Miami Dolphins In Depth

AFC East one big happy knot

The Dolphins beat the Raiders and evened their record at 1-1.

The Jets lost to Pittsburgh so they are 1-1.

The Bills beat Kansas City in their home-opener. They are 1-1.

And the Patriots missed a potential game-winning field goal in the final seconds to lose to the Arizona Cardinals, 20-18 in Foxborough, Mass. Amazingly, the Patriots are 1-1.

Everyone is tied after two weeks!

How about that ...

Dolphins dismantle Raiders 35-13 to even record

The Dolphins needed this. A franchise that has taken more gut punches than Rocky needed to land a couple of shots of its own and today was the time.

The Dolphins knocked out the Raiders, 35-13.

It really wasn't that close.

Miami dominated in every phase in the second half. Yes, the home field advantage may have had something to do with it because Oakland players seemed a step slower, some even fatigued. Notice the three defensive backs chasing Reggie Bush on his 65-yard TD didn't gain any ground.

But the humidity was not the reason Miami won. They were just the better team today. They got a great performance from the running game, first with Bush shredding the Raiders and even rookie Lamar Miller doing damage, including his first career TD run.

Ryan Tannehill outplayed veteran Carson Palmer.

And the line of scrimmage belonged to the Dolphins -- particularly in the second half.

It was also a good job by the coaching staff that addressed the ills of last week's batted passes. There were none by the Raiders today.

It was a total butt-whipping, folks.

Enjoy.

Dolphins pounding Oakland 21-10 heading to fourth

Reggie Bush, one of the smallest Dolphins, has put the team on his back and his carrying them as well as the football.

Bush clicked off TD runs of 21 yards and 65 yards in the third quarter to give the Dolphins their current 21-10 advantage.

Can the Dolphins hold on?

Let's see as the live blog continues in the comments section.

Dolphins trail 10-7 to start third quarter

It was not only an ugly first half, the Dolphins are trailing, too.

After Miami opened the game with a 12-play drive that spanned 80 yards for the first offensive TD of the season, the Miami offense has pretty much been shut down.

The running game that worked has disappeared. Pressure on Ryan Tannehill has been acute because the team is using longer drops to avoid passes being batted at the line.

The defense, meanwhile, solid early on, has struggled to cover Oakland receivers. And that 64-yard screen pass was a clinic on how not to do it.

The Dolphins are actually fortunate that they are only trailing 10-7. The Raiders had a first and goal and the 8 and had to settle for a field goal just before the half ended.

The live blog continues in the comments section. Join me there.

Dolphins and Raiders tied to start second quarter

The Dolphins offense had a nice opening drive and Ryan Tannehill got his first NFL TD on a 2 yard run.

Good.

The bad?

The Raiders just pieced together a 64-yard screen pass TD in which Reshad Jones was held, Chris Clemons took a bad angle to the ballcarrier, Koa Misi got pancaked and Karlos Dansby could only trail helplessly as he watched the score.

The game is tied, 7-7.

The live blog rolls in the comments section. Join me there.

Inactive and live blog here

The announcement of today's inactive tells us the Raiders receiver corps will get better ... and Miami's will get worse.

The Dolphins will be without Anthony Armstrong, who was doubtful with a hamstring injury. He is inactive. Other Miami inactives are Pat Devlin, Michael Egnew, Will Yeatman, Tony McDaniel, Ray Feinga, Daniel Thomas and Pat Devlin.

The Raiders, meanwhile, are getting some good news in that Denarius Moore, who was inactive in their opener with a hamstring injury, is active today. Moore averaged 18.9 yards per receptions last season.

As you may know, my column today is about how this game may determine the direction of either franchise for quite some time. Check it out if you haven't yet.

Another thing: I don't see this being a high-scoring game. Neither offense impresses me.

We will be having a live blog here today. It begins in the comments section at kickoff. Meet me there.

 

Today could set a course for the next few months

Good morning to everyone. It is game day and that means a live blog here starting at kickoff. Before then, there will be posts with updates on the active roster and so forth.

You already know Daniel Thomas and Tony McDaniel aren't playing. So Lamar Miller is up on offense. Keheeston Randall is up on defense.

This game is important and I say that with caution because it is only the second game of the season. But here's the play:

I write in my column that today's outcome will determine how Raiders and Dolphins fans will feel about their team and what direction those teams are headed for perhaps the rest of the season.

Too much, you say?

For the Dolphins a victory would pave the way for success the next two months. Think about that. And check out why that is true.