Today is the final inside look at a Dolphins matchup until September 2015. Enjoy it. Cherish it. Remember it. Because this is it. This is the big one. The real one. The last one.
To the final matchup of 2014:
Look, the Dolphins should dominate tomorrow. I said it last month, and I'll say it again now— offensively, and defensively, Miami has the upper hand in this matchup.
Offensively, the matchup to watch tomorrow is Ryan Tannehill vs. the New York secondary. Tannehill is in a groove right now, and has the Miami passing offense up to 15th in the league, averaging nearly 235 yards per game. The Jets secondary is the weakness of their sixth ranked defense, as they rank 15th against the pass, while ranking fifth against the run.
What does this tell me? Expect Miami to attack this unit early and often tomorrow, especially with the way Ryan Tannehill is playing. He needs only four touchdowns, and only 213 yards, to surpass 30 TD's and 4,000 yards on the season, and with that depleted secondary I don't think either are out of the realm of possibility.
Defensively, the obvious problem Miami will face is against that New York rushing attack, which ranks third in the league with 145 yard per game. If you remember ( and how could you not?), Miami's feeble run defense (24th in the NFL, 124 yards per game) was torched earlier this month by this unit.. Torched so bad that the Jets had over 200 yards on the ground after the first half!
I expect more of the same tomorrow, as nothing has really changed since the last meeting— Miami's secondary is still really good (4th), Geno Smith is still really bad (31st), the Jets can still run, and Miami still struggles to stop it.
This will be the game changing matchup tomorrow, folks. If Miami can stop the run, and force Geno Smith to throw, then look for a route. If not, expect another tight one heading into the final quarter.
INJURY REPORT
The Dolphins released the final injury report of the 2014 season yesterday, and, for the most part, the team is healthy heading into tomorrow's finale.
LB Jelani Jenkins (foot), RT Dallas Thomas (foot), and DE Derrick Shelby (ankle) are all listed as questionable.
TE Charles Clay (hamstring, knee), CB Cortland Finnegan (ankle, knee), LB Jonathan Freeny (hamstring), S Don Jones (shoulder), LB Koa Misi (hamstring, knee), DT Earl Mitchell (back), DT Jared Odrick (ankle), RB Daniel Thomas (knee) and WR Mike Wallace (back) are all listed as probable.
Picks and predictions coming up later.
No comments:
Post a Comment