Hyde5: Five reasons I'm picking Dolphins 30, Bills 20

[DKphin]

1. There will be places for Ryan Tannehill to attack. Tannehill had a mediocre opener with some accuracy and production issues. He missed connecting with Mike Wallace twice for would-be touchdowns. Dion Sims and Brian Hartline dropped catchable touchdowns passes. That's four touchdowns left on the field for an offense that scored 33 points. The Bills like to play man-to-man and, as their opener showed against Chicago, can be vulnerable to that. Cornerback Leonis McKelvin had 10 of 14 passes completed against him by Chicago's Jay Cutler, according to ProFootballFocus.com. It's not clear if McKelvin will remain a starter or Stephon Gilmore will return to the lineup after missing the opener with a groin injury. Still, Buffalo's linebackers were shredded by the Bears - both outside linebackers had five passes completed against them. Sound familiar? Yes, the Dolphins have linebacker issues with all three starters injured. Yes, Buffalo will attack them with C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson. This game might come down to who can best expose the other team's linebackers.

2. The Dolphins showed an effective 5-2 defense against New England - and Buffalo would be the perfect team to use it against. Dolphins defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle should have got more credit for playing to his strenghts (defensive linemen) and away from his weaknesses (linebackers) in the Patriots game. Getting tackles Earl Mitchell, Jared Odrick and Randy Starks in the game together should go a ways toward negating the Bills running game. It also would demand quarterback E.J. Manuel to carry the load and he hasn't shown an ability to do that (though he completed 16 of 22 passes for 173 yards, a touchdown, an interception an 91.7 rating in the opener).
3. The offensive line held up against New England. You need to see more than one game, of course. And Buffalo's defensive line is better. Tackles Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams and ends Mario Williams and Jerry Hughes can control the day if allowed. Mario Williams won the game against the Dolphins in Sun Life Stadium last year. But the quick throws of Bill Lazor's offense and the ability to attack the linebackers should help take some pressure off the offensive line. Mario Williams can flop from one end to another, so it will be interesting to see how Ja'Wuan James performs against him.
4. Cameron Wake vs. Seantrel Henderson. Wake had two sacks and forced fumbles to change the game against New England. He's hot and he'll be looking for more against Henderson, the former University of Miami tackle. If Henderson doesn't consider Sunday a learning experience, he'll have done a good job against Wake.
5. Last year's lesson. Joe Philbin and several players have said they got ahead of themselves at 3-0 last year. Handling success can be as important as handling failure. One win isn't great success - and you can argue Buffalo has the same issue after winning on the road in Chicago. "Don't take the cheese,'' Bill Parcells said. That applies to both teams. My guess is the Dolphins learned this last year.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...-dolphins-30-bills-20-20140911,0,229701.story

 

[hoops]

well if they like to play man with the dbs work the man beaters...crossing routes

 

[j-off-her-doll]

well if they like to play man with the dbs work the man beaters...crossing routes

If they're playing man, Wallace should have a big day working those deep and shallow crosses. Buffalo doesn't have a DB that's keeping up with him on said routes. Re-watching the NE game, Lazor was definitely holding back in the 2nd half. On those read/options, the DE's for NE were crashing down, and Tannehill had big gains off the edge if he wanted them - which leads me to believe that they weren't true read/options (Malzahn does that a lot). If Buffalo proves to be a tougher test for Moreno and Miller, I'd look for Tannehill to keep in on 3 or 4 of those plays. If necessary, I'd also look for the jet and fly sweeps - maybe with L. Miller.

 

[zach attach]

I like how since the end of the Pats game, players and coaches have been bemoaning the points left on the field. This is great. Philbin would typically say,"well, we won."
I like this new "Explosive offense" we are employing!

 

[Vaark]

Well Hartline and Sims's drops definitely left points on the board; the argument still rages whether it was Tannehill or Wallace who left one of those cited 7pts on the board at the edge of the endzone. But either way, the point is taken that we left anywhere between 10 and 21 points on the board against a team that most pundits pick to either play in or win the SB. And it's great that to this coaching staff, a decisive win against a formidible team with its greatest weapon back is not acceptable if they should have done even better.

 

[AL R]

If they're playing man, Wallace should have a big day working those deep and shallow crosses. Buffalo doesn't have a DB that's keeping up with him on said routes. Re-watching the NE game, Lazor was definitely holding back in the 2nd half. On those read/options, the DE's for NE were crashing down, and Tannehill had big gains off the edge if he wanted them - which leads me to believe that they weren't true read/options (Malzahn does that a lot). If Buffalo proves to be a tougher test for Moreno and Miller, I'd look for Tannehill to keep in on 3 or 4 of those plays. If necessary, I'd also look for the jet and fly sweeps - maybe with L. Miller.

Kept waiting for Tannehill to keep the ball especially near the goal line. We didn't see it once but they were set up perfectly for it as the game went on.

 

[jlfin]

I like how since the end of the Pats game, players and coaches have been bemoaning the points left on the field. This is great. Philbin would typically say,"well, we won."
I like this new "Explosive offense" we are employing!

What, No fist pumps?

 

[fishfanmiami]

I think Clay will have a big day going against that defense. Also would not be surprised if Wallace and Tannehill actually connect on a long one as Buffalo sells out to stop our running game.

 

[Djavelin]

Well Hartline and Sims's drops definitely left points on the board; the argument still rages whether it was Tannehill or Wallace who left one of those cited 7pts on the board at the edge of the endzone. But either way, the point is taken that we left anywhere between 10 and 21 points on the board against a team that most pundits pick to either play in or win the SB. And it's great that to this coaching staff, a decisive win against a formidible team with its greatest weapon back is not acceptable if they should have done even better.

I would say that MW left the TD on the field. RT put the ball in a good spot so only his guy can make a play. MW needs to drag toes. We could have scored 40+ on this Pats D. Simms flat out dropped it. This O can be lethal when not making mistakes. I expect us to win.

 

[Pozzy]

Ryan sure attacked LOL