5 Keys: Seattle
By Brian Miller
It’s Friday morning, the sun is shining and it will be in the mid to upper 70’s most of the day…in other words, it’s beautiful. Starbucks coffee in hand, I’m in the lobby of my hotel with a view of the Miami Dolphins practice bubble in the distance.
That stops nothing as the Dolphins will have to face off against the 2 win Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at 1 an the game may look good on paper but we all know that paper doesn’t play the game. Here are the 5 keys to a Miami Dolphins victory…a victory that will put the team 1 game over .500 on the season, and keep themselves 1 game from the division lead.
Key 5: Koren Robinson. The Seattle Seahawks don’t have much in the way of WR’s after injuries early in the season decimated the unit. Robinson however is a legit threat on the outside and the only real threat that QB Seneca Wallace has to throw to downfield. Last week he posted his first 100 yard game in a very long time. The Phins can shut down the Seattle passing game with hard, fast pressure on Wallace allowing them to concentrate on the Seattle running game.
Key 4: The Seattle rushing attack is nothing stellar, but it’s not as if they are the Denver Broncos either. The Seahawks will try and pound the ball with Maurice Morris and Julius Jones but the offensive unit as a whole is ranked 31st in the league and the Dolphins new found pressure defense should be able to contain them. Earlier in the week, Tony Sparano said – “I want to see absolute attention to detail and focus right now,” Sparano said. “We’ve been down this road before. We can’t worry about everybody telling us what a good job we did right now. We need to keep our head down and really keep swinging. That’s what I expect.” – The Dolphins do indeed know what this road looks like and taking care of business before it takes care of you will be a priority for certain.
Key 3: Ted Ginn is finally looking like the WR that fans hoped to see. To me, last weeks game against the Broncos was his best as a pro. Yes, I know the week before was statistically the best, but last week he demonstrated the need of a number 1 WR. The Broncos had to account for him and Ginn ran very solid routes and the pass he caught in the middle finally made me think he has turned a corner. Instead of running to the side lines, he turned into the field and up. Ginn has an opportunity on Sunday with a Seattle defense that ranks 31st against the pass. A big day from Ginn should open the running lanes and allow the Phins to control the clock.
Key 2: Chad Pennington is having what some NFL analysts say is his best proffessional year as a pro…so far. That will have to continue as he has an opportunity to improve on those numbers. The Seahawks will be tested and Pennington’s poise will go a long way to taking this team to a victory. This game will provide him an opportunity to play outside of his realm. He can take some chances if he wants but too many could be costly.
Key 1: The Dolphins must, absolutely must, not underestimate the Seahawks. The Dolphins have a huge opportunity this week and next and 2 game streaks winning then losing will not get this team to the playoffs.