Tag Archive for: Miami Dolphins

Dolphins Jets

5 Keys to Week 6: Dolphins vs Jets

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Miami Dolphins return home to face their longtime rival, the New York Jets, who are winless and rudderless. Former Dolphins head coach Adam Gase finds himself on the hot seat after another disappointing start to a season and having alienated another star.

Meanwhile, Brian Flores, Miami’s current head coach, continues to foster a positive culture, built around communication and cohesion.

“It’s about having the right people, having the right cohesive group,” said Flores on a conference call on Wednesday. “It’s about communication. I think it’s about having good people who are team-first, selfless and want to do things for the greater good. People who are tough, who are smart, who are competitive, put the team first and people who love to do what they’re doing.”

Flores maintains the Dolphins are still building, but he’s laid a solid foundation. Something Gase never did in Miami.

Here’s a look at five keys to the Dolphins Week 6 matchup against the floundering New York Jets.

Dolphins v Jets: Get Points Early

The Dolphins stand at 2-3 and both of their wins can be characterized in the same way: Offense scored early. In those victories, Miami raced out to early 14-0 leads. Against both Jacksonville and San Francisco, the Dolphins controlled the pace early and forced the opposing offenses to become one dimensional in an effort to play catchup.

“We always talk about playing fast, starting fast. It’s something that we harp on, on a weekly basis,” Flores said earlier this week.

The Jets offense struggles to score. New York sits 32nd in points-per-game (15.0) and total points (75). They’re a minus-86 In point differential this season, which is staggeringly bad. That figure is 36 points greater than the next closest differential.

If the Dolphins can get on the board early and demoralize New York, there’s a good chance the Jets will quit on Gase and roll over. Gase may not leave Miami with his job.

Attack the Quarterback

In Miami’s two wins this season, they’ve tallied eight sacks and 19 quarterback hits. While they’ve struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks, Dolphins defenders have teed off against more stationary targets.

With 35-year-old Joe Flacco making the start for the Jets, the fear of a running quarterback is completely absent. Against San Francisco, the Dolphins brought pressure facing a hobbled Jimmy Garoppolo and his replacement, C.J. Beathard. Miami registered five sacks and eight pressures.

The defense should employ multiple fronts to make identifying the pressure difficult for the Jets’ offensive line. The return of Byron Jones last week saw Miami shift to more man-coverage, and certainly helped Xavien Howard, who picked up an interception in a third-straight game.

Miami needs to attack Flacco, especially considering the Jets have surrendered 15 sacks this season (8th-most).

Get Vertical on Offense

The Dolphins offense opened last week with a 47-yard connection from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Preston Williams. That set the tone for an offensive onslaught that tallied 43 points on the road. And facing a Jets defense that surrenders 265.6 passing-yards-per-game (8th-most), those opportunities should be there as well.

Last week, New York surrendered 380 passing yards to Arizona’s Kyler Murray. For the season, the Jets surrender a 100.2 passer rating and over eight yards-per-attempt. Their secondary allows over 70 percent of passes to be caught.

Last season against New York, Fitzpatrick completed three passes on throws of over 20 yards. Those three completions went for 72 yards and a touchdown. Against the 49ers, Fitzpatrick completed five throws of over 20 yards for 199 yards and two touchdowns.

Miami features big targets on the outside, including Williams, DeVante Parker and tight end Mike Gesicki. Those three dominated the Jets at home last season, combining for 15 catches, 224 yards and three touchdowns. Going vertical should open the running lanes for Myles Gaskin, who’s averaging just 3.9 yards-per-carry.

Finally Figure Out Flacco

Flacco remains undefeated in his career against the Dolphins. He sports a career 6-0 record versus Miami. He’s completed 72 percent of his attempts for 1,518 yards and 10 touchdowns. Flacco has thrown only three interceptions versus the Dolphins.

That said, all Flacco’s victories came while he quarterbacked the Baltimore Ravens. And this Jets roster is largely devoid of talent at this point.

Against the Cardinals, Flacco made his first start since Week 8 last season. He completed 18-of-33 passes for 195 yards and one touchdown. The Jets offense struggled on third down, where they converted only four of 13 tries. On the season, New York converts 34.7 percent of third down tries, the fifth-worst rate in the league this season. Meanwhile, the Dolphins allow just 38 percent of third down conversions, the seventh-best rate.

Miami’s secondary will need to key on Jamison Crowder, the Jets most dynamic offensive weapon. Crowder is primarily a slot receiver and currently leads the league with 111.7 yards-per-game.

Dolphins Need to Maintain Focus Against the Jets

The Dolphins enter this game as favorites for the first time in the Flores era. Miami hasn’t been favored in a game since December 2018 (21 games). They’re favored by more than a touchdown for the first time since November of 2016. As a team, the Dolphins haven’t won back-to-back games by double digits since 2015. That said, the Jets have lost each game this season by at least nine points.

This contest has all the making of a trap game. The Dolphins need a win to inject themselves into the playoff race. In addition to that, they’ll need to maintain focus against an opponent that wasn’t originally their scheduled one for this week.

The NFL’s changes seriously altered Miami’s schedule, but the players didn’t seem to care.

“It is what it is, it’s no big deal,” Gesicki said.

Howard voiced a similar sentiment. “It doesn’t matter which team is next. We just have to focus on the game plan.”

With the bye week now upcoming, Miami can’t have a letdown against the Jets. They’ll need to maintain their focus and discipline.

The Dolphins remain one of the league’s least penalized teams, having been flagged just 23 times for 195 yards through five games. The Jets, meanwhile, have committed 38 penalties for 365 yards, a characteristic consistent with Adam Gase teams.

Gase’s culture of alienating stars and blaming players has continued in New York. The Jets now turn to former Miami Hurricane and Dolphins, Frank Gore, who is starting to show his age with just 3.2 yards-per-carry in 2020, and rookie La’Mical Perine in the wake of Le’Veon Bell’s departure.

