Live blog of Dolphins vs. Vikes right here

MINNEAPOLIS -- A victory today?

More than making the Dolphins 2-0 and keeping them in first place in the AFC East no matter what happens elsewhere in the NFL, it would catapult this team we know so much and yet so little about into a state of legitimacy.

Miami beats the team that went to the NFC title game a year ago and you have to believe that is a pretty good team.

Some keys to the game:

Inactives: Chad Pennington is the No. 3 QB. Why is that interesting? He was the No. 2 QB last week. All this means is the Dolphins are allowing themselves the option of using Tyler Thigpen as a spread option QB today. The other Miami inactives are Roberto Wallace, Nolan Carroll, Channing Crowder, Jared Odrick, Ikaika Alama-Francis, Lydon Murtha and Jermey Parnell.

Jake Long versus Jared Allen: I do not expect a shutout by Long. It's hard to expect that when the guy opposing him is a classic 4-3 DE of the highest order. Allen is stud. He's strong, he's quick, he's experienced and he's always seemingly motivated, meaning he doesn't take plays off. Long is similarly a stud. Today will measure exactly how healthy Long is following that knee injury in the preseason finale.

Brandon Marshall's day: I am sitting here two hours before the game and not many playes are on the field yet. Marshall is on the field. He's warming up his hips. He's practicing catching all sorts of passes -- over his head, too low, one-handed, Scene interesting perhaps only to me: Marshall is not catching those passes from Chad Henne. He's catching them from a trainer type. Henne is on the field about 20 yards away and he's throwing passes and working with Davone Bess. Fact is Henne has spoken more with former Dolphins WR Greg Camarillo on the field the past 30 minutes than he has with Marshall. Interesting.

[Update: Marshall eventually finished his regimen and came over to where Henne and Bess were working out routes and started working with them, too.]

Henne versus Brett Favre: It cannot be a blowout here, folks. We cannot have Favre throwing three TDs and 1 INT and have Henne deliver a stat line like he did last week -- zero TDs, zero INTs -- and expect the Dolphins to win. If you have not read it yet, I wrote my Sunday column on Henne and the message the Dolphins give him over, and over and over. It can be something of a confusing message, if you ask me because the Dolphins want Henne to do two things that aren't necessarily opposites -- throw TDs and not throw INTS. To throw TDs, you see, you almost always have to live with some interceptions. The Dolphins have drilled Hennes so much on not throwing INTs, it makes me wonder if he can be a big TD passer anytime in the future.

Alrightie, that's quite a bit to digest before the live blog begins at kickoff. Come back here for all the pregame updates. And let's meet in the comments section for the live blog. 

Comments

[kris]

henne...2 nice touch passes

[ALoco]

HENNE....600,000

FAVRE..........16,000,000

[PriceMaster]

The wildcat is backdoor football. It makes every one of us look like a h0m0.

[Dolphins4Life73]

stop crying about the wildcat usage!! vikes have never seen our wildcat and its showing!! now lets finish em

[David]

Hartline!!!
Marshall-Henne-please stay after class-practice + we got a dangerous offense-the Dolphins-dangerous offense-yeah if we work at!

[zaphod]

Let's hope our D can hunker down and play with intensity like they did last week.

If the offense can starting making big time plays this could be a FUN game.

[standley23]

know lets go after Farve! and keep AD contained!

[Armando Salguero]

Dolphins have found Lito Shepard is a weak link in the Minny secondary. Gave up the long pass to Marshall and the TD to Hartline.

[cocoajoe]

Yes! We've been missin that for years

[ALoco]

F U CK K THE WILDCAT

[Los Lobos]

Hartline did like a little hit and run, then got open.

[DyingBreed]

2nd week in row Minny gets punched in the mouth on the opening drive. I like this time much better!!!

[test]

This team sucks so bad, that henne to marshall throw was OBVIOUSLY an accident.
the defense got lucky vs favre

TD was an uncalled penalty.

but i have big man hoot-ers, so i'm okay

[Marc]

Carpenter is nailing kickbacks now...WOnder if he's been juicing ;)

[Po White Trash]

Joe! What up!

[mr kahn]

we must run all day on these fools go phins

[ALoco]

HENNE........600,000
FAVRE........16,000,000

THE yellow eyes

[Marc]

Expect Favre to go deep here

[FB]

Guys, Marshall is very pissed at not having caught that TD pass; I can't blame him either. This wildcat crap is killing Henne's momentum with hsi receivers.

[Account Deleted]

Here we go with the Marshall cry baby BS. Just watched him go to the bench drink a cup of water and throw it down in anger after the td by hartline!

[Dolphins4Life73]

what commentators lose interest if the dolphins start pulling away!! especially diedorf

[acwalsh8]

yea...this team sucks so bad....

wait til the 4pm game....watch sanchez if you want to see some serious sucking.

[zaphod]

Run D not looking so good.

[acwalsh8]

dierdorf is a moron.

[Marc]

Bell with the penetration!

[zaphod]

... spoke too soon.

[kris]

look for ap to fumble

[Marc]

VD!

[Armando Salguero]

Shoes string tackle for Vontae Davis. Living on the edge.

[David]

Bell-Davis-tackle!!!

[Marc]

SACK!

[charlieb]

yeah baby

[kris]

wake quake

[zaphod]

SACK!

[Po White Trash]

WAKE BABY!

[standley23]

thats gotta hurt!

[finatic]

oh yeah

[jbarrett]

SACK!!!!!

[dave]

yeah baby!!!!!!!!!!

[jt350]

crunch

[Dolphins4Life73]

aloco why you so concerned with how much henne makes!! if he performs he will get paid

[acwalsh8]

yeaaaaa baby

[atlfinfan]

Sergio, thank YOU!!

[drbruce2]

OMG

[DyingBreed]

Starks and Wake baby!!!

[ALoco]

PANICK TIME IN MIN .0-2

[jamesc]

lol was it wake or starks lol or was it misi? man

[dave]

ok lets go O. another TD take peterson out of it.

[DyingBreed]

Starks was there a split second before Wake!!!

[David]

Wake sure looks game ready to me- I love Nolan's swarming to the ball defense

[zaphod]

We need to make up for that stupid loss to the Jets when Favre threw that stinking pass at the end.

[test]

only reason we sacked him is because he's old and can't move.

we suck

here comes stupid fat face henne and the wild chicken sh#t offense

[wearemarshall]

i calling it here, Cameron Wake's nick name is EARTHWAKE!!

[DyingBreed]

Wake has 3 pressures and half a sack!@!!

[kris]

earth wake

[finatic]

Henne to marshall again. we need to get away.

[Los Lobos]

This defense is pretty good guys.

[ALoco]

HARTLINE IS SURE WORKING FOR HIS MONEY

[DyingBreed]

HARTLINE IS BAAAACK!@!!!

[cocoajoe]

Hey Po...I'm lovi this so far