The Eagles will be by the fact that the Dolphins will be starting rookie quarterback John Beck, rather than Cleo Lemon. Beck who is 26 years old won't be as effective running the bootlegs and rollouts off of the run fakes.
He doesn't have a better arm and may be better than Lemon when it comes to passing out of the pocket. The Birds have to prevent him from gaining any confidence or rhythm. If he can complete a couple of passes it come mean trouble for the Birds defense.
The Dolphins have a good running game with Jesse Chatman pounding the line. He's a good back with good feet and quickness with the power to move the pile. Miami is going to give him the ball a lot and try to shorten the game by controlling the ball. They are ranked 11th in the league in rushing and 2nd in per rush average at 4.8 yards per carry. That says a lot from a team with no passing game. All they need their quarterback to do is make some plays on play action passes.
Jim Johnson should be able to confuse the rookie and bait him into some mistakes. Turnovers will kill the Dolphins and make them play from behind which would get them out of the running game. Johnson would like nothing better than to get Miami in must passing situations on 3rd and long.
If the Birds can get them throwing the ball they should have less trouble. I say that after watching the Eagles defensive backfield play three poor games in the last three weeks. They aren't covering very well and they're not coming up with any interceptions.
