Fins Go Back to Basics
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – With an extra week to marinate on the 0-4 record the Dolphins put up through the first quarter of the season, Fins head coach Tony Sparano said he wanted his team to get back to basics.
"Just really work on the things that we really had trouble with in the first several weeks of the season as best as we could hit those things," Sparano said.
Sparano has to wear a dual role of head coach and psychologist as the team prepares for this Monday's game against the New York Jets.
Sparano discussed how his team prepared this week saying, "Making the guys identify with the fact that, okay let's take a breather here. We're not getting ready to play a game…let's look at this closely and identify these are the things we didn't do well."
One are the Dolphins have improved on is the running game. So far this season, the Fins are averaging 12 more yards per game than the team did in 2010.
"Yeah, it's been encouraging," Sparano said. "We've left a lot of yards on the field too. I think Reggie (Bush) is starting to get a better feel for what we're trying to do running the football."
Unfortunately, Bush's struggles are one of the many things holding the Fins back this season.
In 2011, Bush has run the ball 40 times for just 119 yards and no touchdowns. That translates to a 3 yards per rush average which won't cut it for a feature back in the NFL. He's also caught just 13 passes for 86 yards and one touchdown. He's also fumbled the ball twice, losing one of them.
Sparano did say that the bye week was good for the team as far as injuries go. Defensive end Tony McDaniel returned to the practice field and could be in the rotation against the Jets.
"We'll see how some of those guys respond tomorrow from doing some work," Sparano said.
