Volume 2, Number 1

Could Have Been A Great Night

• The final numbers all favored the Dolphins, from first downs (27-14), total yards (422-356) and time of possession, where the Dolphins had a whopping 45:07-14:53 advantage. But this is a case of a quick-strike team doing just enough to beat a grind-it-out team.
  
  
• Two of the Colts' touchdowns were plays of 80 and 48 yards, and the third was set up by a 49-yard pass. That, right there, is 177 yards, which is just about half of the Colts' total yardage.
  
  
• The Dolphins, meanwhile, didn't have an offensive play longer than 21 yards. Let's face it, a running game is great, but it takes an awful lot of 5- and 6-yard gains to equal a 50-yard pass.
  
  
• As much as Peyton Manning contributed to this loss, though, bad clock management and some questionable play-calling at key times ultimately were bigger factors.
  
  
• The Dolphins had great success running the ball against the Colts, but there is such a thing as overdoing it and the Dolphins did just that. Manning is simply too good a quarterback to settle for a field goal lead with 4 minutes left, and that's what the Dolphins did by running on third-and-6 before their last field goal.
  
  
• Even after Manning hit Pierre Garcon with a screen pass that went for 48 yards and put the Colts up 27-23, there was reason for hope with a veteran like Chad Pennington getting the ball with just over 3 minutes left. That's what made what happened next so shocking.
  
  
• A running play to start the last drive? And then the Dolphins let the play clock run down BEFORE calling a timeout? And then another running play? So after Manning goes 80 yards in 32 seconds, the Dolphins go 6 yards in 1:18 and waste a timeout on top of it. That should never, ever happen.
  
  
• Again, it's a shame it ended this way because the Dolphins did a lot of good things, starting with the offensive line, which redeemed itself after a rough outing at Atlanta.
  
  
• Ronnie Brown had a big game, as did rookie cornerback Sean Smith.
  
  
• But the game ended pretty much with the same kind of thud with which it began.
  
  
• There was a lot of excitement at Land Shark Stadium at the start of the game, between the pregame festivities, the player introductions, the fly-over and the fireworks. And then, poof. That first play from scrimmage, the 80-yard pass from Manning to tight end Dallas Clark sure quieted the stadium.
  
  
• There was so much wrong with that play from the Dolphins' standpoint that it was disturbing. It started with linebacker Akin Ayodele biting on Manning's fake handoff, continued with safety Gibril Wilson failing to bring down Clark in the open field, and then watching Clark - who's not exactly fast - sprint about 50 yards to the end zone.
  
  
• Not to overstate things, but that next drive for the Dolphins was crucial, and they answered beautifully.
  
  
• It's funny how much better the Wildcat looks when the blocking is good up front. Probably won't hear as much this week about teams catching up to it as we did after the Dolphins lost at Atlanta.
  
  
• Great second effort on that touchdown run by Ronnie Brown to cap that first drive. Yes, we will have a ballgame on this night.
  
  
• As important as that first offensive drive was, it also was important for the defense to come back strong when it returned to the field. Again, mission accomplished.
  
  
• The Dolphins showed yet another formation, this one with three backs - Brown, Ricky Williams and Patrick Cobbs - behind Chad Pennington. Loved it. The Dolphins' strength on offense is the running backs, why not make full use of them?
  
  
• More Wildcat on the second series, but this time Pat White takes a snap. The way it's been working with Brown at quarterback, we're wondering about the need for a change.
  
  
• Another creative play we just loved: On a third-and-2, Williams goes in motion behind Pennington, who instead hands off inside to Brown. There's a gaping hole up the middle and Brown runs for 19 yards. Great play, but again it goes nowhere if Jake Grove and Justin Smiley don't combine to open that hole.
  
  
• Those three 40-plus-yards field goals by Dan Carpenter were impressive, considering they came off the infield dirt. Olindo Mare was a tremendous kicker for the Dolphins for many years, but he always struggled kicking off the dirt.
  
  
• There's nothing against the rules preventing Peyton Manning from quick-snapping on third-and-8 while the Dolphins are making personnel changes, but why does it feel cheap?
  
  
• Another twist to the Wildcat: Williams comes in motion before the snap as he usually does, except this time he stops to the left of Brown in the backfield. Brown fakes the handoff and takes off to the left behind fullback Lousaka Polite. Great block by Polite, and it's 13 yards for Brown. Again, it's about the blocking.
  
  
• Ted Ginn Jr. often is accused of shying away from going over the middle, but that second-quarter pass between two defenders left him in a vulnerable position. It was one Pennington never should have thrown.
  
  
• Polite converted a couple more third-and-short situations with runs up the middle. It's not like the Dolphins are catching opponents by surprise anymore with that play, but it always seems to work nonetheless.
  
  
• Near the end of the first half, we get our first look at the Dolphins being too conservative when they run a draw play on third-and-8 in field goal position. The field goal comes with 43 seconds left in the half, enough time for Manning to drive for a tying field goal before halftime. Why not throw on third-and-8 to try to get a first down? Even if the drive doesn't produce a touchdown, one more first down keeps Manning from getting the ball again until the second half.
  
  
• Still, the Dolphins looked like they had the Colts stopped on their last drive of the first half when Sean Smith tipped a deep pass intended for Reggie Wayne and Wilson appeared to make an interception near the sideline. But instant replay showed that Wilson never came down with the ball, part of a really tough night for Wilson. Interception or not, that was another great play by Smith in coverage.
  
  
• The Dolphins' first drive of the second half ended with a long missed field goal attempt, but what stood out was Pennington missing two open receivers downfield on the same play, which instead ended with a swing pass to Ricky Williams for a short gain. That simply doesn't happen very often with Pennington.
  
  
• On the Colts' first possession of the third quarter, Joey Porter finally makes his presence felt and it leads to a three-and-out. Little do the Colts know they won't see the ball again until the fourth quarter.
  
  
• That's because the Dolphins put together a picture-perfect drive that spanned 8:45 and featured 11 runs and only two passes, both on third down. Four of the 13 plays are run out of the Wildcat formation. The Dolphins aren't a big-play offense, so this is as good as it gets for them.
  
  
• The Colts answer the Dolphins' drive with a 79-yard drive of their own. That one takes only six plays and 3:17. That, right there, again illustrates the difference between the two offenses.
  
  
• One of those six plays is a 49-yard completion to Clark, who continues the trend of tight ends giving the Dolphins fits. Tony Gonzalez did it in Week 1; now it's Clark's turn. And next on the schedule is another pretty good tight end, guy by the name of Antonio Gates. This is one problem that needs to get fixed - and pronto.
  
  
• The scoring play also is disappointing, as Donald Brown runs up the middle for 15 yards. Randy Starks had a shot at him in the backfield and then Wilson met him head on at the 5 but couldn't stop him.
  
  
• The Dolphins then put together a nice drive that reached the Indy 34 thanks to two completions from Pennington to Ginn. But that's when the Dolphins went conservative again. And again it came back to haunt them.
  
  
• And then, just like that, the Colts were in the end zone with a 27-23 lead. And the Dolphins went from evening their record at 1-1 with an inspiring victory to being 0-2 and facing the same road they faced last year, with some of the same questions.
  
  
• Just like the second game at Arizona last year brought about major questions in the secondary, the same thing happened this year against the Colts.
  
  
• Those questions need to be answered quickly because the next opponent, the Chargers, can throw the ball. Hopefully, we see a repeat of last year and the Dolphins find some answers between Week 2 and Week 3.