Dolphins running game: 107.0 rush ypg (15th)
Packers running game: 107.0 rush ypg (14th)
Dolphins run defense: 117.8 rush ypg (21st)
Packers run defense: 104.8 rush ypg (15th)

It feels great to get back into the swing of things after a long, miserable week off. We still have five more long days to wait, but at least we can start previewing this Sunday's game in Lambeau Field. I said yesterday, after watching Green Bay struggle to pull of a victory against the Lions at home and drop a game to the Redskins on the road this past Sunday, that this game was looking more and more winnable. Now, when you throw Aaron Rodgers possibly being ruled out with a concussion, optimism has officially returned after it's two week hiatus. I know that we are previewing the running game today, but if Rodgers can't go every aspect of this game will be affected. I will explain below.

Packers running game vs. Dolphins run defense
It's something that needs to be said every week. The Dolphins must, I repeat must, set the edge better. We saw the Vikings and Jets have enough success testing the perimeter for New England to run to the outside on just about every run play last Monday night. Cameron Wake has usually been the center of attention on most of those runs. I'm not saying that he's been good setting the edge or anything, but when he has created a little penetration on the outside, cutback lanes have been wide open.

Wake, along with Koa Misi and hopefully more Ikaika Alama-Francis on early downs, need to create more penetration all the while containing the edge, but the backside pursuit must not get caught over committing and they need to fill gaps properly for the Dolphins to stop the bleeding against the run. And that's against anybody. No, the Packers aren't an elite running team, but the way this defense is playing right now, just about anybody is going to be able to get their running game going on the outside.

And I think the Packers have ran the ball better than people have given them credit for. A lot has been made of Ryan Grant being out, but Brandon Jackson's 256 yards on 4.6 yards per carry is pretty solid if you ask me. John Kuhn provides a nice number two option with 4.6 yards per carry as well, totaling 133 yards on the ground.

The big wildcard, though, is obviously Aaron Rodgers' health. If he can't go, the Pack aren't an elite passing team anymore- more on that Thursday. But it also will effect their running game, because if Mike Nolan is smart, and he is, he will load up the box and make the unproven Matt Flynn complete passes to move the ball. Maybe the youngster will do just fine with an outstanding receiving core and get the Dolphins' defense back on their heels a little bit. But I just don't know how you justify not committing to the run until he does.
Edge: Push

Dolphins running game vs. Packers run defense
Enough is enough. It's time for the Dolphins to run the ball like we all know they are capable of. We all saw first hand last Monday night why Chad Henne isn't ready to run a pass first offense yet. It's time to get back to the identity. That doesn't mean go in a shell like we saw in the first two weeks, Henning still needs to trust Henne to make plays down the field for this offense to reach it's full potential and to keep defenses off balanced.

But looking back at the past two seasons, this team has been at its best when they are pounding opposing defenses with a solid dose of Ronnie and Ricky. Obviously they can't just line up and do it, they are going to need better blocking from the interior offensive line. I know I said the same thing two weeks ago, but the Packers defense will present a golden opportunity to finally get the run game going. Are they horrible against the run? No, they have a respectable 15th overall ranking.

But without the Dolphins thinking they need to score early in often to keep up with an Aaron Rodgers led offense (that's if he doesn't play) they may be tested and hopefully exposed a little more. 15th overall against the run is nothing to be ashamed of, but the 4.7 yards per carry they are conceding is actually tied for sixth worst in the entire league. That means they certainly can be ran on.

The Dolphins should come out with a balanced mindset every game in my opinion, but it especially rings true this week. They can't fall in a big hole like we saw against New England, though, causing them to abandon their running game. At the end of the day, this should be a statement game for Ronnie, Ricky, and the offensive line. It's time they remind the league and show the Green Bay Packers what they are all about.
Edge: Dolphins

I wasn't planning on it, but the combination of the Dolphins having a bye week and the beating the took Monday night still being fresh in our minds, it was a good week to go on a little vacation from the blog after about ten months straight of posting at least five times a week.

It's always tough to get through a week after a loss, especially of the blowout variety to a division rival, but unfortunately we have to do it all over again this week. That's what makes the bye week so difficult. But it probably couldn't have came at a better time for the Dolphins, after back-to-back letdowns on national television, and with several key players needing to get healthy.

