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.