Will the Miami Dolphins Shake Off the Loss to New Orleans?

The Miami Dolphins came off of a Monday Night loss where many of their flaws were exposed and exploited. A secondary that was nicked up did little to slow down Drew Brees and a porous Offensive line allowed Tannehill to be knocked around through out the day. Tannehill’s lack of ball security was obvious as he blew two drives in the first half with turnovers that got turned into points against them. There really were no bright spots in the game.
So how big a loss was this? In the grand scheme, it wasn’t that damaging. It was a road game against a superior opponent, it was out of division and out of the conference. Miami was an underdog and the loss didn’t even drop them in the power rankings. However, this was the type of loss that can take the confidence out of a team. Miami is now facing an almost desperate ravens team that was beaten by the Bills last week. Baltimore will look to exploit the same weaknesses that New Orleans skillfully did.
I believe that a healthier Miami team playing at home will rebound and they need this win if they are to stay on track for a playoff spot. Losing this game would be a major setback as it is an intra-conference game and it could possibly lead to the patriots opening up a 2 game lead and limiting Miami’s route to the playoffs. A win by the fins is a dagger to the raven’s playoff hopes and another statement win by a young up and coming Dolphins team.
I look to 3 keys for a Dolphin’s win this year:

The first is the turnover battle, the Dolphins need to at least play to a draw in this category. This Baltimore team may not be as good this year as in the recent past but they do know how to take advantage of mistakes. If Miami turns it over they will be hard pressed to establish any momentum. Both defenses are good, ignore that 25th ranking Miami has they have played a hard schedule against some solid QB’s.

The 2nd key is going to be Miami’s offensive line. So far they have been terrible, no sugar coating it  and If they give up another 4+ sacks and do nothing to establish the run again Miami may not even make the playoffs. Miami has to come out with improvements win or lose in this game.

The final key to a dolphins win is going to be the leadership of young Ryan Tannehill.  In the 1st three games Tannehill looked poised but looked rattled last week, especially in the 2nd half. He needs to bounce back against a tough raven’s defense and be as poised as he was in the Dolphins first three games. Tannehill is still inexperienced and this is a real test for him but the great QB’s shake off poor performances and deliver when it counts. How often has Brady or Manning had back to back poor games? Tannehill not only has to take care of the ball but he needs to move it effectively.

I expect the Dolphin’s to win this game getting away from the Ravens in the 4th quarter. This game will determine a lot for where the Dolphins actually are.

Prediction Dolphins 27 Ravens 14

 

By Coolcat