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 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

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 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 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

The Patriots were kryptonite for the Dolphins last year as they outscored them by a combined score of 79-21 in a sweep.  The Dolphins are going to be looking for payback on Monday Night, but I don’t think they have the guns to carry out the plan.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins are going to try to run the ball a little bit on the Patriots to try to control the clock and keep the ball away from them.  It sounds like a good plan but I don’t think that Reggie Bush or Daniel Thomas are going to have much success against the Patriots’ front seven.  Chad Henne threw 4 pickoffs against the Patriots last year as they seem to have a lot of success defending him.  That being said, Brandon Marshall, Brian Hartline and Davone Bess are a solid trio of WRs.  The Fins should try to get the ball deep to Marshall a couple of times as the Patriots have two new starting safeties in Sergio Brown and Patrick Chung.

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Dolphins hope that Karlos Dansby, Kevin Burnett and the D-Line will be able to keep BenJarvus Green-Ellis in check.  If they can, then the Fins can turn Cameron Wake, Koa Misi and Jason Taylor after Tom Brady.  They will need to get to him or he’s going to burn the secondary to a crisp.  Safeties Yeremiah Bell and Reshad Jones will have their hands full in dealing with TEs Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski.  CBs Vontae Davis and Sean Smith are likely going to see Wes Welker, Chad Ocho Cinco and Deion Branch in nightmares Monday Night after this game.  Don’t forget RB Danny Woodhead as he is a tough little player.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 31, DOLPHINS 13

This will be a very interesting football game.  The Dolphins are 6-1 on the road this season while the Patriots are 7-0 at home.  The Dolphins will be looking for revenge in this game as the Patriots beat them 41-14 in Miami earlier this year.  The Patriots will likely be resting a bunch of their starters on both sides of the football with the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs already sewed up.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins should be aggressive on offense in this game as the Patriots’ D isn’t too good to begin with.  The Patriots are allowing 112.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry so look for Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams to get their fare share of carries in this game.  The Patriots have 24 interceptions this year so Chad Henne is going to have to be careful throwing the football but the Patriots are giving up 262.0 yards passing per game so there are plays to be made.  WRs Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess could have big games for the Fish this Sunday.

When the Patriots have the ball:  I see the Patriots maybe playing their starters for possibly one quarter….it that.  Bill Belichick isn’t stupid as he learned his lesson last year by playing Wes Welker in a meaningless game last year in which he tore his ACL.  He won’t let that happen this year.  I don’t look for them to change the gameplan however as Brian Hoyer will be expected to run the whole offense against the Fins.  He is not in Tom Brady’s class, so don’t be surprised if they start to run the ball a little more on Sunday.

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 27, PATRIOTS 17

The Dolphins have alternated wins and losses the last 10 weeks.  With that in mind they are due for a win this weekend in Miami.  But, the Dolphins are only 1-6 at home so far this year.  The Lions are only 1-6 on the road this year but they have won two games in a row.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins would be smart to try to grind out a win on the ground this Sunday.  Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams will be taking aim at a Lions’ D that is allowing 126.5 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  Chad Henne needs to get rid of the ball quickly this weekend as the Lions already have 39 sacks so far this year.  The Dolphins don’t throw deep too often so it shouldn’t hurt them to rely on the short passing game.  Brandon Marshall, Davone Bess and Anthony Fasano will likely all have decent games for the Fins this weekend.

When the Lions have the ball:  The Lions will likely try to run the ball a bit in this game with Maurice Morris & Jahvid Best but it won’t be easy as the Fins are only allowing 96.6 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry.  The Dolphins have 37 sacks on the year so they will be coming after Drew Stanton or Shaun Hill early and often in this game.  If they get consistent pressure on the Lions’ QB they will likely be able to force them into some mistakes.  But, they must stop Calvin Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew or it could be a long day for the D.

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 20, LIONS 17

The Miami Dolphins are still alive for the playoffs at 7-6, making this a huge game for them.  The Bills have won 3 of their last 5 games as they have been playing decent football.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins are going to tighten up the chinstraps and feed the ball to Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams against a Bills’ D that is allowing 165.8 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  Chad Henne will likely have more time than usual to throw the ball this weekend so he could be effective in getting the ball to Brandon Marshall, Davone Bess and Anthony Fasano in the passing game.

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills are going to run a balanced offense this Sunday.  Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller will get tested by a Fins’ D that is allowing 98.6 yards rushing per game and 3.6  yards per carry.  The Dolphins’  linebackers also have to be aware of Ryan Fitzpatrick running the ball.  He is averaging 6.6 yards per carry so far this year.  The Dolphins will be sending Cameron Wake after Ryan Fitzpatrick from the time he gets off the Bills’ team bus.  That is because if he has time to throw the ball he can make some big plays with his arm. 

PREDICTION:  DOLPHINS 20, BILLS 17

The Dolphins have alternated wins and losses the last 8 weeks.  If that pace holds true the Fins will win this weekend.  The Jets got pounded 45-3 last Monday Night by the Patriots.  They are now 1 game behind the Patriots in the AFC East.  This is a “must win” game for both teams.  The Jets won the earlier meeting 31-23 in Miami, but the Fins are a much better road team.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Fins will likely try to run the ball in this game with the weather likely to be somewhat nasty.  Ronnie Brown & Ricky Williams will likely have to fight for every yard against a Jets’ D that is allowing 87.5 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry.  Chad Henne might attack the Jets’ secondary down the field as long as he has time to throw the ball, because the Jets’ are having issues at safety.

When the Jets have the ball:  With Mark Sanchez struggling all of a sudden the Jets will come out running the ball.  LaDainian Tomlinson & Shonn Greene will be the first guys the Fins’ D has to deal with.  The Fins will be sending Cameron Wake (12 sacks this year) after Mark Sanchez all game long.  If Sanchez has time to throw the ball he might be able to make some plays down the field to Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes.

PREDICTION:  JETS 23, DOLPHINS 20