Dolphins vs Titans: Game Capsule

by Matty I on Dec 18, 2009 12:26 AM EST in 2012 Miami Dolphins News

Usually we have some kind of cross-blogging take place on Thursday or Friday with this site and the site of the opponent. I still hope to have that posted later on Friday. For now, though, I just wanted to throw out a couple interesting little statistical tidbits followed by the game capsule provided by the league.

First off, you may or may not know that Ricky Williams is closing in on history. With just 25 more rushing yards, Ricky will become just the seventh player in NFL history 32 yars of age or older to rush for 1,000 yards. And he would set a new league record for most years between 1,000 yard rushing seasons. Five players have had 1,000 yard rushing seasons that were five years apart. But the last time Ricky ran for 1,000 was in 2003 - meaning it's been six years since his last 1,000 yard season. Very impressive - but also kind of sad in terms of the "what might have been."

Williams is also just 1,120 yards away from the franchise career rushing record held by Larry Csonka - and just eight rushing touchdowns away from Csonka's record of career rushing touchdowns. At the moment, Williams is also the franchise record holder of rushing yards per game - averaging 75.9 as a Dolphin. Second place, by the way, is a tie between Ronnie Brown and Lamar Smith - at 68 yards per game.

That brings me to my question: is Ricky Willims the greatest running back in Dolphins history?

I also just wanted to throw out some "props" to Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo.

Camarillo doesn't get much national attention. But he's been as reliable as any receiver in the NFL despite being a year removed from a torn ACL. On the season, he's caught 75% of the passes thrown his way - which ranks him 4th among all receivers in the AFC. Davone Bess, meanwhile, is catching 69.7% of the balls thrown his way - tied with Hines Ward for 7th among all AFC receivers. Bess is also second in the entire NFL in first down receptions on 3rd down. He has 24, just two behind the Giants' Steve Smith.

Both Davone and Greg, by the way, went undrafted coming out of college.

Game capsule is after the break...

MIAMI DOLPHINS (7-6) AT TENNESSEE TITANS (6-7)

SERIES

	DOLPHINS	TITANS
SERIES LEADER	17-13
STREAKS	7 of past 9
COACHES VS. OPP.	Sparano: 0-0	Fisher: 2-6
LAST WEEK	W 14-10 at Jaguars	W 47-7 vs. Rams
LAST GAME	9/24/06: Titans 10 at Dolphins 13. Miami K Olindo Mare converts 39-yard FG with 3:39 remaining as Dolphins rally to win. QB Daunte Culpepper rushes for 5-yard TD.
LAST GAME AT SITE	11/9/03: Titans 31, Dolphins 7. Tennessee QB Steve McNair passes for 201 yards with 2 TDs & 0 INTs for 129.1 passer rating. Titans DE Jevon Kearse has 2 sacks & 1 FF.
BROADCAST	CBS (12:00 PM CT): Dick Enberg, Dan Fouts. SIRIUS: 123 (Mia.). XM: 106 (Mia.).

STATS

PASSING	Henne: 194-330-2,067-9-9-74.9	Young: 113-183-1,383-7-3-90.9 OR Collins: 119-216-1,225-6-8-65.5
RUSHING	R. Williams: 200-975-4.9-10	Johnson: 272-1,626 (1L)-6.0-11 (T3L)
RECEIVING	Bess: 62-570-9.2-1	Johnson (RB): 42-391-9.3-2
OFFENSE	328.2	360.4
TAKE/GIVE	-5	-3
DEFENSE	339.7	357.5
SACKS	Porter: 8	Tony Brown: 5
INTs	V. Davis (R): 3	Finnegan: 5 (T3C)
PUNTING	Fields: 45.9 (3C)	Kern: 44.8
KICKING	Carpenter: 88 (31/32 PAT; 19/21 FG)	Bironas: 99 (30/30 PAT; 23/27 FG)

