Miami at Denver, Week 9
Sunday, 4:05 p.m.
In Chad Pennington, the Dolphins are bringing the AFC Offensive Player of the Week to Denver. In Joey Porter, they may be bringing the NFL's defensive player of the year.
Porter has taken over from Jason Taylor, now with the Redskins and himself a 2006 winner of the league's top defensive honor, as Miami's pass-rushing threat, not to mention locker-room leader. Which is a good thing on a number of levels, not the least of which is the fact that the free-agent contract the Dolphins bestowed upon him last year (five years, $32 million, $20 million guaranteed) looked like a colossal waste of money when the team limped to a 1-15 season. But this year, Miami is a vastly improved 3-4 team, and Porter is a big part of that resurgence. His 10.5 sacks through seven games have him on pace for a season's-worth of 24 on the season, which would break the current NFL record of 22.5, set by the Giants' Michael Strahan (with a little assist from Brett Favre) in 2002; not coincidentally, Strahan went on to be named the 2002 NFL defensive player of the year. Porter is aware of the possibilities, and in keeping with his nature, he's talking about it. "I got nine more games to go out and do something that hasn't been done before," Porter told the press.
However, despite Porter's efforts, Miami is just 25th in the league against the pass, giving up 233.3 yards per game. That could be a problem against a Broncos passing attack led by Jay Cutler, who appears to be fully healthy after a fortuitously timed bye week, which came in the wake of a throwing-finger injury he suffered against New England. Cutler, prolific receiver Brandon Marshall and their supporting cast will be eager to take some cracks at Miami's secondary in hopes of reviving the team's flagging offense, which led the league in scoring during a 3-0 start but has sputtered at an average of only 14.8 points over its past four games, three of which Denver has lost. But in order to achieve offensive balance, and to protect Cutler from marauding pass-rushers such as Porter, the team will want to get back to running the ball as well it traditionally has during the Mike Shanahan era. That may be a bit of a challenge considering the status of the team's top running backs: Selvin Young has a groin problem, Michael Pittman has rib and neck problems and Andre Hall has a fumbling problem. Pittman, who has rushed for 197 yards in the past two games, feels he can play on Sunday, and Denver has received more good news in the form of rookie Ryan Torain's return to the field. Torain opened eyes in training camp but broke his arm near the elbow and has misses the entire season thus far; at the very least, he figures to get a few snaps this week, and he may get a large workload if others can't go.
The Broncos will need all the offense they can get, because the news keeps getting worse for their defense. Brothers Boss and Champ Bailey are both hurt, with linebacker Boss winning the sibling rivalry for severity of injury, as a knee injury has him out for the rest of the season, while Champ's groin has him shelved for a number of weeks. None of that helps a defense ranked 30th in the league, and the arrival of Pennington won't, either. The quarterback has landed on his feet nicely after his abrupt exile from the Jets, ranking second in the league in completion percentage (69.3) and exceeding a passer rating of 100 in four of his past five games, three of which his Dolphins have won.
By
Desmond Bieler
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October 31, 2008; 10:00 AM ET
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Game Previews Week 9
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