This post is sponsored by Comcast and their NFL RedZone channel.  Want to see every touchdown from every NFL game as it happens as well as live look-ins to all of Sunday's games in key situations?  Then you need Comcast's NFL RedZone.  And it's especially good when the Dolphins are on their bye week - such as this upcoming week.

For the second consecutive week, the Miami Dolphins were able to finish off their drives with touchdowns.  All but one of their four red zone trips resulted in touchdowns.  And seven of Miami's last nine red zone trips have resulted in seven over the course of their last two games.  Is it any wonder why the Dolphins have won those last two?

We can talk all day about that final drive last week against the Jets and just how amazing of a drive it was - capped off with a Ronnie Brown 'Wildcat' touchdown with under ten seconds left.  But we've already focused on that drive quite a bit.  But what about Miami's other red zone drives?

Their first trip into the red zone on Monday came on the game's first possession.  And the biggest play down there was a 3rd & 3 pass from Chad Henne to Ted Ginn that picked up four yards and a first down inside NY's 5 yard line.  On that play, Ginn beat Darrelle Revis on a drag route across the field.  It was a tigh spot, but Henne fit it in and Ginn held on for a big early-game reception.  Three plays later, the Dolphins took a 7-0 lead on a one yard TD run by Ronnie.

The one red zone trip that did not result in a touchdown was the one in which Ricky Williams took a screen pass 59 yards down inside NY's 20 yard line.  But failed execution cost the Dolphins from there.  There was nothing wrong with any of the play calls.  The Jets just did a fine job of stuffing the run and then covering down the field on 2nd and 3rd downs.

For the season, though, the Dolphins are now converting on 65% of their red zone trips - a very good number.  And if not for one piss-poor performance agains the Chargers (1/4), the Dolphins would actually be converting on 77% of their trips into the red zone.  As it is, though, the Dolphins have been doing a great job the last two weeks of scoring touchdowns - and perhaps more importantly - not turning the ball over once they get inside the 20 yard line.

Hopefully we'll see even more success in week 7 when the Dolphins welcome the Saints to Land Shark Stadium.

More photos » by Lynne Sladky - AP

Chad Henne is congratulated by head coach Tony Sparano the Dolphins scored the game-winning touchdown against the Jets on Monday night.

Browse more photos »

While it was great to see the Dolphins get a win against a hated division rival and thrust themselves right back into the AFC East race after a tough 0-3 start, the story of the night from Monday might just have been about Chad Henne and his "arrival" onto the NFL scene.  Little was known about Henne by many outside of South Florida and Ann Arbor.  But on a national stage, Henne proved to the country that he is indeed up to the challenge of earning the title of "franchise quarterback."

Of course, this is just the first step to really earning that title.  There's still a long way to go and a lot to prove.  But that huge fourth quarter performance by Henne was the absolute perfect way to start begin making a name for himself in this league.

His performance over the entire game was obviously special.  He completed 20 of 26 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns - good for a QB rating of 130.4.  But it was Henne's fourth quarter performance that made the night such a special one.  And without it, the Dolphins don't win that football game.

In that final quarter, Henne completed 9 of 11 passes for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns against one of the top 5 defenses in the NFL.  His fourth quarter QB rating of 152.1 is almost off the charts good.  And we can't forget about some of those tremendous throws he made on the most critical of downs - 3rd down.

Henne faced four 3rd downs in the final quarter.  He converted three of them.  The first one was a bullet thrown to Anthony Fasano on a 3rd & 3 play where Henne showed the ability to look a defender off and then accurately deliver a laser to Fasano - who made a great catch, by the way.  The next play?  Henne's 53 yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn.  That play never happens if not for Henne's third down conversion.

The other two 3rd downs Henne faced were on the final game-winning drive of the night.  The first was Henne's best pass of the night - a perfect touch pass out left to Greg Camarillo that he dropped in right over the defender.  The second was the critical roll-out to the right and rocket to Camarillo to put the Dolphins inside New York's five yard line.

Continue reading this post »

Earlier today I posted some of the ridiculous comments made by Jets' linebackers Calvin Pace and Bart Scott following the Dolphins' win over the Jets on Monday night.  Truth be told, it seemed like the Jets didn't realize after the game that they did indeed get beat.  Why else would they make some of those dumb comments?

Regardless, today was the first time since those comments were made that Miami's players were available to the media.  And, of course, the media made sure to bring up the comments.  Some Dolphins responded.

Channing Crowder, of course, led the parade, saying:

"We nonsensed their ass all the way up and down the field. Nonsense, I love nonsense. They say gimmick, gimmick this, gimmick that. We’ve won games with the Wildcat."

"They ran two fake punts. So if you’re going to say gimmicks, those are real gimmicks. Wildcat is an offensive formation. They have thousands of plays on film about it, go stop it."

