The Miami Dolphins lost a tough game at Cleveland last weekend as they were winning most of the game before folding up the tent late in the 4th quarter.  The Chargers won a surprisingly tough battle at home against the Chiefs last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  Donald Thomas has been quite a rookie for the Dolphins, but he might not play in this game due to a balky hamstring.  If Reggie Bush and Steve Slaton are going to be the main ballcarriers, I see the Dolphins passing the ball at least 40 times this weekend.  Opposing QBs have a 108.5 QB Rating against the Chargers so far this year, so if the Fins keep Chad Henne clean (he has been sacked 11 times this year already), he’s likely going to have a good game throwing the ball.  He will likely spread the ball around to Brandon Marshall, Brian Hartline, Davone Bess, Anthony Fasano and Reggie Bush.

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers are going to throw the ball a lot more than usual this week too.  Rivers has been intercepted 6 times already this year, but he won’t likely make many mistakes without having pressure on him.  The Dolphins only have 4 sacks so far this year, so they are going to have to turn the OLBs loose on the blitz in this game.  The Chargers are really banged up at WR with Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd both gimpy and questionable to play.  Ryan Mathews, Mike Tolbert and TE Randy McMichael are all solid in the short passing game which will put pressure on the LBs and safeties of the Dolphins.  Mathews and Tolbert will try to get a running game going against the Fins who are allowing 104.7 yards rushing per game.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 23, DOLPHINS 21

The Dolphins have claimed 25-year old RB Steve Slaton off waivers from the Texans.  Slaton played in all 3 games for the Texans this year and he carried the ball 7 times for 20 yards (2.9 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 6 yards this year for the Texans.  Slaton has now played in 42 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 425 times for 1,832 yards (4.3 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He has also caught 98 passes for 811 yards (8.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs in his career.  Slaton might actually push Reggie Bush for touches in Miami.  This was a good pickup for them.

33-year old Yeremiah Bell and 23-year old Reshad Jones are leading the way in tackles for the Dolphins so far this year, and that’s not good news.  Bell has played in all 3 games for the Dolphins so far this year and he has 24 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Reshad Jones has played in all 3 games for the Dolphins so far this year and he has 22 tackles, 1 sack and 2 passes defensed.  A lot of Bell and Jones’ tackles have come down the field after trying to cover for the corners who are getting toasted quite a bit this year as evidenced by the fact that the Dolphins are giving up 311.0 yards passing per game so far this year.  The Dolphins need other players to step up on defense, so that the safeties don’t have to cover for everyone else.

The Dolphins played solid football for the most part until the last time the Cleveland Browns had the ball when they drove right down the field for the game winning TD.  Chad Henne was under duress the whole game yesterday as he was sacked 5 times yesterday.  He completed 19 of 29 passes for 255 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 15 yards (5.0 ypc) for the Fins in this game.  Donald Thomas led the way on the ground for the Dolphins again yesterday as he rushed for 95 yards on 23 carries (4.1 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 27 yards (9.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Reggie Bush looked terrible once again yesterday as he rushed for 24 yards on 11 carries (2.2 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 12 yards.  Bush also lost a fumble in this game.  WRs Brian Hartline (4 rec, 87 yards), Davone Bess (5 rec, 52 yards) and Brandon Marshall (4 rec, 43 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Dolphins.  The Dolphins finished up with 138 yards rushing on 38 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 29 passes (65.5%) for 231 yards as they had possession of the ball for 37:51.

The defense was outstanding until the last time the Browns had the football.  CB Sean Smith (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed), safety Yeremiah Bell (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and CB Jimmy Wilson (interception) led the way for the Fins’ D yesterday in Cleveland.  The Browns rushed for 70 yards on 19 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 39 passes (48.7%) for 210 yards.  The Dolphins are now 0-3 on the year.

The Dolphins have played two of the most explosive offensive  teams in the NFL in the first two weeks of the season.  Now they are preparing for the Cleveland Browns and I look for the defense to finally show how good they are.  The Browns’ defense has been pretty solid but the Dolphins will be the best offense that they have faced this year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins look like they have found a new go to RB in rookie Daniel Thomas.  He made his NFL debut last weekend against the Texans and he rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries (5.9 ypc).  Thomas will likely get the bulk of the carries against a Browns’ defense that is allowing 124.0 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  Establishing a running game would go a long way to slowing the Browns pass rush.  The Browns already have six sacks this year, so Chad Henne might not have a lot of time to throw the ball.  WRs Brandon Marshall, Davone Bess and Brian Hartline will have their hands full against the Browns corners (Joe Haden, Sheldon Brown and Dimitri Patterson) who are all playing good football so far this year.  The Dolphins will also likely try to get TE Anthony Fasano back involved in the offense this weekend.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns are a power running team.  Peyton Hillis is a bulldozing back who tests every defenses manhood that he plays against.  He is also a good receiver out of the backfield which is going to put a lot of pressure on the OLBs of the Fins.  The Browns’ O-Line does a good job of pass blocking as Colt McCoy has only been sacked three times so far this year, so OLB Cameron Wake might have a hard time getting to him.  McCoy likes to throw to his TEs a lot and that’s a problem for the Dolphins as their safeties have not played too well this year.  He is also starting to develop a solid rapport with his WRs in Mohamed Massaquoi, Josh Cribbs and rookie Greg Little.

