(by Rich Rodriguez) The Good The Dolphins running game was dominant. 239 yards on 49 carries (4.9 ypc) and two touchdowns. Ronnie Brown was the initiator of offense in this game, carrying the ball 24 times for 136 yards (5.7 ypc) and both touchdowns. Ricky Williams, the 2nd head of the ground hammer, rushed 19 times for 69 yards (3.6 ypc). The offensive line was spectacular in run blocking and also gave Pennington time to throw.

This goes to prove the argument that when Ronnie Brown gets the rock 20+ times, good things happen for the Dolphins offense.

The kickoff coverage was also excellent today, holding the Colts to 90 return yards on 5 returns (18 yards per return). Lex Hilliard was in on three special teams tackles.

The Bad

The Dolphins linebackers were roasted all night long by Dallas Clark (7 catches, 183 yards, 1 TD). Channing Crowder was the victim of a few of those plays. Akin Ayodele was as well. Both inside linebackers for the Dolphins had nights they wish they would forget.

Gibril Wilson needs to go back to tackling class. On two ocassions, he missed tackles that led to big plays.

The Dolphins pass defense in general allowed Peyton Manning to throw for 303 yards on 23 attempts (13.2 yards per attempt). There was some pressure early in the game, but that went away as Manning adjusted to the Dolphins defense. At times, the middle of the field was a desert bereft of any defender.

Clock management at the end of the game was terrible for the Dolphins. It appears the coaching staff opted to call in the plays instead of letting Chad Pennington run the two minute drill. The Dolphins had three minutes and 2 timeouts and only managed to get to the Colts 30 yard line with 6 seconds left and throw up a prayer that was intercepted.

The Ugly

Ted Ginn had a productive night and showed glimpses of being a guy that could emerge as a go-to target. However, he had two drops in the endzone. Ted Ginn should have finished the night with 13 catches and 2 touchdowns. But because of his inability to bring in two critical passes in the endzone, he only wound up with 11 catches and no touchdowns. Again, a productive night for Ginn, but a disappointing one as well.

Chad Pennington doesn’t look like the same quarterback as last year. His arm seems to have gotten weaker and the ball isn’t coming out as quickly as it did in the past.

The playcalling was creative and exciting early on, but the Dolphins continued doing the same thing, even after the Colts showed adjustments to it. At some point, this offense is going to need to get the ball moving in chunks rather than nibbles, if they want to put up points. Going for a run on 3rd and 6 when the game is tied is called playing not to lose rather than playing to win.

In the 2nd half, the coaching staff was playing not to lose.

First off Crowder resigned with the Dolphins. While Crowder is clearly not the leader that Miami needs in the middle, he is a better than average ILB. You also have to love Crowder’s attitude as well. “My agent wanted to hit free agency but I love Miami and the people here,”. If Miami can find a good ILB in FA to play along side of him ala Bart Scott, it will free up Crowder to lay the kind of licks he put on Laverneous Coles in the Jets Finale. Speaking of Coles..the Jets just released him.

JETS RELEASE LAVERNEUS COLES
I’ve always been impressed with Coles toughness and ability to go across the middle. I think reuniting him with Pennington would be a solid FA pickup and bring veteran leadership to a young WR corps. The very fact that Bill Parcell’s drafted Coles means there will have to be some interest. The only thing that could keep this from not happening is Coles desire for big bucks. He opted out of his 11M dollar guaranteed contract with the Jets to seek a longer, more lucrative deal. Any deal that he’d get would likely be incentive laden and back loaded….which will mean that he’ll probably be on the market for awhile because I don’t think there will be any takers in the beginning. Once Coles makes it past the big bucks debut of the FA season, he might be talked into a more reasonable deal. I would love for Parcells to work his magic here and get Coles and Pennington reunited.

CHIEFS RELEASE CB PATRICK SURTAIN
Patrick (my-name-is-pronounced sir-tan) Surtain was cut by the Chiefs. Although its unlikely he’ll end up in Miami. Miami could use a good veteran corner like Pat and if his price tag is reasonable he’d be worth a look.

COLTS RELEASE WR MARVIN HARRISON
Finally, it was sad to see Marvin Harrison get cut. It was clear last year that Harrison wasn’t the same guy on the field. He was no longer quick enough to avoid those big hits and it wore on him as the season progressed. Marvin will probably get picked up by some desperate team needing WR’s but I really think his career is pretty much over unless he’s willing to come in and play slot for someone.

BY GARY RAMSEY
Phinfever.com