Miami Dolphins Defense Smacks Brett Favre Into Submission In Minnesota

    The Miami Dolphins are back after a narrow 14-10 victory in Minnesota. The defense put on a dominant performance highlighted by Jason Allen's two interceptions and Cameron Wake's game altering forced fumble leading to a touchdown.



Let's break down the game in its entirety as the Dolphins look to continue their success this season with the New York Jets at home next week.









ESPN

Individual Stats

Miami Passing



C. Henne – 9/15 114 YDS, TD (106.0 QB Rating)



Minnesota Passing



B. Favre – 22/36 225 YDS, 3 INT (44.3 QB Rating)




Miami Rushing



R. Brown – 13 RUSH, 80 YDS, FUM



R. Williams – 10 RUSH, 30 YDS, FUM



Minnesota Rushing



A. Peterson – 28 RUSH, 145 YDS, TD



T. Gerhart – 4 RUSH, 10 YDS



Miami Receiving



B. Marshall – 4 REC, 71 YDS



B. Hartline – 3 REC, 28 YDS, TD



Minnesota Receiving



V. Shiancoe – 6 REC, 86 YDS



A. Peterson – 5 REC, 41 YDS



Miami Defense



J.Allen – 2 INT, 11 TACK, 3 PD



V. Davis – INT, 6 TACK, 2 PD



C. Wake – FF, 1.5 SACK,



K. Langford – SACK



R. Starks – 0.5 SACK



K. Misi – TD





Minnesota Defense



J. Allen – SACK



K. Williams – SACK



C. Greenway – 8 TACK, 2 TFL





Grades

Quarterback – Although on paper Chad Henne played an efficient, mistake-free game, there is major room for improvement. He still locks onto receivers and the defensive line has learned to read his eyes, which resulted in a few balls batted down at the line yesterday.



Still, he faced a hostile road crowd and managed the game pretty well. He connected on his first throw, a 50 yard bomb to Brandon Marshall. I’d like to see him have more opportunities down the field because he throws a pretty good deep ball.



Grade: C+



Backs – Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown played well until two major mistakes. They both had costly fumbles, especially Ricky, who coughed up the ball on the Dolphins own one-yard line.



Grade: D



Receivers/Tight Ends – Brandon Marshall proved why he’s one of the game’s most dominant receivers on Sunday. He beat his man for a 50-yard strike on the Dolphins first offensive play. Brian Hartline ran a perfect route on his touchdown grab in the first quarter.



Grade: A-



Offensive Line – The line handled an excellent Vikings front with efficiency. Jake Long played superb against Jared Allen. The pass protection was solid, giving up two sacks, with both resulting from Henne holding the ball too long.



Run blocking was pretty good, but the Vikings stacked the line for most of the game so production was limited. They did an excellent job on Ronnie Brown’s 46-yard burst off the Dolphins own goal line.



Grade: B+



Defense Line - Brett Favre was beat up, harassed, and hit all day. They did an amazing job in the passing game, but struggled to contain Adrian Peterson in the running game. He racked up 145 yards on the day and often broke into the second level of the defense with ease.



Grade: C+



Linebackers – Cameron Wake is impressing more and more with every game. He forced a game-deciding fumble for a touchdown and also was in on another sack with Randy Starks. Karlos Dansby played solid as usual, providing the touchdown saving hit on the Dolphins goal-line stand in the second half.



The one negative was the missed tackles in the running game. I know Peterson is a load, but they have to work on tackling technique (Misi, Wake). Arm tackles are not going to bring down backs like AP.



Grade: A -



Secondary - To think that this unit was the biggest question mark heading into the season. Jason Allen (2 INT) looks like a shutdown corner in this man-heavy scheme. Wait, did I really just write that? He had the game of his career yesterday. Vontae Davis is looking like a Pro Bowl corner and didn’t give up anything to Favre. He’s aggressive, instinctive, and reminds me of a more physical Patrick Surtain.



Grade: A+



Special Teams - Dan Carpenter didn’t get much action Sunday. Brandon Fields was great as usual, pinning the Vikings back within their own 20 several times. The return game wasn’t much of a factor, and return coverage was excellent, forcing a fumble in the second half.



Grade: B



Coaching – Defensively, Mike Ryan and crew proved again to have a huge edge. Favre was never comfortable at any point yesterday and much of that goes to the various coverages thrown at him. Offensively, there are some issues. It still appears the coaches are lacking confidence in Henne. Outside of the bomb to Marshall, it was an extremely conservative game plan.



What frustrated me the most was the decision to not try to score with 3 timeouts and a minute remaining in the first half. Play to win the game!



Coaching B+



Overall – It was another gritty, ugly, win. But any win is a good win in this league and the fact that both wins came on the road is all the more impressive. We might not know how good this team is just yet, but we do know one thing. They are physical and mentally tough.