The Dolphins should handle their business here and win this ballgame. This starts a stretch of seven very winnable games for Miami. If they can emerge from this with a 5-2 of 6-1 record, they’ll be poised for a serious playoff push heading into a very difficult final four games in 2020.

Could Le’Veon Bell end up in Miami? Flores won’t say no.

/0 Comments/in , /by

Today is the day free agent running back Le’Veon Bell will be wined and dined (from a distance) by potential NFL teams.

Could the Miami Dolphins be interested in Bell’s services? That I can’t say for sure.

However, I will make a case as to why I think he would be a welcomed addition.

But first, a word from our good friend Adam. #FreeRapoport

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Miami Dolphins were at least in talks about the playmaking RB before his release.

No one truly knows how deep these talks were between the Dolphins and Jets. But after listening to the video, I get the feeling New York may have been a bit desperate?

But I don’t care. Let the speculation commence!

Flores won’t say ‘no.’ 

Yesterday, Flores didn’t really speak on the 28-year-old RB. Except he did, when he snuck this little nugget into his discussion on the Jets running back room without their Pro Bowl RB.

Look, Le’Veon Bell is a great player. I think we all know that. He’s had a lot of production in this league – run, pass and just a dynamic player.

Today, when asked what he thought about Bell and a potential new home in Miami, Flores dropped another nice little quote.

Where does Bell fit into the offense?

No disrespect to Myles Gaskin, who is proving to be an NFL RB and a key piece to Miami’s backfield, but Bell is a different breed of running back. And while the Jordan Howard experience may have failed or the team continues to struggle to get Matt Breida involved, the Dolphins could use something a little bit more.

Enter 28-year-old Le’ Veon Bell, hungry AF to prove to the doubters wrong. Most importantly, to prove Adam Gase wrong.

Bell had success in a similar offense in the past. And despite his recent woes in New York (and even his later years in Pittsburgh), I’m not convinced the book is closed. His patient running style would be effective behind Miami’s newly revamped offensive line and adding a weapon like him to an offense already averaging 27.2 points per game–watch out.

The Final Yard

I won’t lose sleep if the Dolphins miss out on Le’Veon Bell. But, rarely, a player that has eclipsed over 6,139 yards and 38 touchdowns falls from the sky. And while he’s proven to be an exceptional runner, it’s his ability to line up in the slot and split out wide that admittedly intrigues me most.

How would a defense stop DeVante Parker, Mike Gesicki, Preston Williams, Jakeem Grant/Isaiah Ford, and Le’Veon Bell when all split out wide? Then, think of the different packages, whether it be (Gaskin/Bell, Bell/Breida, Gaskin/Breida, Bell/Howard, etc..) or even Lynn Bowden-Malcolm Perry.

I need a cigarette.

Miami’s offense is already scary. But adding a player like Bell would turn the Dolphins offense into a Megazord. An unstoppable force. And for a team already averaging 27.2 PPG, that’s scary.

He might not sign in Miami, but Le’Veon Bell would be a great signing for the Miami Dolphins.

Best of all, we could go around and tell anyone who listens, Gase swapped Bell for Ballage

Stock up, Stock down vs San Francisco 49ers

/0 Comments/in , /by

Welcome back to another installment of Stock Up Stock Down. In Week 5 of the NFL season, your Miami Dolphins came out on top against the San Francisco 49ers in a surprisingly dominant fashion with only a few things to nitpick at. We took control of the game from the first drive and did not let up throughout the game. With so much to dissect, let’s dive right in

Stock Up

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Ryan must have a couple of burner Twitter accounts and saw all the calls for Tua to start because he came out on fire from the very first play. All last year we praised Fitz for his ability to give his receivers a chance to make plays on the ball by throwing the 50/50 balls, which he has done this year but only to Gesicki and DVP, and it was apparent starting the game with a deep shot to Preston for 47 yards and culminating with a 3 yard TD pass to Adam Shaheen.

Ryan led an efficient offense all afternoon long, finishing with not just the stats (22/28 350 yards 3 TD) but also scoring on 9 of the 12 drives the offense was on the field (1 was the final drive to kill time and in the game). Overall, because of his play, I doubt we hear anything else about Tua starting until we after we play the Jets at home in Week 6.

Preston Williams

All season long, Fitzpatrick has shown a level of confidence in DVP and Gesicki, but this week it appears the level of trust extended to Preston and showed what it could result in. Preston, from the first play, took the extra trust and earned more with a 47-yard deep catch to start the game, and he did not let up the rest of the game leading to the first 100-yard game of his young career. He finished the afternoon with 4 catches for 106 yards and a TD in what I would call the most complete game of his career. The key here is going to continue to see this effort and attention to detail from the Unicorn because if we do, the sky is the limit for him.

Jason Sanders

Last week I placed Jason Sanders in the stock up as a slight to Flores’s inability or unwillingness to make tough decisions, but the start to the year that Jason has had is truly something to marvel at. Jason has started the year 14/14 on field goals and another 10/10 on extra points. It is a piece of mind to know that your kicker is perfect on every kick each time you send him out there.

Defense

This must be what it feels like to have a defensive-minded Head Coach because the D was flying around all afternoon long. Throughout the game, we saw players like Jerome Baker, Eric Rowe, Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, and even Andrew Van Ginkel. Jerome finished with 8 tackles and a huge sack at the end to ice it. Rowe shut down Kittle to a tune of 4 catches for 44 yards. Xavien got an interception, which is his third game straight with an interception. Byron Jones seemed to be the missing piece that solidified the rest of the defense as Noah was not tasked with an impossible task. Lastly, one of my personal gems through my analysis of his tape, AVG. AVG was a wrecking ball off the edge all afternoon long, totaling 6 tackles 1 sack, 1 FF, and 1.5 TFL. For more in-depth on AVG.

