Samphin
Dolphins Homer
Well, it is time. Finally. After months of analysis, mini camp reports and scanning the waiver wire, it is here. Week 1 of the 2006 NFL season is less than 48 hours away. What better way to kick off this season than with our beloved Miami Dolphins taking on the defending Super Bowl Champions, The Pittsburgh Steelers.
Having said that, it won't be easy. After all, they are the champs, and we are going into their house. It will be hard, but not impossible. And with that, I bring you the return of SAMPHIN'S KEYS TO SUCCESS. New format, same fun times. As always, feel free to bring your own keys in this thread as well. Let's get to it.
1.) Kidnap the crowd
-This has been a problem for us all throughout preseason and dates back to last season also. As I said in the opener, this is week 1, on the road, in primetime, on national television against the defending Super Bowl Champions. The home team is receiving their rings on Thursday as well. Something tells me the crowd is going to be fired up and ready to go. This will be the definition of a hostile crowd. So what can we do?
Kidnap the crowd. Score early. Score first. Nothing kills a crowd and takes them out of a home game quite like a long sustained drive by the visiting team that ends in points. Any kind of points. Not only will it silience the crowd, but it will set the tone for the rest of the game and allow for some rushing opportunities later in the game.
2.) Blanket Heath Miller
-Big Ben is out. Charlie Batch is in. Hines ward is hurt and Pittsburgh has embraced a run first offense over the past few years. Nothing should change tonight. However a young QB's best friend as well as a backup's best friend is a tight end who can catch. Heath Miller is just that and will be a menace in this league for year's to come. I don't expect Charlie to pass much, but when he does, you can bet he will be looking Heath's way.
We need to make sure that if he looks Heath's way, he sees nothing but aqua and orange. Putting just a linebacker on him will not be enough. one of our defensice backs is going to have to be in close vicinity because Heath can and will mess us up otherwise. Put a blanket on the man, and smother him.
3.)Rushing four
-Not that Charlie doesn't pose a threat, but he needs to prove it to us. Mr. Batch filled in amicably for Ben in two games last year completing 22 of 35 passes (63%), for 215 yards and one rushing TD. More importantly The Steelers won both games.
The other side of that coin is that the two teams he beat were Green Bay and Cleveland. Not exactly world beaters and no where near Miami when is comes to defensive prowess. He also threw for no TD's with one interception and against Green Bay, his longest completion was 12 yards. What I am getting at is that we really don't need to send the house at Charlie. We can probably get by with the occasional blitz and stay within our base defense when it comes to rushing the passer. This allows for us to keep more men in coverage and keep weapons like Miller and Ward covered decently. We can live with having Batch and Parker trying to beat us.
4.) Screens and Short Passes
-One thing we do know is that Pittsburgh loves to blitz. They blitz linebackers. They blitz safeties. I think I even saw Bill Cowher blitz last year. They throw everything at an offense and more often than not, they are successful. Given our up and down o-line play and Daunte's still recovering knee, this can get real bad, real quick.
I say we use their aggresiveness against them. 3 step drops, screen passes, etc. Gameplan to use their speed against them. Don't be surprised to see a lot of YAC for our receivers becuase I fully expect to see Booker and Chambers catching the ball close to the L.O.S. and running with it. Also, don't be surprised if Brown has more yards receiving than rushing, which segways nicely to my fianl point...
5.) What can Brown, do for us?
-This will be Ronnie's first game where he is flying without a net, so to speak. Sure, he had four games last year without Ricky, but he knew Ricky was coming back. Now, it is all him and EVERYONE knows it. The National stage will get their first real look at Ronnie on Thursday, and I think he won't disappoint. He may not rush for a lot of yards, but he should be the impact player for us on offense. His abilities to pick up blitzes and blocks will be evident and tested. Also, his pass catching ability should prove to be paramount as I see a lot of checkdowns and dump offs in our immediate offensive future. If Ronnie gains 100 all prupose yards, we stand a good shot of winning this game.
The bottom line is this. We execute the keys stated above, and I see us winning this game. Saban will have the team ready as I am sure Cowher will have his. It is going to come down to which team can stay focus with everything going on around them and execution. Hopefully that turns out to be Miami.
Your thoughts?