PREDICTION:  BROWNS 21, DOLPHINS 20

The Dolphins have signed 29-year old DE Igor Olshansky.  Olshansky played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last year and he had 38 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  He has now played in 107 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 257 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 12 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 8 passes defensed and 1 interception.  This was a good signing for the Dolphins as you can never have too many quality DEs on your roster.

The Dolphins have signed 29-year old cornerback Nate Jones.  Jones played in all 16 games for the Broncos last year and he had 57 tackles and 3 passes defensed.  He played with the Dolphins in 2008+2009.  He played in 32 games in his two years with the Fins and he had 77 tackles, 11 passes defensed, 3 interceptions, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  Jones has now played in 99 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 212 tackles, 16 passes defensed, 3 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 6 sacks and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Dolphins need all of the help in the secondary that they can get, so Jones is going to be a nice addition to the team.  To make room on the roster for Jones, the Dolphins have cut TE Dante Rosario.  Rosario played in both of the Fins games this year but he didn’t catch any passes.

23-year old rookie RB Daniel Thomas returned last weekend and he pushed Reggie Bush to the bench.  Thomas carried the ball 18 times for 107 yards (5.9 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 10 yards against the Texans last weekend.  Thomas looked great last week and he might wind up being the main back for the Dolphins in 2011.  26-year old Reggie Bush has now played in 2 games for the Dolphins and he has carried the ball 17 times for 56 yards (3.3 ypc).  Bush has also caught 10 passes for 59 yards (5.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  It’s possible that Thomas and Bush could share the job at RB, but I have a feeling that Tony Sparano wants to ride one guy and I think it will be Thomas.  The Dolphins have also released 31-year old RB Larry Johnson.  He played in 1 game for the Fins this year and he carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards.

The Dolphins just made too many mistakes to beat a team as good as the Texans yesterday.  Kicker Dan Carpenter missed two field goals and that really hurt the Fins yesterday.  Chad Henne played pretty poorly yesterday as he only completed 12 of 30 passes for 170 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 26 yards (8.7 ypc) for the Fins.  Rookie RB Daniel Thomas took over as the main man in the running game and he looked pretty darn good.  Thomas carried the ball 18 times for 107 yards (5.9 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 10 yards.  Reggie Bush spent most of this game on the sidelines for the Fins.  He carried the ball 6 times for 18 yards (3.0 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 3 yards.  WR Brandon Marshall led the way for the Dolphins in this game with 6 grabs for 79 yards (13.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WRs Davone Bess (2 rec, 42 yards) and Brian Hartline (2 rec, 36 yards) also pitched in for the Dolphins in this game.  The Dolphins finished up with 153 yards on 28 carries (5.5 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 30 passes (40%) for 153 yards as they had possession of the ball for 25:54.

The defense was so-so yesterday, but much improved over last Monday Night against the Patriots.  Safety Yeremiah Bell led the way for the Dolphins in this game with 9 tackles.  DE Randy Starks (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), CB Vontae Davis (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit), safety Reshad Jones (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and CB Sean Smith (6 tackles) also pitched in.  The Texans finished up with 138 yards rushing on 36 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 29 passes (72.4%) for 207 yards.  The Dolphins are now 0-2 on the year.

The Dolphins are going to have their hands full in this game as the Texans are a very explosive offfensive team.  The Dolphins would likely not want to get involved in another shootout, but they will be due to a lack of a running game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  Reggie Bush says that he’s a featured back.  He didn’t prove it last week as he only rushed for 38 yards on 11 carries (3.5 ypc) against the Patriots.  The Dolphins would like to run the ball more this week and rookie Daniel Thomas might be ready to return to action.  More than likely though, the Fins will be drug into another shootout tomorrow.  If the Dolphins can keep OLB Mario Williams and his buddies out of the backfield, Chad Henne will be able to do a lot of damage.  He will likely spread the ball around to Reggie Bush, Anthony Fasano, Brandon Marshall, Brian Hartline and Davone Bess tomorrow.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Dolphins will likely focus on stopping RBs Arian Foster and Ben Tate, and that’s not going to be easy to do.  Make no mistake though, the Texans are going to throw the ball a lot more than they did in the first week.  WRs Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones are mis-matches for the corners of the Dolphins who were abused last Monday Night by Tom Brady and his gang.  TE Owen Daniels is also going to have the attention of the secondary as the Patriots’  TEs went off on them last week.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 31, DOLPHINS 28