The Dolphins were up 17-10 heading into the 4th quarter, before the roof caved in.  Matt Moore was efficient in game managing mode as he completed 13 of 22 passes for 138 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 31 yards (6.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Reggie Bush led the way on the ground for the Dolphins yesterday with 15 carries for 103 yards (6.9 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 17 yards (4.3 avg).  Steve Slaton pitched in with 7 yards rushing on 5 carries (1.4 ypc) with 1 TD run in this game.  WRs Brandon Marshall (4 rec, 55 yards) and Davone Bess (3 rec, 43 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Dolphins yesterday.  The Dolphins finished up with 145 yards rushing on 26 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 22 passes (59.1%) for 101 yards as they had possession of the ball for 27:34.

The defense was outstanding against the run, but no so good against the pass yesterday.  LB Kevin Burnett (10 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Fins’ D yesterday.  CB Sean Smith (7 tackles and 1 pass defensed), Karlos Dansby (7 tackles, 1 QB hit) and Yeremiah Bell (7 tackles) also pitched in for the Fins in the game on D.  The Giants finished up with 58 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.5 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 45 passes (68.9%) for 344 yards.  The Dolphins are now 0-7 on the season.

The Miami Dolphins seemed to hit rock bottom last weekend in losing a 15-point lead in less than three minutes and then losing in O.T. at home to the Broncos!  They will need to play hard the whole game long in order to keep this game close.  The Giants have had two weeks to get ready for the Fins.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins will want to run the ball against the Giants this weekend with Daniel Thomas and Reggie Bush splitting the carries.  The Giants have given up 127.7 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry, so the Fins likely have a solid plan.  The Giants already have 21 sacks this year and the Dolphins O-Line has already given up 22 of them this year.  That means that Matt Moore is going to have to keep the passing game of the shorter variety.  Brandon Marshall, Brian Hartline, Davone Bess, Reggie Bush and Anthony Fasano are plenty capable of catching short passes.

When the Giants have the ball:  The Giants are likely to remain pretty balanced this Sunday with Ahmad Bradshaw running the ball and Eli Manning chucking it down the field.  The Dolphins are giving up 119.5 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry so far this year, so Bradshaw should be able to post another solid game this Sunday.  The Dolphins better hope that OLB Cameron Wake can get after Eli Manning, because if he has time to throw the ball…..they are in trouble.  Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham are each more than capable of having a big game against the Dolphins this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  GIANTS 30, DOLPHINS 17

It’s too bad that the Dolphins don’t have a QB capable of getting the ball consistently to their solid set of WRs.  Brandon Marshall is the main man for the Fins in the passing game as he caught 34 passes for 483 yards (14.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  Davone Bess is the tough, hands guy who is willing to catch the ball on the short stuff and take a hit.  He has caught 24 passes for 280 yards (11.7 avg) without a TD grab so far in 2011.  Brian Hartline is also a tough guy, but he goes down the field as well.  Hartline has caught 18 passes for 257 yards (14.3 avg) with 1 TD grab in 2011.  Rookie Clyde Gates has not been used much as he has caught 1 pass for 11 yards in 2011.

The Dolphins have signed 30-year old QB J.P. Losman.  Losman last played in a regular season game in the NFL back in 2009 with the Raiders.  Losman has played in 43 games (33 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 558 of 942 passes (59.2%) for 6,211 yards with 33 TD passes and 34 INTs (75.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 103 times for 489 yards (4.7 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his career.  Losman is only 10-23 (30.3%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  The Dolphins place Sage Rosenfels on I.R. (undisclosed illness) to make room on the roster for Losman.

The Broncos played good enough to win this game for 3.5 quarters….but then the roof caved in.  Matt Moore completed 22 of 33 passes for 197 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  But, he lost the fumble in O.T. to set up Broncos’ kicker Matt Prater for the game winning 52-yard field goal.  Daniel Thomas led the way on the ground for the Dolphins in this game with 53 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.8 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 0 yards in this game.  Reggie Bush pitched in with 42 yards rushing on 10 carries (4.2 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 4 yards in this game.  WR Brandon Marshall (6 rec, 61 yards), WR Davone Bess (7 rec, 52 yards) and TE Anthony Fasano (2 rec, 22 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Dolphins.  The Dolphins finished up with 94 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.0 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 33 passes (66.7%) for 173 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:19.

The defense played excellent football for 3.5 quarters yesterday.  They sacked Tim Tebow 7 times in this game!  LB Karlos Dansby led the way for the Dolphins in this game with 13 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Safety Yeremiah Bell (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery) and OLB Cameron Wake (4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 3 QB hits) also had solid games for the Fins.  The Broncos finished up with 183 yards rushing on 39 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 27 passes (48.1%) for 125 yards in this game.  The Dolphins are now 0-6 on the year.

