I woke up this morning, had my cup of coffee, and thought to myself, “What a time to be a Dolphins fan.” I mean, seriously, how could you not think that? The team is 2-0, the chemistry seems to be so much better than it was last year, and we have a real chance to start the season 3-0 on Sunday. This week, I will give a full preview of this weekend’s bout against the Oakland Raiders. Sit down, Relax, grab an alcoholic beverage, and let’s look at how the Fins stack up this weekend against the Oakland Rrrraaaiiiidddeeeerrrssss.
When it comes to the Raiders, on the offensive side of the ball, it all starts with Derek Carr. Statistically, he is having a so-so start to the year. He is completing 81% of his passes, but he only has 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. If he is getting good protection, Carr is extremely dangerous. When it comes to the offensive weapons around him, he has three guys that make this writer very nervous: Tight End Jared Cook, Running Back Marshawn Lynch, and Wide Receiver Amari Cooper. Jared Cook is emerging as a favorite target for Carr, and that could spell trouble for the Dolphins. Cook has 13 receptions, on 16 targets, and 6 of those catches have come for more than 20+ yards. Amari Cooper has all of the tools it takes to be an elite WR in this league, and he is bound for a breakout game sooner than later, and I am hopeful that it does not come this weekend. Marshawn has already scored 2 touchdowns, and he has shown no sign of slowing down with Oakland.
Now, let’s take a look at the preview of the Miami offense. I know it has been said a million times, but how nice is it to have Ryan Tannehill back? He has not looked “great”, but he has not needed to be great. I have zero problems with RT17 being a game manager because I believe that is the best version of himself. When it comes to the running back position, Frank Gore has been a very pleasant surprise. He is averaging nearly 5 yards per carry and has been a very nice change of pace guy for Kenyan Drake. As it pertains to the receivers, Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills are my two guys to watch for this game. Albert is becoming our swiss army knife, where he can be lined up in a multitude of spots, and that is something this team has not had in quite a while. When it comes to Stills, this is the kind of game where he will have multiple chances to take the lid off of the defense and burn the Raiders deep.
On the defensive side of the ball, Oakland does not have near the firepower that they have on the offensive side of the ball. My 3 players to watch would be Safety Marcus Gilchrist, Linebacker Derrick Johnson, and Corner back Gareon Conley. When you look at this defensive from an outsider’s perspective, I think the Dolphins can have a ton of success. The Raiders rank 20th in overall team defense and are yielding nearly 27 points a game. With the Raider traveling cross country and coming off of a very tough loss against the Broncos, there is a very real chance that this defense will give up north of 35 points against the Dolphins.
The Miami Dolphins defense has the chance to be very good for a very long time. When you look at guys like Davon Godchaux, Raekwon McMillan, Jerome Baker, Bobby McCain, Xavien Howard, Jordan Phillips, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Charles Harris… you cannot help but salivate at the potential of this defense in the long term. You add in a good mixture of veterans (Cameron Wake, Reshad Jones, Kiki Alonso, T.J. McDonald ), and you have a solid mixture of nastiness and hungriness. As it pertains to containing the Raiders offense, my 3 guys that need to have big games are Minkah Fitzpatrick, Xavien Howard, and Charles Harris. If Fitzpatrick is tasked with covering Jared Cook, he will need to be outstanding and not allow Cook to have a big day. More than likely, Howard will be matched with Amari Cooper, and once again, Howard cannot allow Cooper to get deep and garner multiple big plays. I am putting Charles Harris into this group because he needs to have a breakout game with multiple sacks. He was a first-round pick, and it is time that he starts putting up the stats to justify that pick.
The special teams for both of these teams are about even. The Dolphins should not be looking to have this game come down to field position or field goals. If it does, they are in good hands with Punter Matt Haack and Kicker Jason Sanders.
PREDICTION TIME! The Miami Dolphins are 3-point favorites, and I believe that is about right. As discussed earlier in the article, the Oakland offense is bound for a breakout game. Can the Dolphins delay that kind of game one more week? I believe the answer is no, but that will not affect the Fins from moving to 3-0. The Raiders do not have nearly enough on the defensive side of the ball to contain the offense for the Fish, and in a very high scoring affair, my official prediction: Dolphins 38, Raiders 28
