Before we get into Monday nights game, I’ like to say sorry I didn’t have any updates after the Atlanta game.  I was simply too disgusted with the sloppiness I saw on the field.  The reason for the loss was fairly simple: we gave away too many opportunities.  Whether it was whiffing on blocks, poor tackling, missed assignments, or turning the ball over, it looked like the Dolphins didn’t want to win this game.  We actually outgained the Falcons 4.6 yards per play vs. 4.3 yards per play- the difference being that Atlanta ran 65 plays to the Dolphins 56- mainly due to two untimely fumbles, and and interception that killed promising drives and lead to Atlanta points.  A stout run defense that held the Falcons to 2.5 YPC kept us in the game, but our young secondary gave up too many plays when it counted to come out with a W.

But enough looking back.  The Dolphins return to Monday night football with the perennial playoff contending Indianapolis Colts coming to town.  It sounds like a tall order after the sloppy play of last week, but it CAN be done.  The Colts weren’t exactly sharp last week either; they lost future hall of fame coaches Tony Dungy, (offensive coordinator) Tom Moore, and (O line coach) Howard Mudd- and it showed as they struggled to put away a very mediocre Jacksonville team 14-12.  With a little home field advantage sprinkled in, this game IS winnable.  Here are what I see the Phins as having to do to come away as the victors.

Play Keep-away: The biggest advantage the Colts bring to their table is their quick strike offense.  With their no huddle style, the Colts are able to fire off an absurd number of plays.  Last week against Jacksonville, despite two turnovers, they still managed to crank out 70 plays, vs only 55 for the Jags.  Miami struggled with this last week, only being able to run only 56 plays.  This doesn’t necessarily mean we have to run the ball 40 times- it just means we have to execute properly.  If the Colts D loads up for the run, our O-line has to hold their blocks and (most importantly) our receivers have to hold onto the ball.  Ideally though, we should try to take advantage of a historically weak D-line and try to cram the ball down their throats.  The Jags don’t have the best offensive line on the planet, and they were able to crank out 114 yards on 4.4 YPC so I should hope we can get something going.  The biggest issue here is turnovers- the Dolphins surrendered anywhere from 5-15 plays by coughing up the ball.  If we give those up this time, we are going to pay again.

Forget the Run, Stop Reggie: I am going to put this bluntly; the Colts have a HORRIBLE run game.  Their best rusher had only 42 yards, and they averaged a pathetic 2.3 YPC for their entire game against Jacksonville.  Our D-line is miles ahead of Jacksonville’s, and I don’t think we will need extra linebackers or safeties in the box to shut down their run game.  What we need to do is put bracket coverage (a corner under and a safety over) Reggie Wayne, and make sure he never, ever gets behind our secondary- because he will burn us.  Last week he hauled in 10 passes (off of 14 targets) for 162 yards - which is an absurd 16.2 per catch average.  His long of the night went for 39 yards- whereas the longest play the Dolphins had last week was only 21 yards.  This man must be stopped.  With Anthony Gonzales out with an injury, the only other serious threat is TE Dallas Clark- but he only brought in 4 passes (on 6 targets) for 39 yards (though his long play of 21 yards is tied for the longest play by a Dolphin).  After Clark there are just a bunch of rookies (Austin Collie) and journeymen (Pierre Garcon).  The lesson here is simple- shut down Reggie, shut down the Colts.

Get the O-line on the same page already!: We have invested a LOT of money into our O-line, and it is about time we see some return on it.  I know it is only week two, but they saw some unusually extensive action in the preseason as well.  Simply put, they laid an egg against the Falcons.  4 sacks, 4 QB hits, and a ton of hurries limited our playbook severely as there was no time for Chad to try and get the ball deep.  They also didn’t do much in the way of running the ball, and didn’t perform as well as the 4.4 YPC average on runs makes them look.

Interestingly, Justin Smiley revealed this week that at least one of the sacks (on 1st rounder Jake Long) was due to newly acquired Center Jake Grove snapping the ball to early on a snap count, so he was caught sleeping.  Well, these kinds of silly mistakes can’t happen when you are in the NFL, and with the home field advantage (and no silent count necessary),  that is no longer a valid excuse.

Pass protection will be the stiffest challenge;  it was said that Jake’s biggest weakness coming out of school was speed rushers, and he faces probably the best in the business in mighty mite Dwight Freeney, who had a sack, a TFL, and 2 QB hits last week on the Jags.  Whatever his problem was, he’d better have it fixed.  We also need to really hit them in the mouth, and take advantage that they only have 3 DT’s on the entire team over 300 lbs.  If we can’t blow this team off the ball and get runs in between the tackles, then we have no hope all year.

Last but not least, hit Manning!: The Colts have had a bit of a “Left Tackle” controversy this off season.  Starter Tony Ugoh was benched in the preseason for servicable, but injury prone Charlie Johnson after he returned from a pec injury.  Johnson played well in the first game, but guess what?  He is questionable again with a back injury. So that means either we will face an injured player, or someone who couldn’t earn their way onto the field.  To me that means advantage to Joey Porter- and we need it.  It is absolutely imperative that we are able to get pressure with only 4 men, in order for point number 2 (double cover Reggie Wayne) to work.  If Joey Porter can harass Manning- it also contributes to limiting the number plays they are able to run, and makes it much harder to hit on those big plays that they love, even if Reggie does manage to outrun our young secondary.   In fact, I hope we do more than just send Porter after their sub par OT- I hope we pull out some exotic blitz packages that try to overload that side of the line, and really confuse Ugoh (or take advantage of Johnson’s injury if he is in).

So there you have it- that is what needs to be done ( in my humble opinion) to come out with the victory Monday night over the mighty Colts.  And I promise you this time, win or lose, I’ll actually post a follow up and see how we measured up.  Enjoy the game!