5 Keys: Miami Vs. Denver
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are heading west to the mile high city of Denver where they will play the Broncos in an attempt to stay in the chase for the…ummm, well….the….o.k. I will say it…playoffs. Miami is sitting at 3-4 while the Broncos are on a 2 game losing skid. Winning only 2 of their last 5 the Broncos will be coming off their bye week holding a 1 game lead in the AFC West.
For the Dolphins, the question is which team will show up to play? The team that shut down Buffalo, New England, and San Diego or the team that lost to Baltimore and the Houston Texans? For Miami fans and for the fans of 3 other West teams…here’s to hoping it’s the former. For now, we settle on 5 keys to a Miami Dolphins victory.
Key 5: Brandon Marshall. The Phins will need to defend this big WR much in the same way that they took Randy Moss out of the New England game in week 3. Marshall posesses the size of previous big WR’s who have given Miami fits. With rookie sensation Eddie Royal back and running at full speed, the Broncos will try to quick hit Miami up the seams for big gains. The bread and butter of the Denver offense is the arm of Jay Cutler and the hands of Brandon Marshall. Cut the head off one and so goes the other.
Key 4: Run, Run, and Run some more. The Denver Broncos have one of the worst rushing defenses in the league and against New England two weeks ago the Bronc’s gave up over 240 yards on the ground…to a team who has no running backs. The Dolphins have the R & R express and recently extended Patrick Cobbs in their backfield. They also utilize the Wild Cat better than most college teams. The Dolphins can control the clock, put points on the board, and basically keep the game in their pocket by simply controlling the ground game and keeping the Denver passing attack on the sideline.
Key 3: Chad Pennington. The AFC Offensive Player of the Week will need to be his usual solid self. The Broncos may be without Champ Bailey and if that is the case, Ted Ginn should be able to get upfield and CP will need to hit him. Keeping the game spread by using high-percentage passes and the occassional dowfield 9 route will keep the Denver defense from stacking the line of scrimmage and trying to shut down the Phins rushing attack. Pennington has been the field general and he will need to get the team started fast to keep Denver from getting into any groove on defense.
Key 2: Special Teams. The Dolphins had a better game last week than at any time this season, but they will need to continue on that success in a game that could come down to field position. K Dan Carpenter is going to get two interesting firsts this weekend, one the wind could be an issue up that high which could move the ball around after he kicks it, the second is that Carpenter may find a lot more carry on his ball in the thinner air. Either way, he will have to get it figured out because the game could come down to his leg.
Key 1: Sack the QB. The Broncos will try and run when they can and rookie Ryan Torain is back after a mid-pre-season injury that has had him sidelined all season. Torain was the back that was tearing up the competition early on. It will be interesting to see if he can return and make an impact in his first NFL regular season game. He will need to be on his best in the blocking department as Joey Porter will be doing everything in his power to get to Jay Cutler often. With Kendall Langford and Phillip Merling improving and Vonnie Holliday starting to make an impact as well, the Phins will likely work at stopping the run and forcing the Broncos to pass every down…if and more importantly when that happens, the Phins will put as much pressure on Jay Cutler as they can and from every angle they can.