The
Huddle
WEEK 9
September 3, 2003
Season Ticket
|
|
| |
|
| Indianapolis vs Miami |
Sun, Nov 2; 1 PM on CBS at Pro
Player Stadium |
| |
Indianapolis |
Rush |
Catch |
Pass |
| QB |
Peyton Manning |
0 |
0 |
280,2 |
| RB |
Edgerrin James |
50 |
30 |
0 |
| TE |
Marcus Pollard |
0 |
30 |
0 |
| TE |
Dallas Clark |
Q |
Q |
Q |
| WR |
Marvin Harrison |
0 |
80,1 |
0 |
| WR |
Troy Walters |
0 |
40,1 |
0 |
| WR |
Reggie Wayne |
0 |
60 |
0 |
|
| |
Miami |
Rush
|
Catch
|
Pass
|
| QB |
Brian Griese |
0 |
0 |
230,2 |
| RB |
Ricky Williams
|
120,1 |
10 |
0 |
| TE |
Randy McMichael
|
0 |
30 |
0 |
| WR |
Chris Chambers
|
0 |
100,1 |
0 |
| WR |
Derrius Thompson
|
0 |
30 |
0 |
| WR |
James McKnight
|
0 |
40,1 |
0 |
|
Game Prediction: IND 20, MIA 24
Update:
Dallas Clark is still questionable to play due to his hamstring
strain and I have removed him from the projections.
No visitor has scored more than 21 points in Miami and disregarding
the trap game that opened the season, no team has scored more
than 17. Other then week one, the Colts have not scored less
than 20 and have four games over 30 points.
Miami is at home and no doubt have reviewed the IND-TB game
film with the same attention that Pam Anderson's video generated
on the internet. The Colts have allowed at least 21 points
to their last four opponents while the Fins basically have
not allowed more than one touchdown to their last five opponents.
Indianapolis Notes
The Colts are 6-1 and leading the AFC South by a half game.
They come off a good thumping of the Texans.
Quarterbacks: Peyton
Manning 'yawn' threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns
against the Texans and has been nothing short of incredible
since week four in Tampa Bay. He's heading to Florida again
this week.
Running backs: Edgerrin
James finally returned to play last week and gained 104
yards on 23 carries but has not been a part of the passing
game in a long time. That will need to change this week. Dominic
Rhodes only had two carries last week.
Wide Receivers: While
Marvin Harrison gained his standard eight catches for
100 yards against the Texans, Reggie Wayne had his
second big outing of the year with a 96 yard, two touchdown
game. Wayne has five touchdowns on the year. Brandon Stokley
finally showed up in time to not catch his two throws while
Troy Walters remains a target almost as much as Wayne,
even in the redzone.
Tight Ends: Dallas
Clark missed last week but is slated to return for this
game. When Pollard had it all to himself against Houston,
he had four catches for 32 yards and one touchdown.
Match against the defense:
Edgerrin James will find tough running in Miami where no visiting
running back has exceeded 89 yards or scored any touchdowns.
Travis Henry (7 yards) and Kevin Faulk (38 yards) never even
had one good run. The Fins also held Taylor to only 35 yards
and Barber to but 71 yards.
The Fins have been beaten through the air and allowed Tom
Brady (283), Collins (276) and Leftwich (256) to record good
efforts. Manning will need to throw in order to win but the
duo of CB Madison and Surtain have been very tough on wideouts,
allowing only Troy Brown to record a big game that literally
came on one play in overtime. That spells more use of James
and the tight ends in the passing scheme.
Miami Notes
The Dolphins are 5-2 and are only a half game back in the
AFC East. They come off a Monday night win in Arizona over
San Diego.
Quarterbacks: Brian
Griese filled in for Jay Fiedler on Monday night
and looked almost flawless the first half. He threw for 192
yards in the game with three touchdowns and completed twelve
passes to the wideouts - their highest of the season. Basically,
Griese did everything that Fiedler has been doing but made
completions down the field. I am assuming that Griese starts
again and that Fiedler sits though HC Dave Wannstedt was very
adamant that he did not want to discuss the roles this week.
This is no time to get stubborn, Dave.
Running backs: Ricky
Williams ran for 69 yards on 23 carries on Monday, adding
26 more on five catches. He has not turned in a 100 yard rushing
effort since week three though he has scored twice. By the
same token he is getting literally all the carries in many
games and never sees more than three carries go to someone
else.
Wide Receivers: As noted,
Griese came out and started hitting the wideouts like they
had been there all season. Chris Chambers had four
catches for 79 yards and a touchdown, James McKnight
gained 43 yards on six receptions for a score and even - get
this - Derrius Thompson had three catches for 65 yards.
The fact that the Dolphins led handily in most of the game
was the only limiting factor to the passing game. Griese just
missed on some deep throws as well. Imagine - throwing bombs
in Miami!
Tight Ends: With the
wideouts actually working, Randy McMichael only had
three catches for 24 yards but scored once and almost had
a second one.
