The Dolphins have placed starting linebacker Channing Crowder on I.R. with a right foot injury ending his season.  Crowder played in 13 games for the Dolphins last season and he made 51 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, he had 1 sack and 1 interception.  28-year old Reggie Torbor will be replacing Crowder in the starting line-up.  He has played in 15 games this season for the Dolphins and he has made 32 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, defensed 4 passes and he has 1 interception.  The pass defense will probably improve a tad while the run defense regresses a tad making this essentially a wash.

24-year old LT Jake Long has made the Pro Bowl for the Dolphins.  The 6′7″, 317 pound Long has been a masher in the running game and he has protected the blind side of the QB very well since coming aboard last season as Bill Parcells’ first pick for the Fins.  He has played in all 15 games (all starts) for the Dolphins this season.  As long as he stays healthy, Jake Long will play in a lot of these games.

The Dolphins were down 27-3 at the half before showing life in the second half before falling just a tad short.  Chad Henne was solid in completing 35 of 55 passes for 322 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Rickey Williams carried the ball 10 times for 35 yards (3.5 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 26 yards (5.2 avg) before leaving the game due to injury.  Lex Hilliard replaced Williams and he carried the ball 3 times for 12 yards (4.0 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 9 passes for 74 yards (8.2 avg) with a TD grab.  Ted Ginn Jr. had his best game in quite a while as he lead the way for the Fins with 5 grabs for 82 yards (16.4 avg) yesterday.  The Dolphins finished up with 363 total yards on offense (60 rushing, 303 passing) in this game.

Akin Ayodele (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit) and Yeremiah Bell (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Dolphins on D in this game.  The Texans finished up with 406 total yards in this game (126 rushing, 280 passing).  The Dolphins are now 7-8 on the year but they still have a slight chance of making the playoffs.

This game will stick with the Dolphins like a bitter pill.  Chad Henne really showed me something in this game by rallying his team to score 15 points in the 4th quarter to send this game into O.T.  But, he also threw the pick-off that set up the winning field goal for the Titans.  Henne completed 29 of 46 passes for 349 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc) in this game.  Ricky Williams had another solid game today with 19 carries for 80 yards (4.2 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 9 yards (3.0 avg) today.  Brian Hartline led the way for the Dolphins with 92 yards receiving on only 2 catches (46.0 avg).  Davone Bess (4 rec, 58 yards), Greg Camarillo (5 rec, 46 yards) and Anthony Fasano (4 rec, 36 yards, TD) all pitched in for the Fins’ in the passing game today.  The Dolphins finished up with 468 total yards on offense (121 rushing, 347 passing) in this game.

The defense didn’t play that well for the Dolphins today.  Safeties Gibril Wilson (7 tackles) and Yeremiah Bell (6 tackles) pitched in for the Fins’ today on D.  But, Jason Taylor had the best game on the defensive side of the ball for the Dolphins with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and a sack.  The Titans finished up with 364 total yards on offense (128 rushing, 236 passing) in this game.  The Dolphins are now 7-7 on the season.

This might be the best football game of the day tomorrow in Nashville, Tennessee.  The Dolphins have won 5 of their last 7 games while the Titans have won 6 of their last 7 games.  The Dolphins will probably open up the offense a little more than usual in this game due to the Titans’ pass defense which is allowing 258.2 yards passing per game this season.  The Titans will likely gang up to try to stop Ricky Williams and they do have a decent run defense as they have only allowed 99.4 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  Expect the Dolphins to try to be close to 50/50 on run and pass plays tomorrow.

The Dolphins will have to go all out to try to stop Chris Johnson tomorrow.  That is easier said than done as he already has 2,017 yards rushing and receiving and he has scored 13 TDs this year!  If the Dolphins can slow down Johnson some then they can attack the pocket by blitzing as Vince Young is a tad gimpy with a hamstring injury.  With Young not being able to take off out of the pocket his injury takes away a key weapon in the Titans’ offense.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 28, DOLPHINS 27