"Shut up about all the junk talking. We’ll see them in three more weeks, so the hell with them."

Jason Ferguson was also asked for a reaction to the comments made by Calvin Pace:

"Wow, really? Who is this guy? What's his name again? Ain't he a rookie or something? Isn't that the rookie from Ohio State? Or you talking about the guy from Arizona? Yeah, ok, it's cool, if that's what he sees. It ain't nothing. That's how ya'll want to treat it, it's cool. You'll see it again in two weeks. No comments here. I'm good. I'll stay away from that one. He's fooling himself."

"I got nothing for Calvin. I don't even know that dude. I'll let him have his battle with the Wildcat. It looks like he lost already."

But I think it's Ronnie Brown - the Wildcat's triggerman - who said it best, with his "patented smile":

"I think we’re all afraid of what we do not understand."

"Coming into the game we're watching how they blitz and we were like, 'OK we'll just sit back and play football then and let's see who has the tougher 11 people on the field.' "

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown looks to throw during a wildcat play against the Jets during Monday night's game.

Browse more photos »

We've now had some time to digest the amazing Monday night game down at Land Shark Stadium.  But there's one thing I haven't touched on yet.  That is how some of the members of the Jets' defense spoke about the Dolphins after taking one right on the chin.  Even their head coach, Rex Ryan, put the blame for the loss squarely on their defensive performance.  Yet, some Jet defensive players proved that they are indeed cocky, pompous jackasses.  And that's putting it lightly, if you ask me.

It's amazing how little respect some members of NY's defense decided to show the Dolphins after what Chad Henne, Ronnie Brown, and company did to their "great" defense.

Let's start with Jets LB Calvin Pace.  The guy just gets back from serving a four game suspension for violating the league's policy against performance-enhancing drugs (*cough* cheater *cough*) and is part of a defense that surrenders over 400 yards of total offense to the Dolphins.  After the game, he has this to say:

"Against a second-year clown quarterback, we didn’t affect him enough. I guess you have to give him credit. The defense lost the game today."

A "clown" quarterback?  Really?  This is the garbage that is coming out of Calvin's mouth after that "clown quarterback" drops 240 yards and two touchdowns - including a final game-winning drive that included multiple big-time throws on 3rd down - in just his second career start?

How happy are you Dolphin fans that we didn't sign this total tool?  I know I'm thrilled.  And I can't wait to see what Henne does in the rematch after hearing this.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Ronnie Brown celebrates after scoring the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Jets (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Browse more photos »

After the last Jets touchdown, the one that put them ahead by three points with 5:19 left, those thoughts about how much I hate writing these posts after losses started creeping into the back of my head.  Thirteen plays later, I was quickly reminded that I should really never doubt the Miami Dolphins - when they wear the orange jersey, of course.  That's when Ronnie Brown took the 'Wildcat' snap with ten seconds remaining and powered his way into the endzone to give the Dolphins a 31-27 win over the Jets in what will become a Monday Night Football instant classic.

Now us Dolphin fans can go into the bye week with our sanity intact.

So it is with much joy that we know talk about what we saw a few hours ago at Land Shark Stadium.

Henne has huge game in just second career start
Remember I said before Chad Henne's first career start that I wasn't going to buy into any of the hype?  I said I'd wait until I saw something out of Henne with my own eyes.  Well, my wait is obviously over.

While Henne did a decent job against Buffalo in his first career start at managing the game, he displayed some "special" qualities in Monday night's win over the Jets.  He showed the poise of a veteran.  He showed the arm strength of a great gun-slinger.  And all told, he showed that he just might be the long awaited solution to Miami's long-term quarterback problem.

There were numerous defining moments in this win that involved Chad Henne.  Let's talk about just some of them.

How about the two types of Henne's arm strength, which he displayed on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter.  The first is the ability to zip it into a tight spot, which he showed on that critical 3rd & 3 play with 11 minutes left in the game - throwing a bullet to Anthony Fasano, who had David Harris draped all over him.  On the next play, Henne then showed that ability to fling it deep but with great touch and accuracy - dropping a 50 yard pass right into the arms of Ted Ginn.  It was perfectly in stride and was just an outstanding throw.

How about the ability to make perfect throws in the most pressure-packed moments late in a football game?  Yup, he showed that the moment isn't bigger than he is.  I think back to two critical plays on that eventual game-winning drive.  The first was a 3rd & 5 play from NY's 30 with 2 minutes left.  Henne took the snap and quickly floated a beautiful pass out left that was perfectly placed into the arms of Greg Camarillo.  Three plays later, Henne rolled out right on a 3rd & 10 play, and threw a perfectly accurate pass on the run to Camarillo for another first down.

All game long, Henne also showed great awareness in the pocket, went through his progressions well, made good decisions, and showed that he has the toughness in the pocket to deliver an accurate ball with a defender bearing down and knowing a hit was coming.

