Miami Dolphins – Ronnie Brown injury

The Dolphins season nearly came to an end earlier today.

It won’t be long the way things looked during a 25-23 win against the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Running back Ronnie Brown’s ankle tops the list because who’s going to replace him?

The Dolphins didn’t seem to miss LB Joey Porter much, either.

Quarterback Chad Henne showed some grit during his last-minute field-goal drive, making throws of 35 and 16 yards to Davone Bess.

Tampa Bay’s TD makes 96 points scored against Miami in the fourth quarter, second-worst in the NFL to Buffalo (101, including 24 Sunday).

Running back Ricky Williams had a big day, finishing with 102 rushing yards, capped by a 27-yard scamper to set up the game-winning FG.

1. Running back Lex Hilliard is likely to get his chance this week. But with no carries this season, will Hilliard be ready?

The Carolina defense should remember Hilliard. During the preseason he had a game-high 52 yards rushing against the Panthers, including a 39-yard burst down the sidelines.

Miami will need a strong running game against Carolina, whose own running game entered this week’s games leading the NFC in rushing. Just as Brown and Ricky Williams were a great 1-2 punch, Hilliard and Williams make for a tandem that could pound away at a Carolina run defense, which was ranked 23rd entering the weekend.

2. Linebacker Charlie Anderson made a bigger impact than Joey Porter has all season. But Anderson’s inconsistency, not his talent, has held him back.

{Anderson stepped in for Porter and had one of his best games in two seasons as a Dolphin, with five solo tackles, including a sack, and two forced fumbles.

Anderson, a sixth-year pro, showed big-time flashes a few times a season ago, highlighted by his performance in Toronto against Buffalo (four solos, a sack, two FFs). He followed it with nice outing against San Francisco, including a key sack late in the game.

Anderson has the size (6-4, 250) and speed few, if any, Dolphins can match off the edge. But he disappears too often and makes mental errors.

3. Kicker Dan Carpenter answered the challenge of training camp nemesis Connor Barth.

Barth did his job, and the team released him.

But the move made sense, given Carpenter had proven himself to be a consistent and clutch kicker for Miami as a rookie in 2008.