The Miami Dolphins (3-4) were outplayed by the New York Jets (4-4) in almost every aspect of this game, but not special teams.  Ten Ginn Jr. had two kickoff returns for touchdowns, with both coming in the 3rd quarter.  The 3rd quarter had a ton of action.  Ginn’s first return was a 100-yard touchdown return early in the quarter.  In the next series, the Jets fumbled the ball and Jason Taylor scooped it up and ran 48 yards for the touchdown.  The Jets finally answered back with a touchdown, but Ted Ginn Jr. took his second kickoff for a 101 yard touchdown return.  Mark Sanchez and the Jets answered again with another touchdown late in the quarter.  It was an exciting 3rd quarter to say the least.

Ginn, who did not start at receiver, wanted to make sure he still made an impact and wow what an impact he made.  The Dolphins would not have won this game without Ginn’s TD returns.  Chad Henne was mediocre, but he at least did not throw any interceptions.  He finished 12/21 for 112 yards and a touchdown.  Even the Dolphins great running game struggled, getting only 52 rushing yards as a team.  The Dolphins defense did not play very well either, besides the big fumble recovery and return by Jason Taylor.  They let the rookie Mark Sanchez go 20/35 for 265 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.   They also let Thomas Jones rush for 102 yards on 27 carries.  Ginn’s TD returns were huge for the Dolphins, but they cannot expect anything like that to happen again so there are a lot of things they need to improve on.

The Miami Dolphins (2-4) got off to a great start against the New Orleans Saints (6-0) and outplayed them for three quarters.  They built a 24-3 lead in the second quarter.The lead slowly dwindled though and they were up 24-10 at half and 24-17 early in the 3rd quarter after Darren Sharper intercepted Chad Henne and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown.  Henne finished the game with two picks, but one was a desperation fourth down toss in the 4th quarter.  He did not have a good game though, going 18/36 for 211 yards and no touchdowns.  A big touchdown late in the 3rd quarter by Ricky Williams gave the Dolphins a 34-24 lead going into the final quarter.  Williams had a huge game for the Dolphins and I don’t know why they didn’t give him the ball more.  On nine carries he had three touchdowns and 80 yards, including a career high 68-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.  The Dolphins could not get anything going in the 4th quarter though, and the Saints outscored them 22-0 in the final quarter.

The Dolphins defense started off doing a great job, holding the most talented offense in the league to only three points deep into the first half.  They also were able to pick off Drew Brees three times, something Brees does not do often.  Yet, they could not get the job done when it mattered:  the 4th quarter.  Giving up 22 points in any quarter is not good, but when it comes in the 4th you pretty much guarantee yourself a loss.  This game could have turned the Dolphins’ season around, but now they are 2-4 and 2.5 games back in the AFC East.  They are on the road against the New York Jets next game.

For three quarters this was a defensive battle just like I thought it would be as the Jets were leading 13-10 going into the 4th quarter.  But then all hell broke loose as both teams starting going right down the field and scoring almost every time they had the ball.  The Jets scored a TD to take a 27-24 lead with only 5:12 left in the game.  Chad Henne was outstanding in his 2nd NFL start as he completed 20 of 26 passes for 241 yards with 2 TD passes.  Ronnie Brown even threw two passes as the Wildcat Formation QB and he completed one of them for 21 yards.  Ronnie Brown was very busy in this game as he carried the ball 21 times for 74 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 3 passes for 14 yards (4.7 avg) last night.  Ricky Williams also had a outstanding game in which he also played some QB in the Wild Cat.  He carried the ball 11 times for 68 yards (6.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 70 yards (23.3 avg).  Ted Ginn Jr. finally showed up in this game as he caught 2 passes for 57 yards (28.5 avg) with a TD grab.  TE Anthony Fasano also had a decent game catching 4 passes for 38 yards (9.5 avg) with a TD grab.  The Dolphins finished up with 413 total yards in this game (151 rushing, 262 passing) and they held onto the football for 33:35!

Safeties Gibril Wilson (12 tackles) and Yeremiah Bell (6 tackles) led the way on the Fins’ defensively.  The Jets finished up with 309 total yards on offense (138 rushing, 171 passing).  The Dolphins are now 2-3 on the season just one game behind the Patriots and Jets in the AFC East.

The Dolphins flat out destroyed the Bills in this football game.  Chad Henne managed the game well completing 14 of 22 passes for 115 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 14 yards (7.0 ypc).  Ronnie Brown was outstanding as usual with 20 carries for 115 yards (5.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Ricky Williams also was electric in this game with 16 carries for 85 yards (5.3 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 11 yards.  Greg Camarillo was Henne’s go-to man in this game with 4 catches for 42 yards (10.5 avg).  The Dolphins finished up with 336 total yards on offense (250 rushing, 86 passing) in this game as they had possession of the football for 37:09 of this game.

The defense was incredible in this game for the Dolphins.  OLB Cameron Wake filled in for a injured Joey Porter and all he did was make six tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, he hit Trent Edwards twice and he sacked him three times!  Jason Taylor was also all over the field as he finished with 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits.  CBs Will Allen (2 INTs) and rookie Vontae Davis (3 tackles, a pass defensed and a interception that he returned 23 yards for a TD).  The Bills finished up with only 206 total yards on offense (46 rushing, 160 passing) in this game.  The Dolphins are now 1-3 on the season.

The Miami Dolphins (0-3) fell to the San Diego Chargers (2-1) in San Diego Sunday.  After a pretty stagnant first half, the Dolphins were tied 3-3 with the Chargers.  Neither offense had really figured out the defenses in the first half and the Chargers were the first to find the end-zone, when quarterback Phillip Rivers ran it in from the 5-yard line for a touchdown with 2 minutes left in the third quarter.

The Dolphins running game was very effective, as Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams combined for 130 yards and Williams had a touchdown.  The Wildcat worked again, as they ran it seven times for 42 yards (6.0 avg).  The Dolphins defense held the Chargers to only 69 rushing yards, but gave up 303 yards through the air.  The Dolphins passing game was pathetic, but starting quarterback Chad Pennington left the game early in the second half after taking a hard hit from Chargers’ linebacker Kevin Burnett.  It was seemingly a shoulder injury, an area Pennington has battled injuries with all of his career.

Pennington went 8/12 with no touchdowns or interceptions, for 54 yards before leaving and being replaced by Chad Henne.  Henne went 10/19 and 92 yards, but had a costly turnover when he was picked by Chargers Eric Weddle who returned it 31 yards for a touchdown.  The Dolphins defense did a good job at slowing down the Chargers dangerous offense, but they did not do enough in the fourth quarter as the Chargers scored 13 in the final quarter.  The Dolphins look like they may have a problem at quarterback with Pennington hurt, but there is no word on how serious the injury is yet.  They look to bounce back at home against the Buffalo Bills (1-2) next week.