Miami Dolphins Kickoff The Season At Houston
By Matt Patrick
The wait is finally over Phin Phans! As you already know, the Miami Dolphins’ 2012 schedule has been released. Overall, I like the layout of this schedule. Similar to 2008, the weekly matchups appear to be manageable and favorable for our beloved Dolphins. Unfortunately, the toughest game on their schedule is arguably the season opener at the Houston Texans.
Yes that’s right, I said the Houston Texans. As you should already know, the Dolphins have never won against the Texans and the majority of these games have been absolute heart breakers. Starting with the very first game between these two squads in 2003 where the Texans won 21 to 20, this matchup has always been an emotional roller coaster ride. Miami is zero and six against the Texans and has lost four of those games by three points or less. Considering the Texans have only made it to the playoffs one time in their franchise history, why do they seem to always have our number?
Well, if you go back and look at the highlights of those six games, it has been a combination of three things that cost the Dolphins from winning; Andre Johnson, the field goal kicker, and…plain old Texan luck. First, let’s just start with Johnson. He played in five of the six games and recorded a total of 37 catches for 519 yards and four touchdowns. He is virtually unstoppable.
And who could forget the 23 yard acrobatic catch Johnson made over Yeremiah Bell on fourth and ten in the final minutes of the game back in 2008? You know, that’s the catch that kept the Texans alive which resulted in a 3 yard game winning touchdown run by Matt Schaub, with three seconds remaining to win 29 to 28. To this day I can still hear the screaming of CBS commentator Solomon Wilcots with that call on the game winning touchdown. That game made grown men cry. Ok, maybe that was just me.
As if Johnson wasn’t hard enough to contain, the Texans’ field goal kickers always had career days against our Dolphins. Kris Brown was the place kicker in the first five matchups before Neil Rackers took his place. In those six games, the Texans had a total of 19 field goals. Four of those were from fifty yards or more.
Kris Brown must have had a rabbit’s foot and a four leaf clover in his back pocket when he played the Dolphins on October 7th, 2007. This game brings me to my third point; plain old Texan luck! On this day, Brown had the best game of any kicker’s career when he made FIVE field goals. Two of them were from fifty- four yards and with just one second remaining in the game, he booted a fifty-seven yarder to win 22 to 19. This game left me stunned and speechless.
By reminding you of these terrible memories from the past, I probably ripped the scabs off our healing wounds. Now, it’s time to think positive! We have a lot to be excited about for our Dolphins and I have faith the holes on this roster can be filled in next week’s NFL draft. It’s a whole new season and every team will be starting off the year with a clean slate. In my opinion, the Dolphins have an excellent coaching staff with Joe Philbin and his two coordinators, Mike Sherman and Kevin Coyle. All three of these guys are proven winners that will work hard to implement successful schemes and a winning philosophy.
Maybe the coaches will have a game plan to effectively contain Andre Johnson? Maybe the Texans’ field goal kickers won’t be so accurate in the season opener? And maybe, just maybe, the Football Gods will look down on our beloved Dolphins and bless them with some good luck! Hopefully, the Dolphins can end this silly losing streak with the Texans and start off the season on a winning note. Regardless, when the Dolphins kickoff at one o’clock in Houston on September 9th, you better have your seat belts on because it’s going to be a wild ride.
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