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

32-year old RB Ricky Williams has really stepped up after Ronnie Brown was injured.  Williams has carried the ball 115 times for 519 yards (4.5 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his last five games.  He has also caught 8 passes for 37 yards (4.6 avg) with a TD grab in his last five games.  Williams’ running has kept the offense afloat after the injury to Ronnie Brown that many thought would dismantle the offense.  Williams has now played in 13 games this season for the Dolphins and he has carried the ball 200 times for 975 yards (4.9 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He has also caught 24 passes for 225 yards (9.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Dolphins need Williams to keep playing well if they are going to make the playoffs this season.

31-year old safety Yeremiah Bell is having a career year.  He has played in all 13 games for the Dolphins this season and he has made 97 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 7 passes defensed, 1.5 sacks and 1 interception.  Bell is the leading tackler on the Dolphins and he is doing a solid job of helping out the rookie corners by backing them up.

The Dolphins were ball hogs on offense and they played great on D to win this game today.  Chad Henne was so-so today as he completed 21 of 29 passes for 220 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 1 yards (0.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Ricky Williams was the main man on offense for the Fins today as he carried the ball 28 times for 108 (3.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 7 yards (3.5 avg) today.  Greg Camarillo led the way in the passing game for the Dolphins with 7 catches for 110 (15.7 avg).  The Dolphins finished up with 354 total yards in this game (146 rushing, 208 passing) as they had possession of the football for 35:06 of this game. 

The defense was outstanding today for the Dolphins.  Safeties Yeremiah Bell (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and Gibril Wilson (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Fins’ D today.  The Jaguars finished up with only 217 total yards on offense (95 rushing, 122 passing) in this game.  The Dolphins are right back in the playoff hunt as they improved to 7-6 on the year.

The Dolphins have won 3 of their last four games while the Jaguars have won 4 of their last five games so these teams both come into this game hot.  The Dolphins won’t change how they play the game this weekend as Ricky Williams will likely be the focal point of the offense against a Jags’ D that is allowing 103.4 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  If that works then Chad Henne will likely have another great game on Sunday as the Jags only have 12 sacks on the year.  That means that he should be able to get the ball downfield off of play action passes to Davone Bess, Brian Hartline, Ted Ginn and Greg Camarillo. 

The Jaguars will be leaning heavily on Maurice Jones-Drew in this game so the front seven of the Fins will likely need to be up for the challenge.  The Jaguars have allowed 34 sacks this season so the Dolphins should be able to get a lot of pressure on him.  Also, Garrard’s top receiver (Mike Sims-Walker) is doubtful for this game due to knee and calf injuries.

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 23, JAGUARS 20

This was a game the Dolphins had to have and they got it due to Chad Henne and Dan Carpenter.  Henne led the Fins on a 4th quarter drive late in the game that set up Dan Carpenter for the game winning 41-yard field goal with 1:02 left in the game.  The Dolphins finally took the shackles off QB Chad Henne and he responded by completing 29 of 52 passes for 335 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Ricky Williams pitched in with 75 yards rushing on 18 carries (4.2 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 6 yards (3.0 avg).  WR Davone Bess had a true breakout game yesterday with 10 catches for 117 yards (11.7 avg) with a TD grab.  TE Anthony Fasano pitched in with 5 grabs for 67 yards (13.4 avg).  WRs Greg Camarillo (4 rec, 61 yards) and Brian Hartline (4 rec, 41 yards, TD) also helped out in the passing game yesterday.  The Dolphins finished up with 416 total yards in this game (88 rushing, 328 passing).

LB Akin Ayodele (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), Yeremiah Bell (6 tackles) and Gibril Wilson (6 tackles) led a sub par effort by the defense.  The Patriots finished up with 448 total yards of offense in this game (96 rushing, 352 passing).  The Dolphins are now tied with the Jets at 6-6, just 1 game behind the Patriots in the AFC East.