Week 15 Dolphins “Did you know?”

By Hugo Guzman  |   Wednesday, December 10, 2008  |  Comments( 3 )

Miami Dolphins
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The Miami Dolphins are 8-5, riding high after a key divisional victory last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. Now they head home to face the feisty upstarts known as the San Francisco 49ers, who have won back-to-back games to improve to 5-8. Everyone knows how important the final three-game stretch will be for Miami, culminating in what is likely to be a winner-take-all showdown for the AFC East title against the New York Jets.

With that, here are a few things you might not know:

- If you combined Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams’ ground statistics, you’d have the league’s second-leading rusher. Thus far, the dynamic duo has generated 1,312 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns, a per-carry average of 4.1 and just two lost fumbles. These numbers are even more impressive when you consider the inconsistent run blocking that Miami’s offensive line has provided. Oh, and for those of you curious types, the league’s leading rusher is none other than Adrian Peterson -- who has amassed 1,413 yards, nine rushing touchdowns, a 4.8-yard average and three lost fumbles.

- The Ricky & Ronnie combo might have trouble building on these impressive numbers against a surprisingly stingy 49ers run defense that has allowed just one 100-yard rusher in its last 10 games. Only one running back -- the Jets' Thomas Jones last week -- has crossed the goal line against this defense in its last five contests.

- Miami boasts a top 10 defense in terms of preventing third-down conversions, allowing teams to succeed at just a 37 percent clip. This stat is key; after all, it explains why most of Miami's recent opponents – excluding the Patriots – have had a lot of trouble sustaining drives and scoring touchdowns.

- The 49ers will likely run into similar struggles. They are currently in the bottom third of the league, converting just 37 percent of their third-down attempts.

Sadly, Miami’s offense is even worse than San Francisco's in this category. Chad Pennington and company convert a meager 36 percent of their third-down tries. The Dolphins are among the league’s leaders in terms of red-zone touchdown conversions, however, which means that most of these failed third-down attempts result in field goal attempts or punts, and their well-documented struggles with third-and-long have shed even more light on the problem.

In recent weeks, Miami’s offense has had a bit more success in third-and-long situations, and if the Dolphins can continue that trend and find their way into the red zone a bit more often, they should cruise to a ninth regular-season victory. That would ensure the team’s first winning season since 2005 and would take the franchise one step closer to securing its first playoff berth since 2001.
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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CommentsComments: 3  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
JimmyD		09:44 PM
12/10/2008
I sure wouldn't count out the 49's this weekend. They are a team on the rise with a defense that has been knockin' fools out. It...
No.2
Joe		10:13 PM
12/10/2008
I agree Jimmy D. The 49ers are not the joke that staqrted the season. Mike has got the team balling with confidence and they do...
No.3
JimmyD		06:29 PM
12/14/2008
Well, joe. Looks like this game came down to one big play on offense and a Dolphins defense that held tough in the redzone.
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