Dolphins 26 - Broncos 17

The secret is out. The Dolphins are .500 halfway through the year, in the thick of the AFC East race, and as a Jets fan put it, "For real." From the Miami Dolphins perspective, you have got to be happy about a road win against a division-leading team, especially when you consider that the Dolphins really didn't play very well. Pennington was a little off all day, the running game didn't do much, and we even gave up a special teams touchdown. Nevertheless, this team and this defense stepped up and found a way to come home with a W. It's all about finding a way to win in this league, and this game was definitely a defining moment for the Miami Dolphins. Now, coming home against Seattle to start a three game home stand, you've got to pick up a victory, or else this great effort will all be wasted.

Passing game:

Overall, this was not Pennington's best game. His accuracy wasn't there, and a lot of his passes were sailing on him, as is usually the case when he struggles. Not helping matters were a few dropped passes, and it seemed like the Dolphins offense was always stalling because they just weren't clicking.

Camarillo was fantastic. It seemed that he was getting open on every single play, a good occurrence with Pennington's usual accuracy and his dependability. Ginn also played a role in Camarillo's 11 catch performance, because the Broncos were rolling a safety deep over Ginn and playing off on Camarillo as a result, so credit Teddy too for Greg's big day.

On the other hand, the tight ends were not very good. Fasano was not his usual self, as he was unable to come down with a few catches he usually makes, and David Martin was invisible for most of the game.

Obviously, the two big plays were Ronnie's screen pass on 3rd and 19 and Ricky's big catch on 3rd and 13, both on the pivotal drive, so at least when it mattered, the running backs were involved.

The London story also progressed against the Broncos. He was called on for a fade with the Dolphins in the red zone, and he made a spectacular catch which was unfortunately out of bounds. Regardless, he is a hard worker who definitely has value on this team. He is our big receiver who can also play special teams, and the nail was put in Hagan's coffin when he was released this week.

Pass protection was okay through most of the game, but Evan Mathis did a really poor job on a 3rd and 3, screwing Vernon Carey up en route to a Broncos sack. Like Hagan, he was also released this week. Andy Alleman will try to help fix up the right guard position, but Donald Thomas is sorely missed as the Dolphins embark on a playoff run.

Running Game:

Not a lot of positives here, but early on Ronnie had a very nice run thanks to blocks from Carey, Fasano, and a pulling Smiley. Additionally, a couple of things that really make running plays go from good to great which help illustrate the level of coaching this team has received this year were on display on that play. Jake Long had a textbook scoop black on the backside, cutting off any penetration, and Ted Ginn was the running back's best friend, stalk blocking very effectively down the field. Great job, but unfortunately this was the only really good running play I can remember all day.

The Wildcat again didn't do much of anything, but it probably wasn't a good match up against the Broncos anyway because if they have one strength on defense, it is the speed of their linebackers.

Samson Satele had another bad game. He does a nice job when he can pull outside, but he looks like he is just too weak at the point of attack. A lot has been made of the right guard situation, and Sparano is absolutely going to work to fix that up, but the bottom line there is that we have Thomas coming back next year. I think a much more pressing issue is that Satele just isn't big enough to handle NFL defensive linemen on a consistent basis. Hopefully, he stops regressing and at least returns to his form of a year ago, but if he cannot and Alleman plays good football, watch out for him to take over the center duties next year. We need to be able to run the ball up the gut.

Overall, despite more good football from all-rookie Jake Long and all-pro Justin Smiley, the running game is still stuck. The Broncos did try to take away the run, so the Dolphins have to take what is being given, but at some point Ronnie Brown has to come alive again. As far as Ricky Williams goes, I love him and he made a great play on that 3rd down catch, but we have to give Ronnie carries and get him going first.

Run Defense:

The run defense was great today. Everything the Broncos try to do, and everything that most teams really try to do, starts with the running game. The Dolphins stopped them cold. Langford recovered from a few weaker games with an outstanding outing, controlling his gap and looking like a veteran handling the zone blocking scheme. Roth and Porter did a nice job setting the edge, and Crowder and Ayodele (along with Reggie Torbor) were in all out attack mode. Excellent work.

Additionally, later in the game the Broncos started moving their tight end to get him over Joey Porter, as other teams have had success with this year. This time the Dolphins were prepared, and besides using the usual shift to respond, the Dolphins mixed it up until the Broncos quit even trying. Credit the coaching staff on that one.