In 2008, the Dolphins followed up their bye week with a huge upset win over the San Diego Chargers, and last year, they jumped out to a shocking 24-3 lead over the eventual Super Bowl champion Saints who had not previously trailed in a game, before getting trounced in the second-half.

Still though, I think it's safe to say this coaching staff has had this team well prepared with two weeks to practice. And boy do they need a simliar effort this week. This game in Green Bay is the first of a four game stretch that will surely make or break the Dolphins' season.

I know I said the same thing about the Jets and Pats games, but that was more of an opportunity. These next four games could either doom or save the year. For the Dolphins to keep their heads above water and stay in the division and wildcard races, they need to at least spit these next four games.

Will that be easy? Obviously not with road games in Green Bay, Cinncinnati, and Baltimore and the only home game coming against Pittsburgh, who is arguably the best team in the entire league right now, and that's been without their two time Super Bowl winning quarterback who is returning next week.

With all that said, though, after watching Green Bay fall to the Redskins yesterday and getting outplayed against the Lions a week ago, this Sunday doesn't look so impossible anymore. And after watching the Bengals fall apart against two mediocre teams at best the last two weeks, the Dolphins should probably even be the favorites in Cincinnati.

Does that mean it's time to jump back on the "it's our year" bandwagon? Of course not. An uphill battle awaits them starting Sunday. But it's way to early to give up on them. If the Dolphins have the type of character you would expect of a Parcells molded team and a Sparano coached one, you would think they would come out with all kinds of fight in this do or die situation they have put themselves in.

Then again, you would have thought they would have given at least a great effort at home, on Monday Night Football, in a must-win game against New England. Not that this an excuse, but I was sort of under the impression that they had a little bit of a Jets hangover after losing such a well contested game in Week 3.

It was obvious how bad they wanted that game. And when you get so psyched up for such a big game and come out on the short end, it's very tough to get refocused on your next opponent. Even when that next opponent is the Patriots, in an equally important division showdown.

But now, the Dolphins will not only be fighting to save their season, but playing for pride as well. They know they are better than what we saw these last two weeks, and as fans, we thought they were better than this too. Now, they have to go back and prove themselves all over again.

We can think about what went wrong the last two games all we want, but what's done is done. Sure, losing to your biggest rivals in back-to-back weeks puts you in a little bit of a hole to dig out of, but these Dolphins have been comeback kids over the past two seasons.

In 2008, they rebounded from a 0-2 start and then a 2-4 start to win 11 games on their way to the division title. Last year, despite the 0-3 start, they fought back into the think of the playoff race up until the last week of the season. And fans are really starting to panic after a 2-2 start?

Yes, expectations are considerably higher this time around, but the season is young, this team has turned it around before, and with an even more talented team, is certainly capable of doing it again. The schedule is less forgiving, but that just makes this even more of an opportunity.

If they can stay right at the .500 level of the next four weeks, they will still be in great shape to make a playoff run as the schedule weakens. Just imagine if they could pull off three wins, or better yet run the table. Not very likely obviously, but it's not impossible with this team.

We saw great signs from the defense in the first two games, and off and on positive signs from the passing game over the past two weeks. If they could just avoid the huge letdowns on special-teams, which isn't too much to ask, and put together some collectively solid performances on both sides of the ball, the sky is the limit.

That is a lot of "ifs," but let's not forget how far this team has come. Many teams find themselves in obscurity for multiple seasons. The Dolphins were able to rebound pretty quickly. If you would have told me after the 2007 season that an AFC East title was just around the corner, they would be in the wildcard race up until Week 17 in 09', and they would be capable of great things this season, I would have taken that in a heartbeat. I'm guessing most of you would too.

So let's all step back, take a deep breath, and buckle up for what should be a great ride the rest of the season. There is so much football left to be played. If they can fall from grace in two short weeks, they are surely capable of righting the ship just as fast. Let's get behind our boys for these next twelve games and hopefully beyond.

