The sunscreen has already worn-off as most Dolphins players have gotten in a full week of practice following the bye week of travel and rest and relaxation.
The Dolphins will host the Green Bay Packers this coming week in a showcase of an orange carpet that hopefully gets snagged from under the Packers high powered attack.
The game marks another home date where the Miami Dolphins are 1-1 after opening the season as underdogs and demolishing the New England Patriots only to lose to the winless Chiefs in week 3. Head coach Joe Philbin of the Dolphins plays his former team and will get into a spirited (with little emotion) with Mike McCarthy. Philbin was said to have been the designer and architect of this high powered West Coast offensive attack in Green Bay. Does he still remember all of the blue prints?
The Packers return to South Florida for the first time since the Brett Favre era in 2006 when the Packers won 34-24 with a quiet 2TD performance by the future HOF quarterback.
Overall, the Dolphins lead the Packers 10-3 in head to head competition and have until 1997, won every game of the series.
The last time the Packers and Dolphins played in Lambeau Field, the Dolphins won with Chad Henne as quarterback and kicker Dan Carpenter getting the GW field goal 23-20. A game where wide receiver Brandon Marshall failed to keep his feet in the back of the end zone which would have given the Dolphins an amazing amount of momentum to win in regulation. This was the same team that caught fire late in the 2006 season and cemented their legacy with Aaron Rogers as Super Bowl Champions over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Fast forward to this season, the Green Bay Packers are 3-2 and have key victories over the Jets, Bears, and Vikings. Right now, the Packers are a game above .500 and trending upward with the rest of their favorable schedule with games against the Panthers, Falcons, Vikings, and Buccaneers.
Offensively, the Packers are *18th in passing (219.6 yards) and 25th rushing (89.6)…numbers hardly intriguing for the first place team. In addition, the Packers seem to have an incredible pass defense 8th in the NFL allowing 208 yards per game, but conversely, the Packers rush defense is the worst in the NFL at 32nd with 163 yards per game. Complicating matters, the Packers boast a pass rush of AJ Hawk, Clay Matthews, and newly signed and athletic Julius Peppers formerly of the Bears. To stop this pass rush, teams have to be strong up front.
Defensively, the Dolphins should shut down the run and having their true safety in Reshad Jones should be a huge lift to a defense lacking a pass rush without Derrick Shelby suspended indefinitely.
The Dolphins on the other hand have a challenge ahead of them. Until recently they started to find their running game averaging 142.3 yards per game and their passing game is starting to find its form. However, most pundits would disagree with these numbers since they were big against the Patriots and Raiders two teams having trouble stopping the run.
For the Dolphins to win this game, they must find their form with the running game. The Dolphins cannot turn the ball over. A short field for Aaron Rogers and the Packers means an easy touchdown. Lamar Miller must continue to read blocks well, lean upfield, and coupled with possibly Knowshon Moreno who returned to practice this week, the duo could be the difference in the game.
Next, the Dolphins have run into trouble kicking at home. Kicker Caleb Sturgis is constantly fighting the demons of afternoon breezes that create a wind tunnel effect from left to right. Caleb Sturgis must do his job.
Lastly, while it comes down to the intangibles, the Dolphins truly need to play better for the first 30 minutes and then execute their plays in the second half. Dolphins offensive lineman must finish their blocks, Mike Pouncey whether he plays at guard or center must lead this offensive line. He’s the leader of the line now and having him back on the line could infuse some energy for the offense to play faster.
Notice, Ryan Tannehill wasn’t mentioned much in this post, because in reality, it’s his turn to play well week in week out. It’s his team to lead. It’s his turn to be the quarterback Dolphins fans have been clamoring for since Hall of Famer and Dolphins front office executive, Dan Marino.
Head coach Joe Philbin said it best about this matchup this week:
“Really, this is a team that’s been to the playoffs five years in a row, that’s coming into our stadium and they’re a good football team. This is a great measuring stick for where we are as a team. Personally, it’s really no more than that. Obviously, I have great regard for a lot of the people there, but that will kind of happen again later. I will have more regard for them October 13th than I will on the 12th.”
Folks, the Dolphins face another test on Sunday and get used to it, because the fans will not rest until the constant validation results in playoffs this season!
*All statistics quoted from ESPN.COM
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