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Dolphins-Ravens Preview

Published Nov. 3, 2010 3:51 p.m. ET

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The wildcat formation was the first evidence Tony Sparano and the Miami Dolphins don't shy away from doing things unconventionally, but their latest atypical approach is something the coach himself can't even explain.

Sparano's Dolphins are winless at home and perfect on the road, but they'll have a stiff challenge making it five consecutive victories away from south Florida on Sunday as they visit the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens.

Miami (4-3) started with two road wins and lost twice upon returning home, a pattern it's kept up after its bye week. The Dolphins won at Green Bay on Oct. 17 and lost at home to Pittsburgh on Oct. 24, then kept their bizarre trend alive by beating the Bengals 22-14 last Sunday in Cincinnati.

Miami is only the fifth team in NFL history to go 4-0 on the road and 0-3 at home in its first seven games.

"It's a hard way to do it, but we're doing it - and coming into these environments," Sparano said of the Dolphins' road success. "This team really does a good job. They're a resilient bunch of guys."

After using the wildcat formation religiously the past two seasons, Miami has only run 20 plays with either Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams under center in 2010 - including four rushes from the wildcat in the past four games.

Then again, the Dolphins haven't necessarily had to pound the ball into the end zone. Kicker Dan Carpenter has made each of his 10 field-goal attempts the past two games.

"He's a great luxury for me to have," Sparano said.

The Dolphins are 16th in the league in rushing (111.3 yards per game) after finishing fourth last season, but that doesn't mean the ground game is losing its relevance. Miami has run for at least 120 yards in its four road games and been held under 100 in each home contest.

In addition, the Dolphins are better off when Chad Henne's workload is lighter. They're 6-1 in Henne's brief career as a starter when he has 30 pass attempts or fewer and 5-8 otherwise.

There may, however, be some opportunities for Henne - a quarterback the Ravens considered drafting in the first round in 2008 before selecting Joe Flacco - to expose Baltimore's secondary. After giving up 119.0 passing yards per game through Week 4, Baltimore (5-2) has surrendered an average of 318.7 yards through the air in its past three contests.

Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills threw for 382 yards on Oct. 24 at M&T Bank Stadium, but the Ravens forced four turnovers in the return of safety Ed Reed, who had a pair of interceptions. The biggest turning point was Ray Lewis' overtime strip that set up the winning field goal in their 37-34 escape.

The 514 yards Baltimore yielded was its highest total since Dec. 24, 2000.

"What we said in the locker room is a win is a win," coach John Harbaugh said. "I'm not going to stand up here and say that we played well. We obviously had some things that we didn't do very well at all."

The Ravens have had a week off to shore up their pass defense, but the time away wasn't the only boost to a team hoping to get healthy for the season's second half. Baltimore moved into a tie for first place after Pittsburgh's loss to New Orleans, and already owns a road victory over the Steelers.

"Coming off the bye week we have a clear understanding of what we have to do, and that's take care of business," said tight end Todd Heap, who has three touchdowns in the last two weeks and should play despite a shoulder stinger. "We're in a good position right now, but it doesn't mean anything if we don't come out and play well this week."

The Ravens typically have after some time off. They're 7-1 after their bye since 2002, winning both games under Harbaugh by an average of 20.5 points.

If Flacco and the Baltimore offense look as good as they have the past few weeks, a Miami secondary that's given up a touchdown pass of 37 yards or longer in three consecutive games could be in trouble.

Flacco has thrown five TDs without an interception in his last two games. When he's thrown for at least one score in his career at home, the Ravens are 11-1.

Flacco may get some help at wideout this week to go with Heap, Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason, who spent the bye week recovering from surgery on his right little finger. Speedy Donte' Stallworth, who didn't play in 2009 after being suspended following his conviction on manslaughter charges, could make his season debut after missing the first seven games with a broken foot.

Baltimore beat Miami in the 2008 regular season and AFC wild-card round, holding the Dolphins to 61.5 yards per game on the ground.

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