|
| |  |
Dolphins (9-7) at Seahawks (9-7)
Posted: Friday January 07, 2000 11:46 PM
| |
| Edges |
| Seahawks | | Dolphins |
| Kitna has 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, so his ratio is significantly better than Marino's (nine TDs/14 INT). Glenn Foley is solid backup off the bench who can spark a team. | QB
 | If Marino throws picks, we'll see mobile Damon Huard in the game pretty quickly. |
| If Ricky Watters is healthy enough to play, the edge goes to Seattle. If he's not, this is almost an even battle, though Ahman Green has more experience playing in the league. | RB
| Seahawks don't know what to expect from Denson. But neither does Miami. |
| Both teams face the chore of having to block 300-pounders on the inside. Seattle's center and guards have to match up with Miami's Tim Bowens and Daryl Gardener. | OL
 | Guards and center (Kevin Donnalley, Tim Ruddy and Mark Dixon), however, will have a tough time with Seattle tackles Cortez Kennedy and Sam Adams. But tackles Richmond Webb and James Brown on Seattle ends Phillip Daniels and Michael Sinclair is a fair matchup. |
| Galloway will play more in this game, and the Miami coverages play to his strength, which is speed. Sean Dawkins, Derrick Mayes and Mike Pritchard give them a much better group of receivers to go along with Galloway than Miami has. And Seahawks tight end Christian Fauria is better than Hunter Goodwin. | Rec
| Tony Martin has not played up to the level they hoped he would. Miami's other receivers are very average and don't possess much speed. |
| Michael Sinclair and Phillip Daniels are better all-around players than Miami's Jason Taylor and Rich Owens. | DL
| Dolphins have great inside players in Bowens and Gardener, but overall their front four isn't as strong. |
| Chad Brown (and Anthony Simmons and Darren Smith) win out because they are better equipped to handle the passing game, of which both teams will see plenty. | LB
| Tackling machine Zach Thomas leads Dolphins, but run game won't be a factor in a game that should see about 90 pass attempts. |
| Mike Holmgren calls safety Jay Bellamy, who has been hot the past few games, his best defensive back. Seattle's safeties get the edge. | DB
| But Seattle corners Shawn Springs and Willie Williams are not asked to play the difficult press scheme coverages every down that Miami's corners, Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain, are. So Miami's corners, although they're given a much harder job, prevail. |
| Galloway presents a much more dangerous threat as a deep punt returner than Miami's Terrell Buckley, who has been inconsistent as a return man since being benched as a starting receiver. | ST
| Olindo Mare is the best kicker in the NFL, and it doesn't matter that he's on the road because the game is inside. Kicking edge to Miami, return edge to Seattle. |
| Mike Holmgren's offense allows Kitna to audible, which gives Seattle more flexibility and provides Seattle more opportunities to score. And Kitna and Co. are facing the kind of opponent against whom he could be very dangerous doing it. | Coach
| Meanwhile, Jimmy Johnson has restricted Dan Marino -- and Huard -- and taken the audible out of the scheme. But by bringing in a defensive coordinator, Miami has added plenty to the defensive package. | |
Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years in the NFL as a coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/SI. He previews each of this weekend's wild-card playoff matchups.
The Dolphins will win if: They put pressure on Seattle quarterback Jon Kitna and stop the deep-passing game against their press corners.
The Seahawks will win if: Joey Galloway becomes a bigger factor than he has been to date, and if running back Ricky Watters is able to play.
The key matchup: Galloway vs. Miami cornerback Patrick Surtain. Miami does not flip-flop its corners, so when Galloway comes out they will put him on Surtain. Surtain will have to cover the fastest guy in the NFL in man-to-man coverage. Shawn Springs vs. Tony Martin is also huge. Springs has the advantage there.
Don't be surprised if: Miami uses some zone coverages, which is not typical in their defensive game plan. The Seattle running game is suspect right now; thus Miami could play with seven in the box and double the Seahawks receivers. . . . Tim Bowens has a big day rushing the passer. Bowens will go up against his former teammate, Seattle center Chris Gray. Expect to see Bowens all over the field.
X factor: No one really knows who's going run the ball for either team. Autry Denson, who was on Tampa Bay's practice squad a few weeks ago, could start for Seattle and surprise everybody with a big game. JJ Johnson will be back, but Autry has done some nice things with the football, and Seattle doesn't really have a feel for him yet. It looks like Ahman Green is going to have to carry the ball for Seattle more than Mike Holmgren would expect. ... If Damon Huard comes off the bench to replace Marino, Huard's increased mobility changes how Seattle has to play defense. This could happen sooner rather than later, since Wade Phillips has already pulled the plug on Doug Flutie. That makes it easier for Jimmy Johnson to do the same with Marino.
Prediction: The Dolphins match up fairly well with Seattle. But the controversy surrounding how to handle Marino, plus the trip to from Miami to Seattle (which is the farthest distance between NFL cities) and the noise in the Kingdome probably provide Seattle with enough advantages. These are not two of the stronger AFC contenders, but someone will have to win. It will be Seattle.
|
Copyright © 2000
CNN/Sports Illustrated
An AOL Time Warner Company.
All Rights Reserved.
|
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.
|
|
