Dolphins 16 - Bills 3

The Dolphins played an excellent, complete football game against Buffalo. In a "road" game against an AFC East opponent which they had to have, they put together their best game since, well, the last time we played the Bills. For the second game in a row, the defense didn't allow a touchdown and the special teams were sound. On offense, the battered offensive line stepped up and played well, allowing Ronnie Brown and Chad Pennington to control the game efficiently. Overall, this was 2008 Miami Dolphins football in its purest form. No turnovers, no mistakes, and a 15 minute edge in time of possession. Let's take a deeper look at the various elements of Sunday's game:

Offensive Line:

Without Justin Smiley, you had to be nervous going into this one. Jake Long was the only strong offensive lineman still on his feet from Week 1. However, the reshuffled group really stepped up and played well in the big game. Long was his usual monstrous self, but the key was the unusually fine play from the interior linemen.

Samson Satele had one of his best games of the year and seemed to thrive as the main man in the middle. A big key for the Dolphins offense is when Satele starts comboing off to the second level, and he was able to do that effectively numerous times Sunday. After Al Johnson got all the reps in practice on Wednesday, either the rest or fear of losing his job led Satele to play an inspired game. If he can consistently play this well, even against big tackles, he will be around for a long time.

As for the guards, Alleman again stood out for his run blocking prowess. He is very strong and always seems to get a push. He needs some work in pass protection, but he could be a really solid player for us in the future and is another potential answer at center next year.

Ndukwe also played well, and Frye made the most of his opportunities, impressively filling in at both guard spots throughout the day. Carey, too, had his best game in quite some time.

Running Backs:

This time, Ronnie was our best back, but what really stood out was how good this position is as a unit. We have four guys who can really run with the ball, and it makes the Dolphins very difficult to defend.

Ronnie Brown had a fantastic day. He gained seven yards by himself on a second quarter play and looked great carrying the ball all day. He was patient as usual and elusive in the open field, making the most of his 16 carries. Ricky Williams also was an effective runner, looking very fast on the track which he knows so well. Unfortunately, his best run, where he showed great vision cutting back for a touchdown, was called back.

The biggest surprise, and one of the best finds of the year, has been Lou Polite. He had a great second effort on a third and one which led to the touchdown, and he also converted a fourth and one en route to a field goal. That's two huge plays instrumental in scoring ten points. As usual, he also blocked very well.

My only gripe with this unit continues to be how they are used. I think Henning could to a better job managing and maximizing carries for the R+R show, as our two best weapons continue to get lots of R+R on the sideline. While it is a difficult circumstance to navigate having two backs who both get better with more carries, and I give Henning lots of credit for his innovations this year, it has usually been pretty clear who the better back is by the end of one period. I believe that if you make it a point to get the ball to that back, not only will he get 20+ carries, but the other should also end with at least 10 as you will probably be moving the ball and building a lead if one of these stars gets going. Give it to whoever is feeling it, and watch the yards and carries pile up for both by the end of the game.

Quarterback:

Mr. Consistency only missed six time of his 29 attempts in this one, including a perfect second half. People are starting to talk about him as an MVP candidate if this team wins the division, and while I don't think he'll win, he is mounting a bit of an argument.

Regardless, this was another game where, to use a pitching analogy, Chad didn't have his best "stuff." His balls lacked velocity, yet he found a way to get it done again. He abused the deep middle of the Bills' secondary early, and stepped up and converted a few third downs as well. Highlights included his touchdown to Fasano and another sweet throw on a little wheel over Ronnie Brown's shoulder. Thanks in large part to Chad, the Dolphins are on pace for the fewest turnovers in a season in NFL history, and Pennington became just the third Miami Dolphin to pass for 3,000 yards in a season on Sunday. Thanks, Brett!

Wide Receivers:

Devone Bess is quickly starting to look like Wes Welker III, with an extra special emphasis on the adverb. Not only in the sense of his feet, which jitterbug him away from defenders before and after the numerous receptions that he makes, but it has only taken him three games of extended duty to become one of the most productive undrafted rookies in the league. Even more impressive than his feet may be his hands, which hauled in nine passes on Sunday, and his quarterback friendly nature. He is truly a pleasure to watch on a bubble screen, always making the first defender miss, and at one point fearlessly taking the ball back across the formation for a big gain. If the Dolphins can acquire a big time receiver next year, the Dolphins become downright scary to defend for any secondary with less than four top notch corners.

