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GAME TIME: 1:00 PM EST on Sunday, Nov 7th. The game will be
broadcast regionally on CBS TV, on DirecTV channel 707, on Sirius
radio channels 153 and 123 and on XM radio channel 105.
PLACE: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD. FORECAST: Sunny, with a high near 53. FIELD CONDITIONS: M&T Bank Stadium has a natural grass surface and it should be in good condition. There is no significant weather or events that should have an impact on the field conditions. STANDINGS & STATS: The Dolphins are 4-3, in 3rd place in the AFC East. The Ravens are 5-2, tied for first in the AFC North with the Steelers.
Dolphins Pts/Game Rank Ravens Pts/Game Rank
Scored 19.0 23 Scored 21.3 15
Allowed 21.3 17 Allowed 18.4 7
Dolphins Yds/Game Rank Ravens Yds/Game Rank
Total Offense: 344 13 Total Defense: 314 10
Rushing: 111 16 vs Rush: 109 17
Passing: 233 12 vs Pass: 205 9
Ravens Dolphins
Total Offense: 340 14 Total Defense: 309 8
Rushing: 115 12 vs Rush: 102 11
Passing: 225 15 vs Pass: 208 12
Sacks Made (Avg/G) Allowed (Avg/G)
Dolphins 17 2.4 10 1.4
Ravens 12 1.7 10 1.4
Turnover differential:
Dolphins -4
Ravens -2
Individual Skill Position Stats:
Dolphins
QB: QB Henne: 154-243-1669-8-7-82.5
Rush: RB Brown: 92-374-4.1-1
Rush: RB Williams: 76-335-4.4-1
Rec: WR Marshall: 47-588-12.5-1
Rec: WR Bess: 39-401-10.3-3
Rec: TE Fasano: 17-234-13.8-2
Ravens
QB: QB Flacco: 140-236-1651-10-6-84.2
Rush: RB Rice: 131-523-4.0-2
Rush: RB McGahee: 52-207-4.1-4
Rec: WR Boldin: 38-518-13.6-5
Rec: WR Mason: 26-357-13.7-1
Rec: TE Heap: 24-318-13.3-3
Legend
QBs: completions-attempts-yards-touchdowns-ints-rating
RBs: rushes-yards-average-touchdowns
WRs: receptions-yards-average-touchdowns
HISTORY: Miami leads the series 5-4 over the Ravens (including
the playoffs) and is 1-1 against the Ravens in Baltimore.
Unfortunately, the Dolphins are 0-2 under Tony Sparano against the
Ravens.
DOLPHINS:
Probable: S Yeremiah Bell (toe)
LB Channing Crowder (thumb)
RAVENS:
Questionable: TE Dennis Pitta (head)
S Tom Zbikowski (foot)
Probable: TE Todd Heap (back)
WR Derrick Mason (ankle)
S Ed Reed (ankle)
WR Donte' Stallworth (foot)
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 - 19 Brandon Marshall 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 - 30 Chris Clemons
K - 5 Dan Carpenter P - 2 Brandon Fields
PR - 15 Davone Bess KR - 28 Nolan Carroll
NOTES: Last week, John Jerry returned to the starting lineup and Sean
Smith went back to the starting position after Jason Allen got
burned, although the official depth chart still lists Jason Allen as
the starter.
RAVENS' STARTERS: QB - 5 Joe Flacco LDE - 93 Cory Redding FB - 33 Le'Ron McClain NT - 97 Kelly Gregg RB - 27 Ray Rice RDE - 92 Haloti Ngata WR - 85 Derrick Mason LLB - 55 Terrell Suggs WR - 81 Anquan Boldin MLB - 52 Ray Lewis TE - 86 Todd Heap MLB - 53 Jameel McClain LT - 74 Michael Oher RLB - 95 Jarret Johnson LG - 66 Ben Grubbs LCB - 25 Chris Carr C - 77 Matt Burk RCB - 31 Fabian Washington RG - 65 Chris Chester SS - 26 Dawan Landry RT - 73 Marshal Yanda FS - 20 Ed Reed K - 7 Billy Cundiff P - 4 Sam Koch PR - 28 Tom Zbikowski KR - 37 Josh WilsonNOTES: Punt returner and backup safety Tom Zbikowski did not practice yesterday and may miss the game. Otherwise, the Ravens have no significant injuries.
