Welcome to week nine in the NFL. Welcome to November.
For the Miami Dolphins, welcome to the big boy part of your schedule. As I said earlier this week, today marks the beginning of a grueling, daunting, make or break part of the Dolphins schedule. If this team wants to be talking playoffs next month, they have to act like they've started this month.
I believe today's game is the most winnable one out of the next four. I believe this is a chance for Miami to establish that they aren't going anywhere, that they belong in the playoff conversation, and that they are a true ABOVE average team.
How do they get to 5-3, you ask?
1. Big boy pants, big boy plays: What do I mean by big boy plays? Converting third downs on offense, which is something this team doesn't do well. Getting off the field on defense, which is also something this team doesn't do well. Make some big time, 20+ yard passes, something Ryan Tannehill obviously struggles with. This team needs to make some big time plays today if they want to win this football game. This isn't Jacksonville. You MUST put your big boy pants on.
2. 1:05 kickoff, not 2:30: For some reason this offense seems to think game's don't start until around 2:30, which is the average second half kickoff time. I don't know why they can't come out of the gates strong, but it MUST change today. This isn't Jacksonville. This isn't Chicago. This offense simply cannot afford another slow start today. San Diego is too good of a team, folks.
3. Exploit the matchup: Earlier this week I discussed a key matchup Miami MUST exploit today, and that was trench play. The reality is that the Dolphins are the far, far better team when it comes to trench play. They can rush the QB better. They can block better. They have more pro bowlers on their D-line then San Diego has on defense all together. Philip Rivers needs to be running for his life today, and Ryan Tannehill needs to have a silly amount of time to throw the football. Those are match ups the Dolphins MUST exploit.
4. Stick to what you do best: And that's RUNNING THE FOOTBALL. Give it to Lamar Miller early, and often. Run the read option till they prove they can stop Ryan Tannehill. When its third and two, RUN THE FOOTBALL. When it's 4th and one, don't take the FG... RUN THE FOOTBALL. You're the sixth ranked running offense in the NFL, and today is the time to prove it.
5. More play-action, more under center: This offense is a run first unit that is designed to make big plays off the play-action pass. Ryan Tannehill is really good when Bill Lazor sticks to this formula. See where I'm going here? Play-action is the nuts and bolts of this offense, folks, and if I'm Bill Lazor I'm running it all day long. Put Ryan Tannehill under center, get creative, and let this offense take off. That's the formula that works best for this team.
PREDICTION
Detroit, Buffalo, Denver. That's what awaits Miami following today's crucial game. November, like day three of a major championship, is moving month in the NFL. These next four games will show what these Miami Dolphins' true colors are. Get through this gauntlet with two wins, and you're in the mix. Get swept, or manage just one win, and this season is probably toast.
It starts today with San Diego.
And I think it starts with a win.
Final: Dolphins 24 Chargers 20
Inactives will be up in a few hours, so come back then for your latest pre-game news. THEN, make sure to come back following the first quarter to check out the live blog.
3.5 hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment