Fin Attack - The Story of the Miami Dolphins (M10)

[mockme]

'Phins looking for improvement as Buffalo rolls into town

Miami, Florida-- Get your popcorn ready, Miami. Terrell Owens is here.

The showboat wideout who's known - in addition to his undeniable football skills - for his big mouth is leading the otherwise not-so-sexy Buffalo Bills to Miami for a divisional matchup. The skillful T.O. - however - is not the biggest concern for the Dolphins.

Rather it's the play of second year quarterback Chad Henne. Getting his first regular season start, Henne struggled, throwing 5 picks against the Chargers last week. Henne didn't try to defend himself from the press in any way, saying he was 'overwhelmed' by the speed.

This week Henne and the 'Phins are looking for a better performance. The coaching staff should also take a look in the mirror, insisting on throwing the ball despite the excellent condition of recently recovered running back Ronnie Brown.

As a football team, the Bills aren't at the same level as the Chargers, and should be more than beatable. What matters in this game is that the Dolphins fix their own problems. If they play at the level everyone knows they can play at - they did beat the Colts, remember - they should be able to record that second W of the season against an 0-3 team.

The Bills don't have anyone injured for the game, while the Dolphins are still waiting for their starting quarterback, Chad Pennington, to come back. As I've said before: that will take quite a while.

[mockme]

Offense struggles as Bills down 'Phins

Miami, Florida-- It was the first divisional battle of the season for the Dolphins, and an important game, as those with divisional opponents always are. Miami had the homefield advantage, and the Bills were the only team in the league that had lost all of its first 3 games.

Yet the Dolphins would hand them their first victory of the season.

Chad Henne continued to look like he had no idea what he was doing on the field. Despite throwing for a touchdown, Henne racked up only 190 yards, and also threw 3 picks. In addition, the running game was completely inefficient, as Ronnie Brown rushed for 39 yards on 19 carries. He also added a touchdown.

The 2 TDs were all the points the Dolphins scored, as they fell to Buffalo 15-14.

The Bills' third year quarterback Trent Edwards threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown, while kicker Rian Lindell scored 3 field goals to lead the team towards their first win of the season.

The Dolphins went into half-time with a 14-6 lead, after Ted Ginn made a beautiful catch & run play late in the second quarter. The team wouldn't score any points in the second half, while the Bills added 9 to their tally. First with Lindell making a kick, and later in the fourth quarter Roscoe Parrish caught a 5-yard pass from Edwards. Despite failing at the 2-point conversion, the 36 seconds remaining on the clock weren't enough for the Dolphins to drive themselves down the field, as Henne threw an interception to Leodis McKelvin.

It was a heartbreaking loss, as the Dolphins seemed to be in control after the first half. This just goes to show - once again - that football is a game of two halves, and you should never let up. The Dolphins better make sure that they finish the game with intensity next week, when they face another divisional rival: the New York Jets.

Scoring Summary

BUF	3	3	0	9	0	15
MIA	7	7	0	0	0	14

Quarter 1

BUF - R. Lindell 35 Yd Fg, 7:39
MIA - R. Brown 6 Yd Run (B. Cundiff kick), 0:00

Quarter 2

MIA - T. Ginn 43 Yd Pass from C. Henne (B. Cundiff kick), 2:46
BUF - R. Lindell 36 Yd Fg, 0:35

Quarter 3

-No scoring-

Quarter 4

BUF - R. Lindell 24 Yd Fg, 3:37
BUF - R. Parrish 5 Yd Pass from T. Edwards (2-pt conversion - failed), 0:36

Player Stats

Passing

BUF - T. Edwards: 29/45, 323 Yds, Td, Int
MIA - C. Henne: 19/32, 190 Yds, Td, 3 Int

Rushing

MIA - R. Brown: 19 Att, 39 Yds, Td
BUF - M. Lynch: 16 Att, 46 Yds, 2.8 Avg
BUF - F. Jackson: 10 Att, 55 Yds, 5.5 Avg

Receiving

BUF - T. Owens: 6 Rec, 69 Yds
BUF - L. Evans: 6 Rec, 90 Yds
MIA - A. Fasano: 5 Rec, 38 Yds
BUF - J. Reed: 5 Rec, 35 Yds
MIA - R. Brown: 4 Rec, 13 Yds

Defensive

MIA - Y. Bell: 12 Solo, 3 Ast
MIA - K. Langford: 3 Solo, 1 Ast, 2 Sacks
MIA - J. Porter: 4 Solo, 1 Ast, 1 Tfl, Int
BUF - P. Posluzny: 4 Solo, 2 Ast

Kicking

BUF - R. Lindell: 3/5 Fg
MIA - B. Fields: 9 Punts, 44.2 Avg
BUF - B. Moorman: 3 Punts, 38.3 Avg

Return

BUF - L. McKelvin: 3 Kr, 29.0 Avg
MIA - T. Ginn: 5 Kr, 23.8 Avg, 4 Pr, 10.0 Avg
BUF - R. Parrish: 6 Pr, 11.3 Avg

[jonathonb15]

I am really liking this. Nice clean updates.

Tough start though. Good luck in your next games.