NOTES

DOLPHINS: Club is 6-0 in Dec. under head coach TONY SPARANO...QB CHAD HENNE is 7-3 as starter & has 9 TDs vs. 8 INTs...RB RICKY WILLIAMS (975) needs 25 rush yards to reach 1,000 for 5th time in career & 1st since '03. Can set NFL record for longest span between 1,000-yard seasons (6) & can become 7th RB in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in season in which RB was 32+ years old at start of season. Williams has 100+ rush yards in 4 of past 5...WR DAVONE BESS leads AFC & ranks 2nd in NFL w/30 3rd-down rec. in '09. WR GREG CAMARILLO had season-high in rec. (7) & receiving yards (110) last week...DE RANDY STARKS has career-high 6 sacks in '09. Starks was selected in 3rd round of '04 NFL Draft & spent 4 seasons w/Ten...Since 2000, LB JASON TAYLOR leads NFL w/38 sacks in Dec. Taylor (126.5) needs 0.5 sack to surpass DERRICK THOMAS for 11th-most sacks all-time...LB JOEY PORTER has 5.5 sacks in past 4...

TITANS: Aim for 5th win in row at home...Team ranks 2nd in NFL w/165.3 rush yards per game...Club has 2,149 rush yards & is on pace (2,644) to surpass franchise record of 2,635 in 1980...QB VINCE YOUNG is 4-0 as starter at home in '09 & has completed 65 of 94 passes (69.1 pct.) for 854 yards w/4 TDs vs. 1 INT & 107.3 passer rating. Since '08, QB KERRY COLLINS is 12-9 as starter (.571)...RB CHRIS JOHNSON (1,626) needs 72 rush yards to surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer EARL CAMPBELL (1,697 in '79) for 2nd-most rushing yards in season in franchise history. Leads NFL w/franchise record 2,017 scrimmage yards (1,626 rush, 391 rec.). Has franchise record 8 consecutive games w/100+ rush yards. Ranks 3rd in NFL w/13 total TDs (11 rush, 2 rec.)...Rookie WR KENNY BRITT (Round 1, Rutgers) leads AFC rookies & ranks 3rd among NFL rookies w/642 receiving yards...LB KEITH BULLUCK posted 2 INTs last week & is tied for league-high among LBs w/3 INTs in '09...CB CORTLAND FINNEGAN tied career-high w/2 INTs last week...S VINCENT FULLER posted 2nd INT-TD return of season last week.

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Comments

Since i wasn't old enough to really remember Csonka

I would say Ricky is the best RB i’ve had the pleasure to watch and Ronnie being second. Too bad we didn’t have a back of thier calliber in Marino’s days.!!

by 13DolFan23 on Dec 18, 2009 12:41 AM EST reply actions

Csonka was a beast!!

I watched him play and it was all power! I love Ricky too!! Those were the days back in the early 70’s winning super bowls over and over! I could go on and on about that time watching our Dolphins play! They talk now about our one two punch with Ronnie and Ricky……just imagine back then we had a one,two,three punch!! Csonka…Kick……mercury Morris!!! Man was that fun to watch!!!

"You are the people you hang out with"

by buckeyebill on Dec 18, 2009 7:31 AM EST up reply actions

Csonka BUT Ricky when you consider the prime years lost

Confidence breeds success, self-doubt breeds failure

by Blaze453 on Dec 18, 2009 12:42 AM EST reply actions

born in 87'

never got a chance to since csonka but im sure he was plenty good. anyway id go ahead and say ricky is not the best nor is csonka. rather ronnie is the best ive seen. hes versatily and ability continues to amaze me and i believe he is as good as anyone in this league. no one runs the wildcat, thus showing his versatility, like ronnie does.

also cecil the diesel collins was mad good

president of the chirs clemons will be a probowler by 2012 fanclub
creater of the move gibril wilson to strong safety movement
VP of The why is ronnie not signed to a fifteen year deal Org
official hater of the previous fins and current college coaches wannstadt and saban

by ronnie brown for president on Dec 18, 2009 1:29 AM EST reply actions

give cecil some love

by ronnie brown for president on Dec 18, 2009 1:29 AM EST up reply actions

the diesel

Current Phinsider Feud Points: 23

T.Lex doesn't want to be fed, he wants to hunt. Can't just suppress sixty five million years of gut instinct.

by Patssuck456 on Dec 18, 2009 3:28 PM EST up reply actions

ricky williams is pretty amazing, very fast too

by metalhead86 on Dec 18, 2009 2:21 AM EST reply actions

Also its hard to remember any time Camarillo has dropped a ball

by metalhead86 on Dec 18, 2009 2:22 AM EST reply actions

I love Ricky but,

I gotta go with Csonka.
And he’s similar to Ricky in one odd way. He was Super Bowl MVP in ’73 and then won comeback player of the year 6 years later in ’79.