The defense looks absolutely dominant. Wake is going to get double teamed as the season progresses, so it will be important that other guys become factors in pass rushing situations. The secondary has been incredible thus far.



Offensively, I’m a little worried about Chad Henne. He doesn’t seem like he has all the confidence in the world. The fact that the coaches don’t let him play is disturbing. It’s time to let the kid give it all he has and if he screws up, so be it. At times he was a gun slinger last season and I haven’t seen any of that yet this year. They should open up the play-calling against a banged up Jets defense at home next week.



It was a great win.



Next Week: Sunday night against the Jets at Sun Life Stadium

Brett Favre Ready, But Receiving Core Impaired

Brett Favre had good reason to play for the Vikings in 2009.

    He was never going to admit it, but the chance to show the Green Bay Packers they had made a mistake by jettisoning him after the 2007 season was a huge factor. Nobody ever believed Favre wanted to play a season in New York, and the fact that his year with the Jets went from magical (an 8-3 start) to maddening (he suffered a biceps injury and the Jets won one of their final five games) gave him even more incentive to continue.
This enormous level of motivation helped the 40-year-old Favre put together one of the best seasons of his career. He threw 33 touchdowns, only seven interceptions and led the Vikings to a 12-4 record and the NFC Championship Game.
That brings us to this simple question: What is Favre's motivation this time?
As Favre addressed the media on Aug. 18, 2009, there was a certain fire in his eyes and a defiance in his voice that, from this corner at least, seemed to be largely based on the realization that this would be his opportunity for pay back on Packers General Manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy.
Favre got it by beating the Vikings' NFC North rival twice, 30-23 in a Monday night game at the Metrodome and 38-26 at Lambeau Field.
Favre made his point.
Perhaps that's why as he addressed the media on Aug. 18, 2010, the fire and defiance of a year earlier seemed to be missing. Favre's theme was that this time he had decided to return because of the players in the Vikings locker room.
Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson and Ryan Longwell had shown up unannounced -- at least to Favre -- on his doorstep in Mississippi and explained to the quarterback exactly how much he was wanted (and needed) for another season. Eventually, Favre couldn't say no.


  As for the rest of Vikings Training camp, there is no real good signs. Sidney Rice, Favre's go - to target and pro bowl receiver has a bad hip, Percy Harvin will undoubtedly be inconsistent as far as starting games this season, and Bernard Berrian is coming off his worst season in a while. Will the Vikings receiving core come together before season start?

How did it come to this?
That seemed an appropriate question Tuesday after Vikings Pro Bowl wide receiver Sidney Rice acknowledged he had hip surgery that could keep him out for at least eight weeks and perhaps the season.
The arthroscopic procedure at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo., was done to repair an injury Rice suffered seven months ago in the NFC Championship Game at New Orleans. That meant an entire offseason in which Rice could have had the problem corrected was now gone and, thus, so was one of Brett Favre's favorite targets.
Rice said he visited the clinic in the offseason but when he went back in recent days, his hip "showed significant changes." "[The doctor] said it was something I could try and work through," Rice said of his initial visit. "That was the plan I tried. I was trying to rehab it. The area just got worse."
Rice remained in Vail, where he had the surgery on Monday and shortly thereafter was allowed to ride an exercise bike for 20 minutes.
"I would think probably at least eight weeks before we're talking about [him] doing anything," coach Brad Childress said.
Rice, who caught a career-best 83 passes for 1,312 yards with eight touchdowns last season in his first year playing with Favre, has been on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list since training camp opened. By staying there when the regular season begins, he would be ineligible to play for the first six weeks and would not count against the 53-man roster. He could be kept on the PUP list through the ninth week of the season, but he would then have to be activated or placed on season-ending injured reserve.
Childress wasn't about to bite when asked if Rice had made a business decision -- not wanting to risk injury in part because he's due a salary of $550,000 this season in the last year of his rookie contract.



Looking on to the positive, Brett Favre is back, Cedric Griffin looks healthy finally,  E.J. Henderson got seven tackles and one sack vs the San Fransisco 49ers on Sunday and one sack;coming back to form, and Antoine Winfield hopefully has gotten over his endeavors as well. So Vikings fans, let your heart open and get a Brett Favre or Minnesota  Vikings player jersey below:

Top Reasons Why Brett Favre Isn't Going To Retire

God I love that Sports Quote Video.










Oh right Brett Favre. Is He still around?! Yes and now he's approaching 40 years and has had three total ankle surgeries, and constant concussions and beatings. So What Keeps Him going, watch to Find Out:





Top Ten Reasons Favfe Shouldn't Retire:

1. He's Still Got It:

2009 was a banner year for Favre.
The 19-year veteran and future Hall-of-Famer threw for 33 touchdowns and 4,202 yards, in addition to posting career highs in both passer rating (107.2) and completion percentage (68.4 percent). Favre also threw the fewest number of interceptions in a full season, seven, in his career. He was a top 5 quarterback last year and held the crown for winning drives and clutch throws. What 40 year old in sports can take a team on his back a lead them to a NFC Championship game. Nada, Exception being Brett.

