Ravens 26 Dolphins 10

In past loses this season there has always been some optimism to ease the pain. Against the Jets, Chad Henne looked terrific against one of the best defenses in football. The next week, the Dolphins looked like the better team early on, but special-teams blunders cost them a blowout loss to the Patriots. And then there was two weeks ago; a game many Dolphin fans put on the officials.

But after watching the Ravens throuroughly dominate the Dolphins in every aspect of the game yesterday, what can honestly be said to make this loss feel any less deflating? Before Sunday, I, along with many other Dolphin fans, was under the impression that this football team was on the cusp of possibly moving up into elite status. I think it's engraved in cement now, though, that the 2010 Miami Dolphins are an average football team, who are more likely to fall off into mediocrity than emerge as true contender.

In the preseason, I even mentioned how going 4-4 through the first eight games would put this team right on track to make a playoff push in the second-half of the year. Even if the Dolphins can finish out 6-2 or better in their final eight games against suddenly quality competition, you have to be thinking this team's ceiling is a first round playoff exit right now.

They just don't have what it takes to knockoff elite teams. The defense has done some good things at times, but they still clearly have holes large enough to prevent any sort of consistency to take place. Mike Nolan has been an upgrade, but I'm starting to think he may be slightly overrated after seeing the Dolphins' defense fail to adjust to Ray Rice breaking off huge gain after huge gain through the air.

Offensively, I'm not sure where to begin. Play-calling has been atrocious at times. Yesterday was a prime example of that. How in the world does Ronnie Brown run the ball 6 times for 45 yards on the opening drive and only carry the ball three more times the rest of the game?

And then there's Chad Henne. Sure, he's flashed potential at times, but eventually that potential has to manifest itself into reality. He's still only in his second season as the starter, but when exactly does the developmental stage end, and the results stage begin?

Overall, just a big reality check for this football team and it's fans. There are just too many questions on both sides of the ball right now to feel good about the direction this team is going. It's certainly not time to give up on this season yet, but as we sit here looking in the mirror at the halfway point, it's clear this team has a lot of work to do if they are going to live up to their playoff aspirations.

Just got done checking ESPN.com, and much to my surprise, every single analyst is picking against the Dolphins this week. Every single "expert" and Sunday NFL Countdown crew member is going with the Ravens to end the Dolphins' road perfection. I'm not saying the Ravens shouldn't be the favorite, they should. They are the better team right now on paper, and only a Dolphins win this Sunday will change that. But for nobody to be giving this team a chance?

That's a good thing the way I look at it. Hopefully the guys in that locker room get a hold of those picks, because anything that will fuel their "us against the world" mentality heading into another hostile environment can only benefit a team who is earning the right to be called "road warriors." Then again, it shouldn't take bulletin board material to get this team fired up to play. At the end of the year, I bet we look back to this week as the biggest non-division game of the season. If the Dolphins can escape Baltimore 5-0 on the road, they should be the favorite to snag the final wildcard spot in my opinion. A loss, though, could prevent them from ever emerging out of the middle of the pack.

1. 7 points > 3 points
Well here goes the obvious statement of the week. The Dolphins must, I repeat must, find a way to stop settling for field-goals and score more touchdowns. 13 field-goals in three weeks is just unacceptable for this offense. Sure, they beat the Packers and Bengals by kicking a bunch of field-goals, but against great teams like the Steelers, it just doesn't get the job done. I would probably give the Steelers the slight edge when ranking Pittsburgh and Baltimore, but the Ravens did beat them in Heinz Field back in Week 4 after all. If the Dolphins' defense finds a way to play out of their minds on Sunday, maybe settling for field-goals will be good enough.

My hunch is, it's going to take at least a couple touchdowns, though. Playcalling needs to be better, but the players need to execute better too. I can understand not wanting Henne to make any drive killing mistakes, but if you trust him to air the ball out inside your own ten yard line (like last week), why not let him take some chances inside the red zone? Maybe not against bad teams, but against teams like the Ravens, your going to have to take some risks to pull off a victory. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but can someone please tell Dan Henning to call a few fade routes to the corner of the endzone. Brandon Marshall is 6'4, 230 pounds. Utilize that.

2. Pressure Flacco, force a turnover or two
Last week the Dolphins didn't generate nearly the type of pressure we expected against the Bengals' mediocre offensive line. They didn't sack Palmer once. They did pressure him on some key plays that either prevented a big play, or got the Cincinnati offense off the field on third down, though. Cameron Wake hitting Palmer before he could find a wide open Jordan Shipley and Randy Starks forcing Palmer to throw off his back foot on that under thrown pass intended for T.O. on the final drive, immediately come to mind. I'm not sure they can rely on great coverage all game long again, though. It sure would be a luxury if Vontae Davis and Sean Smith could play that type of lockdown coverage every game.