The Miami Dolphins are in total disarray right now as they are only averaging 15.0 points per game while giving up 25.6 points per game.  It doesn’t help things this weekend that the Dolphins are honoring the 2008 National Champion Florida Gators on the same weekend that Tim Tebow is paying a visit with his Denver Broncos.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins are going to likely come out running the ball with Daniel Thomas and Reggie Bush against a Broncos’ D that is giving up 123.4 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  If the O-Line can get the running game churning and also give Matt Moore time to throw the ball, he could be effective against a Broncos’ D that is giving up 262.4 yards passing per game.  Davone Bess, Brandon Marshall and Brian Hartline could give the Broncos’ secondary fits as long as Moore protects the football.

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Dolphins are going to have to try to contain Tim Tebow in the pocket and that is easier said than done.  But, the Dolphins are first going to have to stop Tebow’s running and Willis McGahee.  The Broncos are likely going to run the ball way more than they throw it with Tebow at QB.  Tebow will likely be throwing deep a lot as that is his best pass.  To do that, he’s going to need time to throw the ball and that is where OLB Cameron Wake becomes important for the Fins.  They need him to pressure Tebow into making mistakes with the football.

PREDICTION:  BRONCOS 27, DOLPHINS 20

The Miami Dolphins are averaging 115.8 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry so far this year.  That is a tad better than the Dolphins probably thought it would be.  Rookie 2nd round pick Daniel Thomas has been pretty impressive so far this year, when he has been healthy.  Thomas has played in 3 games for the Dolphins so far this year and he has carried the ball 56 times for 249 yards (4.4 ypc).  He has also caught 5 passes for 49 yards (9.8 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  Reggie Bush had been a little better than advertised so far this year.  He has played in all five games for the Fins so far this season and he has carried the ball 50 times for 190 yards (3.8 ypc).  He has also caught 15 passes for 92 yards (6.2 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  Lex Hilliard has played in five games for the Fins so far this year in which he has 25 yards rushing on 9 carries (2.8 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 3 passes for 41 yards (13.7 avg).

The Dolphins have signed 27-year old safety Gerald Alexander.  He was one of their last cuts before the 2011 season started.  Alexander has played in 39 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 159 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 4 interceptions and he has defensed 14 passes.  This was a good move to bring Alexander back, as the Fins need all of the help that they can get.

UPDATE:  (11/2/2011) – The Dolphins have waived Gerald Alexander.  Alexander played in 2 games for the Dolphins but he didn’t have any tackles.

The Miami Dolphins stunk it up offensively last night and it really did them in.  Matt Moore didn’t look too sharp in his first start at QB for the Dolphins.  He completed 16 of 34 passes for 204 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (one was returned 100 yards for a TD by Jets’ CB Darrelle Revis).  Reggie Bush ran the ball well as he rushed for 71 yards on 10 carries (7.1 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 7 yards.  RB Daniel Thomas pitched in with 47 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.1 ypc) for the Fins in this game.  WR Brandon Marshall was up to the challenge last night as he caught 6 passes for 109 yards (18.2 avg) in this game.  Brian Hartline (3 rec, 27 yards) and Davone Bess (2 rec, 21 yards, and a lost fumble) had off games for the Dolphins last night.  The Dolphins finished up with 118 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 34 passes (47.1%) for 190 yars as they only had possession of the ball for 29:39.

The defense played pretty decent for the Dolphins last night.  Safety Yeremiah Bell (7 tackles) and LB Karlos Dansby (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Fins in this game.  CB Vontae Davis (6 tackles), safety Reshad Jones (6 tackles) and LB Austin Spitler (fumble recovery) also had solid games for the Dolphins last night.  The Jets finished up with 104 yards rushing on 29 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 25 passes (56%) for 192 yards in this game.  The Dolphins are now 0-5 on the season.

The Dolphins have had two weeks now to get ready for Monday Night Football’s tilt with the hated Jets.  The Jets are on a three game losing streak, but they are 2-0 at home this year where they have outscored opponents 59-27.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Jets are giving up 134.8 yards rushing per game so far this year, so look for the Fins to give the ball to rookie RB Daniel Thomas and veteran Reggie Bush early in this game to try to establish the running game.  This will help slow the pass rush a little bit and probably give QB Matt Moore more time to throw the ball.  He is going to have to be careful as the Jets already have 7 interceptions so far this year.  I have a feeling that the passing game is going to be of the shorter variety to Brandon Marshall, Davone Bess, Brain Hartline and Reggie Bush to help negate the Jets’ pass rush.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets will continue to try to get back to the running game as they will feed the ball to Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson.  The Dolphins have a pretty tough front seven, but the secondary is a weak link.  Mark Sanchez does make mistakes with the ball when he is rushed pretty good.  OLB Cameron Wake is going to be after him all night long.  If Sanchez has time to throw the ball, he’s going to get it to Dustin Keller, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress and LaDainian Tomlinson.

PREDICTION:  JETS 23, DOLPHINS 17