By the way, GO VIKINGS! The bye week will be considerably more tolerable if the last unbeaten team goes down (pop some champagne for the 72' Dolphins) and the Jets lose a big game on Monday Night Football.

Dreadful performances like last night can't go without consequence. John Bonamego learned that first hand this morning. The Dolphins didn't waste anytime firing him today, and promoting Darren Rizzi to special-teams coach. Will it change anything? Who knows. But a message needed to be sent that this franchise isn't going to tolerate something as awful as whatever it was we just saw.

In what started as a great opportunity, has turned to utter disaster. The Dolphins headed into to their two most important games of the season atop the AFC East at 2-0 with a chance to make back-to-back statements on prime time television against the Jets and Patriots.

And while the Dolphins at least lost in a respectable manner to the Jets, the wheels completely fell off last night. Losing 41-14 is just as bad as the score says, no matter how it happened. Legitament contenders, or even half-way decent teams for that matter, don't allow a blocked punt, kick, and kickoff return in the same game. They just don't.

Some may preach that it's still early, and that the Dolphins are only a game back in the division, but those people need to come down to reality with the rest of us. You can't make up for losing both of your home games to the other two contenders in the division. The magic of the 2008 season isn't here anymore. The upcoming schedule is far from forgiving, and will likely bury this team if they don't make some massive adjustments in the bye week.

So many questions need to be answered, and in a hurry. The run defense is looking like one of the league's worst. New England ran right at the edge at will last night, and when the outside linebackers were able to contain it a little bit, the backside pursuit was way out of place, and cutback lanes were allowing Green-Ellis and Woodhead to pick up 4 and 5 yards a pop.

The running game is still a long way from where it was last year, and Chad Henne reminded us all why he isn't ready, and maybe never will be, to emerge as a legitimate franchise quarterback. He was staring down his receivers far too often, and folded under the pressure in a game this team desperately needed. Not the kind of qualities you want to see from a guy you've invested so much in.

That brings me to the special-teams. I don't think there's anything I can really say to sum up just how horrible they were last night. I'm talking one of the worst special-teams performances of all-time, and probably hands down the worst this once proud franchise has ever seen.

If it was me, I would fire John Bonamego immediately. There's simply no excuse for what happened. I'm not going to say special-teams have cost the Dolphins the last two games, because they still deserved to lose with the way they played defensively against the Jets, and the way Chad Henne and the run defense played last night.

But that blocked punt against the Jets certainly didn't help their cause. And last night, the kickoff return, the blocked punt deep in Miami territory, and the blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown, made winning last night impossible. Throw in Chad Henne's pick-six, and the Dolphins conceded four touchdowns to New England with Tom Brady on the sidelines. How sickening is that?

Still though, I think Jeff Ireland and the front office have to be blamed for some of the special-teams woes. It's been a weekly ritual to overhaul the last few players on the roster, who usually have a big role on special-teams, and bring in guys from the waiver wire, only to waive them a week or two later. That's obviously means the Dolphins have seen new players manning key special-teams positions just about every week.

Perhaps what made waking up this morning the hardest, is how the Dolphins just squandered away any respect they may have earned over the past couple years. They've worked so hard, and come so far after that miserable 1-15 season. You think anyone is going to be taking them seriously, though, after back-to-back loses on national television, especially with the Monday night massacre we saw last night?

I think for the first time since that 2007 season, that rock bottom feeling is back. Sure, they are a much better team now, but they've fallen a long way from that 2-0 start that had everybody, including myself, thinking this team's time had finally come. Well, it hasn't. The Dolphins aren't who we hoped they would be, that I can guarantee.

This team flourished in 2008 with no expectations, and were a solid team up until the last three weeks last year when expectations weren't considerably higher. But now that expectations have come, it's evident who this Dolphins team truly is. Great teams let expectations fuel their efforts. Pretenders fold under the pressure that comes with them.

And that's where this Dolphins team falls. I'm not even sure how much longer they can keep up their act. They probably won't even be pretenders that much longer if they don't right this ship in a hurry. The schedule after the bye week is sure to expose them that much more.

How does 2-6 feel? Or 2-8? Don't kid yourself, it's possible after what we saw these past two weeks.

