Lori Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 MIAMI DOLPHINS (6-7) at BUFFALO BILLS (6-7) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2006 – 1:00 PM ET RALPH WILSON STADIUM, ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK CBS: Don Criqui, Steve Beuerlein DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket: Channel 712 (no HD) RADIO: Buffalo Bills Radio Network PLAY-BY-PLAY: John Murphy COLOR ANALYST: Mark Kelso SIDELINE REPORTER: Paul Peck Miami Dolphins Radio Network PLAY-BY-PLAY: Jimmy Cefalo COLOR ANALYST: Joe Rose SIDELINE REPORTER: Nat Moore Sirius Sunday Drive: Channel 128 (Buffalo feed) / Channel 155 (Miami feed) REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECORD: Dolphins lead, 49-31-1, but Buffalo has won four of the last five meetings. PLAYOFF RECORD: Bills lead, 3-1. LAST TIME IN BUFFALO: October 9, 2005 – Bills 20, Dolphins 14 Preview Buffalo scored on each of their first three possessions to build up a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter, then held on for the win in Kelly Holcomb’s debut as the Bills’ starting quarterback. They had a lot of help from the Dolphins, though, as Miami turned the ball over five times and committed a franchise-record 18 penalties.Holcomb was an efficient 20-26 for 169 yards, including a short touchdown pass to Eric Moulds; Willis McGahee finished the game with 86 rushing yards and a touchdown. LAST MEETING: September 17, 2006 - Bills 16, Dolphins 6 Preview The Buffalo defense dominated the game, sacking Daunte Culpepper seven times – five in the first half alone, including three by Ryan Denney – and keeping Miami outside the 30-yard line on all but two occasions. The Bills couldn’t get much going on offense in the first half, punting on three of their first four possessions, but Angelo Crowell’s late interception preserved a 3-0 halftime lead and sent the teams off the field to a chorus of boos from the aqua-and-orange-clad “faithful”. Lee Evans torched Will Allen on a deep route on the first drive of the second half; Allen chose to tackle Evans instead of letting him catch a 54-yard touchdown pass from J. P. Losman, and the Bills were in business at the Miami 4. Losman hit Josh Reed for the score on the next play to give Buffalo a 10-0 lead; from there, Rian Lindell tacked on two more field goals following Dolphin three-and-outs to put the game out of reach. The Fins finally found the scoreboard on a 23-yard Culpepper-to-Chambers strike with 1:54 left in the game, but Donte Whitner knocked down the two-point-conversion attempt and Robert Royal recovered the ensuing onside kick to dash any faint comeback hopes the few remaining hometown fans may have held. Big day from the special teams: while Terrence McGee only had one chance at returning a kickoff, Roscoe Parrish averaged a stellar 14.4 yards on five punt returns, consistently giving the offense the ball outside the Buffalo 30. Coy Wire’s second-half punt block set the Bills up at the Dolphins 17-yard line, leading to Lindell’s final field goal. Brian Moorman pinned the Fish deep all day long, with five of his six punts landing inside their 20. ”Field position does turn into points and they’re a big part of that one. You pin a team back and then you stop them and get that ball on the plus 50 (yard line), it’s usually points. That was a huge factor, just to make them have to go 90 yards with the football. Even at the end, we talked about not punting the ball with 15 seconds left in the game, but I’ve seen Daunte Culpepper throw the ball 70 yards. We don’t want them reaching our endzone with that throw, even with five seconds left, you don’t know what’s going to happen. They pinned them back on the five yard line and that’s hard on an offense.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DOLPHINS OVERVIEW (2006 RANKINGS) OFFENSE (#18 total yardage, #26 rushing, #11 passing, #t26 scoring): Joey Harrington is 0-1 in Ralph Wilson Stadium; his Lions dropped a 24-17 decision here during the 2002 season. He’s heading into uncharted territory – with a 5-4 record as a starter this year, another win would tie his career high with Detroit… He’s better at avoiding the pass rush than a gimpy Daunte Culpepper was, but his quick trigger can get him in trouble at times. He’s thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this year, including five games with two or more picks. Marty Booker has become a more consistent downfield threat than Chris Chambers, with three 100-yard games this season and touchdown catches in each of Miami’s last three games. Booker, Chambers, and #3 receiver Wes Welker (who actually leads the team in receptions) each have more than 50 catches – the first WR trio in franchise history to accomplish that feat. Tight end Randy McMichael will join them with his next catch. Ronnie Brown is still out with the broken hand he suffered on Thanksgiving Day, so old friend Sammy Morris – coming off a career-high 123-yard performance in the win over New England – will get at least one more start. Darian Barnes is the only fullback on the roster, but Miami is more likely to use a two-TE set than a lead back, so expect to see more of Justin Peelle on the field than Barnes. Like Buffalo, Miami started winning games right around the time they revamped their offensive line. Some of that can be attributed to the quarterback change, but inserting Damion McIntosh at left tackle and shifting L.J. Shelton inside to the vacant right guard spot seems to have solidified the line, which has given up just eight sacks in the last six games. Kendyl Jacox has started the last four games in place of Jeno James at left guard; James is back practicing this week, but is still listed as questionable with a knee injury. DEFENSE (#3 total yardage, #9 rushing, #4 passing, #5 scoring): The Dolphins are once again relying on a nasty defense to win games for them; last week’s shutout against New England marked their third consecutive game with at least four sacks, and they lead the league in allowing the fewest “big plays” by opposing offenses (34 plays of twenty or more yards). The veteran defensive line has accounted for 35.5 of the team’s 43 sacks this year, led (as usual) by Jason Taylor’s 11.5 takedowns. Taylor is a dominant force in Dom