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?

He was out because of a coach’s decision, but Charlie Anderson and Cam Wake stepped in and combined for two sacks.

On the second one, Henne threw Bess open while the defender’s back was turned, a quality coach Tony Sparano praised in Drew Brees a few weeks back.

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).

But Ricky and Ronnie had established a nice balance. After all, this was Williams’ first 20-carry day since the final game of the 2005 season.Can he keep it up the pace without Brown in the mix and Pat Cobbs out for the season with a knee injury?

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

It might be different if Ronnie Brown were to have a full week to bounce back from the ankle injury he suffered Sunday, but with only three days to prepare for Thursday night’s game at Carolina, it’s a safe bet Hilliard will get his first carries as a running back against the Panthers.

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.

The Dolphins’ braintrust must have wondered Sunday, when Barth set a franchise record with three field goals of 50 yards or longer. His leg kept the Bucs within striking range until the offense finally woke up and nearly pulled off the upset.