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Lori

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Lori All Pro

Lori

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BUFFALO BILLS at MIAMI DOLPHINS

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2006 – 1:00 PM EDT

DOLPHIN STADIUM, MIAMI GARDENS, FL

 

TELEVISION: CBS

PLAY-BY-PLAY: Greg Gumbel

COLOR ANALYST: Dan Dierdorf

 

DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket: Channel 707 / Channel 719 (HD)

 

RADIO: Buffalo Bills Radio Network

PLAY-BY-PLAY: John Murphy

COLOR ANALYST: Mark Kelso

SIDELINE REPORTER: Paul Peck

 

Miami Dolphins Radio Network

PLAY-BY-PLAY: Jimmy Cefalo

COLOR ANALYST: Joe Rose

SIDELINE REPORTER: Nat Moore

 

Sirius Sunday Drive: Channel 143 (Buffalo feed) / Channel 147 (Miami feed)

 

 

REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: Dolphins lead, 49-30-1. The Bills are 12-27-1 all-time in Miami, but have a winning record (10-9) in Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphin Stadium since it opened in 1987.

 

PLAYOFF RECORD: Bills lead, 3-1.

 

LAST MEETING: December 4, 2005 – Dolphins 24, Bills 23

The Bills stunned the Dolphins defense early, with JP Losman and Lee Evans hooking up for touchdowns on three of their first four possessions. Evans would finish the day with five catches for 117 yards, a career high, and become the first player in team history to score three touchdowns in one quarter.

Buffalo held a 21-3 lead at the half, and extended it to 23-3 when London Fletcher tackled Gus Frerotte for a safety (and knocked him out of the game). Frerotte’s injury turned out to be a bad break for the Bills, though, as backup QB Sage Rosenfels rallied the Dolphins to their second-largest comeback in team history.

 

Chris Chambers is a good receiver, but he should send the Bills defense a thank-you card for his first Pro Bowl selection. Even with fellow starter Marty Booker sidelined, Buffalo still couldn’t find a way to cover Chambers. His 15 catches for 238 yards – including the game-winning touchdown over Jabari Greer with six seconds left on the clock – set new franchise records in both categories.

 

Much is made of the decision to call a pass play on first-and-goal at the Miami 3, which led to a Sam Madison interception. Whether or not it was the right playcall is open to debate, but the Bills still led 23-3 at the time, and the Dolphins didn’t score on the ensuing drive. You want the real reason Buffalo lost this game? Check out their last drive of the day, one of four fourth-quarter possessions that failed to cross midfield:

Buffalo Bills at 2:29

1-10-BUF 49(2:29) 21-W.McGahee up the middle to BUF 48 for -1 yards (52-C.Crowder).

Timeout #2 by MIA at 02:24.

2-11-BUF 48(2:24) 7-J.Losman to 50 for 2 yards (21-T.Daniels).

Timeout #3 by MIA at 02:17.

3-9-50(2:17) (Shotgun) 20-S.Williams up the middle to BUF 45 for -5 yards (52-C.Crowder; 37-Y.Bell).

Two-Minute Warning

4-14-BUF 45(2:00) 8-B.Moorman punts 38 yards to MIA 17, Center-54-M.Schneck. 83-W.Welker to MIA 27 for 10 yards (54-M.Schneck).

 

DOLPHINS OVERVIEW (2005 RANKINGS)

OFFENSE (#14 total yardage, #12 rushing, #16 passing, #16 scoring):

After enduring several years of mediocre play at the position, the Miami braintrust decided they had to find a decent quarterback. They brought Drew Brees in for a workout, but ultimately rolled the dice on former Vikings franchise QB Daunte Culpepper and his rebuilt right knee.

Question is, will they get the 2004 version of Culpepper -- who put together one of the best seasons by any quarterback in league history -- or the one who had twice as many interceptions as touchdown passes when he shredded his knee last October?

(Here’s something to consider: since Randy Moss left for Oakland in the 2004-05 offseason, Culpepper has accumulated the following stats: 157-253, 1826 passing yards, 6 TDs, 14 INTs, 34 sacks, 68.7 passer rating. Oh, and a 2-6 won-lost record.)