Capers’ hybrid 3-4/4-3 scheme; the franchise’s all-time sack leader also scored the seventh touchdown of his career against Minnesota, tying him with George Martin (Giants, 1975-1988) for the NFL record among defensive linemen since the 1970 merger. Vonnie Holliday and Keith Traylor form a disruptive tandem at tackle; Holliday’s seven sacks tie him for the league lead among interior linemen. Kevin Carter, one of the few remaining former Los Angeles Rams in the league, starts at left end. Matt Roth, the team’s second-round pick in 2005, has played well in a reserve role. Zach Thomas ranks #2 in the league in tackles, trailing only Houston’s Rookie-of-the-Year candidate DeMeco Ryans. Channing Crowder and Donnie Spragan remain the starters at OLB. Free-agent pickups Will Allen (Giants) and André Goodman (Lions) have settled in as the starting corners, relegating Travis Daniels to the nickel position. Travares Tillman, Buffalo’s second-round pick in 2000, began the season as the starting SS, but has been benched in favor of Yeremiah Bell. Renaldo Hill, the younger brother of Ray Hill (another former Bills DB), is the free safety. This is not a ballhawking secondary by any stretch of the imagination; only Tampa Bay and Washington have collected fewer interceptions than Miami’s eight. (Oh, and three of those were by Taylor and Thomas…) SPECIAL TEAMS: Olindo Mare has hit just 20 of 30 field-goal attempts this season, well under his 82.0 career percentage. (To be fair, though, five of the misses were from 50 yards or longer.) Donnie Jones’ 35.2-yard net punting average is well off the franchise record of 39.3 he set last season, but 24 of his 65 kicks have landed inside the opponents’ 20, including three downed inside the Patriots’ 5 last week. Wes Welker continues to be the primary punt/kick returner, but his numbers have declined since he began playing a larger role on offense. The punt-cover squad is okay, nothing more. The kickoff team allows over 25 yards per return, one of the worst averages in the league. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OUTLOOK: The Dolphins come into Ralph Wilson Stadium on an emotional high, winning five of their last six games (and having just throttled the division-leading Patriots). The Bills are on a respectable run of their own, though, with only one- and three-point losses to two of the better teams in the league separating them from a 5-0 record since the bye week. Buffalo has won four of the last five games in the series; if the Bills OL can keep the Miami defense off Losman long enough for him to look downfield, he will find open receivers, and the hometown team will extend that streak to five out of six. BEAT MIAMI. See you in Lot 1, and oh yeah, Go Bills. Links: NFL.com: injury report / Dolphins depth chart / Dolphins team stats / Bills depth chart / Bills team stats Official team websites: BuffaloBills.com / MiamiDolphins.com FinHeaven.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 Die. Miami. Die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 Great work Lori!!!! Nothing as good as this can be found on the internet nor in any newspaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiew Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 God, I just hate Miami. Please have a Sahlens for me Lori. Wish I could be there. Thanks again for a great analysis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Flanders Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 old friend Sammy Morris – coming off a career-high 123-yard performance in the win over New England – will get at least one more start. This is a damn shame that we let Sammy get away...a great ST and spot player, and an overall good guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cale Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 Say is it still 713 on DirecTV ? I had a bulletin in my e-mail that said 712 for the coverage channel. Thanks Lori. Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted December 15, 2006 Author Share Posted December 15, 2006 Say is it still 713 on DirecTV ? I had a bulletin in my e-mail that said 712 for the coverage channel. Thanks Lori. Charles 867843[/snapback] The DTV website still says 713; it has Iggles-Giants listed for 712. (Of course, it also still has our game listed at 4:00...) Did that e-mail come from DTV? If so, I'd probably go with what they're telling you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 You rock Lori. Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cale Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 The DTV website still says 713; it has Iggles-Giants listed for 712. (Of course, it also still has our game listed at 4:00...) Did that e-mail come from DTV? If so, I'd probably go with what they're telling you. 867869[/snapback] Kidding me? I'd rather trust you, Lori than any old DTV e-mail.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfanmiami(oh) Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 Awesome preview as always. You were right last week in saying whoever wins the turnover battle wins the game. Here's to a good game by the o-line, and another Bills victory over those putrid fish . The Christmas eve home finale will be even more fun if we go in at 7-7 after another strong performance against a division rival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneonta Buffalo Fan Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 SQUISH THE FISH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted December 17, 2006 Author Share Posted December 17, 2006 The DTV website still says 713; it has Iggles-Giants listed for 712. (Of course, it also still has our game listed at 4:00...) Did that e-mail come from DTV? If so, I'd probably go with what they're telling you. 867869[/snapback] UPDATE: there are two DIFFERENT listings for this game on the DTV website - Sunday Ticket schedule linked above still shows 713 (@ 4:00, which we know is wrong), but the DTV master schedule shows it on 712 at 1. I honestly don't know what channel to tell you, but I'd tend to believe the e-mail cale received and expect to find it on 712. Changed the original post to reflect this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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