6 keys of the game for the Dolphins to beat the Saints
By Matt Serniak
The battle for Chris Simms soul, which will be between Tua Tagovailo and Taysum Hill will be settled largely by how well the Dolphin’s grind you into a fine-paste defense keeps the running ability of Taysum Hill in check.
Watching the Saints and Bucs game let me tell you, the best thing to do is to let Hill stay in the pocket and try and beat with his arm. He can occasionally throw it over your head and you might get beat deep. He doesn’t have too many players that can take the top off the defense like that, however. Mr. Preseason, Marquez Calloway, is really hit or miss with missing most of the time. He can make the spectacular catch here and there but I’m not that worried about him. Tre’quan Smith barely shows up so again I’m not too worried.
On Sunday night when Hill had to stay in the pocket and throw, he was often inaccurate. He was throwing the ball low and not putting the ball on the correct shoulder. Those types of throws can easily lead to tip balls in the air where Miami’s aggressive secondary should be all over it.
We know what Hill wants to do. He wants to run and he’s real good at it. I don’t know if it’s as simple as the Dolphins running the same exact defense as they did against Lamar Jackson and Cam Newton, but the defensive strategy shouldn’t be too far off.
In the first half of the Jets game, the Dolphin’s defense was crowding the line, like they’ve been doing, and they then would drop into a zone. Wilson somehow was able to evade the 3-4 man rush and was able to make first downs. That can’t happen against a runner like Taysum Hill.
Brandon Jones showed exactly how you approach quarterbacks. He didn’t dip inside as AVG and others did. He attacked the upfield shoulder and brought Wilson down once he knew he couldn’t get around him.
Hill won’t go down as easily but making him back up instead of trying to go around you, I feel, is the best strategy in dealing with him. Make him throw the ball away or possibly into the middle of the field. That bodes well for the defense.
Make Hill beat the defense with his arm. If he is able to do that, I’ll tip my cap to him. But, I really don’t think he can. Bring the pressure as they have been over the last six weeks and Hill should serve a few passes up.