How can the Dolphins win at Wembley?
Earlier this week, the NFL unveiled the largest animated figure ever, a 26 foot version of Miami defensive end Jason Taylor, in Trafalgar Square. But, short of replacing the real Taylor with the animatronic one, the Dolphins are going to struggle against the New York Giants at Wembley this Sunday.
A heavy defeat to New England last weekend took the Phins' record to seven losses and no wins so far ? the worst start to a season in their 42-year history. They face a Giants team that has now won six straight games after losing their first two of the season. Said Taylor: "It could be worse, I could be in Iraq".
Things continue to slide downhill for Miami, who were forced to replace their coach over the summer when Nick Saban made a surprise move back to the college game. His replacement, Cam Cameron, has a great pedigree as an offensive co-ordinator, most recently with last year's all-conquering San Diego Chargers, but this is his first gig as a head coach.
His surprise move to bring in veteran quarterback Trent Green backfired at the start of October when Green suffered a heavy concussion. He has since been ruled out for the rest of the year. Running back Ronnie Brown carried the load for the first two months of the season but has also been lost for the season with a knee injury suffered against the Patriots. Oh, and some bright spark in the Dolphins front office decided to trade leading receiver Chris Chambers two weeks ago, aiming instead to build for the future.
Not since 1976, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers played their first NFL season and lost all 14 games, has a team gone through an entire season without a single victory. But some are now wondering whether Miami ? the only team ever to have won every single game in a season, back in 1972 ? could be the first to go through an entire 16-game schedule without success.
As Miami players prepare for a "home game" 4,500 miles from Dolphin Stadium, though, they can't afford to look at the bigger picture. They will be focussing on what they can do to win this one game, and reward the thousands of fans who have been supporting them for over 20 years without ever having seen them in a competitive game.
Firstly, much revolves around the success of their defence, which is under-performing at the moment. The Dolphins have been involved in three close matches so far and two - three-point losses to Washington on opening weekend and Houston at the start of this month - were low-scoring. They have suffered a further injury blow with the loss of safety Renaldo Hill but should still be strong enough against the pass.
The Giants' running game has over-achieved of late, with a running-by-committee system featuring Brandon Jacobs, Reuben Droughns and Derrick Ward. Dolphins middle linebacker Zach Thomas much be back at his best, following an early-season concussion, to prevent New York establishing themselves on the ground. And outside backer Joey Porter, who has disappointed since a big-money move from Pittsburgh, will have to step up.
Taylor will play a massive part in pressuring young Giants quarterback Eli Manning ? who on some weekends looks as good as his older brother, Colts Super Bowl winner Peyton, and on others, well, doesn't. If Manning is shaken early he will narrow his sights to a single target ? receiver Plaxico Burress ? and the defence can focus accordingly.
Secondly, Miami have to avoid making errors when they have the ball. Quarterback Cleo Lemon has gained some plaudits since stepping in for Green but he has also thrown four interceptions in three games. He completed an impressive 65% of his passes against New England last week but will be under more pressure as Brown is replaced by career backup Jesse Chatman. And he will have arguably the best defensive-end pairing in the league ? Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora - chasing him.
Thirdly, the Dolphins need a little magic, and that is where their strange front-office moves may finally come in useful. Instead of selecting a top quarterback in this year's college draft, Miami moved instead for receiver Ted Ginn Jr., who doubled as an electrifying kick returner at Ohio State but has yet to run a ball back for a score while playing professionally. If he does here, it will be from the boot of the Giants' Scottish-born kicker Lawrence Tynes.
If their defence can keep them in it and their offence can avoid messing things up, it still will need something special like a defensive touchdown or a sparkling special teams play for the Dolphins to turn their season arond in this most unlikely of venues.
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