(courtesy of Dolphins.com)
It's FINALLY game day (night), as your Miami Dolphins are just hours away from playing an actual NFL game. In-fact, it's their first since Halloween night.
Unfortunately, it feels like it's been much, much longer since Miami has played a game.
With all the drama surrounding the Fins over the last two weeks, the actual football side of things, you know, the one that matters, has been completely lost in translation.
If you remember, the last time your Fins were on the field, they saved their season with a huge OT win against the Cincinnati Bengals, thanks in large part to a Cam Wake safety-sack of Andy Dalton.
Tonight is about as big of a game for the Fins as they could play. The entire world has been trashing this team for two weeks now. Their leadership has been questioned, their ethics have been questioned, and players in the locker room have been able to do NOTHING about it.
Until tonight.
To the keys:
1. Embrace the drama. Sound weird? Relax. I'm not condoning what allegedly went on within the Dolphins locker room. However, I expect this team to use the whole "us against the world" mantra to its fullest. Players have vocally expressed their disdain for how their names have gotten tossed around over the past few weeks, and tonight, as I just said, they can finally let it out. Expect this team to come out guns a blazin', from the first play, to the last.
2. Attack the rookie. Yes, Mike Glennon has played well, and yes, he looked very much the part against an extremely good defense last week in Seattle. HOWEVER, he's still a rookie, and he's still making only his 6th career start. That Miami defense line, led by Cam Wake, must put the rookie under constant pressure, all night, if this defense is to have success. Force bad throws, force mistakes, and take advantage of a young, inexperienced quarterback.
3. Continue running the football. Last week, Mike Sherman finally put together a good, solid game plan for 60 minutes. He ran the ball, and reaped the benefits. Lamar Miller had a career game, Daniel Thomas was solid, and the game, for once, wasn't completely put on Ryan Tannehill's shoulders. And you saw the results! No turnovers from Tannehill, no bad decisions, and the sacks were cut in half. Run the ball tonight against a middle of the road run defense, and stick with it.
4. Opportunistic defense. This unit made some HUGE plays last week. Dimitri Patterson had an INT, Brent Grimes took one to the house, Cameron Wake had a strip sack, AND Dannell Ellerbe plucked one out of the air. The defense bailed this team out time and time again, and should see similar results tonight against Mike Glennon. However, CB Dimitri Patterson will NOT play tonight, so Nolan Carroll must step up, fill the void, and continue making plays.
5. Learn from the OT pass interference. This play constantly gets over looked, but it was HUGE. With Miami pinned deep, and momentum sliding over to Cincinnati's sideline, Ryan Tannehill rolled out on a play-action fake, and heaved one deep to a streaking Mike Wallace. Terrence Newman was forced to tackle Wallace, as he was easily beat, and the result was a huge PI call that completely switched field position. Although Miami would punt, the play reversed field and pinned Cincinnati deep in their own territory. Three plays later Miami won. Use Wallace tonight, take some shots, and see the results. My guess is they'll be good.
PREDICTION
Listen, there's clearly a lot more at play tonight then the game itself. Miami is the laughing stock of the league, and a national punchline. What many people forget is they're in prime position for a post season run. A win tonight puts them in a tie for the sixth and final wild card spot with the Jets, and with a lot of football left to play, that's huge. Call me an optimist, call me a homer, call me a sucker, but something tells me that this group is resilient, they're ticked off, and they're ready to regain some league wide respect. I'll take the Fins, on the road, amid the drama and controversy, to pull this one off.
Final: Dolphins 31 Buccaneers 20
Alright, that'll do it for now. Kickoff is about three hours away, but if you need something to hold you over, go back and check out the week that was for the Miami Dolphins, including:
MY take on what's at stake in the Incognito/Martin controversy
Exclusive video of Richie Incognito in the LAX airport
And, despite their good position, how the Miami Dolphins are being written off in the AFC playoff picture
AFTER checking those out, come back right before kickoff for any last minute news, including the inactives for both teams.
And, as always, follow the quarter by quarter blog of tonight's game!
Until then
GO FINS
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