Chad Cools Clawless Carolina Cats

Ricky reliable replacement runner
The injury-riddled Miami Dolphins capped Carolina to climb back into the AFC playoff picture. The Fins fought off the Panthers in Charlotte 24-17 behind three Ricky Williams touchdowns. Running back Williams replaced the most important injured Dolphin, Ronnie Brown. The 32 year old was brilliant in leading Miami to their fourth win in six games. The desperate Dolphins sit at .500 with a 5-5 record after beginning the year 0-3. Williams, the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner, continued his NFL resurgence with a 119 yard rushing night and three touchdowns. He helped make a winner out of rookie quarterback, Chad Henne. Henne overcame injuries to his offensive line, including a missing center, to complete 17 of 29 passes for 172 yards. Henne outplayed the veteran Carolina quarterback in just his seventh career start.
The Dolphins’ first touchdown drive was set up by the wildcat formation. Henne launched a 14 yard pass to Williams to give the Fins a 7-3 lead. Williams scored from the one yard line with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter to increase Miami’s lead before the half. He got into the end zone ahead of Panthers linebacker, Jon Beason, for his second score of the evening. Carolina passer, Jake Delhomme, threw one interception and one touchdown in the loss. Delhomme struggled with completions despite passing for 227 yards through the air. He went just 19 for 42, thanks in part to a stingy Dolphins defense. Tony Sparano’s defense knocked down Delhomme passes and forced the Panthers to punt when it seemed like the home team might have a chance. All-Pro linebacker, Joey Porter, had seven tackles for the fine-tuned Fins. Porter swarmed the Panthers for two of the Dolphin’s three first-half sacks. Cornerback Nathan Jones ended a Carolina drive in the third quarter when he picked off Delhomme at the Miami four yard line. Delhomme is second in the NFL interceptions thrown. The Panthers didn’t score a touchdown until the final quarter. Steve Smith hauled in a spiral with five minutes left in the game to trim the Miami lead to three points. The Carolina receiver caught seven passes for 87 yards. The Panthers never got it back together. DeAngelo Williams compiled a 100-yard effort for crumbling and collapsing Carolina. But Delhomme’s offense got bogged down trying to implement a no-huddle offense. Williams put the game away in the fourth on a 46-yard scoring burst. His third touchdown of the game made it 24-14 Miami. Panthers’ kicker, John Kasey, legged his third field goal with 1:41 on the clock. Delhomme engineered one last drive to try for the tie. He succeeded in hooking up with Gary Barnidge for 29 and 17 yard passes and Panthers first downs. Delhomme passed incomplete to Dwayne Jarrett as time expired to send the Panthers home with a 4-6 record and crushing defeat. It’s going to take a lot to patch up the Panthers, who are pitifully falling apart at the seams.
Williams definitely showed he still has some juice left in his legs, but the Dolphins need to be more than a one-man, one-dimensional offense to be effective. In order to make the playoffs, Miami must utilized Davone Bess and Ted Ginn, Jr. Bess has six receptions Thursday night, including a diving grab in the first half. His grab in the final quarter set up Williams’ rushing touchdown. Ginn, Jr., the gifted former Ohio State receiver, collected four receptions for 32 yards. His Buckeye buddy, Brian Hartline, was the recipient of two for over 40 yards. I would like to see Henne use his receivers more often instead of averting them. The backfield is where the Fins thrive, but not every defense will play as loose as the Panthers did last night. The elite AFC teams will contain the rush, and Williams won’t always find holes to run effectively. Without critical offensive lineman, Henne has to be extra cautious. Miami’s undermanned offense will be overmatched against shredding defenses. Still, the Dolphins should shift the focus away from Williams and let Henne do his thing. It wouldn’t hurt to see what the former Michigan signal caller can do. If Henne show a third as much promise as the Fins’ ground attack, Miami will have one more way to win competitive contests. All this prattle about the wildcard is really unfounded in efficacy. If the formation were that useful, why have most NFL teams abandoned it?

Parting Points: Listening to the song “Whatcha Want” by the Beastie Boys

Tough loss for OSU basketball last night at MSG.