Now, though, is when we will find out what kind of character this team has. Their backs are against the wall. A knockout blow awaits them after the week off. Will they give in, or fight their way back into relevancy?

Bum bum bum bum....That's the sound of Monday ladies and gentleman. Monday's are usually the worst day of the week, but not tonight. It's almost time for Monday Night Football, with the Dolphins and Patriots being center stage for the whole country. Sunday Night Football was great last week, but there's really nothing like Monday Night Football.

The Dolphins have historically provided some instant classics on MNF, and tonight figures to be no different. A week after losing in the final seconds to the hated Jets, they have to get all revved up again to go toe-to-toe with their second most hated rival- the New England Patriots.

I've said it before, tonight is absolutely a must win for the Dolphins. Yes, it's early in the year, and a loss would only drop them to .500, but they can't afford to lose their home games to the Jets and Patriots and expect to keep up in this heated division. With Green Bay and Pittsburgh looming after the bye week, the possibility of dropping to 2-4 on the year will surely kill those good feelings fans had after opening the season 2-0.

Bye weeks are never fun either, but going a week without Dolphins' football after back-to-back loses to the Jets and Pats, will feel a bit miserable. So what exactly do the Dolphins have to do to knock off the Patriots at home, and enter the bye week tied for first in the AFC East at 3-1? My three keys to victory are below.

Get consistent pressure on Brady
Coverage wise, there is really no way to match up with Tom Brady's talented weapons, regardless of who you are. If you take away Randy Moss and the deep ball, things are just going to open up for Wes Welker underneath. And now, if you can somehow find a way to cover both, the two rookie tight ends will be next in line to shred your defense apart.

Pressure has always been Brady's kryptonite, though. Of course, when you blitz, that means you have less men in coverage. And if New England's offensive line can pick up some of the exotic blitzes Mike Nolan dials up, there's no way the Dolphins' secondary can cover all of Brady's weapons. Last week, they didn't register a sack against Sanchez, and only hit him once.

If that happens against Brady, I can almost guarantee that they will be 2-2 at night's end. Guys like Cameron Wake and Koa Misi could sure make things easier, though. If the Dolphins can somehow get pressure with their front four (in the nickel package), they could keep six or seven guys in coverage at all times, which would obviously be the safest way to slow down Brady.

Make the Pats' offense one-dimensional
As prolific and as scary as New England's passing attack is, they are considerably more dangerous when the running game is going too. If the Dolphins can get them pass happy, odds are they are winning the game or shutting down the run. I know Brady dropping back to pass as much as possible doesn't sound like a recipe for success on defense, but when you know what's coming it's a whole lot easier to stop.

Fred Taylor is out, so BenJarvus Green-Ellis will get the majority of the reps, with the newly acquired Danny Woodhead likely to get some work as well. The Dolphins have been pretty solid up the middle, but weren't able to effectively set the edge against the Vikings and Jets. Cameron Wake and Koa Misi will need to shed blocks quickly and take great angles to the ball-carrier when ran at, which will surely happen if New England has been watching film of the last two games.

Unleash balanced attack on offense
In Week 1 we saw Chad Henne dink and dunk while Ronnie and Ricky combined for over 120 yards on the ground. Against the Vikings, Henne only attempted 14 passes and Ronnie and Ricky each nearly cost the Dolphins the game with two fumbles deep in Minnesota territory. Then last week, the passing attack came alive, but the running game was a non-factor and Dan Henning basically abandoned the bread and butter of the offense.

The Pats haven't been strong against the run or pass, so tonight presents a golden opportunity for the offense to begin clicking on all cylinders. Hopefully, we see Henne continue to build off that monster performance last week, and Brandon Marshall continue to be the focal point of the passing game, all the while with Ronnie and Ricky producing at the high level we've seen from them the past couple years.

Yes, that's a whole lot easier said than done, but for this offense to emerge as one of the league's best, that's what it's going to take. If last week was a sign of things to come from Henne, and the running game, more specifically the interior offensive line, can get back on track, how exactly would you go about stopping this offense?

Maybe they are ready for greatness, maybe not, but one things for sure, if the Bills can move the ball effectively against the Pats' defense, the Dolphins should be able to put some points on the board tonight.