The only
thing worse than watching the Dolphins vs. Jets game on T.V. from my usual
sports bar in Houston you ask? Watching the game, live, from Metlife. The
stadium was nice, tailgating was a blast, but the actual game was a disgrace.
Our effort, in all three phases of the game was lackluster to say the least. Let’s
throw this one away and focus on the Saints.

A summary of how my players to
watch last week performed:

Jets
Offense:
Jermaine Kearse (3 catches, 42 yards),
Matt Forte (8 carries, 25 yards)
Jets Defense:
Jamal Adams (2 Tackles, 1 Sack, 2 Tackles for Loss),
Demario Davis (12 Tackles, 3 Tackles for Loss)
Dolphins
Offense:
Jarvis Landry (6 Catches, 48 Yards),
Julius Thomas (3 Catches, 16 yards)… not my
best projections here…
Dolphins
Defense:
Xavien Howard (4 tackles), William
Hayes (1 tackle)
Instead of doing my “Players to Watch“ this week I will
highlight three areas of focus for each team to zero in on. For the Saints,
they’re the following:

·      
Take Jay Ajayi out of the game- The Jets showed that
unless Cutler takes better control of the game, Ajayi being neutralized is the
key to beating Miami.

·      
Establish a respectable running game- Everyone knows how
great Brees is and how he has a knack to work so well with his offensive
weapons. However, in order to create uncertainty for the Dolphins defense, the
Saints must run the ball effectively. That should mean a healthy dose of
Peterson and Ingram throughout the entire game.

·      
Keeping Brees “Clean “- The Dolphins have the
ability to generate a great pass rush (Wake, Suh, Harris, Hayes, and Godchaux.) If the Saints offensive line shows weakness, those guys could have a field day.

Dolphins:
·       Cutler. Cutler. Cutler. – If the Fins have any shot at being competitive this season, Cutler has to better than he was against the Jets.
Byron Maxwell- With Tony Lippett out, we need all of our corners to be at least “serviceable “. Every week, it seems like we mention Maxwell, and a missed assignment. Very simply… he needs to be better.
Lawrence Timmons- You don’t have to be a genius to realize that Timmons being back has EVERYTHING to do with the loss last week. If Timmons can provide veteran leadership and the ability to be an “AVERAGE “NFL Linebacker, he can be a real difference.

Prediction Time: Dolphins
31, Saints 28
. I am going to assume that the entire Dolphins organization,
starting at the very stop, is sick to their stomach over last week’s game. I
think that fuel’s the team, and they have a bounce back week. Stills and Suh will be the MVPs of the game, and the FINS go to 2-1.