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The Dolphins lost their best run-blocking lineman, Jeno James, as he was placed on the Injured Reserve list. The Dolphins had just started to run the football better, and this will hurt the offense.
The Dolphins played an awful game on offense. Joey Harrington started the game and completed 5 of 17 passes for 20 yards and 2 INTs before Coach Saban benched him. Cleo Lemon then came in and he played alot better than Harrington. Lemon completed 9 of 16 passes for 98 yards. Sammy Morris was a busy guy with 20 carries for 71 yards (3.6 ypc) and he caught 5 passes for 12 yards. Travis Minor carried the ball 5 times for 21 yards (4.2 ypc). Wes Welker (4 rec, 56 yards) and Randy McMichael (4 rec, 41 yards) did their best to help out.
The defense played pretty well for being on the field alot. Zach Thomas led the way with a superhuman 21 tackles. Vonnie Holliday had 10 tackles. Channing Crowder (10 tackles, sack) and Jason Taylor (5 tackles, sack, forced fumble) both really played well too. The Bills carried the ball 37 times for 100 yards (2.7 ypc). The Bills completed 13 of 19 passes for 186 net yards passing.
The Dolphins fell to 6-8 with this loss.
The Dolphins are coming into this game hot, winning 5 of their last 6 games including a shut-out (21-0) win over the Patriots in Miami last week. The Bills are also hot having won 3 of their last 4 games including a 31-13 rout of the NY Jets in New Jersey.
The Dolphins have played very well after their slow start. They will look to run the ball with either Ronnie Brown (hand) or the suddenly hot replacement Sammy Morris. The Fins should have success on the ground against the Bills who allow 139.8 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry so far this season. The Dolphins offensive line has pass blocked alot better since Joey Harrington has taken over. They will need to control DE Aaron Schobel who has 12.5 sacks this season. Look for Joey Harrington to throw to his favorite receiver Marty Booker (51 rec, 701 yards) frequently and also attack the Bills’ rookie safeties with Randy McMichael.
The Bills would like to run the ball at the Dolphins, but that may be easier said than done. The Dolphins have allowed an average of 100.5 yards rushing and 3.6 yards per carry so far this season. Still, Willis McGahee and Anthony Thomas will bang away at the interior of the Dolphins defense. When JP Losman drops back to pass, the line needs to keep Jason Taylor (11.5 sacks) out of the backfield. Losman gets nervous and makes mistakes when he’s heavily rushed. Losman has played alot better in the second half of the season and will be looking alot for his favorite receiver Lee Evans (67 rec, 1,016 yards). No other receiver has caught more than 37 passes or has more than 298 receiving yards, so the Dolphins know who they have to stop.
The Dolphins have really been on a roll since Joey Harrington has taken over at QB and I have a feeling they will get their revenge on Buffalo because of their defense. The Bills won the first meeting 16-6, but that was a long time ago when Daunte Culpepper was playing. I like the Dolphins to win a close game.
Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor are much more than teammates….they’re brothers in law. Anyways, these two guys are not slowing down at their advancing age…in fact, Taylor is having maybe the best season of his career. Taylor has 48 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 2interceptions (both returned for TDs covering 71 yards), 7 passes defensed and 8 forced fumbles. He’s probably the best defensive player in the NFL right now. He has blazing speed for a player his size and a non-stop motor. He’s a first ballot Hall of Famer.
Zach Thomas will also be immortalized in Canton with his brother in law. No one is tougher than Thomas. He has 123 tackles, 3 sacks, an interception and he’s defended 8 passes. He still makes tackles from sideline to sideline and has a knack for making the big play.
It looks as if Culpepper will miss the rest of the season with his knee still bothering him. Signing Culpepper instead of Drew Brees was a gigantic mistake that was made by the Dolphins. Culpepper finished the season completing 81 of 134 passes (60.4%) for 929 yards with 2 TDs and 3 INTs. Culpepper was sacked 21 times this season. He also ran the ball 10 times for 20 yards (2.0 ypc) and a TD.