I'm beginning to think Vontae Davis is the real deal, but Sean Smith still has a long way to go before we can start banking on both starting receivers getting blanketed all game. Cameron Wake hasn't registered a full sack since Green Bay, so he's due for a monster afternoon. On the other side, Koa Misi needs to be a little more consistent getting after the quarterback. There was a reason that the Dolphins submitted a waiver claim for Shawne Merriman. This defense needs someone on the other side that can cause some disruption. That way offensive lines can't focus so much attention on doubling Wake.

3. Win on the ground
The team that can run the football better just may have the advantage on Sunday. Watching how average the Dolphins have been at running the football this season and thinking about how physical of a football team the Ravens are, most would probably think the Dolphins would be over-matched here. Not so fast. It would probably surprise many that the Ravens are ranked 17th against the run this season, and they are only averaging 3.6 yards per carry.

I certainly don't think Ronnie and Ricky will be able to get the ground game going with ease, as it's always difficult to line up and run the ball down the throats of such a physical front seven, but I see both doing enough to keep the Dolphins' somewhat balanced offensively. Defensively, the Dolphins should be able to keep Ray Rice in check for the most part. Once again, they need to set the edge better, and not get caught in over pursuit once the Ravens decide to run to the outside, but it's going to be tough sledding for the Ravens running the ball up the middle.

In weeks prior, I have been giving every element of the game (run, pass, special-teams) it's own individual post as we preped for the Dolphins' upcoming game. This week, though, I'm going to shake things up a bit. I'm combining the "On the Ground," "Through the Air," and "Kicking Game" previews into one post. This way we can expand our branch of topics throughout the week.

I know I said to move on from Randy Moss yesterday, but it appears many Dolphin fans are still quite upset with the front office when you see some of the rants in other blogs and forums throughout the web. Maybe Jeff Ireland did make a bad call, but that doesn't change the fact that we still have a season to play.

A trip to Baltimore is on this week's slate, with major playoff implications on the line. The Ravens have a one game lead over the Dolphins in the wildcard standings, and another road win would put Miami right in the thick of things as the first-half of the season comes to an end.

The Ravens are a popular choice to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl and are widely considered to be the most complete team in football. They still have a great defense led by arguably the league's best front seven. They are starting to come around on the offensive side of the ball too, with an emerging franchise quarterback that has weapons like Ray Rice and Anquan Boldin at his side.

Make no mistake, though, this is a very winable game for the Dolphins. Don't get me wrong, the Ravens are a very good team that has the potential to become great, but it took them overtime to knock off the winless Bills at home and they lost to the same Bengals team the Dolphins should have dominated if it weren't for a lucky T.O. touchdown and five field goals.

This could finally be the game that the Dolphins separate themselves from the middle of the pack and place a claim as one of the league's elite teams. A win certainly wouldn't mean they have arrived and there would still be plenty of work left to be done for this team to get into the playoffs, but a win on Sunday would go a long way in makingsome of the Dolphins'goals become a reality.

So let's evaluate how the Dolphins and Ravens stack up in all three phases of the game.

Dolphins running game (16th) vs. Ravens run defense (17th)
Outside of the wheels falling off inside the red zone, the most disappointing thing about the 2010 Miami Dolphins has been the falloff of their running game. Who would have imagined this Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams ledattack dropping all the way to 16th in the league through seven games after finishing 09' as the 4th best running game in football? Like I have mentioned on many other occasions, if your going to point fingers, point them right at this front office for replacing all three of the interior O-line starters from last year. Although, I believe the Dolphins may have found something special with rookie guard John Jerry and I expect that he will only improve each and every week, center Joe Berger and left guard Richie Incognito aren't generating the same push this O-line had the last two seasons.

Traditionally, the Ravens haven't been an easy defense to run on, but running on this 2010 version certainly isn't an impossible feat. They actually barely rank in the bottom half of the league when it comes to stopping the run, so Dan Henning has to at least attempt to get Ronnie and Ricky involved early and often. Having said that, because the Dolphins are a power running team, I don't expect them to have too much success against that Baltimore front seven. Maybe if they had a speedster who could get to the edge they might be able to gash this Ravens' run defense, but I just don't see this Dolphins' offensive line getting much of a push against the likes of Kelly Gregg and Haloti Ngata.
Edge: Push

Ravens running game (12th)vs. Dolphins run defense (11th)
While the Ravens rank a respectable 12th on the ground, they are only managing 3.6 yards per carry. They are still a dangerous running team with a back like Ray Rice, don't get me wrong, but for whatever reason, they just don't seem to be having the kind of success they had last year. And it may still be too early to tell, but stopping the run may be becoming the strength of this football team. They have yet to crack the top ten, but they seem to be getting better each and every week. And in the games, they seem to be only getting better as the game goes on.

