The Miami Dolphins NFL fans all over the place with the beat down they applied to the Patriots last Sunday.  Chad Pennington was very efficient in this game completing 17 of 20 passes for 226 yards.  Ronnie Brown had a helluva game for the Dolphins against the Patriots as he carried the ball 17 times for 113 yards (6.1 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also completed his only pass for a 19-yard TD.  Ricky Williams also had a solid game with 98 yards rushing on 16 carries (6.1 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 21 yards (10.5 avg).  Ted Ginn Jr. (5 rec, 49 yards), Greg Camarillo (4 rec, 60 yards) and TE Anthony Fasano (3 rec, 66 yards, TD) all pitched in for the Fins in the passing game.   The Dolphins finished up with 216 yards rushing on 36 carries (6.0 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 21 passes for 245 yards.

The defense was outstanding for the Dolphins in this football game.  Safety Yeremiah Bell led the way for the Dolphins in this game with 10 tackles.  Linebacker Joey Porter backed up his big talk leading up to this game with 6 tackles and 3 sacks.  Rookie DE Phillip Merling had his best game as a pro with 3 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.  The Patriots finished up with 79 yards rushing on 20 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 35 passes for 137 yards.  The Dolphins are now 1-2 on the season with this victory.

The Patriots have won 21 regular season games in a row which is an NFL record, while the Dolphins have lost 17 of their last 18 games.  The Dolphins would love to run the football in this game and control the clock.  But, Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown have only combined for 100 yards rushing this season on 38 carries (2.6 ypc).  If the Dolphins can get the running game going somehow against the Patriots then Chad Pennington can work his play action passing game.  Still, with Chad Pennington’s lack of arm strength the Patriots will likely sneak the defense up towards the line of scrimmage and dare the Fins to throw the football.

The Dolphins have a stingy run defense allowing only 96.5 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry.  That, coupled with injuries to Laurence Maroney and LaMont Jordan could lead the Fins to finally unleash Matt Cassel in this game.  After all, opposing QBs have a Rating of 147.0 against the Dolphins this season and they are averaging 285.0 yards thru the air per contest.  This could be the game that Randy Moss has his first breakout game of the 2008 season.  Also look for Wes Welker to want to stick it to his old team.

PREDICTION:  NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 24, MIAMI DOLPHINS 13

The Miami Dolphins got completely dominated yesterday by the Cardinals.  Chad Pennington looked lost because the Cardinals pretty much took the TE away from him.  He completed 10 of 20 passes for 112 yards before being replaced by rookie Chad Henne.  Henne completed 7 of 12 passes for 67 yards in garbage time in this game.  Ricky Williams led the Fins’ in rushing with 28 yards on 11 carries (2.5 ypc).  Ronnie Brown rushed for 25 yards on 11 carries (2.3 ypc) with a TD run.  Derek Hagan was the leading receiver on the Dolphins with 51 yards on 3 grabs (17.0 avg).  Greg Camarillo pitched in with 4 catches for 49 yards (12.3 avg) against the Cards.  The Dolphins finished up with 72 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 32 passes for 164 yards.

The Dolphins’ Defense played well against the run but awful against the pass yesterday.  Linebacker Channing Crowder led the Fins’ D with 8 tackles.  DT Randy Starks pitched in with 4 tackles and a sack.  The Cardinals finished up with 81 yards rushing on 31 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 26 passes for 364 yards.  The Dolphins are now 0-2 on the season but that was to be expected as they really stink!

The Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals both looked improved over last season.  The Dolphins will likely try to run the football with Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown to play keepaway from the Cardinals’ offense.  The Fins should have success on the ground as the 49ers rushed for 108 yards (5.4 ypc) last week against the Cardinals.  With Chad Pennington’s lack of arm strength look for the Dolphins to focus the passing attack on TEs Anthony Fasano and David Martin who combined for 12 receptions for 137 yards in the season opener.

The Cardinals will likely want to throw the ball often against Dolphins and if Kurt Warner has the time needed to throw the Fins will be in deep trouble.  The Dolphins don’t have the CBs and safeties to match up with Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston.  If the Cardinals can get a lead throwing the ball then they will try grind the game out on the ground with Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower.

PREDICTION:  ARIZONA CARDINALS 31, MIAMI DOLPHINS 13

The Dolphins have released TE Sean Ryan.  Ryan was let go mostly as no fault of his own but because of how well Anthony Fasano and David Martin played last week against the Jets.  Fasano led the Dolphins against the Jets with 8 grabs for 84 yards (10.5 avg) and a TD grab.  David Martin also was very effective with 4 catches for 53 yards (13.3 avg) with a TD catch.  The Dolphins won’t miss Ryan at all.