GAME TIME: 1:00 PM EST on Sunday, Dec 5th. The game will be broadcast
regionally on CBS, on DirecTV channel 705 and on Sirius radio channels
126 and 153.
PLACE: SunLife Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
FORECAST: Sunny, with a high near 75. North wind between 8 and 10
mph.
FIELD CONDITIONS: SunLife Stadium has a grass surface. There is no
serious weather in the forecast and baseball season is over, so the
field should be in good shape.
STANDINGS & STATS: The Dolphins are 6-5, in 3rd place in the AFC East.
The Browns are 4-7 and are in 3rd place in the AFC North.
Dolphins Pts/Game Rank Browns Pts/Game Rank
Scored 18.6 28 Scored 19.6 24
Allowed 20.5 10 Allowed 20.8 13
Dolphins Yds/Game Rank Browns Yds/Game Rank
Total Offense: 341 16 Total Defense: 357 22
Rushing: 106 19 vs Rush: 119 21
Passing: 235 14 vs Pass: 237 19
Browns Dolphins
Total Offense: 310 27 Total Defense: 305 6
Rushing: 117 12 vs Rush: 104 14
Passing: 193 28 vs Pass: 201 4
Sacks Made (Avg/G) Allowed (Avg/G)
Dolphins 27 2.5 22 2.0
Browns 23 2.1 25 2.3
Turnover differential:
Dolphins -3
Browns +4
Individual Skill Position Stats:
Dolphins
QB: QB Henne: 212-335-2447-11-12-81.3
Rush: RB Brown: 140-539-3.9-3
Rush: RB Williams: 112-496-4.4-2
Rec: WR Marshall: 58-693-11.9-1
Rec: WR Bess: 55-600-10.9-3
Rec: WR Hartline: 43-615-14.3-1
Browns
QB: QB Delhomme: 57-95-569-1-6-54.2
Rush: RB Hillis: 199-905-4.5-11
Rec: RB Hillis: 46-414-9.0-2
Rec: TE Watson: 40-474-11.9-2
Rec: WR Stuckey: 32-296-9.3-0
Rec: WR Massaquoi: 23-284-12.3-2
Legend
QBs: completions-attempts-yards-touchdowns-ints-rating
RBs: rushes-yards-average-touchdowns
WRs: receptions-yards-average-touchdowns
HISTORY: Miami leads the series between these two teams, holding a 9-6
record over the Browns, including a 5-1 record in Miami. The last time
they played, however, the Browns beat Miami 22-0 in 2005.
INJURIES:
DOLPHINS:
Doubtful: LB Channing Crowder (knee)
CB Al Harris (hamstring)
Questionable: WR Brandon Marshall (hamstring)
Probable: LB Karlos Dansby (elbow)
OT Vernon Carey (knee)
C Joe Berger (knee)
S Rashad Jones (ankle)
OT Jake Long (knee)
DE Phillip Merling (achilles)
BROWNS:
Doubtful: LB Scott Fujita (knee)
QB Colt McCoy (ankle)
Questionable: LB Eric Barton (shoulder)
DE Kenyon Coleman (knee)
WR Joshua Cribbs (foot)
DT Shaun Rogers (ankle)
S T.J. Ward (thigh)
Probable: RB Lawrence Vickers (calf)
C Floyd Womack (knee)
CB Eric Wright
DOLPHINS' STARTERS:
Offense: Defense:
QB - 7 Chad Henne LE - 70 Kendall Langford
RB - 23 Ronnie Brown NT - 96 Paul Soliai
FB - 36 Lousaka Polite RE - 94 Randy Starks
WR - 82 Brian Hartline SLB - 55 Koa Misi
WR - 15 Davone Bess ILB - 52 Channing Crowder
TE - 80 Anthony Fasano ILB - 58 Karlos Dansby
LT - 77 Jake Long WLB - 91 Cameron Wake
LG - 68 Richie Incognito LCB - 21 Vontae Davis
C - 67 Joe Berger RCB - 24 Sean Smith
RG - 74 John Jerry SS - 37 Yeremiah Bell
RT - 72 Vernon Carey FS - 20 Reshad Jones
K - 5 Dan Carpenter P - 2 Brandon Fields
PR - 15 Davone Bess KR - 28 Nolan Carroll
NOTES: It looks like Joe Berger is back at center and Phillip Merling
is back on the roster. It seems unlikely that Brandon Marshall will
start, but Karlos Dansby should be back in the middle of the defense.
