Buccaneers!!
(Photo by Usal Photography)

Avast, what’s that on the horizon, Dolfans? Batten down the hatches – it’s a ship of opportunistic Buccaneers riding the wave of a victory over the Packers! That’s right, the Bucs, with a rookie QB at the helm, just broke an 11 game losing streak. Now, with a hull full of confidence, they sail into Landshark Stadium this Sunday to do battle with our Dolphins. Arrgghhhh….

Yes, I’m worried. It’s mid-season. Miami is 3-5 and fresh off a divisional loss to New England. More and more, the play-offs are becoming a distant, fading dream. I’d like to think we’re better than our record shows. We’re down, but we’re not out yet. Sunday’s game will tell a lot about the direction this football team is headed.

Go, Cat, Go!

Key to the game:

Run, run, run! The wildcat, and the legs of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, are the Dolphins’ best chance to win this weekend. Ronnie needs to outperform his counterpart and old college teammate Cadillac Williams. Hopefully, he can do just that – Tampa Bay is ranked 30th overall in run defense. So, hit the ground running, boys!

Airing it out (not!):

The Dolphins are ranked an UGLY 29th offensively and 28th defensively in the passing game. Led by CB Ronde Barber, the Tampa Bay defense ranks a respectable 15th against the pass. And with the cutthroat play of CB Aqib Talib who is tied for 3rd in the league in INTs, the Bucs will try to parry the blows of the running game and force quarterback Chad Henne to throw the ball. And there is the problem: We have no weapons to fight with if we have to pass. Our four receivers have combined for only two touchdowns all season! On the other side of the ball, we need to stop rookie QB Josh Freeman from tearing us up like he did the Packers! Our pass defense is thin at best. The one glimmer of hope is that Vontae Davis, filling in for injured Will Allen, showed a lot of guts and no give-up against the Patriots’ Randy Moss. Maybe the young CB can combine his determination with the strong front five of the defense to make things tough on Freeman. If Miami can keep the TB passing game contained, they should have a fighting chance to win this game.

Don’t overlook: Special Teams

Tampa Bay has the league’s best kickoff return unit. Sammie Stroughter is dangerously good. The way our offense struggles to score points, we don’t want to lose the field-position battle or, worse yet, give up a TD on a kick-off return.

So, here it is: the mid-season check-up for Miami. We’ll find out how healthy this Dolphins squad is. Are they Sea-Worthy? Or Sea Sick? Tune in Sunday to find out!