I’ve been waiting all day for a new post, dinner’s over, time to get back to football.

Question 1 – I think this team will be intense and focused for this game. I’ve been saying it all week that Sparano will allow last week’s loss to linger and leave a bad taste in the player’s mouths. Then he will use that feeling to motivate his team not to take STL lightly, and to come out and dominate from whistle to whistle.

2 – Seems this year we’ve really struggled going right without the aid of the Wildcat. I’d like to see us pound it behind Jake until the make an adjustment, then use some counters (pull Smiley) to get into the weak side of the defense and pick up a few big gains. This is the perfect week to get the running game going, because the Rams stink against the run. Ronnie needs to be fed the ball througout the game, because I think if he gets into the 4th hovering around 17-20 carries, he’ll close the game out strong. Get him going and let him wear down the defense. But like you said, that can only happen if the OL shows up to runblock.

3 – Right now, our only answer to the spread is pressure. Our cover guys are not that good. Luckily, STL doesn’t have the ingredients of a killer spread. Porter should be able to put pressure on their QB by himself, and we need to blitz and make the QB move around. And neither of their WR’s are the kinds that kill us. Avery is a speedster, but he is lithe and could get jammed up at the line. Holt has lost a step. Looker is average at best. Our DB’s match up a little better this week than they did against NE last week.

4 – Porter defied his coach, then apologized to the staff and to his teammates. I would look for him to try and let his play speak for him this week, playing big in a must win for the Dolphins. He’s the leader of this defense, and he knows it. He’ll be rushing in full force Sunday. I’m gonna go with 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and a ton of QB knockdowns.

1. really is #1. How do we respond? It’s going to be interesting to see. This is a very young team, and it might be difficult to get last week out of their heads. We’ll see what the coaching staff has been able to do.

1. - Joey Porter. I think he is going to take out his agression on the Rams. I feel sorry for Bulger or Green. It’s going to be ugly for them.

you can get a doctor to say anything but I still think you’re right. Guys in danger of ending up as damaged goods if he takes another bad hit.

We need to get ahead early in this game. We were always playing catchup with the Patsies and we ditched the run. If we get dragged in to a shoot out that’ll suit the Rams just fine. Run hard, keep ’em off the field, keep the crowd quiet and let Peezy do his thing in D.

Miami has a tendency to have close games with teams like these and I hope that everyone isn’t blindly expecting us to win 47-3, like the Jets did (although that would be nice). I hate playing the teams that have nothing to lose.. there at home.. and it appears that they could very well have Stephen Jackson and Marc Bulger back! That’s scary! When those two are playing, they are a very different team and all you have to do is look to the Washington/Dallas two game win streak they had.. If Miami takes this game very serious and plays consistant and intense for 4 quarters, they should be alright and more importantly, if they get an early lead…PUT THEM AWAY!!

Getting the running game going will be paramount and I agree with earlier comments, that they should try and get consistant (and productive) running from a base offense.. This should be a good game to get back on track.
As for the spread offense…don’t be surprised if we see it against us again.. and if we don’t get pressure on whoever is quarterbacking, you can expect this to get scary. I’m really hoping that Porter can get back on pace for the sack record and if that’s going to happen I truly believe he will need at least a 2.5 – 3 sack peformance..

We shouldn’t have to getting into a shoot-out with this team so the passing game shouldn’t need to go into overdrive or anything like that but I nice moderate and efficient attack by Chad and co would be nice.. Let’s see what Bess will do in the #2 spot and finally see what Wilford might be able to contribute. I’m hoping Chad can get another 2 or 3 touchdown to up his stats a bit… I know it shouldn’t matter all that much but I really like to see good numbers for our key guys and he is doing everything else so well that some bigger TD numbers would up his respect.. he’s mid 90’s in qb rating right now…and that’s AWESOME! keep it up buddy! he’s on pace to have the second most efficient rating for a Dolphins QB ever and you know who is number one. If he could somehow end over 100, that would be incredible..

Anyways, let’s have a great game and as fans..let’s have some fun. I sure hope this isn’t another nail-biter! Can’t we have a game that’s not so stressful and is decided earlier in the contest (other then the first N.E. game of course)..but we seldom do that at all (for many years)..

Looking forward to the game and to “Victory Monday”

GO PHINS!

Move on is the motto. I think they snap back well. Sparano and Co. will use all that anger and frustration to the advantage of the team. I think we see a tighter unit on each play, and the penalty bug will be rare in appearance.

  The running game will get back on track, and when they do run the Wildcat, I think you see more of the 3 back set. Between Brown, Williams and Cobbs pounding the rock consistantly, I see the yards stacking up.

  The WR’s are going to have to simply step up. The eyes of Miami are upon you. I’m going to give Wilford the benefit of the doubt. From what I’ve read, maybe we should see something positive out of the 6million dollar man.

  The Defense knows they didn’t play their best ball last week. Thats why they bounce back nicely this week. Look for more sacks. Which leads to Porter. I don’t think he likes being called on the carpet, and he knows what he did was wrong. I see him having a great game, not for himself, but for the team and the coaches. It’ll be interesting how he responds to “sack leader” questions now. Will he say “I’m going for it”, or will he say “If the record is there, thats great, but the first priority is too this team and making plays.”

  We grow more and get better, maybe we finally have that “complete” game against a lesser opponent. I suuuuuuure hope so.

I said it last week and it turned out to be a factor – the second you believe a team can beat you – you lose. The Patriots know this from last year’s Superbowl. Miami can’t let the Rams get in their heads the way NE did. We’re too ripe from last week to let the Rams muscle us and psyche us out. They Rams will try to get it down the field early in an effort to exploit the secondary and get Miami out of their gameplan. Hopefully, they won’t be successful, but even if they are in the early going:
Don’t get in a damn shootout! Miami lacks veteran poise at wide receiver. They can’t afford to try airing it out 50 times a game and playing catchup. As Matty said, use the running game against their suspect defense, and maintain methodical, time consuming drives. No G.D. three and outs either. Walk away from each drive with points or at least field position. Keep the defense off the field, disrupt their rhythm, move the ball slowly but surely and they’ll win.