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Indianapolis offense vs. Miami defense
This game will have severe repercussions on the outcome of the AFC East and the AFC's playoff picture. An Indianapolis win would give the Colts a two-game lead on the Dolphins, and with just four games left -- a deficit that could be an insurmountable. An victory by Miami would put the Dolphins in a first-place tie with Indianapolis, as well as give them an advantage over the Colts in the case of a tiebreaker because of their sweep of the season series.

	COLTS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	18
	Pass	2
	Tot. Yds.	4
	Scoring	3
	Int's allowed	13
	Sacks allowed	10
	DOLPHINS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	9
	vs. Pass	5
	Total yds. allowed	6
	# of Ints.	16
	# of Sacks	28
	Turnover differential	+3

Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino can ill-afford another performance like Thursday's in Dallas. The horrific Thanksgiving effort by Marino is of obvious concern for the Dolphins offensive coaching staff, which considered benching their starter midway through Thursday's game. Instead, coach Jimmy Johnson opted to stick with Marino against the wishes of quarterback coach Lary Seiple, who was calling for Damon Huard. Johnson felt if given time, Marino could temper his throwing woes and establish a rhythm, but that never occurred.

The Colts secondary will employ the strategy used by Dallas -- a defense that forced Marino into five interceptions. Indianapolis defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio will constantly change coverages and throw a zone blitz package at Marino, not allowing him to familiarize himself with a particular look. The thinking is that Marino is still rusty from his extensive hiatus and that things are not clicking for him just yet.

Shawn King's suspension has forced the Colts to make changes up front defensively. The team has moved Bernard Whittington to the left defensive end spot to make up for the loss of King. Whittington started the year at defensive tackle, but of his 61 career starts, 43 have come at defensive end. He has great explosion off the ball and is a formidable substitution in King's absence.

The Colts have struggled this season against the run, giving up 106 yards per game, ranking 18th in the NFL. And although Miami is a ball-control outfit, the Dolphins rank 21st in rushing, gaining just 94 yards per contest. However, even with a below-average running game that has featured three different backs this season, the Dolphins have still been able to control the clock, ranking seventh in the NFL in time of possession.

This is a reflection of Huard's ability to play within the Miami offense. Rather than force the ball into coverage when under pressure, like Marino did against Dallas, Huard takes the sack or looks to run with the ball, keeping the clock moving. This is conducive to the style of offense the Dolphins run, and it also keeps the defense off the field.

Marino doesn't help the Dolphins' offensive blueprint when he forces things in the passing game; he hurts it. He eliminates any tempo the running game establishes by forcing incomplete passes and stopping the clock. Dolphins rookie J.J. Johnson is a big bruising runner, (6-foot-1, 235 pounds), who experiences success when he gets heavy rotation within the offense, carrying the ball 25 to 30 times a game. He is able to wear down the opposing defense. Marino's presence under center doesn't allow for this.

This week, Johnson will no longer be running behind fullback Rob Konrad, as the revolving door in Miami's backfield has rotated again. Stanley Pritchett will start for Konrad , who has been slowed by fatigue in the past three games, showing signs typical of rookies that have trouble adjusting to the NFL's rigorous 16-game schedule.

Miami offense vs. Indianapolis defense
Miami's defensive coaches have already displayed serious concern over this meeting with fundamentalist quarterback Peyton Manning. On Monday morning, Jimmy Johnson elected to bench overzealous cornerback Terrell Buckley in favor of second-year man Patrick Surtain. The thinking is that Surtain is too quick to bite on play-action.

	DOLPHINS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	21
	Pass	22
	Tot. Yds.	22
	Scoring	15
	Int's allowed	13
	Sacks allowed	28
	COLTS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	18
	vs. Pass	15
	Total yds. allowed	12
	# of Ints.	8
	# of Sacks	30
	Turnover differential	-3

In last week's game in Dallas, Buckley got beat for a 65-yard TD at the hands of a Troy Aikman play-fake. Buckley is still nursing a gimpy ankle, and Johnson is also aware that Manning executes his fakes better than most quarterbacks in the NFL. All of this has relegated Buckley strictly to nickel situations.

The Colts offense features the second-rated passing attack in the NFL, however, the Dolphins are yielding just 195 passing yards a game, fifth best in the league. Miami will need to win the battle up front in order to set the tempo and take Manning out of his passing rhythm.

The Dolphins must take advantage of the surging line play of defensive tackles Tim Bowens and Daryl Gardener. If Bowens and Gardner can penetrate the Indianapolis offensive front, it will force Colts running backEdgerrin James to use his vision and change of direction to try to get outside of talented defensive ends Trace Armstrong and Jason Taylor.

If the Dolphins contain James and keep him in check without having to blitz linebackers and defensive backs, this will take the thunder out of Manning's play-fakes and leave more defenders in coverage on first and second downs.

With E.G. Green returning to the lineup, Manning now has one more weapon at his disposal. Colts director of player personnel Bill Polian, has assembled the best group of offensive skill players in the league, but their incredible balance is a credit to the offensive line. This group has only allowed one sack per 30 passing attempts since the start of last season.

If Manning has time, the pressure will be on the Miami secondary. The tape on Manning reveals that he is lethal with ample time, so often this year, he has hooked up with a second or third receiver, which makes the return of Green even more of a threat.

Brock Marion is an exceptional run-stopper from his free safety position, but he'll have to stay pass-oriented this week, as well as keep the young Surtain abreast of what is going on within the secondary. Cornerback Sam Madison's matchup with Marvin Harrison will be the most enticing of the weekend. Madison flourishes in man-to-man coverage, this comes as a considerable advantage to the Dolphins, who won't have to commit multiple defenders to stopping Harrison.

Special teams
The Dolphins' Olindo Mare leads all NFL kickers in scoring this season with 103 points. Punter Tom Hutton's hang-time and length both could use improving.

	NFL RANK
	Category	IND	MIA
	Punt return avg.	16	6
	Kickoff return avg.	10	3
	Opp. punt return avg.	31	26
	Opp. kickoff ret. avg.	22	21
	Time of possession	12	7

Brock Marion is doing a fine job returning kicks and punts, but it might be slowing him down defensively. Terrence Wilkins is not only sure-handed returning kickoffs and punts, he's also a threat.

Colts punter Hunter Smith isn't booming punts, but he's getting the job done, averaging more than 42 yards an effort. Vanderjagt has only missed four field goals this year, and his kickoffs have been some of the league's best.

Key matchups