Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins: Mirror images?
View full sizeIs there a reason we have no pictures of Browns offensive coordinator Brian Daboll (above) and Miami offensive coordinator Dan Henning in the same room?"The Patty Duke Show" went off the air in 1966. And yet, it's still one of those things some folks our age note when we're talking about similarities.
Those dang lyrics are so catchy that they stick in your head like a chicken bone in the throat: "They laugh alike / They walk alike / At times they even talk alike / You can lose your mind / When cousins are two of a kind."
With that in mind, after reading a bleacherreport.com spiel on what 10 things have to happen for the Dolphins to win Sunday, Starting Blocks has to wonder whether Browns offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and Fish OC Dan Henning are the new Patty and Cathy.
Which would be a nice trick, considering Daboll is 35 and Henning is 68.
But check this out:
Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning may be fired after this season given the Dolphins' season-long struggles in the red zone, in the rushing game, and getting Brandon Marshall the ball.
On Sunday, however, Henning finally showed some willingness to shake up his normally redundant and inefficient play calling. The Wildcat returned to play a notable role, Tyler Thigpen ran some new packages that utilize his athleticism, and Marlon Moore and Roberto Wallace received reps.
Most importantly, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams finally got back on track, combining for 180 yards rushing.
If Henning can maintain this energy and success from his offense for the duration of the season, he may have another year in Miami.
Wow, except that Peyton Hillis has erased the problem with rushing in Cleveland, you could just about switch the names, couldn't ya?
Have fun out there
Miami coach Tony Sparano has a rep for being pretty animated. His Dolphins, however, do not. That's why the Miami Herald actually ended up doing a piece about seeing the players cavorting around like real-life dolphins at Sea World during last week's 33-17 thumping of the Raiders.
"We spent a lot of time this week just really talking about getting back to having some fun,'' Sparano said. ``We tried to take a different approach with the guys this week a little bit that way. Sometimes you got to challenge them a little bit that way and I did that towards the end of the week and just said, `Listen, there's no law that says that these college guys are the only people that can have fun and that when you graduate from college to the National Football League the fun meter runs out.'
``I thought it was contagious [Sunday] on the sideline.''
And it spilled over to the field, whether it was Davone Bess running about on punt returns like a child playing Kill The Man in the park or Patrick Cobbs gleefully scurrying toward the bench after his first-quarter touchdown catch.
Now, it's a matter if the Dolphins can bring that extra hop in the step to Sunday's home game against Cleveland. Consistency is the Sasquatch of the Dolphins' locker room -- often talked about, rarely seen.
Oh, we're not so sure. The Dolphins are 5-1 on the road and 1-4 at home. Seems pretty consistent to Starting Blocks ... and seems to bode well for the Browns, since the game Sunday is in Miami.
The copycats are out
First it's Daboll and Henning, the Frick and Frack of offensive coordinators. Now comes a Carolina Panthers blog about Cleveland's squeaker win on Sunday. A win which - given the way the defense let the Cats get into position to kick what should be an easy field goal - is more of a Panthers loss than a Browns win.
Here's part of what Rodney Southern had to say on Yahoo Sports:
Some people say that this loss is a minor win for the young Panthers. While it certainly was more entertaining than previous losses, I am not sure I would call it a win. The Panthers losing that game is a part of a bigger problem. The Panthers have to be careful to not create an aura of losing in the locker room. You can lose every single game, and still not have that aura. What creates an aura of losing is when you consistently lose the games you should win. That is far different than losing a game because your talent level is not as high as the team you are playing. The Panthers are beginning to take on that monkey of losing even when they should win.
Wait, is he talking about the Panthers or the Browns? But you know what? We'll take where the Browns are this year vs. where the Panthers are. One team has a future ... and it's not in Carolina.
From The Plain Dealer
Beat writer Tony Grossi takes a look at Sunday's game from a couple of angles, one that compares the roles of Mike Holmgren in Cleveland to Bill Parcells in Miami, and one scouting the Dolphins and pointing to which players to watch. Those include linebackers Cameron Wake and Karlos Dansby, and receiver Brandon Marshall.