Miami Dolphins Beat Buffalo Bills 15-10 Despite Lackluster Special Teams

1-0 Baby!

I am not sure how happy I should be about this win.

One one hand, the Miami Dolphins were able to move the ball pretty well(except for the third quarter), and they were also able to shut down the Buffalo Bills offense for practically the whole game.

Most importantly, though, was that they were able to get a season opening win for the first time in forever. It is good to see a "0" in the losses column after the first game.

One the other hand, the Miami Dolphins special teams did not perform well at all. Yes, Kicker Dan Carpenter hit two field goals and Brandon Fields had an incredible punt to pin the Bills late in the fourth quarter, but that hardly makes up for the other problems with our special teams.

If you compare the points Carpenter earned, missed, and gave up, he ended up with 0 points. That probably does not make any sense, so let me explain:

Carpenter made two field goals, which is six points in his favor, but he also missed a field goal, which I count as a loss of 3 points. That puts his total at 3 points. Carpenter also kicked the ball out of bounds on the kickoff, which gave the Bills great field position on the 40 yard line. They used that position to get in field goal range and kick a field goal.

So, if Carpenter had not messed up on those two kicks then you would be looking at an 18-7 win (+3 to Miami for the missed field goal and -3 to Buffalo for the bad kickoff) for the Dolphins.

Another big problem was Punter Brandon Fields' punting on fourth downs. He had multiple punts that didn't go nearly as far as they should have and gave the Bills better field position. Thankfully, none of the punts hurt the Dolphins too much because of their strong defense.


Chad Henne, who is going to be the most scrutinized player until he starts doing extremely well, was pretty good in Buffalo. He was 21 for 34 with 182 yards and no touchdowns. He did good, but there were still a lot of incompletions because he was out of sync with the receivers. That will develop with time, though, and I am not worried about it. The running game will always be there to help in times of need.

Marshall was, as always, a reception machine with 8 receptions for 53 yards. He would have had over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown if Henne had not underthrown him on a deep pass.

Overall, it was a good game and I am glad that we could get the win under our belts. Let me know what you think about the game. I am interested to hear your thoughts.

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Hey Bill Parcells, Thanks For Voicing Your Doubt Now That The Season Is Upon Us. We Really Appreciate It

Bill Parcells Must Still Be Working For The Jets

You may have heard by now that Bill Parcells is "very disappointed" in Chad Henne and how he as played this preseason. Parcells has also, apparently, said that Henne's development has had nothing to do with him stepping down as VP of Football Operations for the Miami Dolphins.

Let me tell you right now that that is a load of crap. Parcells obviously believed that Henne, and subsequently the Dolphins, would not perform as well as he had hoped.

The player he had believed would be the savior for the previously mediocre Miami Dolphins did not have the preseason Parcells was hoping for, and it wasn't that he had not done well in the first few games of the regular season. It was that he didn't do well in the preseason. The four games that are supposed to be meaningless. The four games that the 2008 Detroit Lions had a perfect record during, but then went on to lose all 16 regular season games.

He wanted out of Miami because of preseason performance. He wanted out of Miami before he would be pinned with the blame of losing in the regular season.

Well that is too bad for you, Mr. Bill, because there won't be any blame to pin.

The Miami Dolphins are going to make the playoffs this year riding on the shoulders of Chad Henne and Brandon Marshall, and when they do you will be kicking yourself for leaving them.

I guarantee it

Parcells' comments couldn't have come at a much worse time, either. After all, the season opener is upon us. There is nothing better to help kick off your season than somebody with influence expressing doubt about your quarterback. An athlete doesn't want to hear that one of his superiors is not confident in his abilities a day before he plays in the season opener.

I am surprised that Parcells is so disappointed in Henne after the preseason. The PRESEASON. The only people who are allowed to be disappointed in a team/player's performance during a preseason game are paranoid fans.

The preseason means nothing, and an experienced coach like Bill Parcells should know that.

So thank you, Bill Parcells, for giving your quarterback confidence for his first ever season opener. It's great to know you think he will do well.

Nothing like starting off a season with a little bit of doubt.

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The Miami Dolphins Have A Really Good Chance At Winning Their Season Opener

Our Starter

I just read an article by SI that talked about the Dolphins wanting to win their season opener.

The Miami Dolphins haven't been able to do it the last four seasons, so it seems like it will be a challenge. But it actually won't be as bad as other seasons.

That is because the Dolphins will be playing the Buffalo Bills in the opener. No team is an automatic win, but some teams sure are easier to win. One of those teams is the Buffalo Bills.

I think that Miami will be able to break their streak. The Bills are not exactly a very good team, and the Dolphins are.

A good start is exactly what the Dolphins will need, too. The past two seasons have been especially hard to come back from because the Dolphins started off badly for more than just the opener. It took a lot of wins later in the season to even have a respectable record, and last season wasn't exactly respectable.

Winning the opener is extra important because it kind of sets the tone for the season. While winning the season opener doesn't cause a team to have a good season, there is a strong correlation between the two.

It would be a huge thing for the Dolphins to win their opener. It does not matter whether they beat the best team in the league or the worst team. An opening season win will be huge.

Let me know what you guys think will happen in the opener. What is your prediction for the game?

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