Miami Dolphins vs Buffalo Bills: Key Match Ups
The Miami Dolphins kick off their home opener against the Buffalo Bills with an opportunity to regain momentum for their season with a win. The Miami Dolphins are a franchise starved for success and had accumulated quite a bit of buzz this offseason, but two sub par games to open the season on the road have the fan base and media swirling the Miami Dolphins like sharks.
This is a pretty important game for the Dolphins. Although every game is important, this one carries a little extra weight with it as it’s the home opener in their newly renovated stadium and its against a division rival who is 4-2 against the Fins during Coach Philbin’s tenure. This will be an emotional game as the Dolphins try to bounce back from a disappointing loss the week before and give their fans a proper home opener. In order to pull this victory off, the Dolphins need to win some key match-ups and play a clean game.
Jelani Jenkins vs Charles Clay
All Miami Dolphins fans have had nightmares thinking about the return of Charles “Big Play” Clay coming to haunt them in a Bills uniform. Clay is a dynamic playmaker whose versatility can create issues for Miami. Luckily, the Dolphins have a will linebacker in Jenkins that is playing at a high level and capable of defending Clay in the pass game. This will be a match-up to keep an eye on, as you know Rex Ryan is telling his offensive coordinator to get him more involved in the game plan. Jenkins can’t let Clay live up to his moniker, because it will open up too much space for the other Bills playmakers to do their thing.
Dolphins Defensive Line vs Bills Offensive Line
The Miami Dolphins defensive line was supposed to be the strength of this team and lead a dominant defense; two games into the season and this has been the biggest disappointment on the team. They have been pushed around in the run game and have produced an anemic pass rush. The Bills offensive line is improved but still susceptible to getting beat down as evidenced by the 8 sacks they gave up last week against the Patriots. The Dolphins need to be stouter up front and be the dominant driving force we all expected them to be. This game also has extra meaning for the return of Bills guard Richie Incognito, you know he’ll be fired up for this game.
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DeVante Parker vs Coaching Staff
Through two games this year, Jarvis Landry has been the player we all knew he was and Rishard Matthews has broken out into a very good flanker. Their powerful play and wide catching radiuses have been a great fit for Ryan Tannehill. Unfortunately the combo of Kenny Stills and Greg Jennings have been disappointing and the Dolphins are still waiting for a third receiver to step up at split end. Enter this year’s first round pick, Parker, who has been slowly getting more reps as the weeks have passed; he is the ideal fit with Landry and Matthews to provide Tannehill with three big and strong receivers capable of helping their quarterback with their powerful frames and large catch radiuses. This would be the ideal week, at home, to get Parker more involved in the offense; especially with the quick passing game probably being a focus for the game plan this week. Bigger framed receivers are an advantage for the offense as they can shield defenders from the ball with their frames. The coaching staff has to get him on the field though first for any of this to take place.
Jamil Douglas vs Marcell Dareus
Dareus made his return from suspension last week and in a loss that saw New England have their way with them, I’m sure that return didn’t go as planned. This week, he is most likely licking his chops, knowing he will be lining up across from a struggling rookie guard. Douglas, who has immense talent and movement skills, needs to be sound in his assignment this week or it could be a very ling game for him. The Miami Dolphins offensive line has struggled this year and has been miserable generating a push in the run game and protecting their quarterback. The rookie is going to have to have his best effort yet to help the Dolphins up front and that’s a tall order going up against one of the best defensive tackles in the entire league.
This is the battle to watch, Miami’s best left tackle against Branden Albert will not be playing in this game as he nurses a hamstring injury that was bound to happen as he continues to work himself into football shape coming back from his knee injury. Enter Fox who will be making his first career NFL start at left tackle and lining up across one of the better pass rushers this league has to offer. While Hughes is undersized and Fox will match up well against him in the run game, protecting the quarterback’s blind side is a tall task against the speed Hughes utilizes coming off the edge. If the Dolphins want to take shots down the field against a struggling Bills secondary, the protection has to be much better than it has been.
Miami Dolphins football is officially home; so light up the grills, defrost the meat, chill the beers, and get ready! Miami is in for a dog fight, let’s hope they get off to a fast start and give their fans a reason to cheer and make it hard on the opponent with a rocking stadium. It’s time to finally create a true home field advantage, the fans are closer to the field and the team has the talent, there are no more excuses!
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