Seahawks-Dolphins Preview

SCOUTING REPORT

Dolphins' defense too much for struggling SeahawksThe Dolphins are 4-4 and in position to make the AFC East race very interesting. Coach Tony Sparano has his team pointed in the right direction at the midway point with a creative, diversified offense and a physical defense. Seattle needs a victory in the worst way after losing four of its past five games. Traveling east to play games traditionally has not been very beneficial for the Seahawks, or other West Coast teams, for that matter. If Miami can take care of business against the Seahawks, it can build momentum going into the critical final two months of the season.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
SEA	4-12	294	392	2-6	2-6	3-3	3-9
MIA	11-5	345	317	5-3	6-2	4-2	8-4
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Seattle Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Hassel... 60.0 3029 17 17 Wallac... 65.0 700 3 2

Miami Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Henne 60.8 2878 12 14 Pennin... 68.9 413 1 2

Seattle Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Jones 177 663 3.7 2 Forset... 114 619 5.4 4

Miami Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Willia... 241 1121 4.7 11 Brown 147 648 4.4 8

Seattle Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Houshm... 79 911 11.5 3 Burles... 63 812 12.9 3

Miami Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Bess 76 758 10.0 2 Camari... 50 552 11.0 0

Full Player Stats: Seattle | Miami

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	SEA	274.0
	MIA	346.0
Yards Passing	SEA	163.6
	MIA	227.0
Yards Rushing	SEA	110.5
	MIA	118.6
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	SEA	378.0
	MIA	329.0
Pass Yds Allowed	SEA	259.3
	MIA	227.8
Rush Yds Allowed	SEA	118.7
	MIA	101.3

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Miami leads 2-1
Nov 21, 2004	SEA 24, @MIA 17
Oct 28, 2001	SEA 20, @MIA 24

Mike Holmgren made an instant impact at the start of his outstanding coaching career, which appears to be ending in disappointment.

Tony Sparano's early success suggests he may also have a long run ahead of him before considering retirement.

Sparano, who has turned around the once-downtrodden Miami Dolphins, looks to lead them to their third straight win when they face Holmgren and the struggling Seahawks on Sunday.

In January, Holmgren announced this season would be his last. The 60-year-old Holmgren is 10th on the league's all-time coaching victories list with 172 and had only two losing seasons entering 2008, but Seattle (2-6) is hobbled by injuries and isn't likely to make a late playoff push.

Missing the postseason for the first time in six seasons would be an unfitting end for Holmgren, who began his coaching career by leading Green Bay to a 9-7 record in 1992 after it finished 4-12 the previous season. He helped end the Packers' 10-year playoff drought the following season and led them to a Super Bowl championship two years later.

Sparano began his first year as a head coach in a similar situation, taking over a Miami team that went 1-15 last year. Sparano, though, has helped put together a team that has been surprisingly competitive, beating first-place clubs in each of its last two games.

Buffalo was alone atop the AFC East when the Dolphins (4-4) beat their division rivals 25-16 on Oct. 26. Then, Miami defeated AFC West-leading Denver 26-17 last Sunday to move within a game of first place.

But the Dolphins also won two straight earlier this season, only to lose their next two. They haven't won three in a row since a four-game run in November 2006.

"I want to see absolute attention to detail and focus right now," Sparano said. "We've been down this road before. We can't worry about everybody telling us what a good job we did right now. We need to keep our head down and really keep swinging. That's what I expect."

When Bill Parcells took over in the offseason as vice president of football operations and hired Sparano, the Dolphins were expected to build with solid defensive fundamentals and that's been a large part of the team's success.

Miami held Denver to 14 yards on 12 carries and picked off three passes, giving it 12 turnovers in its last three games.

The Dolphins defense is complemented by a strong running game and the efficient play of quarterback Chad Pennington, who has completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 1,991 yards and seven touchdowns with four interceptions.

Ted Ginn Jr. has emerged as a dangerous deep threat, giving fellow wide receiver Greg Camarillo and tight end Anthony Fasano room to find holes in the middle of the defense.

Camarillo, a walk-on receiver in college and an undrafted NFL free agent, has been the most surprising player for the Dolphins. He had 11 catches against the Broncos, and leads the team with 43 receptions for 483 yards.

"He's a hard guy not to like," Sparano said. "He understands his limitations. When you do that, you have a great chance to succeed."

Injuries, particularly at wide receiver, have hurt the Seahawks.

Deion Branch has appeared in only one game this year due to offseason knee surgery and a bruised heel, but the former Super Bowl MVP was back practicing this week and could play Sunday.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck also returned to practice Friday, but remains out indefinitely. He hasn't played since hyperextending his right knee on Oct. 5 in a loss to the New York Giants.

Struggling backup Seneca Wallace is still in charge of the NFL's 31st-ranked offense, which was held to 233 yards in a 26-7 loss to Philadelphia last Sunday.

Holmgren is spending his final weeks as Seattle's coach trying to make sure his players don't quit on him.

"I told the team, 'I can't come in here every Monday and give you pep talks,'" Holmgren said. "That went out when I was talking to my freshmen at Oak Grove High School (in San Jose, Calif.): 'Did you get the box of muffins the other team sent you, because you are soft?' You know, that only works so much.

"It's been a heck of a deal. And I feel bad about it. I feel bad for them. I feel bad for our fans."

This will be the first meeting between the Seahawks and Dolphins since Nov. 21, 2004, when Miami won 24-17 at Seattle.

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Jake Long's road with Miami Dolphins just beginning

Jake Long never looked overwhelmed in 2008, at least off the field. Not around barking coaches or testing veterans at training camp.