Two weeks ago, they absolutely dominated the Steelers' offensive line and Reshard Mendenhall in the second-half. Last week, despite giving up a few big runs to Cedric Benson in the first-half, they rose to the occasion after halftime and wound up holding Benson to a mere 3.4 yards per carry. I will say Wake and Misi need to continue to set the edge effectively and the rest of the front seven can't get caught in over pursuit once offenses decide to test the perimeter, but that appears to be the only thing separating the Dolphins from being dominate against the run right now.
Edge: Dolphins

Dolphins passing attack (12th)vs. Ravens pass defense (9th)
Despite all the injuries that plagued the Ravens' secondary to start the season, they are still managing a top ten pass defense. And now that Ed Reed is back patrolling center-field, this is a very dangerous team to come out and try to throw on. But that doesn't mean Dan Henning won't try. If you've watched this Dolphins team enough this season, you would know that they no longerabide by a run-first mentality. In my opinion, anyway, this is now a pass first offense.

That wasn't the vision this offense had at the beginning of the year, but they are being forced to play to their offensive line's strengths, which is currently pass blocking. That won't be an easy task against the Ravens, though. They have only put up 12 sacks on the season so far, but blocking the likes of Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, and Haloti Ngata is always easier said than done. If the Dolphins can keep Henne clean once again this Sunday, he should be able to put together another solid day. One mental lapse on Henne's part, though, could be the difference in the game. And let's not forget the biggest key of the day. The Dolphins need to be just as effective throwing the ball on their opponents side of the field as their own. Would somebody please get Brandon Marshall some touchdowns?
Edge: Ravens

Ravens passing attack (15th)vs. Dolphins pass defense (12th)
Just like Brandon Marshall has done for the Dolphins, Anquan Boldin has given the Ravens a legitimate go-to threat for Joe Flacco to work with. The only difference is he's putting up touchdowns, crossing the goal-line five times already. But with the way Vontae Davis has been playing this season, we shouldn't have to worry too much about Boldin's side of the field. Outside of conceding that one long pass to Greg Jennings, Davis has been flat out dominating his matchup week in and week out. I think he matches up well against Boldin too, because of how physical of a corner he is.

As we all know, though, the Dolphins still need someone to step up on the other side of the field. Sean Smith is expected to get the start on Sunday after covering Terrell Owens very well all game long and sealing the winwith a fourth quarter pick last week. Now we need to see some consistency on Smith's part if he wants to cement his name in stone for that starting position opposite Vontae. If he can do that, the sky is the limit for this corner tandem. Smith will have his hands full with Derrick Mason on Sunday, though, who continues to find ways to get the job done, even at 36 years of age. Don't forget about Todd Heap either. Heap is putting together another productive season so far with 3 touchdowns and over 300 yards, and these Dolphins have struggled covering tight ends at times. As always, the Dolphins could use a little help from their pass rush. Outside of a couple quarterback hurries from Cameron Wake, the Dolphins didn't get much pressure on Carson Palmer. Misi could sure help Wake out by producing some pressure of his own, but hopefully we see Cameron abuse Michael Oher a few times on Sunday.
Edge: Dolphins

Special-teams
Well, Dan Carpenter continues to establish himself as one of the best kickers in football and the Dolphins are arguably fresh off their best kickoff coverage game so far this season. But just one mistake on special-teams is all it takes spoil an otherwise solid day. Davone Bess muffed a punt that luckily didn't cost the Dolphins points, but it was obvious Bess wasn't as confident the rest of the game. Hopefully he gets his confidence back in a hurry because he was starting to emerge as a very solid punt returner after having a sub-par 2009 season with the same role. The Ravens don't have any big time return men to fear this Sunday, but they have been covering kicks and punts very well through seven games. It will be interesting to see who the Dolphins let return kickoffs. Nolan Carroll has clearly flashed the most potential, but Patrick Cobbs always hits the hole hard despite not being much of a home run threat.
Edge: Ravens

Most of us went into today thinking that the only thing preventing Randy Moss from becoming a Dolphin, were the 17 teams ahead of Miami on the waiver wire. At the end of the day, though, all of those teams passing on Moss went for not, as the Dolphins failed to even submit a waiver claim and now Moss is a Tennessee Titan. Yes, the same Titans team that is currently enjoying their bye week while preparing for their trip down to Miami a week from Sunday.

Some may argue that the Dolphins simply chose Shawn Merriman over Moss, because they didn't anticipate the Bills being major players. You really can't use that excuse, though, because news broke of Merriman to the Bills well before the deadline for submitting a claim. If it really was an issue of choosing one over the other, Jeff Ireland had sufficient time to send in a claim for Moss before 4 p.m.

How upset should Dolphins fans be? Could Moss have potentially made this offense elite? Well the answer is obviously yes, but it certainly wasn't a given and there's always some risk involved when dealing with a player like Moss. Even though the Dolphins wouldn't have been giving up a draft choice, they were still running the risk of Moss causing a disruption in that locker room.

The Dolphins are a young team with a lot of positives building. They didn't need a locker room cancer like Moss tearing them apart. There was always the chance Moss would behave himself and become the missing piece to an elite offense, though. At the end of the day, I guess Jeff Ireland just didn't feel like he was worth the risk. A very conservative move by this front office.

It's no time to hang your head, though. Don't you remember that this team is fresh off yet another impressive road victory and could be on the verge of positioning themselves nicely for playoff push if they can improve to 5-0 on the road in Baltimore on Sunday?

The Dolphins could have used Moss, but they didn't need him. Like I said yesterday, if it was me, I probably would have sent in a claim just because of how much potential this offense would of had, but I can understand why Jeff Ireland didn't.

Hopefully, for future sake, the Dolphins aren't content with their current receiving core. Yes, they have their go-to threat in Marshall, but right now it appears they need someone on the other side that can stretch the field and force defenses to stop committing coverage to Marshall. But that's a discussion for another day.

Right now, these Dolphins sit at 4-3 with a golden opportunity to knock off arguably their biggest competitor in the wildcard race. So let's move on from Randy Moss. Besides, I know of at least one Dolphin who is ecstatic right now. I'm looking at you Brian Hartline.

I know I'm late to the party, but I thought I would let all the speculation fly around a bit before I addressed the issue of Randy Moss possibly joining the Dolphins. What do we know so far? Let's catch up on what has been a circus of reports.

The Dolphins accompanied the Seattle Seahawks as the first two teams to show initial interest in Moss' services, but since then many other teams have been thrown around as potential suitors-many of which are ahead of the Dolphins on the waiver wire. The Dolphins sit at 18th on the waiver wire, but teams like the Chargers, Rams, Seahawks, and Bears all hold superiority if they want to put in a claim. If the 17 teams ahead of Miami feel like Moss is too big of a headache and not worth the risk, all indications are pointing to Randy Moss joining Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess in what would be a suddenly stacked receiving core.

Although I still think it's unlikely Moss falls past all 17 of those teams, we won't know those other teams' intentions until 4 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. So it's really pointless to sit here and go through each team and decide what the chances are Moss falls all the way to the Dolphins. We can ask the question should the Dolphins put in a claim, though.

If football was purely X's and O's and we didn't have to factor in things like effort and character into the equation, the Dolphins should obviously try to land Moss. It just makes too much sense on the field. When evaluating this offense right now, they are still struggling to make big plays and have been a complete disaster in the red zone the last three weeks.

Yes, Brandon Marshall has opened things up for Henne and the passing game, but defenses are limiting the impact he can have on games by shading a safety his way all game. This does open things up for players like Davone Bess and Brian Hartline, but neither one has the ability to stretch the field.

Randy Moss is arguably the best deep threat this league has ever seen. Sure, he isn't the same player he used to be, but no sane defensive coordinator would even think about single covering him. If they do, they are just asking to give up the home run.

Defenses are getting away with single covering Brian Hartline, which frees up the safety to shade Marshall's direction. With Moss in the lineup, though, you would either have to pick your poison or play cover two all game long. In cover two, DavoneBess would have his way underneath and without the strong safety being able to sneak into the box to stop the ground game, Ronnie and Ricky would see more room to run than they have had in their entire career.

Of course, it's never that easy with Randy, though. How would you react if you saw a Dolphins' player completely give up on a would be touchdown like Moss did last week, or go on a post game rant and brown nose a team and coach that had just beaten him? Not exactly the type of character you want in your locker room.

But then again, it's not like the Dolphins would be risking a whole lot. They wouldn't be forfeiting a draft pick, just adding a little under $4 million to Stephen Ross' tab in a uncapped season. And if you could see Randy Moss shutting up and producing at the level he had in New England for three years, it would probably be under a coach like Tony Sparano.

Sparano shares the same no-nonsense approach that Bill Belichick does. Belichick was able to tame Moss for three full seasons before it all fell apart, during which Moss contributed 50 touchdowns.

That obviously brings us back to square one and the Dolphins' inability to punch it in for six. Moss appears to be just what the doctor ordered for an offense that has struggled so severely in the red zone. That's why if I'm Jeff Ireland, I am sending in a claim for Moss right about now. All we can do right now, though, is sit back and let the waiver wire take it's course. Tomorrow should be an interesting day.