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.

The Miami Dolphins (2-3) are taking on probably the best team in the NFL right now in the New Orleans Saints (5-0).  The Dolphins and their Wildcat running attack has been nearly unstoppable this year, but it hasn’t done enough for them in the win column.  The Saints running attack is just as good if not better than the Dolphins, as they have Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Reggie Bush sharing the carries with each bringing a different aspect for the Dolphins run-defense to deal with.  When looking at the numbers, both defenses are pretty similar, giving up 301 yards per game and close to 20 points.

Chad Henne has been solid in his two starts, but the Dolphins passing game is nothing to write home about.  The offense is all about the Wildcat. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams lead the attack in the Wildcat, with the two running backs combining for 759 yards and eight touchdowns on 4.9 yards per carry. The Saints have a well-rounded offensive attack and Drew Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the league.  Even if the Chargers can’t stop the Wildcat, I don’t think they can win this one due to Drew Brees and their talented offense outscoring the Dolphins and their Wildcat.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New Orleans Saints 31, Miami Dolphins 20

The Dolphins have signed 23-year old rookie OT Lydon Murtha off of the Lions’ practice squad.  The 6’7″, 307 pound Murtha was a 7th round pick out of Nebraska but the Dolphins must have liked something they saw out of him on tape to take a chance on him.  The Dolphins released 26-year old OG Shawn Murphy to make room on the roster for him.  He has not played in any regular season games in his two years with the Dolphins as he always seems to be hurt.

UPDATE:  Shawn Murphy has been claimed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers off waivers from the Dolphins.

Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are the leading men in the running game for the Dolphins that is averaging 177.0 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry.  Brown has been outstanding as he has been the QB most of the time in the Wildcat Formation.  He has carried the ball 93 times for 443 yards (4.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs already this season.  He has also caught 9 passes for 64 yards (7.1 avg) out of the backfield.  Brown even has thrown 2 passes this season completing 1 of them for 21 yards.  Ricky Williams looks like he has been swimming in the Fountain of Youth this season.  He has carried the ball 61 times for 316 yards (5.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 11 passes for 132 yards (12.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Brown and Williams are a lethal combination for the Dolphins.

The Dolphins’ offense looked really good with Chad Henne behind the controls last Monday Night.  He has a much better arm than Chad Pennington which allows the Fins’ to stretch the field.  If teams start to sneak up to stop Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams the Dolphins now have a QB that can make them pay over the top.  Henne has completed 44 of 67 passes (65.7%) for 448 yards with 3 TD passes and only 1 interception (93.4 QB Rating).  With the Dolphins having an outstanding running game and a solid defense that will allow Henne to not have to be great every week to lead the team to victory.

The Dolphins have signed rookie running back Kory Sheets off the 49ers practice squad.  With Patrick Cobbs out of action for the rest of the season it was worth taking a chance on Sheets.  He was outstanding in the pre-season for the Niners so he might be able to fill Cobbs’ role on offense this season.