[mockme]

Quote: Originally Posted by jonathonb15

I am really liking this. Nice clean updates. Tough start though. Good luck in your next games.

Thanks. Nice to get some feedback.

Yeah, it's been a tough start. Pennington's injury really hurt me. Don't know why but I just throw a lot more interceptions with Henne.

[mockme]

'Phins face another divisional battle before bye-week

Miami, Florida-- The Dolphins are one game away from their bye-week, and it couldn't be a bigger one. The New York Jets are coming to town.

Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez has done a pretty good job leading his team, throwing 11 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in the 4 games he has played so far. The Jets rank 29th in pass yardage per game, but despite that they are 3-1, which is way better when you look at the Dolphins and their 1-3 record.

Thomas Jones has done a good job at running back for the Jets, paving the way down the field, and then letting Sanchez finish it off. Mostly with a pass to tight end Dustin Keller.

That's what these two teams have in common. They're leading receiver is a tight end. For the Jets it's Keller, and for the Dolphins it's Anthony Fasano.

Quarterback Chad Henne throws the ball to Fasano on most of his completed passes. Most of the time when Henne actually goes downfield in an attempt to find a streaking Ted Ginn, he gets intercepted. Against the Jets there's an even higher possibility of that with Darrelle Revis and Kerry Rhodes patrolling the secondary. Rhodes has played in multiple Pro Bowls, and Revis is regarded as perhaps the best cornerback in the game today.

That is why the running game and Fasano play an even bigger role.

However, running the ball won't be easy. The Jets have one of the game's best defensive tackles in Kris Jenkins, and linebackers Calvin Pace and David Harris are no slouches either.

It'll be a tough match, but the Dolphins need this one. It's important to go into the bye-week on a high a note, and it's even more important to keep yourself in the divisional race.

[mockme]

Henne explodes against Jets, throws for over 400 yards in win

Miami, Florida-- Chad Henne showed everyone that he can play some ball. On his way to a quarterback rating of 103.3, Henne threw for 438 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Dolphins downed the New York Jets 37-36 in a match that came down to the last few seconds. Henne did have some problems with ball security, throwing 2 interceptions, but the win is what matters the most.

Another impressive performance for the Dolphins came from wide receiver Davone Bess. Bess caught 8 passes for 173 yards and scored a touchdown.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Dolphins held a 27-14 lead, and despite the Jets scoring 2 touchdowns, were still leading 30-28. At that point, there was 2 minutes on the clock, and everything seemed to down the drain.

Ricky Williams got the ball on a handoff, as the Dolphins were looking to run down the clock. Calvin Pace made the hit, Williams fumbled, David Harris - who had a monster game, getting 2 interceptions as well - scooped up the ball and ran it all the way into the endzone for a 75-yard score. Then Henne took over.

After Ted Ginn failed to get the ball any further than the 20-yard line on the kickoff return, Henne came out with the offense, led it down the field and capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end David Martin. Billy Cundiff added the extra point, and the Dolphins had the lead again with 27 seconds on the clock. Mark Sanchez threw his second interception of the day, and the game was over.

With the win the Dolphins have a record of 2-3 heading into their bye-week. Head coach Tony Sparano couldn't have been happier afte the game.

"Henne performed admirably. 438 yards and 3 scores isn't an easy thing to do by any means. Obviously there are still problems with ball security, but we can work on that during the bye. I'm confident that from this point on he can be an effective quarterback for the Miami Dolphins."

Coach said it. The bye should be used on working with Henne's reads, helping him to keep the ball with the Dolphins. We'll see the results of this two weeks from now, when the men in green face off against the New Orleans Saints.

Scoring Summary

NYJ	7	7	0	22	0	36
MIA	10	0	17	10	0	37

Quarter 1

MIA - B. Cundiff 22 Yd Fg, 11:51
NYJ - T. Richardson 3 Yd Pass from M. Sanchez (J. Feely kick), 5:35
MIA - R. Williams 20 Yd Pass from C. Henne (B. Cundiff kick), 1:07

Quarter 2

NYJ - S. Greene 7 Yd Run (J. Feely kick), 8:28

Quarter 3

MIA - D. Bess 38 Yd Pass from C. Henne (B. Cundiff kick), 11:29
MIA - V. Davis returned interception 38 Yds (B. Cundiff kick), 9:54
MIA - B. Cundiff 44 Yd Fg, 4: 49

Quarter 4

MIA - B. Cundiff 23 Yd Fg, 13:32
NYJ - J. Dearth 4 Yd Pass from M. Sanchez (2-pt conversion - succesful), 9:37
NYJ - B. Smith 7 Yd Pass from M. Sanchez (2-pt conversion - failed), 4:49
NYJ - D. Harris returned fumble 75 Yds (2-pt conversion - succesful), 1:29
MIA - D. Martin 5 Yd pass from C. Henne (B. Cundiff kick), 0:27

Player Stats

Passing

MIA - C. Henne: 32/45, 438 Yds, 3 Td, 2 Int
NYJ - M. Sanchez: 17/30, 231 Yds, 3 Td, 2 Int