Let's talk some numbers now.  The Jets came into the game with the 6th ranked passing defense in the NFL, allowing just 177 yards passing per game.  Henne threw for 241.  The Jets were second in the league in QB rating against, with opponents having a combined QB rating of 56.4 when facing the Jets.  Chad Henne's quarterback rating on Monday night was 130.  That's better than Drew Brees (78.9) and Tom Brady (53.1) - despite those two teams having far better receivers.

Of course, don't underestimate the effect Miami's terrific ground attack has.  Chad Henne was 7 for 7 when using play-action for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns.

I did just need to point out one thing from after the game.  Rex Ryan, when speaking to the media, said, "We made that quarterback look like Dan Marino."  Three problems with that.  First of all, no.  Marino would have put up even more yards and points.  Second of all, "that quarterback" has a damn name - I suggest learning it.  And third of all, could it be that Chad Henne made your defense look foolish rather than your defense making Henne look great?  Just a thought.

Continue reading this post »

Wow.

I'm speechless.  What a game!  Chad Henne might just be the real deal.  Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are monsters. 

Just wow.

I'm going to gather my thoughts and enjoy the post-game coverage.  My usual recap post will be up sometime in the early morning hours tonight.

Dolphins win!!!! 

And where are all those Jet fans from Gang Green Nation?  Hmmm.......

Do feel free to go over there and mess with them.  I usually don't encourage it, but they were very obnoxious this week.  But please keep it clean and at least somewhat classy.

I'm angry.

Use this thread now for all live game discussion.

GO DOLPHINS!!!

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Browse more photos »

Are the Dolphins playing to lose a close game?  It sure seems like it, giving the Jets three free points before the half.

They need to get their shit together in a hurry.

13-10 as 3rd quarter begins.

Use this thread now for all live game discussion.

GO DOLPHINS!!!

End of first quarter, 10-7 Dolphins.

Use this thread now for all live game discussion.

GO DOLPHINS!!!

More photos » by Hans Deryk - AP

We need to see more of this - a swarming Dolphins' pass rush from Jason Taylor, Joey Porter, Cameron Wake, and company.

Browse more photos »

For the first time last week, the Dolphins hit on two of the three "keys to victory" that I highlighted last week and it resulted in the first win of 2009.  But if the Dolphins want to continue their climb back into contention in the division, they have got to win this game tonight against the Jets.  After that disastrous 0-3 start, it would be pretty impressive for the Dolphins to head into their bye week at 2-3, with both wins coming within the division.  And thanks to Denver's win over the Patriots, a win would send the Dolphins into their bye week just one game back in the AFC East.

Below are my three keys for this week.  And remember, if you are going to the game tonight, make sure you wear your orange!

Attack Mark Sanchez
Even before the season started, it seemed like the New York media and Jet fans across the country were already anointing Mark Sanchez as the next Joe Namath.  Getting the Jets off to a 3-0 start has only made the comparisons louder and the Jet fans more obnoxious.  But let's understand something - Sanchez is still a rookie, and has played like an average rookie quarterback at best.  He hasn't been outstanding.  And he's only won three games because of the defense he has supporting him and the blunders other teams have committed (i.e. the win over the Titans).  Needless to say, Sanchez can be rattled.

And when he gets rattled, he makes mistakes.  In four games, Sanchez has turned the ball over 7 times (5 interceptions and 2 fumbles lost).  Last week, the Saints proved that you can beat the Jets by forcing turnovers from the young quarterback.  For the season, Sanchez is completing just 55% of his passes when he is blitzed and averages just 5.5 yards per attempt.

What I hope to see the Dolphins do is come out aggressive and attack the quarterback.  I don't want the Dolphins to even let Sanchez get comfortable at all.  Right out of the gate, the Dolphins have got to blitz.  I want to see those packages that include Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, and Cameron Wake on the field together.  I want to see this Dolphins team make Mark Sanchez nervous right from the get go.

Then, once the Dolphins establish that they can and will bring pressure, I want to see some different zone blitzes that utilize the athleticism of Jason Taylor, Joey Porter, and Cameron Wake.  Once Mark Sanchez has it in his head that the Dolphins can and will blitz, start dropping some of those athletic pass-rushers into coverage to see if they can confuse the rookie and force some mistakes.  I think back to 2006 when the Dolphins used Jason Taylor so effectively.  In the game against the then unbeaten Bears, the Dolphins blitzed a lot early and then started using some confusing zone blitzes that dropped JT into coverage.  The result?  A pass thrown right to Taylor that he ran back for a touchdown.

Those kinds of things work against young quarterbacks, assuming the team makes it known that they can indeed get to the quarterback.  So it'll be important for the Dolphins to get to Sanchez early in the game tonight.

Continue reading this post »