Pass Defense:

With the run defense stopping the Broncos in their tracks, a big receiver like Brandon Marshall, and the biggest weakness of the Dolphins being their pass defense, it looked like Jay Cutler was in line for a big day. However, the entire unit really stepped it up and were the reason that the Miami Dolphins won this football game.

First of all, the Dolphins finally have people in their secondary again who can cover in man to man. That is the key. Saban purged Miami of these players, but finally the Dolphins can mix in different coverages that don't require rocket science on the field to confuse opposing quarterbacks. It was on display early as Cutler completed two passes to Miami Dolphins before even hitting two to his own team.

The first pick was a nice play by Jason Allen with Miami dropping eight, a somewhat regular occurrence on 3rd down these days. The second pick, however, was the real work of beauty. Will Allen, stone hands himself, came up with his second pick in as many weeks, and this one was a rifle. He ran it back for the score and Miami was in the drivers seat for the rest of the day as a result. In fact, as of halftime the Dolphins defense was responsible for scoring ten points and giving up zero.

A guy has been quiet most of the year who had a really excellent day is Vonnie Holliday. He sniffed out a screen early, and then forced a hold and a facemask penalty on the Broncos on consecutive plays later in the game. Besides his stout run defense, it was nice to see somebody besides Joey Porter getting after the quarterback and making bad things happen for the Broncos.

Speaking of Joey Porter, he beat a double team for another sack, bringing his total up to 11.5 for the first half of the year. Besides just wowing him though, we should keep in mind that this sack, like many from the early part of the year, could also be attributed to great coverage down the field.

When the Dolphins did struggle on pass defense, it was simple things which were throwing them. Failure to breakdown and tackle on some short throws, not stopping the Denver waggle, Channing Crowder's general existence on pass defense...simple things that the Dolphins just have to take care of on every play. Also, they missed a few opportunities that they created for themselves. Missed sacks, nobody coming down with the ball Roth batted into the air, Yeremiah dropping a pick six...gotta capitalize and always be opportunistic.

Finally, you have got to hand it to the players in the secondary. It was not an easy process for the coaching staff, finding a unit that could be effective, but a team is only as strong as its weakest link and our weakest link is holding up pretty strong right now. Will Allen is finally coming up with some picks to add to his pro bowl resume, Yeremiah Bell is everywhere on the field, the leading tackler and second leading play maker (only to Joey Porter) on this defense, and Renaldo Hill has not allowed any breakdowns in his secondary since he entered the starting lineup. But how about those other three guys? Andre Goodman is actually playing like a starting caliber corner, and for the reason why, we should have looked no further than his name. He is GOOD in MAN coverage. He can really play when he gets up into a receiver's face, and now that we are mixing in a lot of man, he is shining. Moreover, he should be thankful to Jason Allen because Jason is the one enabling Miami to actually play man. One of the best athletes on the team, he has finally found a role that suits him as the nickel back. He can match up with any receiver in the league, and the Dolphins can do a lot of different things with him in the game now. Was that pass interference on Marshall against him? Maybe. But he did get pushed a little bit, and either way the Broncos got a makeup call on Hill in the end zone just minutes later. Jason Allen is a key player for Miami, especially when you consider his monumental contributions on special teams. Last but certainly not least impressively, Tyrone Culver has stepped in as the dime safety and done nothing but quietly make plays. That is, until his big pick of Jay Cutler with the Dolphins dropping eight. This unit has become just that - a unit. Hopefully they can keep their strong play alive with their new found ability to play man and mix coverages. One thing for sure is that we have the right mix of players in there for the rest of the year.

Special Teams:

Carpenter continues to baffle me on kickoffs. The first of the game was a touchback, and one late in the game went through the back of the end zone. Great, except when you consider that almost all of Denver's kicks in the Rocky Mountain thin air went for touchbacks. Most of Carpenters went within a few yards of the end zone, but that wasn't enough, and the result was a long kickoff return by Denver which kept them in the game most of the day. Poor job by Carpenter, and unacceptable by the coverage team. (Also, if Denver wants to complain about the refs, there was a blatant block in the back at the point of attack on their long return.)

As for the punting game, for most of the game Fields continued his spectacular play of late. One punt went about 70 yards and another was downed at the Broncos two yard line. However, it looks like he'll never shake that shanking habit. He had a really brutal, ugly kick, and the Dolphins were lucky that it didn't cost them too much.