 

If anything happens to Culpepper, Miami also dealt for Joey Harrington (Lions) in the offseason. No doubt “Joey Blue Skies” is just happy to get away from the chaos in Detroit…

 

The Fins’ line improved from horrible in 2004 to mediocre last season, cutting their sacks-allowed number in half, but only left guard Jeno James and right tackle Vernon Carey return at the same positions this year. Free agent L.J. Shelton (Browns) was signed to replace Damion McIntosh at left tackle. McIntosh was released in a salary-cap move, then rehired as a backup. Rex Hadnot moves inside to replace last year’s starting center, Seth McKinney, who is on IR with a neck injury. Bennie Anderson (more than) fills Hadnot’s slot at right guard. With fourth-round pick Joe Toledo joining McKinney on IR, Miami brought in Kendyl Jacox just before the season started to back up the interior line positions.

So far, they’re off to a fine start… if you’re a Dolphins-hater, that is. The team averaged fewer than three yards per carry and allowed slightly more than three sacks per game during the preseason. Things didn’t improve in their season opener, either: the Steelers D held Ronnie Brown to 15 carries - 30 yards and dumped Culpepper three times.

 

If Miami actually finds five guys who can block, Brown could have a breakout season. He’s got all the ‘measurables’ and is a decent receiver out of the backfield, and with Ricky Williams taking another sabbatical, he’ll be asked to carry most of the load this year. Recently-signed Lee Suggs (Browns) and change-of-pace back Travis Minor will both get some carries when Brown needs a break, at least until Sammy Morris returns from his four-game suspension.

 

Chambers is a quality receiver and the team’s top red-zone target, and he has more catches/yards/TDs vs. Buffalo than against any other team. He still shows signs of inconsistency, though, catching only about half of the passes thrown to him. (Thanks to FootballOutsiders.com for that stat.) Rookie Derek Hagan -- the all-time Pac-10 receptions leader -- could eventually push Marty Booker into a reserve role, but for now, he’s splitting time at #3 with special-teams standout Wes Welker. As for Booker, he’s thrown a couple of passes in his NFL career, something new OC Mike Mularkey is sure to keep in mind.

The Bills defense has done a good job containing Randy McMichael in previous meetings, but he could be a tough matchup over the middle for the fledgling Buffalo safeties. Justin Peele (Chargers) was brought in as the #2 TE.

 

DEFENSE (#18 total yardage, #17 rushing, #20 passing, #15 scoring):

Strong defense has been the foundation of Miami teams ever since the Jimmy Johnson era, but the current squad is starting to show signs of age: weakside linebacker Channing Crowder, Zach Thomas’s heir apparent, is the only front-seven starter under the age of 30. Thomas led the team in tackles yet again last year, but has played a full sixteen-game schedule only once since 1999.

 

Keith Traylor played against Buffalo in the 1991 AFC Championship game, way back when he was still a somewhat-svelte linebacker instead of a 340-pound nosetackle. LE Kevin Carter was the Rams’ very first draft pick after they moved to St. Louis in 1995. Vonnie Holliday lines up at RE when the Dolphins run a 3-4 set, and can move inside to tackle in a 4-3, making room for four-time Pro Bowl DE Jason Taylor. Taylor led the team in sacks (12) again in 2005, the fourth double-digit total of his career. And with 3-4 guru Dom Capers on board as defensive coordinator, #99 could be even more dangerous this season.

 

Cornerback Travis Daniels was supposed to be the only returning starter in the secondary, but he’s recovering from a high ankle sprain and hasn’t played in a game since the end of last season. He’s still listed as questionable this week; former Lion Andre’ Goodman would get another start if Daniels can’t go. Giants castoff Will Allen is the other corner, essentially trading places with Sam Madison, who signed with New York during the offseason.

Miami drafted Jason Allen (Tennessee) with their first-round pick, but following a training-camp holdout that stretched into August, he’s behind Renaldo Hill on the depth chart at FS. Former Bills #2 pick Travares Tillman took over as the starting SS when Tebucky Jones was injured last season, with Yeremiah Bell also seeing time at the position.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Olindo Mare, entering his tenth season with the Dolphins, isn’t quite as accurate as he was in his prime. He can still hit the 50-yard FG, though, and he consistently leads the league in kickoff yardage. Donnie Jones is a decent punter – 31 of his 88 kicks landed inside the 20 last season, with only 7 touchbacks – but his net average was aided by one of the best punt-coverage teams in the league.

 

Wes Welker is an elite special-teams player: he averages almost 10 yards per punt return, over 22 yards on kickoff returns, and always seems to be making a heads-up play. In 2004, he even kicked a 29-yard field goal while filling in for an injured Mare.

