Dolphins at Jaguars, Saturday, 12:35 p.m. ET

	Fred Taylor will try to find some holes in Miami's aggressive defense.

What the Dolphins showed against the Seahawks was a commitment to a philosophy that Jimmy Johnson established when he came to this organization. These are the fruits that finally paid off for this team. They showed a commitment to the running game and they stuck with their game plan. And what allows them to stick with it is their defense. The Miami defense will make it difficult for Jacksonville to sustain its offense.

It will be very important for the Jaguars to stay patient. Fred Taylor could be the key in this game. He can attack the middle of the defense downhill and then bounce it out laterally. That's how you must run against the Dolphins defense. You can't immediately go lateral against the Dolphins because they are too fast. You have to run at them to freeze them for a moment, and then you can get out to the perimeter. Taylor is the type of back who can do that.

Jacksonville's defense has struggled some the last couple of weeks. However, it is still a defense that can create a lot of confusion if it can get you into third-and-long situations. It's important for Miami's offense to stay with its commitment to the run and stay in good third-down situations. If Jacksonville can shore up its run defense on first and second down and force the Dolphins into third-and-long situations, then the Jags defense will really be able to get after Dan Marino.

The Jags' aggressiveness on defense will also give the Dolphins a chance to make some big plays. If Marino and the offensive line can pick up the blitzes that the Jags will throw at them, they can make some plays. The Dolphins receivers will have to come up with the big catches that they did against the Seahawks.

I expect this to be a close game. Forget what happened to the Dolphins to end their season. This team has confidence now, and it will be ready.

Redskins at Bucs, Saturday, 4:15 p.m. ET
This game comes down to Stephen Davis. I believe Davis will be able to play, but if he can't, Washington will struggle. The Bucs defense is one of the very best, but it has had some problems with solid running games.

Washington must challenge the Bucs' front four. They aren't that big, but they're aggressive and quick. Washington's offensive line is huge. The Redskins need to try to establish control of the line with their running game. If they can do that, they can create favorable matchups in the passing game.

It will be important for Brad Johnson to take what the Bucs defense gives him early in the game. That will mean dumping the ball off early because the Bucs will take away the deep stuff. He will have to generate big plays downfield, but he will have to do that by being patient.

Offensively for the Bucs, they will try to control the game on the ground. Washington's defense has played better lately, but the Redskins have struggled against the run all season. The Bucs will win this game if they control the game between the tackles. If Washington can't stop the run, the Bucs will be in great shape. If Washington has to put eight guys in the box to stop the run, Tampa Bay could have some success going downfield with the ball. Look for the Bucs to take some shots downfield on first down.

The philosophy of Tampa Bay and Tony Dungy is you play good defense, you run the ball, you play mistake-free and you win by a field goal. This offense is not geared toward creating a lot of big plays, so it's not going to.

Vikings at Rams, Sunday, 12:35 p.m. ET
There's no possible way to matchup man-for-man with the Rams offense. That being said, the biggest problem the Vikings will have is matching up with Marshall Faulk. He is going to be a nightmare for them. Trying to cover Faulk out of the backfield is a difficult matchup, which will force the Vikings to drop a safety down to cover him. That means the Rams receivers will get one-on-one matchups. Then, it's up to Kurt Warner to make the reads and get the ball to the right guy.

This Minnesota defense has gotten better. It will be important for the Rams to get some help on John Randle and protect Warner. In their final game against the Eagles, the Rams' protection broke down some, which is something that you can't just overlook. It was the first time this season that the Rams have broken down with protection and schemes.

St. Louis can force Minnesota's hand defensively. The Rams can get the Vikings into what they want to get them in and take advantage of what matchups they want. By formations and motions, Mike Matz will find the matchups, and he'll expose that defense. The Rams definitely will score points.

Offensively, Minnesota will have to score with the Rams. St. Louis has played well defensively, but you can find some big plays on them. The Vikings will be able to find a good scheme against the Rams defense. It will take some work, and they will need be patient.

A big challenge for the Vikings will be establish some type of balance. If Robert Smith can force the Rams to bring up a safety to help with the run, then that will open things up for Randy Moss and Cris Carter. One thing that might be open for the Vikings is dumping the ball off to Smith when there is deep coverage.

The game plan will be critical for the Vikings in order to create big plays so that they can stay with the Rams.

Titans at Colts, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
The real challenge here is for Tennessee's defense. The Titans will have to play as fundamentally sound as they have played all year. The Colts will create plays downfield in the passing game, and they will do it by getting the defense off balance. The Colts are very good at selling the run, which will make it very hard for the Titans to read what the Colts are doing.

Tennessee will have to pick up tendencies in the Colts offense. They must be aware of tendencies -- where the Colts are on the field and where on the field they like to create big plays. Indy especially likes to go for big plays around midfield, and the Titans safeties will have to aware of that, and not let anyone get behind them, especially Marvin Harrison.

Indy has struggled some the last few weeks. Both offensively and defensively, the Colts haven't played very well, and they might not have the confidence level that they probably had in the middle of the season. But they still have a lot of weapons.

Jevon Kearse will be a big factor in the game. The Titans defensive end can force the Colts to keep one of their two tight ends in to block. If the Colts have to do that, it will handicap them a little bit because they utilize their tight ends so much in their offense.

On offense, the Titans will have to generate more points than they did against the Bills. However, the Colts defense isn't as strong as Buffalo's, and Tennessee should be able to take advantage of some weaknesses in the Indy defense.

The counter trap has been one of the running plays the Colts have struggled with this year, and I would expect to see the Titans run it out of a three-receiver formation. Indy has problems defending that run from that formation. If the Titans can do that, it will help create some plays in the passing game. Steve McNair must find some plays down the field, and not just dump the ball off. The Titans will need some big plays.