A Letter To Coach Sparano -or- The Colts Are Coming

Dear Coach Sparano,

2008 was fun wasn't it?  After the heartbreak of 2007, Dolfans everywhere were truly reinvigorated by the 2008 turnaround, the media attention, and our new family members, i.e. the 'Trifecta' and its staff, and the new players.  We reveled in the excitement of the Wildcat, and we rested assured that we would compete in every game and be in it at the end of things.  We knew we had a chance to win every game, and we did that down the stretch en route to a division championship.  Once in the playoffs, we realized we weren't quite there yet, and though disappointed by the loss, we were stronger then than we had been for a long time.

This is what leads me to bring this up now.  We Dolfans support the team and its management.  We know there are a lot of challenges still on the table, and we know it will not be as simple as last year.  Yet, we EXPECT that these challenges will be met.  The Dolphins have had time to prepare, have molded a sharp roster, and have learned from past experiences.  There are no excuses, only hurdles that must be overcome one at a time.  The best teams in the league do not go into games thinking it will be a cake walk and that they can control every aspect of the game.  They go in prepared to face the hurdles.  

The Dolphins were not prepared for Atlanta.  The four turnovers and negative yardage are  not excuses.  They are hurdles that we should've been prepared to overcome.  The following list below is the fundamental game plan that we SHOULD be prepared to enact from the opening kick-off.  I am prepared for the Monday Night home opener.  The fans will be there.  The Estefans will be there.  The Williams's will be there.  And finallly, J-Lo's ass will be there.  The question is, will the Dolphins show up?  

Yours Sincerely,

Tinshaker, 

Elite Blogger Extroadinaire

Tin's Fins / tinsfins.blogspot.com

GAME PLAN 

The Colts tend to sound scary, but nine games out of ten they start off very slowly, and usually have to rely on an aggressive passing attack in the 4th quarter to overcome their opponent.  This is how you stop them on defense.

• Peyton Manning is a pre-snap genius.  The Colts utilize a system usually seen only in College Football.  They line up with plenty of time on the play-clock and THEN Manning calls the play, or audibles if you like.  90% of the time he calls an audible, it's going to be a running play.  Watch the tape.  It's not rocket science.  If you hear an audible, make adjustments to focus more on the tailback.

• Manning keeps his accuracy percentage high by throwing a lot of screens and a lot of quick slants.  We know it's coming, but if he sees we know it's coming, he will audible out of it.  The key here is to drop the OLB back into coverage after showing blitz.  Think the famous Harrison INT in the Superbowl.  We can replicate this play by not showing our hand too early.  Getting the linebacker into this lane also means he'll be in position to stop the screen pass.

• The Colts running game sucks big time.  Their O-line is average at pass-blocking, which could be why Manning calls so many quick routes, but they are terrible run-blockers.  We cannot allow the Colts to show us up here.  We have a solid run defense, but it will be a huge missed opportunity if we start missing tackles.  While Joseph Addai is the starter, keep a close eye on the rookie, Donald Brown.  He is very slippery, strong, and an excellent blocker out of the backfield.  Do not take the poor output of the Colts running game for granted.

• We are not going to get to Manning by throwing the kitchen sink at him.  He gets the ball out too fast, and stripping the manpower of the secondary out is only going to hurt us.  We must not blitz a lot in this game.   We should try to trick Manning into THINKING we will blitz, then drop back into coverage.  Our best bet for pressure on him is up the middle on bull rushes, getting hands up into passing lanes.

• Finally, we need to talk about Reggie Wayne.  This guy simply is one of probably the top 5 or 6 WRs in the league.  He is going to beat us if we don't stick to him like glue.  I would cover him with Vontae Davis, because he needs to be physically abused at the LOS, and then have the safety cheat over to his side.  This may provide more opportunity for the other receiver....I would expect rookie Austin Collie will start in Anthony Gonzalez's absence...but this rookie should be easier to handle than Wayne.  Dallas Clark should be flattened at the LOS.  He is one of, if not, the most overrated TE in the league, thanks to the fact that he actually lines up in the slot, not on the line, and thus should not be compared to 99% of the TEs in the league.

• Moving on to what we need to do on offense, I have three words for you.  RUN THE BALL.  Indianapolis has great pass-rushers in Freeney and Mathis, but their run defense is atrocious.  Their secondary coverage is pretty good though, and trying to force things down field will not be the best idea.  Last week, Ronnie Brown, your best offensive player, only carried the ball four times in the first half, ten for the game.  Had we given Brown 20 carries, and Williams 15 carries, based on their rush average we would've gotten 170 yards just from those two, without adding the yards from the QB, Polite, Ginn, Cobbs, etc.  If the Dolphins fail to run the ball at least 30 times in this upcoming game, I will start calling for heads to roll.  22 combined carries in an entire game is SHAMEFUL.

• Now keep in mind that the Colts know that their run defense is horrible.  They have activated a suspended player, Ed Johnson, a 6'2", 300lb DT to line up as a starter next to 6'3", 310lb Antonio Johnson.  Still, we cannot go into the game scared to run it down their throats.  We need to line up with Polite and Brown in the backfield and just hammer it over and over again until it breaks.  I don't care if we go 3 and out for the first 3 drives, if we don't show that we are serious about running the ball, then the play-action is for naught. 

• Now, to make one more point about the offense, because I do actually think my first point above is enough to win the game (obviously we need a passing attack as well, but if we do the above, then that will open itself up).  My final point is that Chad Pennington needs to relax.  He looks like he is trying too hard, or worse, thinking too much.  He needs to settle in, be confident, make his little dink and dunk throws, but primarily he needs to do it a lot quicker than he has been.  Freeney and Mathis are going to try to take his head off, and he can't hold on to the ball for 7 seconds in the pocket like he did when he fumbled last week.  I can forgive the INT, because the other team is playing too, but putting the ball on the ground is another thing entirely.  

• And speaking of that, Coach Sparano needs to hold Anthony Fasano accountable.  He should not be allowed to start this game.  And Ronnie Brown should be running the Wildcat, not Pat White.  If you're going to use White in the game, use him on a reverse where he pump fakes and then takes off on the ground.  Keep it simple.