Coaching Staff

The Coaching Staff all should get some credit for the game plan and adjustments made throughout the game by getting an early lead after a 4th down stop. After that momentum swing, it was all downhill for the 49ers. On the defensive side, the coaching staff placed their players in positions to succeed by eliminating the 49ers offense from ever getting in rhythm through the air. We realized early on that their secondary was extremely small, with the lone exception was Brian Allen, who was just activated this week. All game long we attacked a beat up and weak secondary. Preston being single teamed all game led to us hitting him early and getting him his 100-yard game as well as getting another huge game from Mike Gesicki.

Stock Down

Jordan Howard

I find it hard to imagine seeing Jordan Howard in a Dolphins uniform for very much longer. A random and surprise coaching decision to not dress Jordan for the game led to more of Breida and Myles taking over goal-line duties. I still am of the opinion that if Howard was given the same role and opportunity as Myles, he would more than show the skills that have made him a 1,000-yard RB in the league.

Rushing Attack

It seems counterintuitive that we would sit a talented RB while still averaging only 2.8 yards per carry before the game. That is unacceptable and by looking at the tape Myles is only getting whatever the offensive line is getting for him. I don’t see any explosive moves or ability to make a man miss and take it to the house and while Coach Flores has bromance for Myles, but we need to start getting the ball to Breida and even Jordan Howard. Think about this, Myles had a 21-yard run (his longest on the year) and had a total of 57 yards rushing on 16 carries. My math is funny sometimes but 15 carries for 36 yards equals 2.4 yards a carry. Unacceptable.

Jesse Davis at Right Tackle

It’s becoming harder to see a world where Jesse Davis comes back to have his job on as the Right Tackle once Austin Jackson comes back from IR. Seeing both Solomon Kindley and Robert Hunt move bodies around all game long really showed that we have a solid foundation to build on and one which needs as much playing time as possible, even if it comes at the cost of veterans who are mere stopgaps for the future. By all indications our investments this past draft have been fruitful and eventually we will have an OL with 3 rookies playing and based off the early results, we have no need to feel nervous about saying that.

Rush Defense

I really have a tough time understanding how a team that finished with 26 less points than us still manages to average 6.8 yards per carry totaling 131 for the day and 1 TD. Somehow while being up the entirety of the game, we still allowed San Francisco the ability to run the ball when they wanted to even though they had to throw it all game to try and get back into it. If this had been a closer game or even a game that San Francisco got a lead in, are we talking 200+ yards rushing being given up? It does little to play the what if games, but this is a trend that still has not been broken and with the potential loss of Davon Godchaux we lose one of our most experienced run defenders to an already porous rush defense.

Overall this team pulled off a great win which should show guys that these types of results are possible when everyone is playing together, mistake free and discipline brand of football. Coach Flores constantly preaches about each player starring in their role and if everyone can buy in to that we may be able to go on a little win streak here with the lowly but still rival New York Jets coming into town.

 

 

 

Dolphins Win 49ers

5 Takeaways from Dolphins Win over 49ers

/0 Comments/in /by

When the 2020 schedule came out and Dolphins fans saw a Week 5 game against the defending NFC Champs in San Francisco, most chalked that up as a loss. But quite a bit has changed since then, including the NFL’s schedule. And instead of a loss, the Dolphins went into Levi’s Stadium and dominated the 49ers, earning a 43-17 win.

With the win, Miami improved to 2-3 on the season and injected new life into their potential playoff hopes. With the schedule changes, the Dolphins could be favored to win four of their next six games.

Here’s a look at five takeaways from the Dolphins win over the 49ers.

Aggressive Play-calling Leads to Offensive Explosion

The Dolphins entered Sunday’s game averaging 23.3 points-per-game, a respectable figure despite the 1-3 record. However, a week after settling for five field goals in a 31-23 loss, offensive coordinator Chan Gailey seemed focused on getting his club in the endzone.

Miami opened their first offensive series with a 47-yard connection from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Preston Williams. From there, it seemed like the Dolphins offense marched up and down the field at will, often attacking San Francisco’s secondary.

Miami totaled 43 points on the road in this one, a figure the club hadn’t reached since scoring 45 in 1986. The 436 yards of offense were the most this season and the team’s most on the road since 2016. The Dolphins’ nine scoring drives were Miami’s most since 1991.

The first half offense caught fans off guard for how effective it was. Miami ran 33 offensive plays and gained 281 yards in the half, an average of 8.5 yards-per-play. The Dolphins scored three times from the two-minute warning and finished with 30 points overall. It was just the third 30-point half since 2000 for the Dolphins.

Preston Williams Returning to Form in Dolphins Win over 49ers

Williams went from being an unheralded, undrafted fringe prospect, to one of the league’s most exciting rookie wideouts last season. But in November, Williams suffered a torn ACL which ended his year. Since, he’s been diligently working to regain his form and confidence.

And after an uneven start to 2020, Williams broke out in a big way against the 49ers. Williams caught four passes for a career-high 106 receiving yards and a touchdown. He had pair of plays over 30 yards, including the touchdown, as well as another 19-yard gain.

His ability to create separation and sore over smaller defenders to secure catches was something unseen from Williams since prior to his season-ending injury.

“I’m getting closer to that year mark with my knee,” Williams said. “I’m starting to get more comfortable out there … just trying to get back into that football shape and get me feet back under me. I know a lot earlier in the year I was falling off some routes. Now I’m starting to feel better every week.”

Pass Rush Gets Home, Helps Secondary in Dolphins Win over 49ers

The Dolphins entered Sunday’s contest with nine quarterback sacks, but they had struggled t contain mobile quarterbacks this season. San Francisco’s starter, Jimmy Garoppolo, coming off a high-ankle sprain, looked hobbled all day, and the Dolphins took advantage of that.

Miami teed off on 49er quarterbacks, bringing pressure and getting eight quarterback hits. That’s the second-highest total this season, behind the 10 QB hits against Jacksonville (the Dolphins other win this season).

Miami tallied five sacks on Sunday, the most in a game since 2018. Five different defenders registered a sack in this one: Jerome Baker, Emmauel Ogbah, Elandon Roberts, Zach Sieler and Andrew Van Ginkel. Ogbah and Van Ginkel each had a strip-sack.

