The Miami Dolphins opened division play with a very decisive 38-10 statement win over the Buffalo Bills in an odd 4:PM EST matchup. The Dolphins move to 1-3 on the season but an important 1-0 in the AFC East while the Bills dropped to 0-2 in the division and tied even with Miami at 1-3 on the season.
Chad Henne went 14-22 for 115 yards, no interceptions and a touchdown pass to Ohio State rookie wide receiver, Brian Hartline. Henne to Hartline may sound weird now but it’s a connection we would love to ring in our ears just as commonly as Marino to Clayton or Marino to Duper did. Henne wasn’t spectacular in his first ever NFL start but he did play well and most importantly he didn’t make mistakes. There were obvious things he’ll need to improve on such as not taking 6 sacks and not fumbling when he does, he fumbled twice but Miami recovered them both. It’s a good day to be a Dolphins fan knowing that as each day passes Henne is getting better and it’s an excellent start to what hopes to be a long career as the Miami Dolphins franchise quarterback.
Henne was helped out tremendously by the running game which continues to punish opposing teams by amassing 250 yards at a 5.6 yards per attempt led by Ronnie Brown with 115 yards and Ricky Williams added 85 of his own. Miami found success on the ground against a Bills front that stacked 8 in the box making these already gaudy number all the more impressive. The Dolphins find themselves ranked as the #3 rush offense in the league and are making a strong case for being the best running team in football. The same cannot be said for the passing game unfortunately as our receivers have still yet to make any sort of an impact play and Ted Ginn has become a waste of a roster spot adding his stellar 1 catch 4 yard performance to a career filled with eye popping statistical games like this. Hartline, Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo are clearly the go-to guys in the offense snatching 9 passes for 76 yards combined and it’s starting to get concerning that Anthony Fasano is a non issue with his 1 reception for 7 yards. Moving forward Miami will have to get more production from the tight ends as well as find a way to make a big play downfield. It’s a broken record at this point.
Defensively the Dolphins were a force to be reckoned with and it’s exciting to see that the rookies were a huge reason for the dominant overall effort. Rookie corner Vontae Davis had his first career interception and touchdown on the same play. Canadian Football League two-time Defensive player of the Year, Cameron Wake, showed why he was so highly sought after by delivering a monster game that included 3 sacks, 2 hurries and a forced fumble to go with his 6 tackles. As a unit the Dolphins forced 3 interceptions and had 6 sacks terrorizing Trent Edwards all afternoon and spoiled Marshawn Lynch’s return from suspension for Substance Abuse with 8 carries for 4 yards. That is impressive in and of itself not to mention that the entire Bills were only able to gain 46 total yards on the ground on 17 carries, an average of a paltry 2.7 yards per carry.
It’s only one win and the Dolphins have a long way to go to get back into the playoff picture but winning can do wonderful things to a teams confidence and when good things start to happen it becomes contagious and is not out of the realm of possibilities to turn into a winning streak and with our upcoming schedule, we’re going to need it.
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