Miami Dolphins vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5 Things the Dolphins Need To Do

Saturday August 27th the Miami Dolphins have their third preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This game features two up-and-coming teams who are both looking to make the playoffs in 2011.

Last year the Dolphins defense had a breakout season, showing that they are one of the best in the NFL.

The Bucs were a surprise in 2010 and look to prove they are the real deal this year. Quarterback Josh Freeman had a great year and is looking to continue his stellar play.

This will be the second game that fans get to see Reggie Bush as a featured running back. He played great last week and will look to make his mark again this weekend.

The Dolphins vs. Buccaneers game looks to be an exciting one and hopefully the Dolphins solid play continues this Saturday.

Get the Ball to Brandon Marshall Early and Often

Last season, Brandon Marshall wasn't involved in the Dolphins offense nearly enough.

Brian Daboll has been brought in as the Fins new offensive coordinator to change that, among other things.

Against Carolina, Marshall was targeted early in the first quarter and didn't disappoint. He showed why he is one of the NFL's elite wide receivers by beating coverage and making good catches.

Brandon makes Chad Henne's job much easier when he's getting the ball. He opens up the running game by forcing teams to roll coverage to his side of the field. It is almost impossible to stop him one-on-one.

His good play early on set the tone for the starting offense during the entire first half. It helped Chad Henne get into a rhythm early, which was huge for his confidence.

This is Marshall's second preseason game and if the Dolphins are to be successful they have to get the big wide out involved early.

Show Success in the Redzone and on the Goal Line

The Miami Dolphins had a bad redzone offense last year. They were unable to convert on many opportunities, which hampered their play greatly.

Last week against the Carlina Panthers they had troubles on the goal line as well.

Rookie running back Daniel Thomas failed on three opportunities to punch the ball in on the goal line. He will have to be good in the redzone this season if the Dolphins want to make the playoffs.

Lex Hilliard converted on the fourth-down attempt, but the Fins normally would have settled for the field goal had it not been a preseason game.

Chad Henne was bad in the redzone last season as well. He didn't locate Brandon Marshall enough and was bad passing to the endzone.

The preseason is the time to fix these errors. The Dolphins need to show that they have the ability to be a good redzone team.

Chad Henne Has to Be Confident and Play Well

Last year Chad Henne was an erratic and inconsistent quarterback. If the Dolphins are going to have any success this season, Henne has to have a good year.

Henne started out the preseason with a bad game against the Atlanta Falcons. He threw a bunch of bad passes and looked like the Chad Henne of past. This game gave no hope to fans that he had changed.

Last week's Carolina game was the first preseason game for Reggie Bush and Brandon Marshall and Henne played great. He got the ball into the hands of his play-makers. When he was in the pocket he made accurate passes, made good decisions and ran when he got the opportunity. He looked like a guy that could lead a team to the playoffs.

This season rests on the shoulders of Chad Henne. If the Fins are going to the playoffs, Chad has to play well.

Confidence is very important for a quarterback. If Henne is going to head into the season with any, he has to have a good game against Tampa this week.

Keep Up the Stellar Defense and Force a Turnover or Two

Miami has a great defense.

From top to bottom they have talent and depth. They could lose their entire starting defensive line to injury, replace them with backup players on their roster and still have a good unit.

Their corners are poised to have a great year and they have good slot guys as well.

They have four good starting linebackers that look to be better than they were last year. Koa Misi is one guy though who has to have a good season. The Dolphins drafted him to be a pass-rusher and he needs to up his sack totals this season.

There really aren't questions regarding this unit, though.

The one negative with them last year is that they dropped a lot of picks. They didn't force nearly enough turnovers given that that have one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Reggie Bush Has to Play Like He Did Last Week

If you watched the Dolphins game last week then you know Reggie Bush came out trying to prove a point. He looked like a man possessed, making big plays all game.

Nobody played harder than Reggie Bush last week. He is reportedly the hardest working Dolphin in camp and it showed on the field.

He showed the ability to run between the tackles and caught passes out of the backfield like he is accustomed to.

Reggie showed the game-breaking ability that made him a second overall draft pick. I was glued to my TV just waiting and hoping that I would get to see him in another play. He added a dimension and a level of excitement to the Dolphins that I have not seen in a long time.

If Reggie Bush can play as good as he did last week, the Dolphins are in for a very good season.