November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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Here's why Ricky Williams might be the most amazing story in football right now: He's doing things he never did before. No one expected that from him. Not at 32, in his second football act, after all the miles and all the stories. But Thursday night, in the 24-17 victory against Carolina, the Dolphins offense wasn't just Run, Ricky, Run. It started with this: Catch, Ricky, Catch. Asked to be a feature back in a competitive season for first time since he wore dreadlocks, Williams caught a 14-yard pass for the Dolphins' first touchdown. He then ran a 1-yard touchdown out of the Wildcat formation for the second touchdown. He'd never done this before, by the way. Never run for and caught a ..."
November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown will undergo surgery Friday morning to repair a Lisfranc fracture to his right foot, according Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland. Brown stayed in Charlotte to have Dr. Bob Anderson, a renowned foot expert based in the city, work on the injury he suffered last Sunday in the team's 25-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's uncertain how long the recovery time will be, but Donald Thomas, the Dolphins starting right guard, suffered a similar injury and began training four months later. Brown, who has rushed for 677 yards and scored six touchdowns this season, was played on the injured reserve, which means he won't be eligible to return this ..."
November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Lex Hilliard had waited a long time for his opportunity to contribute on offense, so what was one more play? The Dolphins' second-year tailback's first run Thursday night, a 13-yard trot up the gut of Carolina's defense, was erased by a holding call on center Jake Grove. No worries, because the very next pass, a 6-yard dumpoff from quarterback Chad Henne, came Hilliard's way, providing his first statistical contribution to the offense during the regular season. He followed up his first NFL catch with and 18-yard run that set up the Dolphins' first touchdown. Hilliard inherited a larger role against Carolina because of Ronnie Brown's foot injury, which landed the team's leading runner on ..."
November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Jim Mandich
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The Dolphins came up here on a short week of preparation with a banged up football team and found a way to get it done. Try to figure out all the combinations used on the injury-depleted offensive line if you can. Try to figure out exactly how any positions on the line Nate Garner played in Thursday night's 24-17 win over the Panthers, but somehow the Dolphins managed to pull out an important victory. It was a stinky start to the game, but the offense grabbed the momentum in the second quarter, just making enough plays to take the lead. While the defense kept Carolina to a field goal in the first half you knew it was going to get dicey in the second half, and it did. That third-down ..."
November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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OK, so maybe this wasn't "Porter's House," the weekly segment Joey Porter tapes for the league-run television arm. But the man with the self-described alter ego called "Peezy" still set the early tone Thursday night on the NFL Network. Clearly invigorated by his one-game benching four days earlier, the veteran linebacker keyed a strong Dolphins pass rush that produced four sacks and a much-needed 24-17 win over the Carolina Panthers. "Joey kind of got it started," said Dolphins coach Tony Sparano, who made the decision to sit Porter down for reasons still not fully explained. "I was pleased with the pass rush. We needed it." On an evening filled with smack talk and vicious hits, the ..."
November 19
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Ronnie Brown, the Miami Dolphins' leading rusher, leads a list of four key players the team has declared out for Thursday night's game at Carolina. While Brown will miss his first game since 2007 with an injured right foot, he'll be joined on the shelf this week by starting tight end Anthony Fasano (hip), special-teams ace Erik Walden (hamstring) and backup nose tackle Paul Soliai (left ankle). Fasano, Walden and Soliai will be missing their second straight game. Starting left guard Justin Smiley is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury that kept him out of Sunday's 25-23 win over Tampa Bay. Smiley did participate fully in Wednesday's practice. He would likely be replaced again by ..."
November 19
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The new place is called Proof, set in a swanky Ocean Drive hotel, and the Tuesday night scene was one specific to South Beach: short-skirted waitresses strutting off for wee kiwi sangria so that the patrons can wash down their "lick it like a lollipop" Thai wings. The surprise wasn't necessarily that you would find Ricky Williams in such a spot. The surprise, considering how he has sometimes shunned the spotlight in recent years, was that you would find him with the assistance of an invitation promising his presence. Yet there he was, as advertised, Tuesday, at a restaurant where he helped pick the menu. And there he will be, in the Thursday night spotlight, once again the main entrée in ..."
November 18
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Dolphins placed running back Ronnie Brown on injured reserve with a foot injury, ending his season. The Dolphins play the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night. Brown, who accompanied the team on the trip, rushed for 648 yards on a 4.4 average in nine games this season. He was also the triggerman of the Wildcat package and threw a touchdown pass. He was injured Sunday against the Tampa Bay, on a play in which he fumbled. Since Nick Saban drafted Brown with the No. 2 overall pick in 2005, the former Auburn star has played in all 16 games only once -- last season. He has played in 60 of a possible 73 games and, by season's end, it will be 60 of a possible 80. His absence means that ..."
November 18
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Mike Berardino
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Chad Pennington spends his game days camped in front of the family flat screen, watching his Dolphins teammates do battle in a roaring stadium while he plays referee to his two young sons. "They've got their Dolphin helmets on and they're throwing the football and it gets pretty rowdy and loud in there, that's for sure," Pennington said Tuesday in his first public comments since undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery on Oct. 2. And just how big is that TV screen? "It's pretty big," Pennington said after an appearance at the Miami Dolphins Touchdown Club. The same may be said of the veteran quarterback's impact on successor Chad Henne and the Dolphins' weekly offensive game plan. ..."
