Well, the New England game was not very much fun. I hate to admit the highlight of the game was when it finally came to an end. The offense looked horrendous, the defense looked decent at times, and our special teams were not very good either. However, I really do not understand why everyone is jumping to the conclusion that our season is over. The fact remains that the Fish are still in first place and have a very winnable game coming up against the Bengals. No, please do not close this article and classify me as a homer who has no sense for the reality of the situation. Here are three reasons for optimism headed into Week 5:

1. The loss to the New England Patriots game was only 1 game. The Dolphins looked absolutely terrible, but it was only one game. In the world that we live in, where everyone and their mother is allowed an opinion on social media, people are/ will act like this loss will spell doom for the rest of the season. My answer to that question is… why? This team has 12 more chances to show that this team is different and not the “same old Dolphins “. Along with this mindset, the injury bug has hit this team, and HARD. Are Dolphins fans really going to sit here and say that having Reshad Jones playing in this game would not have made a world of difference? He is not only one of our best players, but he is an emotional leader as well. You add in the fact that the tight end position was hurt without AJ Derby, and MarQueis Gray and our depth was truly hurt. I am not the type of fan to blame the injuries for a loss, but it certainly played a big factor in the drumming that the team took at New England.

2. The upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals is do or die time for Ryan Tannehill, and that could be a good thing. Is it possible that the team went into New England a little cocky after their 3-0 start? Maybe. However, this team got a reality check, and they should be nice and pissed off this week. This season as a whole is definitely a do or die year for RT17, but this game feels like his career is going one way or the other. Does he possess the inner fortitude to look his teammates in the eyes, and lead them to a huge road win against Cincinnati? That is the 10-million-dollar question, and we will find out in a matter of 6 days.

3. The Leaders of this team are far superior to the leaders of 2017. At certain points of a season, the leadership of a team will help lead to at least one win or many wins. The upcoming game is going to be one of those games. When you think back to the leaders of last year’s team (Jarvis Landry, Mike Pouncey, Ndamukong Suh ), those were all guys who cared more about themselves, and not the overall well-being of the team. This year, the team has guys like Danny Amendola, Frank Gore, Cameron Wake, and Kenny Stills leading this team, and that bodes well for the psyche of the roster.

The 3-1 Miami Dolphins will travel to the 3-1 Cincinnati Bengals, and the stakes could not be higher (at this point in the season) for our beloved Fins. Everything is set up for the Dolphins to suffer their second loss of the season (mounting injuries, a demoralizing loss the week before, Cincinnati coming off of a huge win vs. Falcons). However, let’s consider what if the Dolphins take this the other direction: They can somehow find a way to get Kenyan Drake more touches, and he destroys the 30th ranked Bengals defense. What if RT17 realizes that he throws one heck of a deep ball, and he has a wide receiver that can burn any defense deep in Kenny Stills? What if Reshad Jones returns, and leads an emotional defense to a shutdown game against the high-powered Bengals offense? All of these questions will be answered this weekend.

 

My prediction: Dolphins 35 Bengals 24

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