Miami Football Blog

The Miami Dolphins return to national TV on Thursday night, as an NFL Network showdown with the Carolina Panthers in Bank of America Stadium awaits the nation’s television audience. This will be just the third Thursday night game of the NFL season and the Miami Dolphins first since a 2006 Thanksgiving Day Matchup against the Detroit Lions. There has been some turmoil around this team in the past few days, with Ronnie Brown injured for some unknown period of time (but at least out against the Carolina Panthers), Joey Porter talking instead of playing and producing, and Chad Pennington not being allowed on the sidelines while injured. However, a golden opportunity to get back to .500 and reenter the playoff discussion presents itself to the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night, and this team absolutely must capitalize.

The linebacker rotation will be interesting to watch, as Coach Sparano has indicated that Joey Porter will start and that the Miami Dolphins will be sticking with the rotation that allows Jason Taylor, Charlie Anderson, Cameron Wake and Matt Roth to get on the field as well. The Sun-Sentinel reported that Carolina Panthers Head Coach John Fox has expressed concerns about the Miami Dolphins package with Wake and Taylor lining up as ends in a 4-3 formation, which has been very effective recently, so be on the lookout for the two hybrid ends to make an impact. Carolina Panthers QB Jake Delhomme definitely makes mistakes when under pressure, so expect the heat to be brought on passing downs.

It will be important to not over pursue, though, as this is certainly a run first team. The Carolina Panthers rank 3rd in the NFL in rushing, just ahead of the Miami Dolphins, and the last thing the Dolphins want is RB DeAngelo Williams to spend much of his afternoon in the second and third levels of the Miami defense. He and Jonathan Stewart might be the best tailback tandem the Miami Dolphins will face all year, so a big game from the front 7 will be important. It’s important to note that both running backs are listed as questionable though, and if either or both doesn’t play, it could be a huge advantage for Miami. However, the Miami Dolphins Tickets Blog would be very surprised to see either running back miss this game.

On offense, the Miami Dolphins face a challenge with Ronnie Brown out for this game and perhaps beyond. The load will shift to Ricky Williams, who has been better than anyone could have expected this year , but has carried the ball 20 times in a game just once since 2005, and that was last Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ricky is averaging a career best 5.3 yards per carry this season, so if his fountain of youth can keep this 32 year old spry for a few more games, at least while Ronnie Brown is out, the playoffs could still be a possibility for the Miami Dolphins.

Ricky’s performance will be even more important important, though, as Chad Henne could be in for a long day. The Carolina Panthers have the NFL’s 4th best passing defense and have forced 11 interceptions on the season. They also allow virtually no big plays, having given up only 18 passes of 20+ yards this season, second in the league only to the Indianapolis Colts. It will be vital that not only Ricky Williams plays well, but also that Lex Hilliard and Lousaka Polite step up and produce with the carries they are given.

The Carolina Panthers are, just like the Miami Dolphins, a very talented 4-5 team looking to reestablish themselves in their conference. Less than a year removed from an NFC Championship Game berth, this is still a dangerous team, especially on short rest and preparation. However, falling to 4-6 could be a death blow to the Miami Dolphins playoff hopes, especially with games still against the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and three quarters of the AFC South. This is a must win for Miami, and on national TV, there is no better place to make a statement.