November 18
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown will miss Thursday night's game against the Carolina Panthers, according to coach Tony Sparano. "Ronnie Brown is out for this game," he said. "He will go see a specialist and we'll see. It's more of a foot injury." The Dolphins also could be without several other starters. Tight end Anthony Fasano sat out Tuesday's practice nursing the hip injury that kept him out of Sunday's 25-23 win over Tampa Bay, and while starting left guard Justin Smiley is working on a limited basis, Nate Garner, his replacement in Sunday's game, remains with the starting unit. Smiley, who is nursing a shoulder injury he suffered on Nov. 8th in the loss to the Patriots, sat ..."
November 16
Miami Herald
columnist Armando Salguero
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The up-and-down team had another up-and-down game and unless something drastic happens in the coming weeks, the Dolphins will be lamenting an up-and-down season. That is the only conclusion one can draw after watching nine weeks of Dolphins football, including Sunday's goats-to-heroes victory against the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What looked like a certain 22-16 victory with 2:10 to play turned into a likely 23-22 loss with 1:19 to play. And just as quickly as the clouds of defeat rolled in over the Dolphins, they cleared when Dan Carpenter's 25-yard field goal sailed past the uprights with 10 seconds to play for a 25-23 win. SEASON SYNOPSIS It was good, then terrible, then great. It ..."
November 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Skolnick
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The Dolphins made a number of acquisitions this offseason: Jake Grove, Gibril Wilson, Cameron Wake, among others. They brought in one guy they hoped they wouldn't need to keep. That guy was Connor Barth, and after Sunday's 25-23 victory against Tampa Bay, that stood out as an especially intelligent decision. That wasn't as much because of what Barth did Sunday for the Buccaneers, making three field goals from 50 or more yards, but rather what Dan Carpenter has done all season for the Dolphins. Sunday, Carpenter made all four field-goal attempts, including the 25-yard game winner. "I've been watching him," Barth said. "He's a clutch kicker.""
November 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Skolnick
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His hands played a role in the Dolphins' victory, snatching three Chad Henne passes. But, as shirtless rookie Kory Kalani Kahauaele Sperry spoke, it was hard not to notice the handiwork of others. Sperry's arms, chest and torso are covered with tattoos, including several skulls and skeletons, as well as a signpost next to his naval that says "Trust No One." Sunday, the Dolphins trusted Sperry to make plays. With David Martin gone, John Nalbone slow to develop and regular starter Anthony Fasano hobbled by a hip injury, the Dolphins activated Sperry from their practice squad Saturday. They had signed the undrafted Colorado State product in September, after the San Diego Chargers released ..."
November 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Dave Hyde
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Chad Henne lost the game Sunday. He blew it. The coaches trusted him with a little more than a minute left, and he let everyone down by throwing the one pass he couldn't . "Disheartening,'' Henne called the interception. That's how the story would start today. It's how every phone call and any debate would go. It would flow into a discussion of a Bill Parcells quarterbacking tenet, the one that says you don't know about any quarterback until he blows a game, everyone doubts him, and he has to enter the huddle the next week and lead the team again. Henne didn't wait a week. He was back in the huddle 33 scoreboard seconds later, re-writing Sunday's story, re-energizing a dormant offense and ..."
November 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Watching Ronnie Brown hobble off the field late in the third quarter Sunday, Dolphins veteran Jason Ferguson feared the worst. "No, no, just … no," Ferguson, the big nose tackle, said when asked what went through his mind. Brown probably won't be able to play Thursday at Carolina, but for now it looks as though the Dolphins dodged a bullet with the injury to Brown's right ankle rather than his surgically repaired right knee. The Dolphins' leading rusher left the locker room on crutches after this 25-23 win against Tampa Bay, but Brown was not wearing a protective boot and suggested X-rays were negative. "I don't feel like it's too bad," Brown said. "Hopefully everything works out. I feel ..."
November 16
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins tailback Ronnie Brown hobbled out of the Dolphins locker room with the assistance of crutches. The Dolphins leading rusher suffered what appears to be a serious right ankle injury during the third quarter of Sunday's 25-23 win over Tampa Bay, but considering his foot wasn't placed in a protective walking boot it's possible Brown just suffered a sprain. At least Brown, who gained 82 yards and scored a touchdown on his 12 carries against Tampa Bay, thinks it's just a sprain. "We did some X-rays and stuff, but I don't feel like it's too bad," said Brown, who suffered the injury while he was being tackled at the end of the 9-yard run that ended with him fumbling. "Hopefully ..."
November 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter practiced Friday and has been upgraded to probable for Sunday's home game against Tampa Bay despite an injured knee that slowed him all week. Three Dolphins players are listed as doubtful, headed by starting left guard Justin Smiley ( shoulder). Smiley did not practice all week and was sent to see a shoulder specialist on Thursday, when he missed practice, but he was back in the practice bubble on Friday and was seen riding an exercise bike. Also doubtful are linebacker Erik Walden (hamstring) and nose tackle Paul Soliai ( ankle). Walden is a "full core" special-teams player who would be difficult to replace, Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said, while ..."
November 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Play time is over for the Miami Dolphins. Coach Tony Sparano saw to that this week by, let's say, suggesting players stop playing dominoes in the locker room and get their minds strictly on football. Sparano insists he didn't force the players to end the dominoes games, which often got fairly loud. "I just made a specific emphasis fun and games need to be out there on the field," Sparano said Friday. The Dolphins, of course, with their 3-5 record, are fighting to save their season in Sunday's 1 p.m. game against woeful Tampa Bay (1-7) at Land Shark Stadium. Sparano apparently thinks a stronger focus on football and game-related issues will help his team's performance."