Keys to Dolphins Victory

This is the biggest test of the year for us, and hopefully we'll show up to play with the complete effort that's been missing the last couple of weeks.  I'm not looking for the Wildcat to be used a lot.  While we did score from the Wildcat last time we played New England, those plays originated, for the most part, in the red zone.  This means that our base offense did a great job in the first contest.  I doubt anybody will be fooled in this game, articularly since division opponents know each other so well.   It'll come down to execution, which excites me because New England has many people banged up.

1) Generating a pass rush and containment with the front 4.  With the exception of Joey Porter, our linebackers probably will be dropping back into coverage to take away the underneath throws to Welker.  If we can't get pressure from our front linemen, Cassel will either find the open man or take off with his legs.  He's becoming more confident running the ball, and don't think he'll just sit back there.  Porter needs to have a good game.  Sure, he had a sack on the last drive, but that's already after TE Dustin Keller did a great job all game blocking him.  Porter needs to shed the extra blocker.

2) Stopping the run.  Last week was a nice tuneup for a strong running game.  Cassel has been impressive, but if we force New England to be one-dimensional, our defense will tee off on him.

3).  On offense, winning the 1st Down battle.  I mentioned this yesterday.  Our strentgh all year has been the ability to pass with great results on 1st down.  We need to continue this trend to prevent 3rd and long situations.

4).  Time of Possession is key.  New England has an old defense, with several guys banged up, and in their mid 30's.  We need sustainable drives to keep their defense on the field.  Even if we don't score all the time, we need to have consistent drives of several converted 1st Downs.