals Defence

For the last 2 years the Dolphins have been a running team and a very good running team.  This year they have not been.  They are averaging only 3.8 yards per carry(in case your wondering the league AVG is 4.2 YPC).  They have to get Ricky and Ronnie running early and often.  The Bengals have not been great at stopping the run this year so this becomes a big advantage for the Dolphins if they can get it together.  Having the running game working will in turn set up some big passing plays down the field, which is something we have yet to see much of from this Dolphins Offense.

Dolphins Play Calling V.S. Themselves

The Dolphins play calling has been very conservative all season and depending on who you are talking to could be one of the reasons the Dolphins are sitting at 3-3 so far.  The Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning has made very "interesting" calls at important times this season.  If the Dolphins are to take the next step I think they have to stop playing so conservatively and let loose.  This past off season the Dolphins got Brandon Marshall to be that deep threat they were lacking.  Marshall has not been used as a deep threat at all so far this season.  Instead they are using him as a possession receiver not unlike how they used Greg Camarillo last year.  I think this is the game the Dolphins must start using Marshall how he was meant to be used, as a touchdown threat whenever he is on the field.

I think that if the Dolphins are successful in these three areas they will come out of this game 4-3!

Let me know what you think!

GO PHINS

Phinatic

Miami Minute: Referee explains controversial call

Thanks to Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald here is an interview with the Ref after the game as well as some reactions from some of the Miami Dolphins themselves.

Watching this video just seals the deal for me! The Dolphins were robbed!!!



What do you think?

Officials and Steelers Hand Miami Dolphins Thier 3rd Loss

Very Rarely will I blame the officiating for a loss, but this game came down to the officials and they blew it! In the fourth quarter the Steelers ran a play on 3rd and goal, where Rothlisberger kept it for a quarterback sneak and scored a touchdown, or so he thought.  Miami challenged the play because they felt that a hit from Chris Clemons forced Rothlisberger to fumble the ball before he scored the touchdown. Miami also felt that they had recovered the ball in the end zone, which would mean the Dolphins would get the ball at their own 20 yard line.  This is when things went wrong.  The Officials reversed the call saying that Rothlisberger did fumble the ball before he scored, but they said they could not tell who recovered the ball.  This meant that they gave the ball back to Pittsburgh on the 1/2 yard line, which led to the eventual game winning field goal.  What I don't understand is how they could not see who recovered the ball.  As soon as the ball was fumbled Ikaika Alama-Francis jumped on the loose ball and eventually came up with the ball.  I don't know how much more obvious it had to be.


The officiating was not the only problem in this game for the Dolphins, they repeatedly shot themselves in the foot by not converting great opportunities into touchdowns but rather settling for field goals.  To win in the NFL  you have to be able to score touchdowns, you cannot rely just on field goals.  Another very poor area for the Dolphins today was their third down conversion rate, which led to all of those field goals.  On the defensive side of the ball the Dolphins have to do a better job of stopping opposing teams on third downs.  Finally someone has to help Tony Sparano with his game management skills.  I have never seen a coach repeatedly throw his timeouts away.

Overall it was a very disappointing day to be a Miami Dolphin fan.  There were some positives in this game though, Chad Henne looked very good at times and lets face it the Dolphins lost by 1 point to a team that many consider to be the best team in the NFL.





The Dolphins will now travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals next Sunday.  What we need now Dolfans is for the Patriots and Jets to finally start losing some games!

Miami Dolphins place Jared Odrick On IR

Well Phins fans, this was expected, the Miami Dolphins placed Jared Odrick on Injured Reserve today, the weird part is it wasn't because of his previous injury that he suffered week one against the Buffalo Bills.  Apparently Odrick broke his foot earlier this week in practice.  This is very dissapointing news for any Dolphins fan, Odrick was the first round pick of the Dolphins 28th overall in this years draft.  Odrick was expected to be a large part of the Dolphins D-Line this year especially after Philip Merling went down with a season ending injury during training camp this year. 

The group of D-Linemen that the Dolphins will go with for the rest of the year will be Randy Starks at D-End, Paul Solia at Nose Tackle and Kendall Langford at D-End, with Tony McDaniel and Ryan Baker spelling all three.

Lets hope this is enough! Let me know what you think!

Go Phins

Phinatic

Anyone Who is A Football Fan Needs To Read This Article

Recently, The Commissioner of the NFL, Rodger Goodell, sent out a memo to all teams stating that there will now be tougher penalties to players who commit vicious hits.  Many players have been outraged about this, mostly defensive players understandably!  Here is a recent article featuring the Miami Dolphins very own Channing Crowder from the Huffington Post, Channing Crowder:"They give me a helmet, I'm going to use it." .  I totally agree with Crowder and Brian Urlacher in this article, these men chose to play the game of football, they knew there were potential dangers when they started why is it different now.

Let me know what you think

Phinatic

Jared Odrick Likely Out For the Season