BROWNS' STARTERS:
Offense: Defense:
QB - 17 Jake Delhomme LDE - 90 Kenyon Coleman
RB - 40 Peyton Hillis NT - 71 Ahtyba Rubin
FB - 47 Lawrence Vickers RDE - 91 Brian Schaefering
WR - 80 Brian Robiskie OLB - 53 Matt Roth
WR - 11 Mohamed Massaquoi ILB - 50 Eric Barton
TE - 82 Ben Watson ILB - 51 Chris Cocong
LT - 73 Joe Thomas OLB - 96 David Bowens
LG - 65 Eric Steinbach LCB - 21 Eric Wright
C - 55 Alex Mack RCB - 24 Sheldon Brown
RG - 66 Shawn Lauvao SS - 26 Abram Elam
RT - 78 John St.Clair FS - 43 T.J. Ward
K - 4 Phil Dawson P - 2 Reggie Hodges
PR - 10 Jordan Norwood KR - 10 Jordan Norwood
NOTES: Starters Kenyon Coleman, TJ Ward and Eric Barton are
questionable and have not practiced all week.
KEY MATCHUPS:
- The Dolphins vs Themselves: Which team will show up? The
one that walloped the Raiders or the one which bumbled their way to a
loss against the Bears?
- Miami's Defensive Front Seven vs Peyton Hillis: Hillis is
the Browns number one runner and receiver. He is a battering ram in
the style of Larry Czonka and Miami must stop him if they are to stop
the Browns' offense.
- Matt Roth vs Vernon Carey: After the bizarre episode of
Matt Roth's departure from Miami in 2009, he has played very well for
the Browns. He will be looking to show his old team what he can do.
- TE Ben Watson vs Miami Pass defense: Miami has had trouble
with quality tight ends this year and Watson is second on the Browns'
roster in receptions.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Chad Henne was much improved last week, but he needs to
continue to play well to silence the nay-sayers and lead the Dolphins
to another victory. The Dolphins have been playing well in the absence
of Brandon Marshall, so it will be interesting to see if he returns
this week. And Vernon Carey will be tested throughout the game by
Matt Roth.
On defense, the linebackers will have their hands full
containing Peyton Hillis. Also, Vontae Davis and Sean Smith were both
in the doghouse last week, but responded well. All the defensive
backs should have chances for interceptions this week, but they must
hold on to the ball if given the chance.
Browns' QB Jake Delhomme is a former SuperBowl quarterback,
but has looked very erratic this year, throwing just 1 touchdown and 6
interceptions. RB Peyton Hillis has gone from journeyman backup to an
incredible starter, averaging 4.5 ypc and scoring 11 TDs this year.
TE Ben Watson is the second leading receiver for the Browns.
On defense, safety T.J. Ward leads the team in tackles, while
outside linebackers Matt Roth and David Bowens are both ex-Dolphins
who have been playing very well for the Browns.
MY ANALYSIS:
When Miami faces the Browns on Sunday afternoon, they take
on a team that is very one dimensional and overall, not very good, but
a team that is very tough and will fight to the last second of the
game.
The Browns' main weapon is running back Peyton Hillis, who has
been running over defenders with power since he got the starting job
and will be very tough for Miami to bring down. For the Dolphins to
contain him, Miami's defensive line must hold their ground and the
linebackers must do a good job swarming to the ball-carrier. The
Dolphins must gang-tackle Hillis in order to consistently bring him
down.
When the Browns pass, Jake Delhomme has thrown a lot of
interceptions this year and Miami should be able to come up with some
turnovers, as long as their defensive backs can hold on to the ball.
Cameron Wake should continue his dominating ways and put pressure on
Jake Delhomme, which should give Miami plenty of chances for big
plays.
If the Dolphins' defense can contain Hillis, they can
effective shut down the Browns offense and I believe they can get that
done.
The bigger question is whether or not Miami's offense can get
established against the Browns' defense. Last week, Miami went back
to basics, pounding the ball repeatedly against the Raiders' defense,
even when it wasn't working. Ultimately, their persistence in the
running game paid off and opened up the passing game, as well as
controlling the clock.
Hopefully, the Dolphins will continue to use the same gameplan
and pound the ball against the Browns. The Browns do not have an
especially good run defense and Miami should be able to get Ronnie and
Ricky going, provided they are patient and persistent. This should
give Henne the ability to use play-fakes and make his passing more
effective.
If the offense will stick to the running game, like they did
against the Raiders, they should be able to move the ball effectively.
The Browns' run defense is not ranked very highly and the Dolphins
should be able to shove the ball down the Browns' throats.
The Browns are a dangerous team, because they are tough and
play hard. They are not an especially talented team, but their
toughness means they can never be taken for granted and the Dolphins
can not afford to throw interceptions, miss tackles or give up any big
plays.
As long as the Dolphins play good well, without any big
mistakes, they should beat the Browns on Sunday. But they can not
afford any big mistakes against a team as hard-nosed as the Browns.
PLACES TO WATCH:
To watch the game on TV, you may go to one of the sports bars listed on my "Places To Watch" web page.
To listen to the game live over the Internet, you must now pay
the NFL for the privelege. They are charging $9.99 (US) per month or
$39.99 for the season for something you used to get for free. If you want to sign up for that, go to the following link NFL Field Pass.
Also, here is a list of some websites that have live scores
and updates. Both the Official Website and NFL.com have almost live
applications that run in your browser and give you current stats and
play-by-play information.
Related Info: