The Dolphins lost a tough one last weekend because of the refs.  They play well on the road though so they should be more than ready for the Bengals.  The Dolphins are 3-0 on the road as they have outscored the competition 52-40.  The Bengals have lost three games in a row including one at home to a team from Florida (the Buccaneers).  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  I look for the Dolphins to get back to the running game this weekend against a Bengals’ D that is allowing 118.0 yards rushing and 4.5 yards per carry so far this year.  Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams will likely split the workload.  The Bengals only have six sacks this year so Chad Henne should have plenty of time to throw the ball.  Look for Brandon Marshall to have a big game against the Bengals as he will likely what to show up both Ocho Cinco & T.O.

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are likely going to come out throwing the ball.  The Fins are going to send OLB Cameron Wake after Carson Palmer all day long.  If Palmer has time to throw the ball the Fins are going to be in trouble because he has a lot of good weapons in Chad Ocho Cinco, Terrell Owens, Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham.  Cedric Benson will also likely get 20-25 carries for the Bengals in this game.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 24, DOLPHINS 20

27-year old CB Jason Allen has been very solid for the Dolphins so far this year.  He has played in 6 games for the Dolphins this year and he has 30 tackles, 7 passes defensed and 3 interceptions.  Allen has now played in 69 games in his first five years with the Fins and he has 170 tackles, 18 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and he has 8 interceptions.  It took Allen a little while to really get it but he’s playing very solid football for the Fins this year.

The Dolphins got hosed at home by the refs in this game.  Ben Roethlisberger fumbled the ball inside the Fins’ one yard line with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the game.  The ball rolled into the end zone where a host of Dolphins dove on the ball.  Replay officials said they couldn’t determine who had the football so they gave it back to Pittsburgh.  Jeff Reed then nailed a 18-yard field goal with 2:26 left in the game and those were the final points scored.  Chad Henne had a pretty solid game for the Fins today as he completed 23 of 36 passes for 257 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Ricky Williams led the way on the ground for the Dolphins today with 48 hard earned yards on 11 carries (4.4 ypc).  Ronnie Brown couldn’t get anything going today as he carried the ball 9 times for 14 yards (1.6 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 20 yards (10.0 avg).  WRs Davone Bess (6 rec, 66 yards, TD), Brian Hartline (5 rec, 57 yards) and Brandon Marshall (5 rec, 57 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Fins today.  The Dolphins finished up with 64 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.0 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 36 passes for 249 yards today.

The defense was outstanding against the run but a little rough along the edges against the pass for the Fins today.  LB Karlos Dansby (9 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) and safety Chris Clemons (9 tackles, 1/2 a sack) led the way for the Fins’ D in this game.  Rookies (LB) Koa Misi and (S) Reshad Jones each had a fumble recovery in this game for the Fins.  The Steelers finished up with 58 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.1 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 27 passes for 290 yards.  The Dolphins are now 3-3 on the year.

The Steelers have been great on the road this year as they have outscored the Titans & Buccaneers by a combined score of 57-24!  The Dolphins are 0-2 at home this year as they have been outscored 72-37!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins prefer to run the ball but the Steelers are only allowing 63.8 yards rushing and 2.7 yards per carry this year.  So to loosen up the Steelers’ front seven I look for the Fins to throw the ball more than usual on first down.  If Chad Henne has time to throw the ball he should be effective as the Steelers are giving up 233.0 yards passing per game so far this year.  Brandon Marshall could be in line for a huge game on Sunday.  If the Fins loosen up the Steelers’ run D a bit with the passing game I expect Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams to still do some damage.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers like to run and pass the ball.  I expect that they will try to run the ball first with Rashard Mendenhall in an attempt to soften up the D a tad.  The Dolphins are allowing 109.4 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry so Mendenhall should be able to find some running room.  The Dolphins will need OLB Cameron Wake and his buddies on defense getting after Ben Roethlisberger because he will be effective throwing the ball if he has time to survey the field.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 23, DOLPHINS 20

25-year old WR Davone Bess is a very solid receiver for the Dolphins.  Bess has played in 5 games for the Dolphins so far this year and he has caught 26 passes for 282 yards (10.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has also returned 5 punts for 64 yards (12.8 avg) so far this year.  Bess has now played in 37 games in his 3 years with the Fins and he has caught 156 passes for 1,594 yards (10.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Bess has also returned 54 punts for 504 yards (9.3 avg) so far in his career.  Bess has the best set of hands on the Fins as he is the go to WR on third downs and he’s a very dependable punt returner.