The consistent pressure from the Dolphins defense forced San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan to make a change under center. The 49ers went with C.J. Beathard in the second half in an effort to protect Garoppolo.

This pressure helped the Dolphins secondary find its form in this one as well. The return of Byron Jones certainly helped, too. Xavien Howard picked up an interception in a third-straight game and Bobby McCain added one as well. Miami’s pass rush and secondary limited the 49ers to just 128 net passing yards, the fewest allowed by the Dolphins since 2018.

Jason Sanders Could Be Best K in Dolphins History

One of the clear bright spots through the inconsistent play early this season has been Jason Sanders. After a five-field goal performance in Week 4, Sanders followed that with another stellar effort in this one. He netted all five of his field goal tries and each of his four point-after attempts.

Sanders 14-for-14 start to the season broke a Dolphins record for most consecutive field goals made to open a season. Pete Stoyanovich (1990) and Olindo Mare (2001) shared the previous 13-for-13 mark to open a season for Miami.

Sanders has now netted his last 16 field goal attempts, going back to last season. That’s tied for third among most consecutive makes in franchise history. The record is 19 straight makes by Mare (1999). Sunday’s game marked the third time in Sanders’ career that he’s hit five field goals in a game, which set a new franchise record.

It Might Not Be Tua-Time Just Yet

On Wednesday, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores said: “Right now, we feel like Fitz gives us the best chance to go out to California, complete and try to win a ballgame.” Those words seemed prophetic, considering Fitzpatrick’s performance and the Dolphins dominance overall.

Fitzpatrick completed 22-of-28 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns. He posted a passer rating of 154.4, which is the second-highest mark in his 16-year career and the third-highest single-game mark in franchise history (Fielder, 156.0, at Dallas 2003; Tannehill, 155.3, v Oakland, 2018). Fitzpatrick has now thrown over 300 yards in five of his past seven games.

“People hate me, people love me, depending on the week,” Fitzpatrick said.

The Tua-time crowd will likely be silenced for a time after Fitzpatrick’s performance. Coming off an ineffective two interception game in a loss last week, the cries for Tua Tagovailoa grew louder. Some saw Week 5 as the chance to switch to Tagovailoa, but an injury to starting left tackle Austin Jackson may have slowed that momentum. And after his performance this week, Fitzpatrick is likely the starter for the foreseeable future.

Tagovailoa remains the backup for now, in part, because Flores believes Fitzpatrick gives the Dolphins the best chance to win. And with the shuffled schedule putting winnable games on tap, Miami will push for the playoffs.

Flores says he’s confident that should Tagovailoa be forced into a game that he could go in there and be effective, but he doesn’t feel the fifth overall pick is ready to take over as starter.

“I think (Tagovailoa) continues to improve every day,” quarterbacks coach Robby Brown said. “He comes in, he works hard from a mental perspective. He works hard from a physical perspective. He’s sitting under a really smart guy right now that helps him out. He asks good questions during the game sitting there listening to the play. Then when we come over and look at the pictures, he asks good questions, so I think his development, I’ve been pleased with it so far. It’s just … keep doing what he’s doing, and going in to prepare every single day. He’s done a good job with that.”

Dolphins schedule

Dolphins Schedule Update

/0 Comments/in /by

The NFL handed down a massive announcement on Sunday in the wake of positive COVID-19 tests involving the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots. This change resulted in a domino effect which altered the schedule for eight different teams, including the Miami Dolphins.

Sunday’s announcement revealed eight different changes to the 2020 schedule, affecting games in Weeks 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11, as well as the shifting of bye weeks.

Dolphins Schedule Changes

For the Dolphins, the league’s decision to push back the Broncos-Patriots game by a week knocked over the dominos for the Fins. Instead of a road game in Denver next week, the Dolphins will now host the New York Jets. In the original 2020 schedule, Miami faced the Jets in back-to-back games (Week 10, Week 12) with a bye in between.

Considering the Jets’ 0-5 record and struggles overall, Miami could enter their bye with a 3-3 mark. After a week that saw Ryan Fitzpatrick lead Miami to a win over the 49ers, another win could further delay the eventual turn to Tua Tagovailoa as starting quarterback.

After the new bye week in Week 7, Miami will host the Los Angeles Rams (4-1) in Week 8. Then, in Week 9, the Dolphins travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals (3-2). Both of those contests were unchanged from the original schedule. For Week 10, Miami will host the Los Angeles Chargers (1-3), a game originally scheduled for Week 7. From there, the Dolphins Week 11 contest will be in Denver against the Broncos (1-3).

“It’s a different year, and everyone has t adjust and be flexible,” said Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. “We just have to adapt.”

Flores revealed he met with the club before the game against the 49ers to talk them through the schedule changes. He also mentioned the coaches have already begun breaking down film of the Jets in preparation for their next game.

It seems clear the NFL remains dead set on fully completing its regular 16-game schedule slate. This change took place early enough in the season that the league had space to rearrange contests. Should a similar situation arise closer to the end of the season, that might force the NFL to push back playoff games or even alter the playoff format.

Five things to watch: Miami Dolphins vs San Francisco 49ers

/0 Comments/in , /by

Coming off a terrible loss that we had a chance to win, your Miami Dolphins travel cross country to play the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers and Kyle Shanahan have been dealing with a shocking amount of injuries early on in the year, which will very likely force the 49ers to not have either their starting QB or RB. Can your Miami Dolphins take advantage of an opponent who is struggling to even field a healthy team by all indications? Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Offensive Line

Coming off a game where they only allowed 1 sack, the offensive will once again be asked to slow an effective pass rush down. The injury report has not been kind to the offensive line so far as Solomon Kindley started limited in the week but is now a full participant. Unfortunately, our other rookie Austin Jackson began the week with 2 did not practice designations. Without at least a limited practice before the game, we will most likely be going with a backup LT. Not really the best recipe if you wanted to possibly get your rookie QB some snaps.

