Preseason play- I played Mia over 7'-115 (probably I am late to the party) for total first half team points.
Here is a nice little article I found supporting why I made this play:
Miami Dolphins' Tony Sparano preaches sense of urgency
.Dolphins coach Tony Sparano wants his team to have a sense of urgency -- and focus -- starting with the exhibition finale against Dallas on Thursday.
That clock on the wall keeps ticking. It keeps counting down the days, the hours, the minutes until the Dolphins will begin their season. It hangs in Miami's locker room, an idea conceived by coach Tony Sparano to serve as a reminder of necessary urgency.
As it grinds closer to zero, though, no longer does it even seem so necessary. Need to know how far away the season is? Sparano's rising voice will tell you. And on Tuesday, it began to reach a peak.
``We stunk the other night,'' Sparano said. ``I mean, can I be any clearer with that? We were not good the other night against Atlanta. I didn't like any of it.''
As animated as he has been during this preseason, Sparano made it publicly clear during his news conference that he expects a greater sense of urgency -- and a great sense of focus -- from this Dolphins team.
His planned approach toward Thursday's preseason finale against the Cowboys might illustrate that point as much as the countdown clock itself. During a game typically used to rest the starters, Sparano isn't going to let his players off so easy.
He still sees work that needs to be done, especially in the wake of the team's most recent loss to the Falcons.
``I have no real governor right now on how long guys will be playing,'' Sparano said Monday. ``I just know they better be ready to play.''
Sparano's point is simple: He doesn't plan to pull his starters until he thinks he has seen what he needs to see from them. Although it's doubtful he would keep someone such as quarterback Chad Henne in the game beyond a half, anything more than a quarter would be considered significant time in a game like this.
``I have no idea how much the starters will play,'' Sparano said. ``That's not up to me. That's up to them. We'll see how they go. We're going to go out there and we're going to play until either I'm satisfied with what I've seen or I feel like we've gotten the amount of work that I have scheduled.''
TOUGH LOVE
Henne will start the game, and Chad Pennington also will play, Sparano said. Beyond that, Sparano seems to be heading into this game with a tough-love approach that should do a nice job of delivering his message loud and clear.
It also is clear he wants some players to hear it louder than others.
``In my head, there's some people that I have a specific play count for, a specific number of series for, and then there's other people where I really have none,'' Sparano said. ``So I just want to see them play until I'm satisfied with how they play.''
It's tough to blame Sparano for his desire to see more urgency out of his team. True, the Dolphins had a solid offensive performance against the Jaguars a week before the Atlanta struggles. But Sparano isn't looking backward. He's looking toward the season.
And a little history during Sparano's tenure as a coach suggests Miami needs to make sure it is prepared to play when the season starts Sept. 12 at Buffalo.
Last season, the Dolphins lost their first three games, a start that put them in a hole that could have cost them the playoffs. A 7-9 finish wasn't good enough despite a midseason stretch that included five victories and two losses.
0-2 START IN 2008
In 2008, the Dolphins needed to win their final five games to barely edge out a division title after losing their first two games of the season.
``You can't just stand in front of them and say we're going to have a fast start against the Bills,'' Sparano said. ``There's more to it than that. It's about how we practice. It's about being prepared, feeling like your team is fresh enough and efficient enough as you approach that first game.''
On Thursday, Sparano will attempt to walk a fine balance between the two. He needs to keep his players fresh -- but he also needs to see enough rhythm and production to make sure they also are efficient.
As he prepares for an exhibition game that suddenly feels much more important than most finales do at this time of year, it is clear that Sparano is preaching urgency above all.
And Sparano doesn't need a clock to remind his players of that.
Said Sparano: ``Whatever it takes on Thursday night is what I'll do.''
