Approaching another weekend, approaching another Sunday, approaching another game day in the NFL. In fact, it has already arrived tonight, when the Denver Broncos have walked on the dying Arizona Cardinals, but the highlight is scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
The Miami Dolphins, who triumphed in a fantastic match last Sunday against the Detroit Lions, will once again take to the field.
Let's take a quick look at the conditions of the two franchises.
Stafford and little else
The guests have the advantage of presenting themselves in Miami after their bye week, the week of rest that, in the 8 central days of the season, is given in turn to each team, to allow them to take a little breath. Usually taking the field after the bye is an advantage, since you are shinier and fresher than the opponents, but in mid-October, this is not yet a particularly significant element; as the Chicago Bears showed us last Sunday.
The head coach of Detroit is an old acquaintance of the Dolphins, because of his long - and glorious - passed in New England, where he was for years the defensive coordinator of Bill Belichick: we speak of the defense guru Matt Patricia, who, without impressing, can still boast the fifth best defense league, statistics in hand. This unit works very well as a group, even without having worthy samples; the two names that are used to create more problems than the attackers are probably Devon Kennard (LB) and Darius Slay (CB), always effective, although neither is properly a superstar.
Even in attack we do not find decisive playmakers, although we must pay special attention to the young RB Keryon Johnson, who was amazed above all against the New England Patriots, for speed and game vision. The course will be shared with the veteran LeGarrette Blount, who will no longer have the brilliance of a few years ago, but it is still always effective, especially in the red zone. The trio of receivers is not one of those that fades, being composed of three good players, but certainly not phenomena, such as Golden Tate, Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay. Without too much doubt, we could say that the most troubling offensive player is the QB with the number 9, Matthew Stafford, excellent general on the field, who could probably have won much more often, and in important games, if he were equipped with his team mates more talented. Surely he will still be regretting the premature withdrawal of Megatron Calvin Johnson, a fantastic receiver who gave his goodbye to football played three seasons ago, just over 30 years old. In addition to Stafford, even many fans of this sport regret that decision, such as those who write. The Detroit QB has a very powerful arm, and combines a good game vision with it; although not one of the very first in his position, he can safely be considered an elite player.
Cautiously optimistic
The Dolphins come psychologically well to this challenge. The victory on Sunday was an indescribable feeling for them, just as it was for us fans, because it came unexpectedly, during a match in which we were given as a result of the danger of a defense led by Khalil Mack, the bad performance of the offensive line in the match before the one against Chicago and the absence of Ryan Tannehill. But then Mack has not practically presented himself, guests who are used to living in the windy city have accused the wet heat of South Florida (always a great ally of the Dolphins) and key players have shown their value; in this way the Fins won a very important game and, in doing so, they gave us a memorable match, certainly one of the best this season, we can say right now. The confidence is therefore a lot, even on Sunday it will be necessary to make up for the absence of Tannehill, still annoyed at the shoulder due to an unclear accident for everyone - including the league, since it would seem to investigate the timing of the change of QB before the match against the Bears - and that, according to Adam Gase, is still under control and would not require any operation. So it will still be Brock Osweiler, after the performance is not very good but still good last week.
Both Danny Amendola and DeVante Parker are both on the verge of injury, but both should be in the game against the Lions, perhaps for a predetermined snap number. The three main architects of the victory with Chicago are instead already uprooted: the two RB Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore and the offensive player of the week for the AFC, Albert Wilson, can not wait to return to the field.
In defense, the worry is always linked to the conditions of Cam Wake, it is unclear whether he will be able to play or if the bones on his knee will keep him out on Sunday, while there are no other worrisome injuries, outside the already well-known lungodegents. Worrying instead could be the situation of the returner Jakeem Grant, it is not at its best and, although it should be able to safely play the game, we can not know if it will be able to be explosive as usual, on the returns from football.
On paper, the hosts appear as favorites, but not being complete and depending on a QB that is not the holder (and that is not as athletic as Tannehill), optimism can only be cautious. Matt Patricia of spite has already made several, certainly would not mind making another trick, since Halloween is approaching. Force Dolphins.
Comments