Slowing down Shanahan’s Run Game

For us to have any chance in this game, we need to limit what Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers do best, which is run the ball. Like last week and slowing Russell, it is going to a lot easier said than done. They could be down their 2 best RB with both Mostert and Tevin Colman dealing with injuries meaning If we can stop 3rd and 4th string RB from running wild on us, we would be making them one dimensional on offense, which is the opposite of what they want with Nick Mullens or C.J. Beathard out there.

Establishing the Run Game

It cannot be stated more what a disappointment our running attack has been. I mean to strictly leave it on the RBs inability to make explosive plays and the coaching staff’s inability to try different players in different roles. This is a sort of revenge game for ex-49ers RB Matt Breida, meaning there would be no better game to get him or even Jordan Howard more than the 4.5 carries they have been averaging over the first four games.

A quarter of the season is gone, and as much as Coach Flores loves Myles for what he represents, he is not a starting RB in the NFL. We need to start exploring all our options because this patriots style of RB use is great when you have talented RBs that can excel in their roles, but when you force Jordan Howard to only be a goal-line back and get 4.5 carries a game when he has shown to be a multiple 1000 yard rusher it becomes increasingly more frustrating as each game passes.

Miami Traveling

Last week I spoke about the Seattle Seahawks and the historical struggles of west coast teams traveling to the east coast and essentially playing a 10am. Well, we can go ahead and reverse the roles because east coast teams traveling to the west have also historically struggled to execute. In what will be a quick trip as the Dolphins are traveling their Saturday due to COVID regulations, can we as a team go in their focus, locked and loaded to get our second W of the year, or will we be flying home Sunday night knowing we just earned our 4th loss of the year?

Coaching Staff

After a quarter of the year, most teams begin an introspective process to assess what went right and what went wrong during the first 25 percent of the year. The entire coaching staff’s performance has to be top on the list of what went wrong.  The entire staff needs to hold themselves accountable as they would a player missing a block, assignment, or tackle.

Decisions are coming on the horizon that could very well affect the next decade of this franchise when it comes to Tua Tagovailoa. Already this week, we have had to “announce” who our starting QB is with Flores coming out and saying that not only is Fitz our starter this week but also that Tua is not ready and that if he was Tua’s father, he would not want him to play yet, but he’s already a snap away from being in the game as the backup QB, so why those comments?

Ultimately, it will take an entire team effort for 60 minutes to steal this game away as we enter 9-point underdogs. Can Fitzpatrick hold off Tua for another week? Will Jerome Baker finally show up after 16 tackles total in the 3 games after his 16-tackle game? How much of a difference will a healthy Byron bring to a defense that has been getting torched all year? All questions of great importance for not just the rest of this year but also next year. Till next time guys, Fins Up!

Dolphins 49ers

5 Keys to Dolphins vs 49ers

/0 Comments/in /by

The Miami Dolphins (1-3) travel to the West Coast for a key Week 5 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers (2-2). Miami looks to rebound after a tough but winnable game last week against the Seattle Seahawks. Meanwhile, the 49ers want to win after a disappointing 25-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last week.

The Dolphins enter the game as a nine-point underdog and they’ve recently placed their starting left tackle on the injured reserve. San Francisco should see the return of their starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who hasn’t played since Week 2. Working in Miami’s favor? The 49ers are 0-2 at home this season.

Here’s a look at five keys for the Dolphins Week 5 matchup against the 49ers.

Dolphins-49ers Key: Continue to Stop the Run

Although the defense has not played up to expectations thus far in 2020, one of the areas where they’ve improved from last season is against the run. Miami’s run defense allowed 136.4 rushing yards per game last season. In 2020, after surrendering 217 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1 versus the Patriots, they’ve responded since. In Weeks 2-4, Miami allowed just 94 rushing yards per game and four rushing touchdowns total.

They’ll need a similar effort in Week 5 against the 49ers. San Francisco averages 128.5 rushing yards per game in 2020, and they’ve scored seven touchdowns on the ground. Jerick McKinnon leads the team with 193 yards, and the team expects Raheem Mostert to return for Week 5.

The Dolphins will need to improve upon their current mark of 4.6 yards-allowed-per-carry, which is almost equal to San Francisco’s 4.7 yards-per-attempt average.

Blitz a Hobbled Jimmy Garoppolo

The 49ers expect to welcome back Garoppolo for this one. While Garoppolo sat with an ankle injury, Nick Mullens took the reins and did very little, eventually being pulled for third stringer C.J. Beathard.

The Dolphins pass defense has been one of the worst in the league, and that’s surprising considering the secondary was viewed as a strength coming into the season. Byron Jones’ injury certainly did not help matters. Xavien Howard is still rounding into form after last year’s knee injury though he does have an interception in each of the last two weeks. His 14 career INTs are tied for for the second most in the NFL since 2017.

A key for Miami will be to make sure Garoppolo is uncomfortable in the pocket. With a potentially gimpy ankle limiting his mobility, the Dolphins should look to attack with the blitz. San Francisco has surrendered 13 sacks this season, sixth-most in the NFL, despite solid play from their tackles. Miami blitzes 32.6 percent of the time and will need to generate the pressure up the middle.

Dolphins-49ers Key: Limit George Kittle

The key weapon in the 49ers’ offensive machine might be tight end George Kittle. After missing Weeks 2 and 3, Kittle returned the lineup with a monster 15-catch, 183-yard one-touchdown performance last week. He even had an additional carry for eight yards. Kittle caught all 15 targets in Week 4, making him just the fourth receiver or tight end since 2009 to be targeted at least 12 times and catch each pass.

Miami could use Eric Rowe or one of the other defensive backs in coverage against Kittle, but they’ll need to prevent the elite tight end from taking over this contest. They’ll need to use an array of coverages and should throw different defenders at him when possible.

