Dolphins Browns Line

Written by Steve Janus - Google +

The Miami Dolphins will look to avoid an 0-3 start when they go on the road to face the 1-1 Cleveland Browns. While the Dolphins can’t be happy with losing their first two games of the season at home, they did play two of the better teams in the AFC in New England and Houston. The Browns on the other hand have had a much easier first two games. After blowing a late lead to Cincinnati in week 1, Cleveland bounced back with a 27-19 win over the Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts. The Browns went into Miami and beat the Dolphins 13-10 in week 13 of last season.

Taking a look at the week 3 NFL odds, oddsmakers currently have Cleveland favored by 2.5-points over Miami with the total set at 41 points.

Miami Dolphins:

The Dolphins finished with just 306 yards of total offense against the Texans after piling on 488 yards against the Patriots in week 1. Chad Henne threw for 416 yards and two touchdowns in the win over New England, but really had a tough day against the Texans, completing just 12 of 30 for 170 yards and a touchdown.

Henne and the Dolphins offense have really struggled in the redzone this season. They have had 10 trips inside the 20 and came away with just four touchdowns and two field goals. That simply won’t get it done at this level.

One positive last week against the Texans was rookie running back Daniel Thomas, who carried it 18 times for 107 yards. While Thomas looked sharp, free agent pick up Reggie Bush had just 21 yards of total offense. A far cry from his 94 yards and touchdown he had in week 1.

Brandon Marshall has been a real big threat on the outside, catching 13 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown over the first two games. However, Marshall was the only player with more than two catches last week.

There was a lot of talk about how good the Dolphins were going to be defensively this season, but so far they have not lived up to the hype. A lot of that has to do with playing two of the best offenses in the NFL. Cleveland doesn’t exactly have a lot that scares you offensively, which should lead to the Dolphins playing much better on that side of the ball.

Cleveland Browns:

We will find out just how good the Browns are this week when they go up against a Miami team that is desperate for a win. Cleveland hasn’t exactly been all that impressive in their first two games, and a lot of that has to do with facing a rookie quarterback from Cincinnati and a backup in Indianapolis.

So far Colt McCoy and the offense have been far from impressive. McCoy has thrown for just 424 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. I’m not knocking McCoy, but Cleveland just doesn’t have the weapons on the outside that are going to allow them to put up a ton of yards offensively.

While running back Peyton Hillis rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns last week against the Colts, that really isn’t all that impressive when you consider just how bad Indianapolis is against the run. Hillis had just 57 yards on 17 carries in the opener against Cincinnati. Without Hillis moving the ball on the ground, it really makes thing hard for Cleveland on the offensive side of the ball. Hillis should have a good chance to move the chains against the Dolphins this week. Miami is allowing 122 yards a game on the ground and have faced two teams that would rather throw the ball than run it.

For Cleveland to win this game they are going to have to rely on their young and improved defense behind first year defensive coordinator Dick Jauron. The Browns have held opposing teams to just 165.5 passing yards a game, but again they haven’t exactly played a top level quarterback. If the Browns can keep the Dolphins under 20 points, they have a great shot at heading into week 4 with a winning record for the first time nine years.

Betting Trends:

Miami is just 5-15-2 ATS in their last 22 games in September.

Cleveland is only 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games as a home favorite.

Be sure to stop back and see what Steve Janus has going in week 3 of the NFL.

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