On the negative side, Ted Ginn was invisible. In the first series of the game, he missed a catchable third down slant, apparently out of fear of taking a hit, and his day was downhill from there. He even had a false start penalty at one point, something that should never happen to a wide receiver. How invisible was he? Even Ernest Wilford had more catches than him.

Tight Ends:

Luckily, along with Bess, the tight ends stepped up and picked up the slack for Teddy. As has been the case all year, this offense is at its best when the tight ends are catching passes, and on Sunday they made their presence felt. There were five catches between them, a modest figure, but it was sufficient as Fasano had his first big play in weeks on the touchdown and Martin had a big first down reception. The play action game needs to work to these guys, so let's hope that they stay involved the rest of the way. They certainly aren't adding much with their blocking.

Wildcat:

The Wildcat was no good on Sunday. The Bills were all over it, penetrating and creating lots of issues. The Dolphins haven't shown any ability to pass out of it in weeks, and teams are loading up to stop the run. Just like when we go empty, I am beginning to take issue with it, because it unnecessarily tells the defense what we are going to do.

However, as I will discuss in a separate column, I think the Dolphins offense has evolved past the Wildcat, making it largely obsolete. You'll have to wait for that column, but as for the use of the Wildcat for the rest of the season, I would only like to see it for two reasons: 1) To test to see how a defense will respond to it, and continue if we have immediate success; 2) If our offense isn't moving as a way of changing things up. In either case, please find a way to pass out of it. I almost wonder if the Dolphins are saving something up.

Overall Offense:

Though they only scored 16 points, the Dolphins played very well on offense and controlled the football. The O played a large part in dominating the time of possession by 15 minutes, and it was truly Dolphins football with the tight ends involved and mistake-free efficiency. Look for the aforementioned follow-up column which will go into depth on the strategic state of the Dolphins offense, specifically the running game.

Run Defense:

The run defense was instrumental in allowing the Dolphins to play their brand of football on Sunday. Marshawn Lynch is a talented back, but by bottling him up the Dolphins were able to put the game in JP Losman's hands, exactly where they wanted it. It took discipline and solid tackling, and the guys up front got it done to the tune of 13 carries for 31 yards.

Kendall Langford was one guy who stood out and is coming on strong at the end of his rookie season. He had his struggles, but he has pushed through that wall and is using his strength well lately. He also had two hurries during the game.

Other highlights included Jason Ferguson coming unblocked and making a stop in the backfield, our destruction of the Wildcat when Buffalo tried to turn the tables, and the continued domination of Matt Roth. One big reason the Patriots were successful against the Dolphins is because they went small and took Roth out of the game, but any team that tries to use their base against us has to run away from Roth, who manhandles and abuses opposing tight ends.

Pass Rush:

The pass rush could not seem to muster much for a lot of the game, as the Dolphins continued to struggle in that department, until they suddenly flipped a switch and everybody seemed to be getting to JP Losman late.

A lot of the early struggles had to do with lane discipline issues. For a team that has trouble finishing a lot of their pressures with sacks, this created a huge problem. Losman took off and scrambled very effectively for a lot of yardage. Thankfully, this was the most effective way the Bills ever really moved the ball, as the secondary bailed the pass rush out on the many occasions when Losman had time back there.

All the way until well into the fourth quarter, the Dolphins struggled to rush the passer, with the exception of one play by Charlie Anderson, who I was very happy to see have his coming out party. On a third down in the second quarter, Anderson forced Losman to fumble, only to have Losman pick it up and throw to Marshawn Lynch, who proceeded to drop the pass. Still, the Dolphins continued having issues rushing the passer, even when the Bills went with an empty backfield. The one thing I will say is that they at least started changing up the looks they were giving. I noticed some zone blitzing amongst the cleverness that confused Losman.

Finally, after more missed opportunities at sacks (Ferguson) and offsides (Porter), the Bills had moved into field goal range in the fourth quarter. The secondary had taken Miami so far, consistently getting the defense off the field, but the Bills were finally moving it until Charlie Anderson made his biggest impact play of the season. Again, with a speed move, he forced Losman to fumble, this time knocking the Bills out of field goal range and forcing the punt. He really was excellent Sunday, and if pass rushing continues, he and Matt Roth make an excellent combination at the outside linebacker spot across from Porter.

Speaking of Porter, as he and the rest of the pass rush finally woke up, he made a great move on a sack to force the Bills to punt from their own two yard line later in the quarter, and he finished the game by retaking the sack lead in the league with a sack/forced fumble. Vonnie Holliday also awoke to force a tripping penalty when he had a pressure. Everybody looked alive and got into Losman's head in the final stanza, a beautifully ugly site for the Buffalo offensive line. At that point the only issue was, where was it the whole game? Let's hope that the Dolphins rediscovered something.

Secondary:

The Dolphins mixed things up in coverage on Sunday very effectively, with the two biggest personnel changes being the move of Will Allen back to the outside in the nickel and Nate Jones becoming the nickel back instead of Jason Allen or Joey Thomas, who was inactive. The secondary again played great, the most instrumental unit in holding the offense without a touchdown for the second straight game. Losman looked confused all day, and even when he had time, he didn't stand a chance.

Lee Evans, the noted Dolphin-killer, was held to three catches, and that was the type of day it was for the Bills passing game. They went 1-10 on third down conversions, and the defensive backs were as responsible as any for keeping the Bills off the field. Key defining moments included Will Allen's end zone interception on the fade route (thank you, Mr. Official), which absolutely sucked the life out of the Bills' comeback attempt, and Yeremiah Bell's game-sealing tackle of Marshawn Lynch.

As for Nate Jones, he fared decently. There was one play where he fell and was beaten badly, but Losman overthrew everybody by about 15 yards, so there was no harm. It has been three weeks and three nickel backs; let's see if this one sticks.

Overall Defense:

It was a great effort, obviously, in holding the Bills to three measly points, but the defense owes a lot to the offense's execution of the gameplan, which was equally important in keeping the Bills off the field. Still, stopping Marshawn Lynch and forcing a 10% third down conversion rate says a lot, as the defense certainly executed their game plan as well, making Losman look every bit as bad as he is. Let's hope that the pass rush picks up where they left off at the end of this one and Charlie Anderson is for real because, in that case, the Dolphins have a playoff defense to be reckoned with.

Special Teams:

Dan Carpenter must be paying somebody somewhere a lot of money. The leading Pro Bowl vote getter at kicker who won AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for November won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week this week for going 3-4 on field goals in a dome. I am very happy that we have a consistent rookie kicker, but the most impressive thing about him is his ability to win awards! Meanwhile, though he has executed most of his directional kickoffs well (it would be nice if you could put it into the end zone in a dome), he had two bad kickoffs against the Bills, one of which might have cost a touchdown had he not made the tackle himself. There must have been some poor special teams play in the AFC this week...

Fields continued exhibiting his weak leg, but he was bailed out by a good bounce once and a muff another time. I really wouldn't expect to see him around next year. The Dolphins coverage teams were good against the reputable Bills special teams. Again, however, the return game wasn't there. I'd really like to see Ginn take one to the house before the end of the season, and at this point I can't see any reason not to have both guys back on every punt return. The Dolphins didn't do it once and it cost them 20 yards on a punt that Bess couldn't field.

Coaching:

-Spanano finally threw the red flag out at the right time.

-Excellent game plan and well executed. Getting the tight ends involved is a key to this offense. Also, the Bronco-waggle play that Elway made famous was used a few times on Sunday and is a nice fit in this offense.

-The Dolphins made the interesting decision to decline a 2nd and 10 holding call on the Bills, bringing up 3rd down instead of 2nd and 20.

-I don't know if it was Chad or Henning that made the decision, but a draw on 3rd and 7 from around the 15 was a peculiar call, too.

Overall, the team played very well and executed a game plan which relied on our strengths. A very sound coaching job. Great win, and with our destiny and a first place tie, our next order of business is the resurgent 49ers at home.