”I don’t think you stop him, I think you just try to limit him,” head coach Brian Flores said of Kittle. ”You try to give him different looks — play zone, play some man. I think when you’ve got a player like this, you’ve got to think about doubling a guy like this; but again, he’s as physical as they get.”

Be Sure Tacklers

The Dolphins secondary surrenders 285 passing-yards-per-game thus far in 2020, fifth-most in the NFL. They’ve allowed six passing touchdowns, but have registered five interceptions, including a pivotal one in the endzone last week by Howard.

In Week 5, the secondary lines up against a number of big play threats on the outside in Deebo Samuel and rookie wideout Brandon Aiyuk. If and when those players make a catch, the Dolphins D will need to bring them down. Last season, Samuel was second among all receivers in yards-after-catch per reception, and Aiyuk has already scored on a pair of 30-plus yard runs this season. And Kittle has been one of the best in the game at it with the most yards after the catch among all tight ends and receivers since he entered the league in 2017.

The 49ers also like to run the ball outside as well. Last year, the 49ers ran 60 carries outside for 363 yards, three touchdowns and 17 first downs. On those runs, 255 yards were gained after contact.

Dolphins-49ers Key: Score Touchdowns

Last week, the Dolphins offense moved the ball well against the Seattle defense, but stalled in scoring territory. Jason Sanders kicked five field goals and the Phins didn’t get their first touchdown until late, on a Ryan Fitzpatrick run. He threw for 315 yards but had no TD passes and was intercepted twice.

Fitzpatrick has thrown four touchdown passes this season, but the 49ers enter with only three passing touchdowns allowed, which is tops in the NFL. Fitzpatrick will need to limit mistakes (like the two interceptions last week) and could focus again on DeVante Parker, who caught a career-high 10 passes 110 yards last week. The 49ers will be without Richard Sherman, so that should help.

The key to scoring those touchdowns might be getting the running game going. In Miami’s lone win this season, they picked up 138 rushing yards against Jacksonville. They’ve only eclipsed 100 yards one other time, last week (103 yards), and are averaging just 96.3 yards-per-game on the ground in their three losses. The 49ers defense, meanwhile, allows 110.8 rushing-yards-per-game.

Miami’s offensive line will likely need to buy Fitzpatrick extra time, considering the 49ers blitz at the ninth-highest rate in the NFL (34.2 percent blitz rate) this season. Although they’re without Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead leads the defense with 18 quarterback pressures. San Francisco has the third-highest pressure rate at 30.3 percent, but they rank only 18th in sacks (8).

Stock up, Stock down vs Seattle Seahawks

/0 Comments/in , /by

Welcome back, guys, to another installment of Stock Up Stock Down. In Week 4 of the 2020 NFL season, your Miami Dolphins hosted the Seattle Seahawks and came up short in the end with a score to 31-23. In a hard-fought loss to a heavily favored team, let us dive in and see what happened in Week 4.

Stock Up

Solomon Kindley

A quarter of the season is over and Solomon Kindley has catapulted himself as the best pick of the past draft for us. Solomon has shown that his strengths in college (run blocking, double teaming, pulling) are strengths in the pros. Most importantly, his weaknesses (pass blocking and mobility) are areas he has attacked to get better with the results being apparent. Pro Football Focus graded Solomon as the highest-graded rookie OL in Week 4 of the whole league after allowing 0 pressures on 54 pass-blocking snaps while working through a foot injury he had before and during the game.

Devante Parker

Devante Parker has completely shed the soft label he had early on in his career. Anyone who closely follows and watches tape on DVP sees that the explosion from last year is not there at present. He looks a step slower, which can be the difference between a completion and an interception. Making no excuses and with an obviously not 100% hamstring, Devante took advantage of a plus matchup like an elite WR does.

Early on, the effort was to get DVP going with 2 catches, but he had to make some plays off during the middle of the first quarter because of a new and separate ankle injury. Devante came back and went to work from the second quarter on. DVP all game got open on slants, posts, and dig routes to the tune of 10 catches on 12 targets netting 110 yards with a long of 21. In a season that shows more and more the lack of explosive threats in this offense, it is a relief to see how consistent Devante has become while fighting through an injury that early in his career would keep him out.

Jason Sanders

Giving only praise and not harping on the negative, let’s give some credit to Jason for converting on all 5 of his attempts, yes, 5 attempts (more on that later). He was Coach Flores’ security blanket all afternoon long and would have been the only player to score without the final drive and Fitzpatrick late 10-yard run.

Ogbah & Lawson

For the first time this season, this pair of free agents popped all afternoon and showed exactly the reasons we brought them in for. Shaq had only 2 tackles, but they were a TFL and a Sack to show his versatility in stopping the run and being strong enough to wrestle Russell Wilson down. Ogbah was more impactful with 5 total tackles. Of those 5, 1 was a sack, 2 were TFL, and additionally had 2 QB hits, which led to Russell early struggles in the game as he was forced to leave the pocket consistently where we were unable to slow down Russell’s scrambles with him throwing on the run at an elite level.

Texans 1st and 2nd Round Picks

The Laremy Tunsil Trade is looking more and more like we committed highway robbery for all of those picks. After a 0-4 start to the season, the Texans have announced that Coach/GM Bill O’Brien has been relieved of his duties effective immediately. With our own struggles plus the ones the Texans are continuing to add, we can be sitting with potentially 2 top 10 picks in the 2021 NFL Draft. It’s paramount that we add players at skill positions early and often to properly give Tua the weapons needed to thrive.

Stock Down

RedZone Offense

5 field goals, 1 touchdown, which came on the game’s final drive for the Dolphins. That is just unacceptable in any NFL game, let alone one where we are playing and trying to limit the leading MVP candidate for this year. 5 different times Flores decided to go for a field goal instead of going for it on 4th down. 5 different times.

They score ended up being 23-31, meaning 8 points short, which could have come in any of the 5 instances we thought best to go for field goals. Ultimately if we want to have a chance to compete and beat teams that very clearly overmatch us, we need to be out of the ordinary and be aggressive when the opportunities present themselves.

