Dolphins running game must quit the vanishing act; other notes

The Dolphins were back at it today in Davie as they get ready to welcome in the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Sun Life Stadium.  This will be the Fins first home game in nearly a month after a bye week, followed by back to back road games after that October 14th win against the Rams.

As I touched on earlier this week, the Dolphins have a huge, albeit daunting, opportunity in front of them over the next eight days, as not only do they play host to the Titans on Sunday, but they travel to Buffalo four days later to take on the Bills.

These are two winnable games for Miami- I expect them to be favored in both- but the Fins must reestablish their once dominant running game if they want a chance at a clean sweep.  The numbers say it all:

Weeks 1-4: 152.5 rush yards per game.

Weeks 5-9:  71.2 rush yards per game.

That, folks, is a huge drop off in the span of 5 weeks, and it was especially disappointing in last weeks loss to Indianapolis because the Colts rank 24th against the rush.  Yes, you can put some of the blame on the health of Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas, but lets be honest, Reggie has been pretty healthy all year with the exception of the Arizona game.

Some of the blame will go on the offensive line, and rightfully so.  Some of the blame will go on the offensive play calling by Mike Sherman.  I don't care who's at fault- I think it could be a collective group effort- but it needs to be addressed, something Joe Philbin has acknowledged, and turned around, something he's also acknowledged.

I think the next two games could be the perfect opportunity to do this.

Tennessee ranks 29th in stopping the run, giving up nearly 142 yards a game on the ground.  The Dolphins must, MUST, expose this on Sunday, and they must do it early and often.

The Bills are even worse against the run, giving up nearly 170 yards a game on the ground.  Thats good for 30th in the league.  If you remember to the last time these two teams met last December, Reggie Bush ran for a career high 203 yards and had a career long 76 yard TD run in the process.

Neither of these team can stop the run.  Both rank near the bottom of the league against it, and both are vulnerable right now.  If the Miami Dolphins are to regain their once dominant run game, something they must do if they want to continue to play meaningful games, then these next eight days could be just the kickstart they need.


Other notes:

• LB Koa Misi did not practice on Wednesday.  He suffered an undisclosed injury during the third quarter of Sunday's game, but came back in after a few plays.

• CB Richard Marshall was the only other player not to practice today as he continues to fight off a back injury.  Marshall has not played since Sept 30th against the Jets and I don't figure him to play on Sunday, or next Thursday for that matter.

• QB Ryan Tannehill practiced with a brace on his left knee, just as he did all of last week.

What they're saying (Courtesy of the South Florida Sun Sentinel):

• "We told the guys today 'we have to take the practice to the games better,'" Joe Philbin said about practice not transferring to games.

• Joe Philbin said Ryan Tannehill hasn't exceeded his expectations. "We have high expectations for the quarterback position."

• Reggie Bush said Jake long still "great player." Said on his TD run Long "made a huge, key block."

• Reggie Bush on Terry Bradshaw: "I don't think there's an ounce of racism in his body."

• "This is the point when teams start to separate themselves and make that playoff push," Reggie Bush said.

• "We've got to get the run game greased up again," Richie Incognito said.

• "We've done some really good things in the run game, but we've stalled at times," Jake Long said.

• "We have to get back to playing good, sound football. The playoffs will take care of themselves," Richie Incognito said.

Thats it for now, until next time, adios.