New Orleans "Brees's" Into Miami
By Brian Miller
After a long week of vacation and a bye week for the Miami Dolphins both the Phins and I are back and ready. Today, the New Orleans Saints will ride a different kind of breeze. Drew Brees. Brees comes to Miami as the twice overlooked franchise QB option for the Dolphins. Oh, and on a personal note, if your going to the game today, make sure you pick up a copy of the Gameday Program. Flip open to page 32 and you will notice an article written by yours truly. The Miami Dolphins decided to publish the article I wrote about my brother in Iraq in today’s program. Hope you enjoy it!
Today’s game day chat will be available at 4:00 PM Eastern by clicking on the “CHAT” menu option on our menu bar. I have not decided whether to use the “Coveritlive” program yet or not…the Phins have won two games while using the sites own chat…I’m a superstitious kind of guy!
Back to the game at hand, the Dolphins are riding a two game winning streak that in and of itself is asking more questions than answers. The Phins lost to Indy in week 2 and the Colts were a very good test for the team. Despite the loss, the Dolphins controlled 99% of the game. The teams win against Buffalo was against a team that has recently been struggling and the last game the Dolphins played was against a Jets team that despite a 3-1 record, lost to the Bills last weekend. So was the performance against the Jets a sine of the Phins stepping in the right direction or a step back for the team in green? This week will surely go along way to answer those questions.
The Saints are what the Colts used to be. A high-powered offense that can throw at will and run just as effective. The Dolphins have struggled on defense in the passing game this year to teams that are nowhere close to the caliber of Brees and Co. The Dolphins will have to keep pressure on the QB if they have any chance at keeping the game close. The Saints are odds on favorites to win the Super Bowl this year.
Offensively the Dolphins will face a formidable defense that for all intent and purposes shut down the NY Giants offense a week ago. The Phins will need the WC to be working optimally but the game rests on the shoulder of Chad Henne. Henne has had two solid showings in his first two starts and while the Jets defense is solid, the New Orleans Saints pose a different kind of threat. Their defense rarely plays from behind allowing them to sit back and let the offense play in front of them protecting leads. It’s something that could allow Henne to have big yardage numbers but little else. It could also put Henne in a position to try and force throws which allows defenses to feed.
The Phins will show a face today. One that could indicate they are ready to defend their division championship of a year ago, or the other which shows they still have a long way to go.