Rushing Attack

After last year where Ryan Fitzpatrick led us in rushing yards, and we decided to invest heavily in the OL and RBs, I could not fathom a single game where Fitz would lead us in rushing, and yet here we are again. As much as I love Myles Gaskins, it’s clear he is doing everything to the best of his ability, which still only leaves us with a 4.0 average rushing, longs of 15 yards rushing receiving, and finally 0 touchdowns.

How can Jordan Howard and Matt Breida be combined for only 36 carries when Myles has 48! Matt and Jordan are both proven backs who have shown they can perform at high levels in this league, and yet they have less than half the carries individually that Myles has? The coaching staff will have to take a hard look in the mirror because if Fitzpatrick cannot survive without a running game, I don’t want to even chance what Tua would look like with this rushing attack.

Fitzpatrick

It’s becoming tougher and tougher to swallow the product being fed to us by Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is an elite backup QB that can come in for a pinch and bring energy to a team but being relied on as a starter for 16 games is becoming more lunacy than unrealistic. Ultimately, this year’s goal is to get Tua comfortable enough that after the next draft where we add him some weapons, he can take the next step in his development, but without actually giving him playtime, how can he really get ready?

To clarify, I am not saying that Fitzpatrick was the problem in the loss versus the Seahawks because we severely lack talent at the skill positions. Outside of DVP and Gesicki, we don’t have anyone that consistently threatened defenses but having said that, Fitzpatrick is also not the solution. I wouldn’t want Tua to have to struggle with these skill position players, but there were plenty of times during the game where Fitz did not look past his first read, which from a veteran is unforgivable, but from a rookie would be understandable growing pains.

Jerome Baker

I really have had to start asking myself if maybe Jerome is hurt or something undisclosed behind the scenes is going on. After a monster first game where he totaled 16 tackles and played 95.3% of the snaps, Baker has totaled 16 tackles the next 3 games(!). And with each game, his snap percentage is going down. In week 2, he dropped to 93.4%, Week 3 to 89.4%, and finally, an alarming 69.8% of the snaps last week. As a player, we all thought would take the next step and be Coach Flores’s ultimate chess piece has really fallen flat this year and maybe in the doghouse similar to what Raekwon McMillan last year, and we see how that ended up.

Coaching Staff

Many questionable decisions could be dissected in-depth, but when do we start asking ourselves, is Coach Flores really a defensive genius? Every game at multiple instances, I ask myself, why is the defense struggling so much? Why can we not consistently rush the passer, stop the run, miss tackles, or just use or pieces more effectively? Noah Igbinoghene is going to be a great player one day, let’s hope, but why is he every game matched up against one on one and getting picked on all game? Why do we have such an inability to adjust to what the opponent is doing to us?

Every half time besides last week, it always feels like the other team comes out with a plan with what to attack in the second half while we are just continuing on doing what we did from the first half. Lastly, for Chan Gailey and the offensive side of the ball, we need more explosive plays, and Preston and Myles have shown to be unable to do either. We need to see more of Jakeem, more Lynn Bowden, more of Matt Breida and Jordan Howard. And can we gather up the courage one time to play like its 2020 and try and go for at least 1 of the 5-field goal attempts we just “couldn’t” pass up? Almost all analytics say to try and convert some of them, and that is what ultimately killed us more than anything.

Overall, this team desperately needs a jolt of energy and a coaching staff who can adjust. We can fix one of those issues by possibly seeing what Tua can do, but when can we hope for Flores and the rest of the staff to hold themselves as accountable as they hold players. Till next time, Fins Up!

 

 

 

Dolphins Seahawks

5 Keys to Dolphins vs Seahawks

/0 Comments/in /by

The Miami Dolphins (1-2) enter their Week 4 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks (3-0) coming off a dominant 31-13 victory last Thursday night over the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2). The Dolphins played well in Jacksonville, putting together solid stretches in all three phases of the game.

While the 2020 season has been anything but normal, Miami’s uneven performances have frustrated fans and players alike. And if the Dolphins are going to even their record at 2-2 this week, they’ll need focus and execution against one of the league’s most dynamic talents, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.

Here’s a look at five keys to the Dolphins vs Seahawks matchup.

Limit Russell Wilson, if possible

Wilson leads the NFL with 14 touchdown passes, most after three games in NFL history. He’s on pace for a 75 touchdowns this season. The Seahawks offense has scored 111 points. This potent attack has spurred championship dreams in Seattle, but Chris Carson’s injury could force the Seahawks to lean even more on their MVP-candidate.

The Dolphins defense limited Gardner Minshew in Week 3. They tallied 10 quarterback hits and four sacks. Minshew, though, is not the dual threat posed by Wilson. The Dolphins struggled with similar dual threats in Weeks 1 and 2, considering what Cam Newton and Josh Allen were able to do.

The Dolphins will need to generate pressure, but Wilson is good at extending plays and making decisions on the run. The Seahawks have one of the better offensive line units, particularly in pass-protection. Wilson’s thrown only one interception so far this season, and the Dolphins secondary is allowing 7.7 yards-per-attempt.

Dolphins vs Seahawks: Protect Fitzpatrick

The Dolphins offensive line, which starts a pair of rookies, has been one of the unexpected bright spots this season. After a few years of subpar (at best) line play, the Dolphins may have found a unit to build upon moving forward. Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley have played extremely well through their first three weeks in the NFL and that will need to continue against the Seahawks.

Seattle’s defensive line hasn’t been able to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks this season. Their edge rushers have 10 pressures and two sacks on the year. This has led the Seahawks to blitz on nearly 40 percent of passing plays, but they’ll be without one of their main blitzers on Sunday with the absence of safety Jamal Adams. The former New York Jets standout averages nine pass rushes a game, so Seattle will need to look elsewhere for pressure.

The Seahawks defense can be scored upon. Seattle allows 28.7 points-per-game thus far in 2020, so if the Dolphins can keep Ryan Fitzpatrick upright, there will be opportunities to score on this defense.

