28-year old fullback Lousaka Polite has carried the ball 12 times for 28 yards (2.3 ypc) and he has also caught 3 passes for 17 yards (5.7 avg).  Those numbers are not impressive but Polite does a lot of work without the ball in his hands.  Polite is a crushing lead blocker in the running game and he is a big reason that the Fins are averaging 170.3 yards rushing per game.  He is like having an extra lineman in the backfield and he gets a five yard head start when he wants to hit someone.

This will be a battle of the running games as the Miami Dolphins (2-4) host the New York Jets (4-3) Sunday.  The Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez has been struggling big-time lately, so the Jets limited him to only 15 passes last week and relied heavily on their running game.  So, the Dolphins defense will really need to focus on stopping the Jets starting running back Thomas Jones.  He isn’t the only one they need to worry about though.  Rookie Shonn Green had a huge game last week, getting 144 yards and two TDs on 19 carries.  If the Dolphins can slow down the running game, it will force Sanchez to throw more often, meaning he will probably make some mistakes.

The Dolphins offense has to do a better job this week, especially quarterback Chad Henne.  Henne threw two interceptions last week and had a QB rating of only 45.0.  He needs to take care of the ball, manage the game, and let the running game do most of the damage.  The Dolphins could use another big game from Ricky Williams, who had a season high 138 total yards in their last game against the Jets.  This should be another close one, but I think the Jets will get even in this one as they have been killing teams on the ground.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New York Jets 28, Miami Dolphins 24

The Miami Dolphins (2-4) got off to a great start against the New Orleans Saints (6-0) and outplayed them for three quarters.  They built a 24-3 lead in the second quarter.The lead slowly dwindled though and they were up 24-10 at half and 24-17 early in the 3rd quarter after Darren Sharper intercepted Chad Henne and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown.  Henne finished the game with two picks, but one was a desperation fourth down toss in the 4th quarter.  He did not have a good game though, going 18/36 for 211 yards and no touchdowns.  A big touchdown late in the 3rd quarter by Ricky Williams gave the Dolphins a 34-24 lead going into the final quarter.  Williams had a huge game for the Dolphins and I don’t know why they didn’t give him the ball more.  On nine carries he had three touchdowns and 80 yards, including a career high 68-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.  The Dolphins could not get anything going in the 4th quarter though, and the Saints outscored them 22-0 in the final quarter.

The Dolphins defense started off doing a great job, holding the most talented offense in the league to only three points deep into the first half.  They also were able to pick off Drew Brees three times, something Brees does not do often.  Yet, they could not get the job done when it mattered:  the 4th quarter.  Giving up 22 points in any quarter is not good, but when it comes in the 4th you pretty much guarantee yourself a loss.  This game could have turned the Dolphins’ season around, but now they are 2-4 and 2.5 games back in the AFC East.  They are on the road against the New York Jets next game.

35-year old OLB Jason Taylor just didn’t look right last season in a Washington Redskins’ uniform.  He even knew that coming back to the Dolphins on a discount (just over $1 million bucks) and he’s back to being his old self.  He has played in all 6 games for the Dolphins this season and he has 16 tackles, he has defensed 2 passes, has 5.5 sacks and he has forced 2 fumbles.  Taylor does not appear to be slowing down any and the Dolphins need him to keep up the good work rushing the passer.

The Dolphins have lost starting CB Will Allen for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL.  Allen played in all 6 games for the Fins this season and he finished up with 21 tackles, 6 passes defensed, 2 interceptions and 1 tackle for a loss.  Rookie CB Vontae Davis will take over as the starter filling in for Will Allen.  Davis has played in all 6 games for the Dolphins this season and he finished with 10 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and a interception that he returned 23 yards for a TD.  Davis is a solid player but this will hurt the depth in the backfield of the Fins.