Which Dolphins will be key during season’s second half?

By Adam Best  |   Thursday, September 06, 2007  |  Comments( 3 )

Miami Dolphins
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Yesterday, I took a look at the first half of Miami's schedule, closely examining the Dolphins' chances at victory for each contest. Today I'm going to take a different slant while looking at the second half of the Dolphins' schedule. Instead of analyzing the team's team's chances, I'll focus on a specific player who will need to step up that particular week. After all, it's pretty difficult to prognosticate what shape teams will be in that far down the line, but with individual players it's a little easier to peer into the crystal ball.

Week 10:

Buffalo Bills at Dolphins - Quarterback Trent Green. The Bills might be one of the weakest teams on the Dolphins' schedule. Maybe that will be proven wrong, but this is still a home divisional game that the Dolphins need to win. Green should be pretty familiar with both the offense and his teammates by this point, and he'll need to play well down the stretch if the Dolphins are going to have a shot at making the playoffs.

Week 11:

Dolphins at Philadelphia Eagles - Defensive end Jason Taylor. Regardless of who is playing quarterback for the Eagles at this duration of the season -- likely either Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb -- Taylor will need to apply some serious pressure. The Eagles are a pass-first team that has always struggled when forced to run the ball.

Week 12:

Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers - Center Samson Satele. The Steelers' 3-4 defensive attack always applies a lot of pressure inside. Satele will have his hands full with nose tackle Casey Hampton and the inside linebackers, and this game should be a great gauge of how far Satele has actually progressed as a player midway through the season.

Week 13:

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins - The linebackers. Jets head coach Eric Mangini loves to run the ball using several backs. Channing Crowder, Joey Porter and Zach Thomas will have to be in midseason form to bottle up Jets running backs Leon Washington and Thomas Jones.

Week 14:

Dolphins at Bills - Cornerbacks Travis Daniels and Will Allen. Those two will definitely have their hands full with Bills wide receiver Lee Evans, J.P. Losman's favorite target. Many experts expect Miami's corners to struggle all season long, but the team hopes that won't be the case.

Week 15:

Baltimore Ravens at Dolphins - Return specialist Ted Ginn. Yards are hard to come by when you play the defensive-minded Ravens. A great return or two could really help the Dolphins move into scoring position against one of the stingiest defenses in the NFL. Remember, Miami's head coach, Cam Cameron, and its general manager, Randy Mueller, drafted Ginn for exactly this reason, so it will be interesting if he delivers -- especially late in the season when games count the most.

Week 16:

Dolphins at New England Patriots - Wide receiver Chris Chambers. While the Patriots always do a great job of patching up their thin secondary, the are always susceptible back there. A couple big plays from Chambers on the road would help considerably. Also, which Chambers be seen up to this point: the '05 Pro Bowler or the '06 disappointment?

Week 17:

Cincinnati Bengals at Dolphins - Defensive end Matt Roth. By this point, Roth will have been a starter for almost a full season. He'll need to play like a vet and help Taylor chase around Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, easily one of the elite players at his position. Don't be surprised if Roth really impresses quite a few people during the upcoming season.
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