John Jerry has returned to the starting right guard spot and the Dolphins' running game improved last week. Brandon Marshall is still the best receiver on the team, but Devone Bess started ahead of Brian Hartline against the Bengals. On defense, Sean Smith took over for Jason Allen after the first Bengals' series last week and will likely retain the starting job. Cameron Wake did not get a sack last week, but the defense overall was much better. And Yeremiah Bell has a toe injury, so it will be interesting to see how well he can play. The Ravens have a very strong offense, with RB Ray Rice already over 500 yards this year and the addition to the roster of Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Joe Flacco is a good quarterback and has made some big plays this year, but is not a real world-beater. LB Ray Lewis still leads the Ravens' defense with 60 tackles this year, while safety Ed Reed has 2 interceptions so far this year. DE Haloti Ngata leads the team in sacks with 4 since he has moved from NT to DE. The Ravens are 5-2 and usually mentioned as the 2nd or 3rd best team in the NFL. And when you think of the Ravens, you think of suffocating defense, lead by Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. But when you look at the stats, the Ravens are not nearly as good on defense as they have been in the past. They rank 17th against the rush and 10th overall. And their offense, despite the presence of Anquan Boldin and Ray Rice, is only average in all categories and is actually ranked one step behind Miami in total yards. So despite all the hype, the Ravens are beatable. In fact, the Buffalo Bills nearly did just that, putting up over 500 yards of total offense (including 132 yards rushing) against the Ravens in a 37-34 loss - in Baltimore. To do so, the Dolphins will need to do some things they haven't done much all year, however. Chad Henne needs to consistently throw downfield and the Dolphins will need to establish a strong running game. There were signs last week that the running game is returning, possibly due to the return of John Jerry. So establishing the running game will certainly be in the Dolphins' game plan for Sunday, but throwing downfield may not. The Dolphins have been deliberately limiting Henne to avoid turnovers and not giving him a lot of options. Most of his throws are from max-protect schemes that have kept him protected, but don't give him many options downfield. Other teams have had success throwing downfield against the Ravens, who do not have a particularly strong pass rush this year and have some holes in their secondary. Hopefully, the Dolphins will see this and give Henne some chances to take some deep shots against the Ravens. On defense, Miami will need keep Ray Rice in check and avoid giving up the big play to Anquan Boldin, Todd Heap and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Against the Bengals last week, the Dolphins did a much better job of shutting down the big play and stopping the run than they have. The return of Channing Crowder has solidified the defense against the run and promoting Sean Smith to the starting cornerback position has improved the pass defense. Unlike the pundits at Accuscore (who give Miami a 60% chance of winning if the Dolphins sack Flacco 3 or more times), I do not believe it is necessary for the Dolphins to sack Flacco to win. While it is necessary to pressure opposing quarterbacks, Miami shut down Carson Palmer last week without recording a single sack. If they can keep tight coverage downfield and get enough pressure on Flacco to get him to throw the ball away or into coverage, that will be sufficient. Of course, they also have to stop the running game, but I think Miami's run defense is good enough at this time to contain Ray Rice. The bigger question is whether or not Miami will be able to contain the passing game. The Dolphins are in a good position to surprise the Ravens and re-establish themselves as a contender this weekend. I do believe they will have some success running the football against the Ravens and that this will open up the passing game. The Bills controlled the clock against the Ravens and I believe the Dolphins will be able to control the football in this game as well. On defense, I think they'll contain Ray Rice and will not give up too many big plays. They have been gradually improving and I think that they are ready to face the Ravens offense. The biggest question in my mind is whether or not the Dolphins will be willing or able to throw downfield. I firmly believe that the Dolphins must be able to throw downfield to win this game and if they can't or won't, then the Ravens will beat them this Sunday. If the Dolphins can put together a decent downfield passing attack, then they should be able to beat the Ravens. 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.
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