Match against the defense:
The Dolphins have won the past four times these teams have
met but this season will prove a tough challenge for them.
Assuming Griese can play, the Colts have allowed yardage in
the air when faced with a good passing team like Tampa Bay
(318 yards). Keenan McCardell had two scores and 106 yards
against them playing the same side as Chambers. Steve Smith
had 103 yards and a score against them last week from the
right side as well.
The Colts have also been hurt on the ground lately, allowing
Domanick Davis (109 yards), Pittman (106), Taylor (126) and
Davis/Foster (161) to ran well against them. This should spell
a good game for Ricky Williams because no one wants to leave
time on the clock for Indy to use.
| Team Comparisons - Current team
rankings (1-32) for FF points scored or allowed
by position |
| Rank (1-32) |
QB
|
RB
|
WR
|
TE
|
PK
|
DEF
|
| IND Scores |
4
|
19
|
4
|
8
|
1
|
15
|
| MIA Allows |
20
|
16
|
26
|
11
|
24
|
7
|
| IND AP |
16
|
-3
|
22
|
3
|
23
|
-8
|
|
| Rank (1-32) |
QB
|
RB
|
WR
|
TE
|
PK
|
DEF
|
| MIA Scores |
16
|
1
|
23
|
5
|
6
|
12
|
| IND Allows |
6
|
21
|
10
|
17
|
5
|
1
|
| MIA AP |
-10
|
20
|
-13
|
12
|
-1
|
-11
|
|
Offensive ranks lower = gains more points, Defensive
ranks lower = allows less points
AP = Advantage Points, the net difference between a positional
rank gained or allowed by the teams.
|
IND
|
MIA
|
2003 Game Averages
|
MIA
|
IND
|
|
Gains
|
Allows
|
QB's
|
Gains
|
Allows
|
|
268
|
249
|
Pass yards
|
187
|
197
|
|
2.1
|
0.6
|
Pass TDs
|
1.3
|
1.1
|
|
0.7
|
1.7
|
Interceptions
|
1
|
1.1
|
|
1
|
10
|
Rush yards
|
10
|
5
|
|
0.0
|
0.1
|
Rush TDs
|
0.1
|
0.0
|
|
---
|
-----
|
RB's
|
-----
|
---
|
|
90
|
64
|
Rush yards
|
97
|
119
|
|
0.7
|
0.3
|
Rush TDs
|
0.6
|
0.6
|
|
27
|
44
|
Receive yards
|
41
|
34
|
|
0.3
|
0
|
Receive TD's
|
0.1
|
0.0
|
|
---
|
-----
|
WR's
|
-----
|
---
|
|
187
|
175
|
Receive yards
|
103
|
121
|
|
1.6
|
0.6
|
Receive TD's
|
0.9
|
1.0
|
|
---
|
-----
|
TE's
|
-----
|
---
|
|
54
|
30
|
Receive yards
|
43
|
42
|
|
0.3
|
0.0
|
Receive TD's
|
0.3
|
0.1
|
|
---
|
-----
|
PK's
|
-----
|
---
|
|
2.6
|
1.6
|
Field Goals
|
1.1
|
1.3
|
|
3.1
|
1.1
|
Extra Points
|
2.4
|
2.0
|
|
---
|
-----
|
DEF/ST
|
-----
|
---
|
|
0.6
|
1.0
|
Fumbles
|
0.7
|
0.6
|
|
0.9
|
1.0
|
Interceptions
|
1.9
|
0.6
|
|
0.3
|
0.1
|
Touchdowns
|
0.1
|
0.0
|
|
1.9
|
1.3
|
Sacks
|
2.4
|
0.6
|
|
0.0
|
0.0
|
Safeties
|
0.1
|
0.0
|
|
|
Colts (6-1) |
|
Score |
Opp. |
| 9-6 |
@CLE |
| 33-7 |
TEN |
| 23-13 |
JAX |
| 55-21 |
@NO |
| 38-35 |
@TB |
| 20-23 |
CAR |
| Week 7 |
BYE |
| 30-21 |
HOU |
| Week 9 |
@MIA |
| Week 10 |
@JAX |
| Week 11 |
NYJ |
| Week 12 |
@BUF |
| Week 13 |
NE |
| Week 14 |
@TEN |
| Week 15 |
ATL |
| Week 16 |
DEN |
| Week 17 |
@HOU |
|
|
Dolphins (5-2) |
|
Score |
Opp. |
| 20-21 |
HOU |
| 21-10 |
@NYJ |
| 17-7 |
BUF |
| Week 4 |
BYE |
| 23-10 |
@NYG |
| 24-10 |
@JAX |
| 13-19 |
NE |
| 26-10 |
@SD |
| Week 9 |
IND |
| Week 10 |
@TEN |
| Week 11 |
BAL |
| Week 12 |
WAS |
| Week 13 |
@DAL |
| Week 14 |
@NE |
| Week 15 |
PHI |
| Week 16 |
@BUF |
| Week 17 |
NYJ |
|
* Fantasy point rankings calculated using standard Huddle
fantasy points |