The Downside, is his history of injuries. With The Jets in 08 he tore a bicep and with the Vikings he clocked his third ankle surgery. But, The Silverfox is known to fight through injury for his love of the game is greater than the pain.


2. Sidney Rice

After two decent seasons in the league, the South Carolina product had a breakout year in 2009 with Favre behind center. Rice was No. 4's favorite target, with the pair hooking up for over 1,300 yards and eight touchdowns.


The Three Year Veteran is a developing Larry Fitzgerald, and is a formidable deep threat with asoft hands and a good vertical. Not only, Sidney But Berrian, an experienced veteran, will continue to produce consistently and Percy Harvin, now on his second year, is going nowhere but up. with a great nucleus of receivers who all have talent, speed, and good hands who wouldn't want to be the quarterback.

3.Adrian Peterson

He's gained over 1,300 yards in each of his three seasons in the NFL, bringing his career total to nearly 4,500. Peterson has scored 40 touchdowns over that span, including 18 last season. He's averaged an astounding 4.9 yards per carry for his career.

AP is a bomb waiting to go off....you can't contain his explosive running game because you better bet every play he's looking to take it to the house. With Ap and Brett Teams have to game plan not just for one of the best quaterbacks in the league, but also the future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson. And don't worry about his fumbling issue. With his tenacity and what it cost us last year, especially vs the Saints in the NFC Championship game, he won't be fumbling come this season.

4. The Vikings Are Super Bowl Contenders

The Vikings, with addition of Chris Cook in as the 33rd pick in the 2nd round [remember we traded our 30th 1st round pick for a Detroit 2nd round pick and 4th round pick]. Have no holes that I can see in our defense. Our run game is practically a gridiron dynasty, like the purple people eaters of the late 70's. On Offense Brett has some of the best bigs in the business protecting his left side and the side are no pushovers.

Peterson and Rice are only the tip of the iceberg on a roster that includes the likes of seven-time Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson, fellow Pro Bowler Bryant McKinnie at tackle, and another deep threat in receiver Bernard Berrian.
And that's just the offense.
Usually overshadowed by the aforementioned names, the defensive side of the ball has made incredible strides over the past few years in Minnesota.
Led by a stout defensive line that includes Jared Allen, Pat Williams, and Kevin Williams, the new Purple People Eaters allowed the 10th-fewest points per game last season (19.5) and was sixth in total yards against per game (305.5).
If opposing offenses are lucky enough to get beyond the front four, fearsome linebackers E.J. Henderson and Chad Johnson.

To Sum it up, Favre has weapons at his disposal and he doesn't have to win it by any means by himself.

5. His Pure Love Of The Game

Brett Favre plays football with pure joy. Ever since he started in Mississippi, he's never let the game change his game. He plays with the same free spirit and Wiley that he does in his own backyard. Truly he's still in the game because he loves it and can't imagine his life without it. To retire, would to strip himself of his joy and exonerated image that football gives him. Brett can't leave the game, because the game can't leave him.

6. To Not End His Career On An interception

What prideful superstar wants to leave the game on a heartbreaking interception that would crack his own legacy whether he likes it or not. Obviously Brett doesn't want people to remember him as a shaky gunslinger that couldn't run five yards for the win.

7. He Doesn't Have Anything To Do In Mississippi

Brett's one of those carefree- humble guys but he also loves the excitement and limelight that each NFL season presents. Anyways, what is there to do in Mississippi? Fish, mow your lawn, then what. Just settle down on a farm with the wife and kids. That doesn't sound like a worthy alternative to playing NFL football and contending for another Superbowl with the Vikings.

8. Vikings Fans Love Him!!

His Jerseys are selling like hotcakes, he sells out pre-season games for us, we need him to win a Superbowl!! Purple pride nation appreciates and loves Brett and his roller coaster he's put us on. We still want to ride, Brett please stay.

9. He Gets Another 20 Million

For doing something you love and having the role and stature of a veteran and leader on a very good football team should be reward enough. In addition, he takes 20 mil to the bank, and can feel more at peace come retirement time.

10. To Beat The Saints Next Year

All of Minnesota has Drew Bress and Tracy Porter on our titlists. They made our winter just that much more filled with despair and unhappiness as sub-zero temperatures rolled in on our beautiful landscape. I'm sure Brett would love to come back and just massacre the Saints in the 1st regular season game of the year. That could be so sweet, if it were to be true. And set the tone and mood for the rest of the year.