Deconstructing the reasons why Miami wins close games

By Hugo Guzman  |   Monday, December 15, 2008  |  Comments( 7 )

 Miami Dolphins
On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins won their ninth game of the season. That’s news enough in and of itself, considering last year’s 1-15 debacle. However, what’s perhaps more impressive is Miami’s ability to consistently win close-fought games. The Dolphins are 4-1 in games that have been decided by five points or fewer, with their lone loss coming...
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CommentsComments: 7
 No.1
JimmyD		 11:56 AM
12/15/2008
The Dolphins defense has stepped up their game and although the secondary still gets smoked, it has been the pass rush that keeps opponents from having time to find their receivers. The teams that have had great success against the phins' pass rush have been the ones that max protect and pick apart the secondary: Texans, Patriots, Cardinals and Ravens. The Dolphins haven't been as affective on offense of late and they will need to score points against the Jets & Chiefs if they want to win the whole enchilada. Yesterday they had just a 14% average on third down and was the key to their lack of points in the second half. Another impressive outing by Ted Ginn jr....2 receptions for 6 yards. Way to go number one!!
 No.2
adawc2		 07:39 PM
12/15/2008
We did have this conversation last week, but you didn't seem to think it was really important that Ronnie Brown get more carries. Did 23's performance against San Francisco persuade you that this guy needs to ball more? Not only did he have 4 carries for 37 cards in that drive (and also forced San Francisco to burn all three of their time outs when they KNEW miami wanted to run the football), but he had six carries for 30 yards outside that drive, good for 5 yards per carry. I understand that Ricky is a great pass catcher and still a very tough runner at his age of 31, but to me he is a very good backup and changeup, and his play does not in any way merit taking brown off the field literally every other play. Are you any closer to agreeing with me than you were last week?
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 No.3
Hugo Guzman		 10:44 AM
12/16/2008
@adawc2 - no it didn't.

Not sure if you realize this, because I don't know how long you've been reading my columns, but I'm one of the biggest proponents of Ronnie Brown you'll ever find. That said, Brown is still recovering from ACL surgery (it typically takes 18 months for a player to return to 100%) and mixing in touches for Williams will allow him to stay fresh and extend his career.

Also, not sure if you noticed, but prior to his explosion in the fourth quarter, Brown was actually having a bad game. He had several dropped passes and was not getting much going in the run game.

I realize that you're a big Ronnie fan and that you think he should be getting a boatload of carries, but Parcells and Sparano disagree with you, and their experience and track record trumps yours.
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