More Production from the Running Back Position

The Dolphins seem to have stumbled upon a lead back that not very many people thought would take hold of the role. Myles Gaskin, a seventh-round pick last season, has been the surprise go-to running back so far this year. It’s particularly surprising given Miami’s addition of Matt Breida and Jordan Howard this offseason.

Gaskin leads the team with 152 yards rushing and 15 receptions, and he’s averaging 4.6 yards-per-touch. This after a rookie season that saw him tally just 133 yards and seven receptions in seven games played in 2019.

But the combination of Gaskin, Breida and Howard will need to more than just the 3.8 yards-per-carry average they’ve compiled so far in 2020. The Dolphins are 20th in the NFL in rushing-yards-per-game (108.0) and have four rushing touchdowns through three games.

The Seahawks allow the second-fewest rushing-yards-per-game (66.7) but that’s largely because their opponents have been playing from behind most of the time. If the Dolphins can use the run to set up the pass, they’ll be in business.

Dolphins vs Seahawks: Attack Seattle’s Secondary

While Seattle may have one of the best run defenses (statistically), their pass defense has been porous. Seattle’s defense ranks 32nd in yards-per-game (497.3) and passing-yards (430.7), 31st in yards-per-completion (8.5) and 31st in yards-per-play (6.6) and 29th in third-down defense (51.2 percent). Although their offense has been one of the league’s best, their defense has largely forced Wilson and company to put up points.

What’s going to help the Dolphins against the Seahawks on Sunday will be the fact that Seattle will be without starting safety Jamal Adams and cornerback Quinton Dunbar. In addition, backup safety Lano Hill, who has matched up versus opposing tight ends this season, could also miss the game.

A major weapon for the Dolphins should be Mike Gesicki. The Fitzpatrick-Gesicki connection has resulted in seven touchdowns in Gesicki’s past nine games. That figure is tied for most among NFL tight ends during that span. Over the past 16 games, Gesicki has 57 catches for 694 yards. Without Adams to check Gesicki, Fitzpatrick will likely target his big tight end early and often.

Dolphins Secondary Needs to Make Plays

The Seahawks sport a potent passing offense this season. Wilson piles up 289.7 passing-yards-per-game (5th in the NFL). He’s thrown a league-high 14 touchdowns and averages 9.0 yards-per-completion (3rd). The Seahawks offense ranks 25th(37.9 percent) in third-down conversions, but the Dolphins defense ranks 43.3 percent stopping opposing offenses on third down.

Wilson has spread the ball around, but in Week 3 he connected with Tyler Lockett nine times for 100 yards and three touchdowns. DK Metcalf has also been a productive weapon for Wilson. He’s leading the league with 24.8 yards per reception (min. 15 targets) and has scored a touchdown in each game this season.

Miami’s secondary has allowed 19 catches of 16 or more yards. The Dolphins secondary, which was viewed as a strength entering the year, remains battered with injury. Byron Jones continues to struggle with his groin injury, but he did return to practice on Thursday. Xavien Howard has been limited by a knee injury as well, but he’s limited quarterbacks to 54.5 percent completions against him this year. Rookie Noah Igbinoghene will continue to see playing time and will need to play well.

The Extra Yard: Five things to watch Dolphins vs Jaguars

/0 Comments/in , /by

After a close and hard-fought loss to the Buffalo Bills, your Miami Dolphins get a quick turnaround with a short drive north to have a matchup against an in-state rival in the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday Night Football.

Let’s dive right in to see what five things I will be keeping a close eye on.

Response from Team:

One of the first things I am keeping an eye on from kickoff is how the team will respond to not only a severe loss but such a quick turnaround. Will we be active and energized to move past last week’s embarrassing defeat to a division rival? Or can we expect another lackluster effort filled with a stubborn coaching staff unwilling to adjust game plans?

Coaching Staff:

Which leads to my next point in that the coaching staff for two straight weeks has shown either an inability or unwillingness to alter the game plan once it becomes apparent it is not working out. Suppose the defensive game plan is not getting the job (I highlight the defense because our head coach was a defensive coordinator before this), then we need to pivot and try other things with different players. Enough hitting our head against the wall, hoping that it will breakthrough. We spent a lot of money and a lot of draft capital not to be making any improvements and be regressing in most areas.

Jerome Baker:

One of the more specific disappointments of this past weekend was the disappearance of Jerome Baker. A week after being everywhere on the field making impactful plays, he was virtually nonexistent, totaling a measly five tackles. A player that for us to become a good defense, we need to start putting it all together on a consistent weekly basis. Coach Flores must also take some accountability and use Jerome in better spots as we have seen him be able to not only play the run but also pass defend and rush the passer.

Mike Gesicki:

The biggest positive coming out of Week 2 was the career day for Mike and what that ultimately means for his development moving forward. 8 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown more than solidify Gesicki as a top 12 tight end with room to get higher up with more performances like this one. Having said that, though, Mike instantly becomes the second clear option for defenses to game plan for after DVP. How he responds to all the extra attention he will undoubtedly be receiving is the key to how great Gesicki can become.

Offensive Line:

Sticking to positives to close out this piece, the continued development of the offensive line with specific attention to the rookies will be the last thing I keep a close eye on. Austin Jackson continues to improve and is practically penciled in as the LT for the next four years. Kindley and Hunt are the two I am most interested in seeing. They both seem like the same type of physical, tough, nasty player that Coach Flores is looking for. We saw Hunt go in on goal line and not only move people but drive them into the ground until well beyond the whistle. Kindley seemed to feed off that energy or vice versa because multiple times, I saw Kindley pulling to destroy his blocker with no better example than the touchdown from Jordan Howard at the 1.

 

Ultimately having a Thursday Night Game allows us to wash our mouths of the nasty taste left behind by the Week 2 loss to the Bills. Let’s hope for a better outcome than this past week, or we may be discussing a ten-day prep to get Tua ready to play against the Seattle Seahawks at home.