NFL Week 3 Match Ups & Betting Lines: Even though we are only entering Week 3 of the 2011 NFL season, things seem to be getting away from the Miami Dolphins in the American Football Conference’s Eastern Division. Winless after two weeks, Miami is going to have to start playing catch-up, as everyone else in the Division is undefeated thus far.
“This stinks,” said Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall. “We're trying to get things going in our stadium and our community, and you have to win at home to do that. It's frustrating. It's embarrassing.”
This week, Chad Henne and the Fins will play their first road game of the young season. The (0-2-0) Miami Dolphins [+3] will travel to Lerner Way to take on the NFL Odds favorite (1-1-0) Cleveland Browns [-3]. Opening kickoff for this AFC battle is set for 1:05 PM ET and the OVER/UNDER is set at a combined total of 41 points.
Miami is coming off a very disappointing loss to the Houston Texans, 13-23, last Sunday afternoon. The win made it six straight victories and no losses for the Texans against the Fins. But the loss might have been a blessing in disguise for Miami, as it appears the city might have found something to look forward to during that game.
After deciding to reduce Reggie Bush’s role as the primary running back, Miami head coach Tony Sparano turned to a rookie. Daniel Thomas made his NFL debut by rushing for 107 yards, becoming the only bright spot for Miami. The 23-year-old running back out Kansas State averaged 6 yards per carry on 18 attempts. But that’s about all that went right for the home team.
It got so bad, to the point that Miami couldn’t convert on short-distance, gimme field goals. This team has to start playing with a sense of urgency, especially at the quarterback position. Going into week 3, Henne has completed just 42 of his 79 pass attempts for 586 yards, three TDs and 2 INTs. It’s easy to see that those numbers will not get it done, especially in the Red Zone.
“We had a chance to score some points,” Sparano said. “We've just got to do a better job in the red area. That's the bottom line.”
