Miami Dolphins face another powerfull offense against Detroit

The Miami Dolphins will face another high powered offense when they face the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.

After a thrilling victory last Sunday the Miami Dolphins turn their sights to the Detroit Lions in what should be another outstanding match up. For the second straight week the Miami Dolphins are matched up against an opponent coming off a bye week. That means the Detroit Lions should be very rested and very prepared for this game Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.

First time head coach and familiar foe, Matt Patricia, the former New England Patriot long time defensive coordinator brings his new team the Detroit Lions to town, to play a confidant Miami squad fresh off a great overtime victory.

The Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins have played each other a total of 11 times. The Miami Dolphins hold the advantage by winning 7 of those 11 match-ups with the Detroit lions. The last time these two teams faced each other was November 9th 2014 in Detroit were the Lions came out victorious 29 – 16. It was a close battle and Detroit’s long time great wide receiver Calvin Johnson went off for 113 yards with 13 catches.

With still a question mark at the quarterback position, the Miami Dolphins will most likely follow a similar offensive approach this week if Brock Osweiler is in at quarterback. You’ll see the medium range passes to Albert Wilson and Danny Amendola trying to utilize their play making ability and sure hands. I expect to see a lot of screens to Kenyan Drake, and a heavy dose of Frank Gore with the ground game, especially on first downs. The successful first down runs really helped the dolphins stay in manageable situations throughout the game last week. The deep shot to Kenny Stills might be a viable option this weekend , because in past games this season the Detroit secondary has been burned deep by several teams.

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Frank Gore comes in as an area of concern for the Detroit Lions according to their head coach Matt Patricia per his media day on Monday. The Detroit Lions are looking to slow the running game down and that seems to be a weakness for this Detroit Lions team. They are yielding an average of 5.3 yards a carry and have given up 729 yards on the ground so far this season. The Miami Dolphins ground game is ranked 16th and should look to exploit that area this Sunday afternoon in front of the home crowd.

I also see a Detroit Lions team that tends to let the opponents tight end leak out from the line and get set up 5 to 10 yards up the field. Now I know I’m sounding like a broken record from previous game previews, but I’ll say it again, the tight end should be involved in this one and have some success over the middle. Nick O’leary and Mike Gesicki should be utilized in this game as a weapon and not only a blocker. Now, having said that Detroit does have 17 sacks so far this season and they like to blitz Devon Kennard their Linebacker, who has 5 of those sacks himself. The Dolphins will have to use the tight end some to assist on the offensive line in this game but can just chip the defensive front and then leach out to become a target, which I believe will be successful.

If the Miami Dolphins can spread the ball around to all of their play makers and continue to utilize its tandem back field, I do believe they can move the ball on this team and score some points.

The Detroit Lions bring Mathew Stafford to town and his two outside weapons in Golden Tate and Kenny Golladay and both these wide outs have been successful this season. This Detroit Lions team is not afraid to stretch the field and take deep shots . Mathew Stafford has a huge arm and can make any throw and is definitely a gunslinger that possesses the talent to always keep his team in the game. He likes to extend plays with his mobility and the defensive ends must set the edge and contain him.

This year the Detroit Lions went out and drafted rookie running back Kerryon Johnson out of Auburn. Kerryon Johnson has worked his way into a starting role and is steadily improving every game and has found success on the field. Kerryon Johnson is boasting a 5.7 yard a game average and is dangerous. The young Detroit back is nursing an ankle injury that may slow him up a little or may take some carries away, but they also have bruiser Legarrette Blount and Theo Riddick to help fill in the void. The Miami Dolphins defense need to make sure they contain Kerryon Johnson because he processes talent and can find the edge or hit the hole quick.

Both Miami and Detroit defenses will be tested on Sunday, but maybe in different ways. The Lions are known for their aerial attack, but now have added a ground game that they have lacked for a very long time. The Dolphins have talented receivers everywhere but should use Frank “the tank” Gore and Kenyon Drake to pound the ball down their throat, which in turn will open up the passing game with play action and Kenny Stills should have some success deep.

The turnover battle could very likely decide this one. Both teams have been destructive on their defensive side of the ball, but the Miami Dolphins have a group of ball hawks and an offensive wreaking machine in one Kiko Alonso, who I think is Pro Bowl bound for sure. You throw in the best safety in the league with Reshad Jones and an early rookie of the year candidate Minkah Fitzpatrick and watch out, turn over city baby. The Dolphins are first in the NFL with 11 interceptions, third in total takeaways and have10 sacks so far this season according to Pro Football Reference.com. It should be another great game of football in South Florida this Sunday.

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