Regaining Momentum Should Be Miami Dolphins Focus
Before Monday night’s debacle in the Big Easy, the Miami Dolphins where riding high on a wave of momentum before it crashed down on them like a surfer who couldn’t make it out of the tube on a barreling wave.
Still standing strong with a 3-1 record at the first quarter mark of the season, the Dolphins find themselves in a position where they have surpassed early expectations but at a crossroads when it comes to keeping that up.
Headed into the bye over .500 is never a bad thing but for this young team with playoff aspirations, it can ill afford to head into the bye riding a 2 game momentum killing losing streak.
After finishing 2-1 on the road and winning their home opener, the Dolphins need to approach Sunday’s game with an Under Armour mentality where they “MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE” and establish home field dominance.
Under the 1 PM sun in classic Miami humidity, the Dolphins must stake their claim as an NFL force to be reckoned with by kicking the Defending Champion Ravens in the gut while they’re down. In order to do this, a couple things need to happen for the Fins.
Number 1, they need to establish the line of scrimmage early on both sides of the ball. The O-line needs to play 4 quarters like they did the first half in New Orleans, while the D-line needs to show up from the onset instead of waiting till the third series of the game to start exerting their will.
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Number 2, they need to get Lamar Miller lathered up and make him a focal point of the attack, stop splitting his time with Daniel Thomas because defenses key on Thomas as the short yardage back and stuff him too frequently.
Number 3, win the turnover battle, rising star Ryan Tannehill must protect the football better while maintaining his aggressive nature, interceptions are going to happen but the fumbles need to stop as he has the most power over that faction of ball security.
And number 4, make plays in the secondary, besides Brent Grimes and a healthy Dimitri Patterson, can someone consistently make plays on the football and show off some ball skills? Nolan Carroll should have had a pick 6 last week against Drew Brees but whiffed on making the play.
This week we need to capitalize on such opportunities because Joe Flacco will gamble on throws as evidenced by his 5 picks in Buffalo last week.
Going into the bye at 4-1 and recapturing the momentum they had at 3-0 is pivotal to their season’s success as at 3-2 they’ll be battling to sneak into the playoffs as a wild card team instead of controlling their own destiny as the playoff caliber team we all hope for them to be. Fins Up!