I just read something so sad and misguided I had to stop and look away. What piece of literature was responsible for this reaction? My very own Miami Dolphins’ season preview.
(Bet the Dolphins vs. Titans Pick right now at Bovada)
Yikes! I swear I glimpsed a line about the Dolphins being 7-1 at the midway mark, something about Ryan Tannenhill taking a big step forward, a reference somewhere to the defense settling in as one of the top-tier units in the league….and on and on it went. Unlike a bad car accident, I was able to look away. In fact, I was desperate to look away.
The Hindenburg heads for Nashville
By every measure I missed the mark, as the Dolphins have been a disaster (think the Hindenburg). After taking lackluster and underachieving to the limit, Miami will now try and turn the season around with a new head coach.
Coming off the bye week and a shuffle of the coaching staff, we’ll find out if this talented lineup can be inspired to show up and play to their potential.
First up – the Titans.
Tennessee Titans -1.5
Over/Under: 43.5
An entirely beatable team. Tennessee has a bright future ahead of them, but growing pains are the order of the day right now.
That said, rookie Marcus Mariota and crew have been competitive every Sunday, despite the losses starting to mount. That is way more than can be said of Miami.
And I fully expect the home team to be a scrappy, competitive side again in this one. But there are a few reasons why I feel they might have to be satisfied with another moral victory, as opposed to the real kind.
The Miami running game has been dreadful. Look for that to change. Tennessee struggles vs. the run and there is absolutely no way the Dolphins don’t come out of the bye week committed to at least trying to run the ball. And this weekend, if they try, they should have some success. It’ll change everything for the offense.
You know that part above about the Miami running game being dreadful…ditto for the Dolphin pass rush.
Ndamukong Suh has done nothing. He hasn’t created opportunities for his mates to get to the QB (just ask Cameron Wake), he hasn’t gotten close to QBs himself, opponents’ running games have been completely unaffected by his presence and the sacks that were supposed to be rung up are nowhere to be seen.
We should see a little light at the end of the tunnel Sunday afternoon. This is the best matchup for the Dolphins’ pass rush. They should have a very nice day vs. this mediocre Titan front five. They’ll pressure Mariota.
Dolphins vs. Titans Pick
A motivated Miami team wakes up and comes to play. They establish something that resembles a running game, opening up a passing game that can make plays. Their defensive line has their best outing of the season, making things difficult on a rookie QB and handling a rushing attack with big problems of their own.
That’s how I see it anyway. But again, I’m the guy who had the Dolphins undefeated coming out of their bye week, so there’s that to consider when you think about following this play.
But I do like Miami as a small dog in this situation.
Miami +1.5 for a unit.
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