Dolphins 14, Vikings 10
Written by Rich Rodriguez
Sunday, 19 September 2010

The Good

1.Jason Allen - 11 tackles, 2 interceptions. Allen also had another interception wiped out by a penalty. It took longer than expected, but it appears Jason Allen has finally arrived.

2.Vontae Davis - Davis is a terrific tackler, plays the ball well and is an emerging star. His assist in helping Karlos Dansby tackle Adrian Peterson at the goalline helped seal the deal for the Dolphins.

3.Cameron Wake - His sack and forced fumble in the endzone won the game. The fumble was eventually recovered by Koa Misi for a touchdown. Wake is another player having a coming out party.

4.Jake Long - Long has been worth every penny of that expensive #1 pick rookie contract. He completely neutralized Jared Allen, one of the best pass rushers in the NFL and an elite all around player.

5.Dolphins Interior Offensive Line - The Dolphins ran for 120 yards against the top run defense the past four seasons in the NFL.

6.Karlos Dansby - The leader of the defense, Dansby is in on a lot of plays and was the first man to get to Adrian Peterson on his goalline run that may have turned into a game winner if successful.

7.Brandon Fields - Four punts inside the 20. Field position is huge in a defensive battle and Fields has been giving the Dolphins good field position on punts so far this season.

8.Brandon Marshall - Caught a 46-yard bomb and continue to establish himself as the Dolphins go-to guy.

9.The Dolphins have started 2-0 for the first time since 2002.


The Bad

1.Fumbles - Even though Ronnie and Ricky were effective running the ball, their turnovers almost let the Vikings win this game.

2.Playcalling - Even when the Vikings were stacking the box with 8-9 guys, the Dolphins continued running the ball. When you have Brandon Marshall lined up one on one, you have to go to him.

3.Run Defense - Adrian Peterson is going to get his, but 145 yards rushing is simply too much.
4.The Dolphins offense is averaging 14.5 points per game.


The Ugly

1.The game in general was an ugly game. 14-10 games are generally not a thing of beauty. Both teams have huge question marks and it showed today. "

"Dolphins 14, Vikings 10
Written by Rich Rodriguez

1.The game in general was an ugly game. 14-10 games are generally not a thing of beauty. Both teams have huge question marks and it showed today. "
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2.Playcalling - Even when the Vikings were stacking the box with 8-9 guys, the Dolphins continued running the ball. When you have Brandon Marshall lined up one on one, you have to go to him.

I have been saying this for 3 years. The game has passed Henning by. We need to get a little more modern with our passing sets.

Furthermore, why does he continually keep Bess on the sideline? How can Marlon Moore get the same amount of snaps as Bess? Why are we not running the ball out of 3 WR sets? the list goes on and on and on....

2.Playcalling - Even when the Vikings were stacking the box with 8-9 guys, the Dolphins continued running the ball. When you have Brandon Marshall lined up one on one, you have to go to him.

4.The Dolphins offense is averaging 14.5 points per game.



Excellent write up as usual. There were a couple of 9 man fronts near the goal line with Marshall outside that were begging for a quick throw.

4.Jake Long - Long has been worth every penny of that expensive #1 pick rookie contract. He completely neutralized Jared Allen, one of the best pass rushers in the NFL and an elite all around player.

Miami is 2-0 win both wins coming on the road. That is huge.

Jammer,
I don't think people are calling for Henne to drop back 40 times a game but I think having him drop back 20-25 with the same controlled passing attack you speak of should happen.

Good write-up, Rich.



And as good as Long did, Jason Allen still did get a sack and two QB hurries going against Henne's 15 passes. Long vs Allen was like a heavy-weight fight and I would definitely give this one to Jake Long.

Come on Dave, that sack was a garbage sack in which Henne was trying to run out of the pocket and Allen tackled him half a yard short of the line of scrimmage.

Long verse "Jason" Allen would be a mismatch While I think Long won his battle against Jared, Miami only dropped back 15 times.

I agree

(Not being a smart-ass). Long handled Allen all day, not just on the passing downs especially on Ronnie's 45+ yard run from the goal line. Polite and Long opened a hole that Ski Money could have run through.

More controlled reads and careful throwing (Ryan, Sanchez, Schaub...) with the occasional deep ball produced better results.

(Not being a smart-ass). Long handled Allen all day, not just on the passing downs especially on Ronnie's 45+ yard run from the goal line. Polite and Long opened a hole that Ski Money could have run through.

Sanchez was throwing into cover almost every time... He was picking on a young secondary that many saw as a liability coming into this season. They just had a good outing week one and confused people. They are young, and very fast. But with good WR's that win the fight in single cover they get exposed. I would imagine our coaches are well aware of that and test them in 2 weeks as well.


All I saw was highlights of Schaub, but I doubt that the WR's were open for all 500 of those yards, just kinda seems like he would have to test the secondary and take a couple chances..