Showing posts with label Week 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week 2. Show all posts

Imagine How Good The Miami Dolphins Would Be If They Passed The Ball More

Our Running Carries Too Big Of A Load
The Miami Dolphins win against the Minnesota Vikings last week was great because we surprised a lot of people with how well our defense did, and it was especially invigorating because the Dolphins have not had a 2-0 start since 2002.

But, despite the incredible performance on defense there are still some problems with our offense. Thankfully, they are problems that can be fixed, and they all have to do with the mentality and game plan of the offense.

The problem is that Miami’s offense is too conservative and does not pass the ball enough. Even when they are passing successfully like they did on the first drive against the Vikings they still continue to run the ball and play it safe.

I understand wanting to play it safe when it is late in the game and you are really trying to avoid turning the ball over, but why would you run the ball early in the game when you are only winning by 7 points? Why not throw the ball and try and get a 14 point lead instead?

I just find it weird.

I think it is time to stop holding Chad Henne’s hand and let him take this offense over. He is capable of leading this team, and he has the arm to throw the ball anywhere on the field. I get the feeling that Offensive Coordinator Dan Henning is still planning the offense like Chad Pennington is the one running it. He never uses Henne’s arm strength to throw the ball long.

When the Dolphins play a team that scores a lot how will they be able to keep up with that team if they are unable to score a lot of points. Our defense is great, but they will not always be able to hold teams to 10 points. We need the offense to pick up the slack a little bit and take pressure off the defense.

Not that I’m not confident in the Miami defense. On the contrary, I am extremely confident in them. I just know that no defense will have a game like Miami did against the Vikings every game of the season. It just doesn’t happen.

All we need to do is give Henne the reigns to the offense. We need to start trusting him some time, so why not now?

Let me know what you think about the offense. What do you want them to do?

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Miami Dolphins vs Minnesota Vikings: 3 Things The Dolphins Need To Do To Win

Anyone Have Any Predictions As To How Well Henne Does Against The Vikings?

The Miami Dolphins are in Minnesota and are preparing for their game against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings are predicted by a lot of "experts" and analysts to beat the Dolphins, and that is a shame for those analysts. I hate seeing analysts messing up picks because they are paid to be experts and when they mess up it looks bad, but that is what will have to happen Sunday.

I am sorry to say it, but anyone who picked the Vikings to beat the Dolphins will be wrong.

Miami has not won two straight games to start off the season since 2002, so this would be a pretty big win for Miami if they can pull it out. Especially since the Dolphins have really struggled to win at all in the beginning of previous seasons.

A lot will have to go right if the Dolphins want to beat the Vikings, but it is completely possible. People are overrating the Vikings, and especially Brett Favre, and they are underrating Miami this year. Brett Favre is nowhere near where he was last year.

Everyone knows it. They just do not want to admit it. But, they won't have a choice other than to accept it when the Miami Dolphins come in and stomp on Favre and his team. In order to do that, though, here are three things the Dolphins will have to do:


1. Capitalize On Brett Favre's Risks

Brett Favre is the king of risks.

There might as well be a variation of the board game Risk named after Favre called Risk: Brett Favre Edition. It would have a "waffling meter" that helps each player make decisions on attacking. Whenever a player wants to attack a country they would have to push a button and the "waffling meter" would decide whether the general wants to attack or not. The meter would go back in forth for an unnecessarily long period of time before finally deciding.

Just an idea.

Sorry about that, but I just couldn't resist. I will try to stay on topic for the rest of this article, though.

Favre does like to take a lot of risks, and that can be a great thing for his Vikings or a horrible thing. It always seems like he is going to try and fit the ball in there. It doesn't even matter to him if he has to throw it through a defenders chest, he will still try.

Sometimes it works, and he ends up a hero like he was for the majority of last season. Other times things don't work out so well, and he just ends up looking like an idiot like he did after his interception in the NFC championship game last year.

If the Dolphins want to win this game, their secondary must capitalize whenever Favre has one of those urges to throw even when he shouldn't, because when he gets an urge to pass the ball into an extremely tight spot he rarely doesn't act on it.

No one on the Dolphins defense got an interception last week against Buffalo, but that will have to change this week.


2. Pressure Brett Favre

This goes with #1, but it is also important on its own. The Dolphins D did a great job putting pressure on Trent Edwards last week. They were able to sack him three times, but the best part of their performance was their ability to bat down the ball whenever Edwards threw it.

We need them to continue the sacks and bat-downs on Favre Sunday. Both are great ways to kill offensive drives pretty quickly, and they keep Favre from having any chance to throw the ball long.

Also, the more pressure that we can apply on Favre, the more likely he is to take risks and throw the ball where he shouldn't. Pressure will turn in to turnovers, and that statement is always amplified when Brett Favre is the player being pressured.

Winning this game will start with pressuring the quarterback. It is a proven way to bring down prolific passing offense like the 2007 New England Patriots, so why would pressuring the quarterback not be a good way to bring down an offense without it's number one receiver and an old, beaten-up quarterback?


3. Passing The Ball Effectively

At first I wanted to title this reason "Passing The Ball Downfield", but I decided not to because we don't need Chad Henne throwing the ball deep every passing play. Not that I think the Dolphins will take advice from me. I just don't want people to think that I am some crazy fan who wants 80-yard bombs every play.

The Dolphins do need to keep their short-ranged passes in the offense for sure. Without them our offense would lose an important dimension. But, they do need to start throwing the ball longer than they did against Buffalo last week. 15 points is not good enough to win a lot in the NFL, and it was against the Bills, which makes it even worse.

We have the tools in place for Henne, now. We added Brandon Marshall for goodness sakes! What more could you want? Now all he has to do is get the ball to him.

Success on the long ball means more points, and more points means a better chance of winning. It is pretty simple.



If the Dolphins are able to do at least two of those three then they should come out with a win. I just can't wait to hand Brett Favre another loss since we beat him two years ago. It will be nice to go 2-0 and really start the season off well.

Let me know what you think about the Dolphins chances this week with your comment. To leave a comment just click here.

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For The First Time In My Miami Dolphins Life I Am Rooting Against Greg Camarillo

Too Bad He No Longer Wears This Jersey
I never thought that I would ever root against Greg Camarillo, but then again, I never thought Greg Camarillo would play for a different team in the NFL.

But in less than a week rooting against Camarillo is exactly what I will be doing. It is a shame that he is gone, but I have no choice other than rooting against him. He is no longer with the Miami Dolphins.

I do wonder how well Camarillo will be able to do in Minnesota. After all, he was practicing against this Dolphins secondary during a lot of training camp. He might know a few secrets about how to beat the secondary.

That could work both ways, though. The Miami Dolphins secondary may know tricks to shut Camarillo down.

I know it sounds like I am saying that Camarillo is a big play threat, and we all know he is not, but he is extremely good at catching everything that comes his way and getting first downs. We want our secondary to keep the ball from getting to his hands because that is where he is so dangerous.

Hopefully they know his tendencies, because nothing is more frustrating than giving up a first down after a third and long, and that is something Camarillo will do to you. He will keep a drive going and help his offense get in better position to score.

The Vikings hardly used Camarillo at all last week, but he still impressed with a great 29 yard catch. So, it is very possible that Minnesota will use him more this week. While I still like Greg Camarillo a lot and hope that his career is a huge success from here on, I hope that he waits another week and then continues his great career during week three.

Let me hear it. How do you think Camarillo will do? Will he be an important factor in the Vikings offense on Sunday?

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