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OUTLOOK:

The young Bills still have a lot to learn about finishing teams off. Last week’s come-from-ahead loss marked the fourth consecutive time they’ve coughed up a second-half lead on the road; the Cincinnati game was the only one they managed to win.

 

But if the undersized Buffalo defensive line can manage to hold up against the massive Miami front five – at 320 pounds, Jeno James is the lightweight of the bunch – I like their chances this week. Willis McGahee and Anthony Thomas give the Bills a solid 1-2 punch at RB for the first time in a very long time, and we’ve already seen what Losman-to-Evans looks like against the men in aqua-and-orange.

Plus, I’m not buying the traditional Dolphins-to-the-Super-Bowl hype. Buffalo has won three of the last four games against Miami, and only a collapse of historic proportions kept it from being four-for-four. Even with all the kids in the game on defense, I can see that trend continuing.

 

But hey, that's just my opinion; I could be wrong...

 

Go Bills, anyway.

 

Links:

NFL.com: injury report / Bills depth chart / Bills team stats / Dolphins depth chart / Dolphins team stats

Ourlads.com: Bills depth chart / Dolphins depth chart

Official team websites: BuffaloBills.com / MiamiDolphins.com

FinHeaven.com

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Lori All Pro

Lori

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Interesting stat from the Bills game release. (Didn't get it until a little while ago, or else it probably would've made it into the rundown.):

 

"Despite Evans’ short time in the league, he’s managed to light up the Dolphins scoreboard on more than one occasion. In his rookie year, Evans scored two touchdowns at Dolphin Stadium on December 5, 2004. As the weather gets hot in Miami, so does Lee Evans’ game. Outside of 10-year veteran (former Bill) Eric Moulds, no active NFL player has scored more touchdowns against the Dolphins in Miami."

 

Hmmm. Maybe I'll start Evans in my FFL this week...

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Florida_BillsFan Practice Squad

Florida_BillsFan

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Interesting stat from the Bills game release. (Didn't get it until a little while ago, or else it probably would've made it into the rundown.):

 

"Despite Evans’ short time in the league, he’s managed to light up the Dolphins scoreboard on more than one occasion. In his rookie year, Evans scored two touchdowns at Dolphin Stadium on December 5, 2004. As the weather gets hot in Miami, so does Lee Evans’ game. Outside of 10-year veteran (former Bill) Eric Moulds, no active NFL player has scored more touchdowns against the Dolphins in Miami."

 

Hmmm. Maybe I'll start Evans in my FFL this week...

773638[/snapback]

 

Thanks to a less than stellar performance last week - Lee was well under the radar in my FF League so I was able to pick him up - hope to steal some big points this week. Go Bills......God I hate Miami.

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BuffOrange Veteran

BuffOrange

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Gumbel and Dierdorf? Ugh....

773145[/snapback]

 

I'm trying to think of a color guy on CBS I like better than Dierdorf and can't do it.

 

Thanks Lori - that write up actually makes me feel better about the game. Not only does Miami have some weaknesses, but they're not particularly great at many positions either. Not being much of a Chambers guy, Brown & Taylor are about the only players I worry about. I've said since January I don't get the hype with this team.

 

I do think "should've been 4 for 4" is a bit misleading though, since 2004 was a rock bottom year for them, (if you take away that year, their September home record is pretty ridiculous). Also the 1st game last year they basically gave away with 25 penalties and 10 turnovers and still were in the game at the end somehow.

 

Football Outsiders is an outstanding site btw.

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Lori All Pro

Lori

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(Here’s something to consider: since Randy Moss left for Oakland in the 2004-05 offseason, Culpepper has accumulated the following stats: 157-253, 1826 passing yards, 6 TDs, 14 INTs, 34 sacks, 68.7 passer rating. Oh, and a 2-6 won-lost record.)

 

Gotta do it. Updated post-Moss stats for Culpepper (and get this, his passer rating actually went UP today):

180-285, 2076 yards, 7 TDs, 15 INTs, 41 sacks, 71.3 rating, 2 wins, 7 losses.

 

41 sacks in 9 games. That's David Carr territory. Hell, that's worse than Rob Johnson's per-game stats in Buffalo. Enjoy him, Fin fans, 'cause he's allllllll yours.

 

Good times... :doh:

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