I think the way Ricky was used, he would’ve been driven into the ground -like Riggins was at Washington.

The biggest fool that ever hit the big time -and all I gotta do is act naturally.

by Tunaflipper on Dec 18, 2009 6:59 AM EST reply actions

I also vote Ricky.

Definitely sad due to what could have been, but as Tunaflipper said, they were running him into the ground.

I also think Ronnie hasnt fully lived up to his potential. Dont get me wrong, I love Ronnie and he is one of the best in the league. It just looks like he never gives 100% and he is never that hungry. Look at how AP runs. He runs angry and fights for every single yard. Ronnie has always just struck me as a little too laid back. He is still damn good, but if he ran angry I think he could be one of the best.

Dolphins and Gators baby!

by gatorfin on Dec 18, 2009 7:15 AM EST reply actions

i feel like

ronnie is more patient than AP is, yeah AP has all the tools to get it done, but his one downfall is that he hasnt developed the patients as a runner. sure its amazing to bust through 2 linebackers into the open field but if you can take that one hesitant step and wait for a pulling guard to open that hole for you so you dont have to run through people… yes AP is incredible and he does run angry but i think ronnie runs just a tad smarter in that he is patient and lets blocks develop… but thats just me

by danlr13 on Dec 18, 2009 12:42 PM EST up reply actions

both the greatest

different eras, different styles, different offenses and coaching and circumstance. hard to compare.

by a1a on Dec 18, 2009 8:18 AM EST reply actions

Another interesting commonality

they both left us at their peak. LC to go to the WFL and Ricky to retirement.

by Dolphriend on Dec 18, 2009 9:15 AM EST reply actions

Saddest day of my life

Csonka, Kiick and Warfield to Memphis Southmen, destroyed our team. Cant blame them though. Csonka was amazing. If you ever got to watch the guy carry guys on his back for yards, it was pretty awesome.

CP10 and P.Cobbs get well soon
Miami Dolphins 2008 AFC East Divison Champions
"I likem me some UDFAs"

by Phintastic on Dec 18, 2009 10:11 AM EST up reply actions

how about him playing with a broken nose, bleeding all over the place?

-LCFF

by LeftCoastFinFan on Dec 18, 2009 12:13 PM EST up reply actions

I was going to say that

Not only did they both leave in their prime, when they finally do comeback, they have their best season in years.

by bjchit on Dec 19, 2009 12:11 AM EST up reply actions

that day was a shocker, i still remember the newspaper accounts....

along with dramatically carrying guys, csonka would always fall forward when he was brought down, usually itself worth another 2.5 yards. he was rarely rammed back.

by a1a on Dec 18, 2009 10:54 AM EST reply actions

TOP 3 ALL TIME DOLPHIN RBs

1) LARRY CSONKA
2) RICKY WILLIAMS
3) RONNIE BROWN

Big as….teriskWhen and if Ronnie does get Ricky’s TDs or yardage marks he surpasses Ricky.

Ronnie is a better overall RB and has meant more to the team in his time here, lets not forget Ricky’s suspensions and his “retirement”.

I am and always have been a fan of Ricky, since he was drafted by NO, and when everyone was hating on him I defended him, but it is what it is, he left us in the lurch a couple of times, he’s made up for it, but you can’t change history.

Also Ricky’s fumbles are a major point of concern, 45 career, 25 here,

as dolphins;
Csonka 57td-18fmbl, about 1/3rd
Ronnie 33td-10fmbl, about 1/3rd
Ricky 50td-25fmbl ONE HALF, his career totals are even worse, 68td-45fmbles, yuck.

" it's 106 miles to Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, a half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses" -Elwood-
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BandWaken

by uncle finster on Dec 18, 2009 12:34 PM EST reply actions