Covering the Tight Ends

I could list you all the stats in the world and tell you how Miami has failed to cover tight ends for the past
couple of years but all you have to do is watch recent history and last week's Monday night game vs. New England.

Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski combined to accumulate 13 catches for 189 yards, two touchdowns, and four plays went for over 20+ yards.

Week 2’s opponent has similar weapons at TE, as Owen Daniels and Joel Dreessen can stretch out the defense.

The Dolphins struggled all last year covering the tight end and it looks like it’s a trend that has continued this season. Newly acquired ILB Kevin Burnett and Karlos Dansby are going to need to up their game if Miami wants to come away with the W.

Starting up the running game

Reggie Bush got off to a solid start Week 1 but it wasn’t good enough. The Dolphins can’t have Chad Henne as one of their leading rusher. The Dolphins need to form a respectable running game and soon. Hopefully the Dolphins ground attack will get a boost now that Daniel Thomas and Charles Clay have been practicing this week and should be able to play.

The Dolphins are getting no break by playing Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans and they will need to make sure that they own the time of possession and make sure Schaub is off the field as much as possible.

Control Andre Johnson

Andre Johnson is going to do what he does best. You can’t prevent that but you cant let him run up and down the field at will. Andre is the leagues best receivers but the Dolphins D must make sure he is controlled.

Not settling for 3 and getting 7

The Dolphins' offense did pretty well Week 1 however they need to make sure when they are playing offenses with firepower of New England and Houston that they don’t settle for field goals and are able to punch it in for 7. The goal-line offense needs to be much improved.

We’re now two days removed from witnessing what we thought would be a top five defense get torched for over 600 yards. That’s the type of loss that sticks with you for awhile and to be honest, I had to drag my feet getting back to blogging today.

But the beautiful thing about the NFL is that it was only Week 1. It doesn’t matter how many yards the Dolphins surrendered on Monday night, it counts as just one loss all the same.

But this team needs to move on. Back-to-back losses at home after the 1-7 home debacle a year ago may be too rocky of a start to handle for these Dolphins.

Beating Houston will be no easy task on Sunday. The Texans boast one of the league’s top offenses, giving a suddenly questionable Dolphins’ defense another tough test after getting exposed against Tom Brady and the Patriots.

We should have a more accurate feel for this team on Sunday night, however. We should find out if Tom Brady and the Patriots are that good or the Dolphins’ defense was just that overrated.

Let’s see how the Dolphins and Texans matchup.

Dolphins’ ground attack vs. Texans’ run defense

As expected, the Dolphins weren’t able to produce much on the ground against the Patriots. Well, actually they were when you consider Chad Henne ran for a shocking 59 yards, but I’m talking about the conventional running game.

Miami was playing from behind for most of the game, though, and Chad Henne was finding so much success through the air that Brian Daboll wasn’t inclined to unleash a balanced attack. But Reggie Bush only averaged a measly 3.5 yards on his 11 carries.

Daniel Thomas should reportedly return to the lineup this week and if the Dolphins can manage to play a little defense we should get a more accurate gauge of where this running game stands.

The Texans’ transition to the 3-4 defense has been a success so far, but dominating a Colts’ offense with no Peyton Manning was expected. They held Joseph Addai and Delone Carter to just 64 yards on the ground, but thanks to Indy playing from behind and so many three-and-outs they only saw a combined 15 attempts.

This is a matchup that could go either way, but until we actually see the Dolphins move the football on the ground consistently, I’m going to have to give the edge to the defense.

Edge: Texans

So yesterday we informed you that liability or cornerback or whatever you wanted to call him, Benny Sapp, was let go. Today we're happy to inform you with some better news. The Dolphins have agreed to a one year deal with 10 year veteran CB and former Dolphin Will Allen.

Adam Schefter tweeted that Allen has signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins and is practicing today.

Everyone and their brother and sister figured that when Sapp was gone, Ireland was going to have to give Allen a call. I’m glad the Dolphins didn’t waste much time and Allen was able to start practicing as early as today.

The only controversy now is that rookie Jimmy Wilson took Allen’s number 25 when he was released.

Ireland made the right move by sucking up his pride and realizing they made a mistake going with Sapp over Allen this year. Wisely, he did something about it. Allen brings leadership and a veteran presence to this young secondary.

According to Sports Agent Andy Simms twitter account(@AndySimms) CB Benny Sapp has been released by the Dolphins.
 
I am not sure of the stat but I can’t imagine many CB’s that have given up 99.5 yard touchdown passes have lived to keep their jobs the next day.

While Sapp did show some promise this off-season battling off veteran Will Allen to win the starting nickel job, he was just too big of a liability in the secondary.

Sapp struggled most of last year getting abused by many NFL slot receivers and having a knack for giving up the big play.

Safe bet is that Miami will have to give Will Allen a huge apology and try to bring him back on the squad. Not positive exactly what Miami’s next move will be but the defense that got torched for 517 yards by Tom Terrific certainly can use some improvement in the back end.

The first Sunday of NFL action is finally here. Few days in the year are as refreshing as today. But something is still missing.

As special as starting out the year on Monday Night Football truly is, especially against rival New England, this opening Sunday is a little watered down with no Dolphins’ football.

But fear not, I thought I would wait to post my three keys to victory for today in order to satisfy your Dolphins’ fix.

Pressure, pressure, pressure

There has been one key to slowing down Tom Brady and the Patriots over the past decade.

If you can get consistent pressure on Brady you’ll stand a chance. If not, well, you’re probably going to get run out of the building.

The Jets beat the Pats twice last year with pressure and the true blueprint was laid by the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. The Dolphins’ defense is primed for similar success with one of the game’s best pass rushers in Cameron Wake facing off against rookie Nate Solder thanks to Sebastian Vollmer likely being out of the lineup.

But Wake can’t do it all by himself. He’s going to need Jason Taylor to flash glimpses of his old self and maybe Koa Misi showing improvement in the pass rush department to truly fluster the game’s top signal caller.

I also expect Mike Nolan to dial up some of those exotic blitz packages he’s famous for. With that said, Belichick will likely counter with plenty of quick reads for Brady and a heavy dose of the screen game.

If there is a measuring stick for a defense poised to take the next step and emerge as an elite unit, it’s against Tom Brady and the Patriots. It’s time to put up or shut up for the Dolphins’ defense.