Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Detroit 21 at Miami 49 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Detroit Lions: Detroit tried to surprise Miami by going with a hurry up offense on their very first series of the game, but the Miami defense handled it well and the plan did not work. The Detroit running and passing game suffered from the loss of James Stewart (knee). Detroit rotated Lamont Warren, Cory Schlesinger, and Aveion Cason at RB. No word on how long Stewart will sit, but clearly not having Stewart really hurts the already shaky Detroit offense. The Lions offense and defense both played very sloppily with many penalties, including the special teams. Joey Harrington got some work in the game, coming in with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. He led a TD drive, but hurried a lot of his throws and threw some incompletes that were totally off the mark. He was not very impressive in his regular season debut. Miami Dolphins: Ricky Williams ran well in his first outing in a Dolphin uniform, showing his usual power but also nice burst to the outside. On one nice play he ran the wire up the sideline, then dragged at least 5 Lions along for 5 or 7 yards. Williams ended up with 111 yards and two touchdowns for the day... he was pulled in the fourth quarter in favor of Robert Edwards and Travis Minor. Miami TE Randy McMichael was impressive in his debut, with 4 receptions for 73 yards and a TD. Fiedler looked for him early, and went to him several times in the red zone. Keep your eye on him as he looks to become an integral part of Miami's offense, especially in the red zone. Miami used Robert Edwards during the game. Edwards had two TD's, ran with authority, made good cuts and broke tackles. He was used on several swing passes instead of Ricky Williams (who had no receptions in the game). Edwards did very well in his first game back since his devastating knee injury in February of 1999, though he will likely not be a regular factor in games due to the presence of Ricky Williams. Miami made good use of their new found running game, using it to grind out the yardage. Fiedler was very conservative passing and did not look down field to Chris Chambers at all. Miami's defense was impressive, especially against the run. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Detroit Lions QB: Mike McMahon struggled a bit against a strong Miami defense going 13/25 for 179 yards and a TD. He was intercepted on a poorly thrown pass which led to a Miami TD. Detroit failed to get their running game started which hampered the Lions pass offense. McMahon was under constant pressure all game and displayed good ability to scramble away from trouble. He did have one nice 49 yard pass to TE Mikhael Ricks and scored on a run from the 3 yard line. Joey Harrington relieved Mike McMahon with ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter. He led a 77 yard TD drive, but went only 4/11 for 41 yards and no TD's passing. He looked a bit sloppy, missing his mark several times. Had the game been closer, Harrington would probably not have seen any playing time... Mike McMahon is the starter for the Lions and will probably remain so. WR: Az-Zahir Hakim was the main target of both McMahon and Harrington, catching 9 for 97 yards with no TD's. Miami's defense pressured the QB all day causing McMahon and Harrington to miss opportunities and force passes. Hakim did not get looks when the Lions were in the red zone. Bill Schroeder did not have a reception and was ignored even on a couple plays where he was wide open or had steps on the defender. RB: James Stewart was pulled prior to game time due to his ongoing knee problems. This greatly affected Detroit's game plan, forcing them to rotate at RB and resulting in the Lions failing to establish a running game. No word if Stewart will be available next week. Keep your eye on this one as Stewart has been the one steady offensive player for the Lions. Cory Schlesinger received the most touches rushing in the absence of James Stewart, going 8/28 with one TD. He is a workhorse, but poor blocking and execution resulted in a totally ineffective Detroit running game. Lamont Warren rotated at RB with Aveion Cason and Cory Schlesinger in place of James Stewart. Warren was ineffective, going just 5/8 rushing and 1/13 receiving but his one reception was a TD. Aveion Cason rotated at RB with Warren and Schlesinger, going 4/4 rushing and 2/37 receiving. Miami just totally shut down the Lions rushing attack. TE: Mikhael Ricks had the only really impressive play of the game for the Lions, catching a perfectly placed Mike McMahon pass for a 49 yard gain. McMahon did try to get him the ball several more times, but the passes were forced because of the Miami pass rush. Ricks ended up going 3/69. Lions Rush Defense: The Lions rush defense managed to stop Ricky Williams up the middle, but allowed him to run rampant on the outside. Lions Pass defense: Very poor, allowing a conservative Jay Fiedler to pass for three TD's. With the exception of Robert Porcher, there was basically no pass rush. Lions Special teams: Also poor... Bungled a punt return deep in their own territory which resulted in a Miami TD. Jason Hanson went 3/3 on extra point kicks. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Miami Dolphins QB: Jay Fiedler performed well against a weak Detroit defense going 18/27 for 207 yards and tied a career high with 3 TD's. Fiedler was very conservative with his passing and did not take shots down the field. He has apparently developed a rapport with TE Randy McMichael, hitting him for several key receptions and giving him a lot of looks. WR: Chris Chambers had only 3 receptions for 36 yards, with one for a TD. Fiedler did not give him many looks at all during the game, and did not throw anything long. Oronde Gadsden had just two short receptions and was not a factor in the game. Considering how Miami dominated the game on the ground, this does not bode well for him. Dedric Ward had just one very short reception and was largely ignored during the game. RB: Ricky Williams looked very good in his debut with Miami, running extremely well to the outside. He had an impressive run up the sideline, tip-toeing the line, straightening himself out and then dragging a herd of Lions down the field a ways. He had surprising burst speed to the outside to go along with his power running game. Although he had 111 yards, he could have had more and at least another TD to add to his two but was pulled in the late third quarter in favor of Robert Edwards and Travis Minor. Over all, a very impressive performance. Robert Edwards was 4/20 rushing with a TD and 4/38 and another TD receiving. He had an impressive run up the middle for 10 yards where he just ran through several tackles. He looks good and will probably be used as a change of pace RB to spell Ricky Williams occasionally, and as a receiving back. I feel Wannstedt gave Edwards the goal line touches to get him back in the swing of things... in other words, during closer games Williams will normally get those goal line touches. Travis Minor got some work in the fourth quarter but will normally not be a factor. TE: Randy McMichael was very impressive, going 4/73 and a TD, including an incredible one-handed catch early in the game. Fiedler locked on to McMichael during key downs and in the red-zone. McMichael looks to become an integral part of the Miami passing game, particularly in the red-zone and has the potential to do very well this year. Dolphins Pass Defense - Miami's pass defense performed well, keeping pressure on McMahon and Harrington, effectively shutting down Bill Schroeder and giving up just one long pass to TE Mikhael Ricks. Az-Zahir Hakim did have 97 yards receiving, but never got near the end zone. Brock Marion intercepted Mike McMahon returning the ball to the Detroit three yard line and setting up a Miami TD. Dolphins Rush Defense - The Dolphins shut down the Lions rushing attack, allowing just 51 yards on the ground. Very solid performance all around in this department. Dolphins Special Teams - The Miami punt team scored a TD when a punt hit a Lions player inside the ten and rolled into the end zone, where Trent Gamble recovered it for the TD. Olindo Mare went 7 for 7 in extra points.