Rushing

MIA - R. Brown: 19 Att, 83 Yds, 4.3 Avg
NYJ - S. Greene: 11 Att, 28 Yds, Td
NYJ - T. Jones: 14 Att, 40 Yds, 2.8 Avg

Receiving

MIA - D. Bess: 8 Rec, 173 Yds, Td
MIA - A. Fasano: 8 Rec, 74 Yds
MIA - R. Brown: 5 Rec, 34 Yds
NYJ - D. Keller: 4 Rec, 43 Yds
MIA - D. Martin: 4 Rec, 41 Yds, Td

Defensive

NYJ - D. Harris: 7 Solo, 1 Ast, 2 Int, Fr
MIA - C. Crowder: 4 Solo, 2 Ast, Tfl, Int
NYJ - J. Leonhard: 9 Solo, 2 Ast
MIA - J. Taylor: 5 Solo, 2 Ast, 2 Tfl
NYJ - S. Ellis: 5 Solo, 3 Ast, 3 Tfl, 2 Sacks

Kicking

MIA - B. Cundiff: 3/3 Fg
NYJ - J. Feely 0/1 Fg
NYJ - M. Berger: 6 Punts, 44.1 Avg
MIA - B. Fields: 2 Punts, 38.5 Avg

Return

NYJ - A. Carroll: 7 Kr, 27.2 Avg
MIA - T. Ginn: 6 Kr, 25.1 Avg, 5 Pr, 9.8 Avg
NYJ - J. Leonhard: 1 Pr, 20 Yds

[mockme]

Q & A with coach Sparano: Bye-week edition

Time to sit down with the head coach of the Dolphins, Tony Sparano. This little coach's corner will be done at least two times during the season: the bye-week, and after the season. If the Dolphins make the post-season, we'll have an interview done before the first play-off game as well. The questions are bolded while coach Sparano's answers are not.

Q: How do you feel about the team's overall performance up until this point?
A: Pretty good. There are some things we need to fix, and 2-3 isn't the record we were hoping for, but there a lot of positives as well. Our rookies have handled their jobs admirably and at least we're moving the ball, even if we are turning it over too much.

Q: Who has been the one to catch your eye the most out of this year's rookie class?
A: Definitely Vontae Davis. He's currently tied for first place in the league in interceptions and leads the league in pass deflections.

Q: Anthony Fasano has caught more passes than anyone else in the league. How do you feel about your leading receiver being a tight end?
A: In some ways it just goes to show that we're a bit thin at the wide receiver position, even though Ted Ginn, Greg Camarillo and especially Davone Bess have been doing a great job, but it also is a testament to Anthony's ability. He's done everything we've asked from him, let it be blocking or receiving.

Q: Speaking of the lack of depth at receiver, what are the teams plans for the future there?
A: I don't like to talk about things like these in the press, but we are interested in the supposedly disgruntled Anquan Boldin. However, it is unlikely that we'll go for a trade before the off-season, and at that point we'll have to take a look at free agency and the draft class and see what we've got there.

Q: Despite Chad Pennington's injury earlier in the season, the quarterback situation has been clear, with Chad Henne taking the starting spot for himself. However, when Pennington comes back, who will be the starting quarterback?
A: Well, despite Henne's good game against the Jets and the work we've done with him during this bye, he still has issues with ball security. He has a cannon of an arm and isn't afraid to use it, and sometimes that kind of mentality leads to turnovers. Where as Pennington is the most secure quarterback I've ever had the pleasure of working with. So I'd have to say that once Pennington comes back - whenever that is - he'll be our starting quarterback again. But Henne has every chance of proving me wrong, playing his heart out during the games that Pennington spends injured and taking that job for himself. Next year's also going to be a different story.

Thanks for your time coach.
Thank you.

[mockme]

Getting ready for New Orleans

Miami, Florida-- The Dolphins sure are getting their share of top quarterbacks coming into town this year.

First it was Peyton Manning, and at some point Tom Brady will lead his Patriots to Miami.

But in week 7 it's Drew Brees' turn.

Brees, once the starting quarterback for the San Diego Chargers, lost his job to Philip Rivers - who torched the Dolphins defense earlier in the season - only to get a shot with the New Orleans Saints. Brees certainly has made the most of his chance, surpassing 5000 yards passing last season.

In addition to Brees, the Saints have talented receivers, like Marques Colston and Robert Meachem. Tight end Jeremy Shockey is also a good passing target, and you can never forget Reggie Bush, who - despite being a running back - lines up at receiver every once in a while.

"They do have a plethora of weapons on offense, and Brees certainly knows how to use them", the Dolphins defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni said. "We've got our hands full trying to stop them."

However, the Saints have almost no running game this season, ranking 31st in the league. If the Dolphins can key in on the pass, they should have a fairly easy job on defense.

On the other side of the ball the Saints don't have anything too intimidating, but it would be a mistake to underestimate them. Linebacker Jon Vilma and defensive end Will Smith are looking to terrorize running back Ronnie Brown, while the receiving core will face coverage from the likes of safety Darren Sharper and corner Jabari Greer.

Both teams are 2-3 as of now, and the chance to improve to a .500 record is just as important to both of them. After that, you need only one win and you've got a winning record.