As for our return game, Ginn had a big return to start the second half, but unfortunately they forced him to take touchbacks on most of the kickoffs. I was happy to see him back to return punts, and I wonder if the Bess up and Ginn deep formation will be around long or if that was just for the Broncos game. It makes a lot of sense, following the Bess makes the first guy miss and Ginn is the speedster philosophy.

Other notes:

The Dolphins took a page out of the Broncos' playbook, zone blocking their first run play of the game.

There was another defensive holding on a running play in this game, this time on the Broncos. It must be one of those rules that refs are being told to crack down on.

Versatility at outside linebacker is a huge key in this defense. You obviously need to be able to rush the passer, but setting the edge on running plays and being able to drop back into coverage are also important skills. Also, as we have learned this year, it's much better to have two guys with the ability to play over the tight end.

Broncos' LT Ryan Clady looked basically as good as advertised, probably better than Long right now at pass blocking, but not as good at run blocking. One thing I will say is that it looked like he had a bit of a holding problem, but it went largely uncalled.

It looks like besides having some semblance of a secondary, the Dolphins have a pair of starting wide receivers. Considering that these two positions were our biggest weaknesses heading into the season and even a few weeks ago, this is great news. Ginn is developing into a real stud and Camarillo just makes plays. They are a pair build in the Moss and Welker mold, and hopefully we can add another young receiver and have ourselves a unit.

In game planning against the Dolphins offense, I think the Broncos made a huge mistake. By pulling their safety over the top of Ginn, they had to play off on the other side and left Camarillo to destroy them. I think that the best way to stop this offense is to really attack it. You have to go after this young offensive line, make Chad a little bit less accurate, and press all of the receivers except Ted Ginn. I think it puts Chad in a very tough situation when he doesn't have enough time to get the ball down the field to any of those guys and has to be perfectly accurate with pressure on him. Eventually, you will get some incompletions, a sack, or a turnover. As far as Ginn, I would sit back off of him. If you are coming after the QB, he shouldn't have enough time to run any deep comebacks, and I'll give him the dink and dunk stuff all day. The Dolphins offense is not going to beat you like that. Just my humble opinion though...I hope no opposing defensive coordinators read this...

There were a few coach's calls that I liked and didn't like. In the negative column, I thought the Dolphins screwed it up on their second possession when they had a 1st and 10 on the Denver 30. I thought that was the opportunity to go deep, but the Fins predictably kept it on the ground and then tried the deep pass on second down. You've got to try it when the defense is honest, but Penny had to pull it down and we ended up kicking....On the drive going into the half, I loved the seam pass. Pennington really seems (seams?) to throw it well, and the draw play was also a terrific call....I thought the Dolphins missed another opportunity to challenge a play when it appeared that a Denver receiver was down by contact before the 1st down marker. However, there were no TV replays and no red flags thrown on the field as a result....The play calling on the decisive drive was perfect. The Dolphins were in a tough spot with 3rd and 19, but a screen pass was the perfect call with Denver blitzing. Then, you had to love Sparano emphatically calling to go for it on 4th down and getting it. Another 3rd and 13, and the Dolphins found Ricky down the field on a great match up with a linebacker. Run Ronnie behind Smiley for the touchdown and it was game, set, match. (oh yeah, and the execution was ok on these plays too...)

Finally, I don't think it is possible to overstate the job that Tony Sparano has done this year. This is the first time since Jimmy Johnson walked in the door that I can remember agreeing with so much that our head coach has been doing. He diagnoses and fixes problems with an ability to get exactly what he needs out of his players to win games. He has the right kind of attitude and philosophically is a "simple genius." For example, his belief in play counts (simple) has yielded astounding results with little injury (genius). Another great example of why Tony Sparano is so excellent: even though his team has won two straight games, he is cutting a player who played half the game at right guard against the Broncos because he isn't happy with the play. Grading each player on every play really allows him to see what is going on, and even though the Dolphins got a victory, he knows they need to be better there if they want more. Could you imagine Cam Cameron doing this? (Probably not because he never won two straight games or two games at all, for that matter). It's about taking care of the process and letting the results take care of themselves. Sparano knows that it's not his job to win games, it's his job to give his team the best chance to win games. By improving every week and taking care of the process (simple), Sparano has done an impossibly good job coaching the Dolphins this season (genius).