22-year old rookie DE Jared Odrick is likely done for the year after breaking his left foot in practice yesterday.  He was just coming back from a fractured right leg.  Odrick has played in 1 game for the Fins this year and he has 1 tackle.  This has been a lost year for Odrick and they hope he doesn’t turn into a injury prone type of player down the line.

UPDATE:  (10/22/2010) – The Dolphins have placed Jared Odrick on the Injured Reserve List ending his season.

The Dolphins have signed 27-year old fullback Deon Anderson and they have released 27-year old linebacker Bobby Carpenter.  Anderson played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season and he caught 1 pass for 5 yards.  Anderson has now played in 38 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 2 times for 3 yards (1.5 ypc) and he has also caught 9 passes for 67 yards (7.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Anderson is 5’10″, 240 pounds and he’s known for his blocking.  I’m also pretty sure that Anderson will get some P.T. on special teams likely replacing Bobby Carpenter on them.  Carpenter played in 5 games in which he made 10 tackles. 

UPDATE:  (11/3/2010) – The Dolphins have placed Deon Anderson on the Injured Reserve List with a triceps injury suffered before he even got on the field during the regular season for them.

Dan Carpenter hit a 44-yard field goal with 9:01 left in overtime to help lift the Fins over the Packers in Green Bay today.  Chad Henne was solid today as he completed 23 of 39 passes for 231 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Ronnie Brown (19 carries, 73 yards) and Ricky Williams (13 carries, 64 yards) gave Henne solid ground support today.  Brandon Marshall led the way in the passing game for the Dolphins today with 10 grabs for 127 yards (12.7 avg).  Brian Hartline (4 rec, 44 yards), Davone Bess (5 rec, 37 yards, TD) and Anthony Fasano (1 rec, 22 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Fins through the air today.  The Dolphins finished up with 150 yards rushing on 39 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 39 passes for 231 yards as they had possession of the football for 37:56 in this game!

CB Jason Allen (5 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) and OLB Cameron Wake (3 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 6 QB hits) led the way for the Fins’ D today.  The Packers finished up with 76 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 33 passes for 283 yards today.  The Dolphins are now 3-2 on the year.

The Dolphins and Packers are both playing awful football right now and need to get back on the right track.  The Dolphins have been outscored 72-37 in their last two games, both losses to the Patriots & Jets.  The Packers have been outplayed the last three weeks despite somehow winning one of those games (against the Lions).  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins are going to come out doing what they do best in this game and that’s running the football.  Look for Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams to get a ton of work in this game against a Packers’ D that is allowing 104.8 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  The Dolphins would be smart to keep the passing game of the short variety to give Chad Henne a chance to succeed as the Packers already have 21 sacks and six interceptions this year.  Brandon Marshall will probably be guarded most of the game by Charles Woodson so they need to be careful when throwing the ball his way.  Brian Hartline, Davone Bess and Anthony Fasano could get more targets than usual in this game.

When the Packers have the ball:  It all depends on whether Aaron Rodgers (concussion) or Matt Flynn is starting this game at QB.  If Rodgers starts I look for the Packers to be throwing the ball quite a bit.  If Flynn is the starter look for the Packers to mix in more running plays.  The Dolphins give up 117.8 yards rushing and 4.2 yards per carry this year so Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn should have some success running the ball.  With Jermichael Finley out, look for Jordy Nelson and James Jones to see increased roles in the offense starting this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  With Aaron Rodgers starting at QB:  PACKERS 24, DOLPHINS 20     With Matt Flynn starting at QB:  DOLPHINS 20, PACKERS 13

The Dolphins traded for a franchise receiver in Brandon Marshall hoping that it would spark big time improvement in QB Chad Henne but that has not been the case so far this year.  Henne has started all four games for the Fins so far this year and he has completed 85 of 132 passes (64.4%) for 961 yards with 5 TD passes and 4 INTs (86.1 QB Rating).  On the surface those are pretty solid looking numbers, but, the Dolphins are only averaging 16.5 points per game.  Henne’s pickoffs have also come at very bad times in games often leading to scores for the oppostion.  Tyler Thigpen and Chad Pennington could see more reps in the bye week just in case Henne continues to struggle at putting points on the scoreboard.