Dolphins struggled on defense against Commanders
By BEN VOLIN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 13, 2007
DAVIE — Thirteen teams other than Miami scored two touchdowns or fewer in Week 1.
So more than a dozen teams enter this weekend wondering if their production was a result of opening-day jitters or a sign of a struggling offense.
Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Dallas isn't one of those teams.
"That's a very, very explosive offense," ESPN analyst Joe Theismann. "They have an all-pro tight end (Jason Witten) and an all-pro receiver (Terrell Owens). People forget that last year they were a dropped kick away from possibly playing in the Super Bowl."
The Cowboys proved Sunday that last year's No. 6-ranked unit is back in full force. They totaled a league-high 478 total yards in a 45-35 win against the New York Giants.
Despite the absence of receiver Terry Glenn - possibly out all season with a knee injury -Tony Romo threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns. The Cowboys scored three more touchdowns on the ground.
Now they visit Miami, whose defense buckled against Washington in Sunday's 16-13 loss. And Miami will be without strong safety Yeremiah Bell, arguably the team's top defensive back, who suffered a season-ending injury Sunday.
"That was a big loss for them," Dallas coach Wade Phillips said. "Even though you have those great players on defense, you noticed him."
Dolphins coach Cam Cameron knows stopping Dallas will be a challenge no matter who is on the field.
"Whether you lose Yeremiah or not, you're talking about the No. 1 offense in the NFL right now," Cameron said. "If we were 100 percent healthy, that's (still) going to have its challenges.
"That's why we're preparing, and we've got plenty of preparation to do between now and Sunday."
Covering Owens, who has a freakish blend of size and speed, is tough enough.
But the Dolphins also have to worry about Witten (six catches for 116 yards Sunday), receiver Patrick Crayton (three for 51) and running backs Julius Jones and Marion Barber (combined 131 rushing yards on 27 carries).
Even when Owens isn't dominant - he didn't have a catch in the first half Sunday and finished with three - the offense still is dangerous.
Romo, showing off his quick release, found six receivers and four had more than 50 yards receiving.
"They seem to be clicking on all cylinders," said safety Cameron Worrell, who subbed for Bell in dime packages Sunday but doesn't yet know his role for the Dallas game.
"A lot of other games around the league were low-scoring contests, and those two teams were putting up points. So they're definitely running in mid-season form at the beginning of the year."
With Bell out, the Dolphins signed free-agent safeties Donovin Darius and Lamont Thompson on Tuesday, but Cameron hasn't decided if they will play Sunday. Travares Tillman will most likely start at strong safety.
The Dolphins' pass defense allowed Commanders quarterback Jason Campbell to complete just 12 of 21 passes and picked him off twice, but they were also susceptible to the big play as Antwaan Randle El caught two deep passes over Travis Daniels.
But Cameron said the best pass defense starts with the pass rushers, and the Dolphins' front four secured just one sack on Sunday - a coverage sack by Jason Taylor.
"We know it starts up front," Taylor said. "We both have to work together, the coverage and the rush up front, but we've got to get better pressure. I did a very poor job last week of pressuring Campbell."
The Dolphins also couldn't stop the run last week, allowing 191 yards.
"We're going to go out there and try to take the run away from them," linebacker Joey Porter said, "and see what Romo has left, see if he can be the gunslinger they say he is."
Several Dolphins said they are looking forward to the challenge of stopping Dallas' offense. They have one believer in CBS analyst Dan Dierdorf.
"Well, they won't put 45 points up on Miami. I'd be shocked if they got out of the 20s," Dierdorf said of Dallas. "I think there's enough talent and leadership on that defense, they'll rise to the challenge."
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