Well, after the season we have had, it would have been stupid to have expected an uneventful bybe week. Over the last week or so Miami, like many teams across the league, have watched on as multiple players have tested positive for Covid-19 and wound up on the Covid-19 inactive list.
The running back room was all but decimated with Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed, Phillip Lyndsey and rookie practice squad member Gerrid Doaks testing positive. In addition to those two, stand-out rookies Jaylon Waddle and Jevon Holland are also Covid doubts for Sunday’s game. Just what we need as we return from our bye looking to extend an unbeaten run and get our season back to an even .500 and get to 7-7.
Add in that this is a divisional match-up, against a New York Jets team that has just got their rookie #2 pick back, in Quarterback Zach Wilson, and their impressive rookie RB Michael Carter has been activated too. All of a sudden this match-up is not looking as straightforward as it once was.
That said, it is one most DolFans expect us to win and with Mack Hollins and Isiah Ford having some important plays in recent weeks, with Devante Parker back from injury, with Tua Tagovailoa looking the best we have seen him and our defense dominant in recent weeks, we still have reason to be confident.
So once again, I have contacted Olivia Peebles (@UKNYJETS) to see how their fanbase is feeling and see if they are feeling as confident as us heading into our week 15 match-up.
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Hello again Olivia, thanks for coming back on, I appreciate that. Now, usually, this is the time when I would get you to introduce yourself, but after chatting to you in the last Jets edition, I feel like I can bypass those formalities this time and jump straight into the action. So I guess I’ll start with what’s changed? Since we last played, what’s different? Obviously last time we lined up against Joe Flacco, but are there any other personnel differences, returns, injuries, style changes, etc?
Hi JMR, thanks once again for having me. Enjoyed it last time, even if not the result! And if I am honest about our situation and how we feel right now, the Jets have somehow gotten worse! Our defense is on track to be historically bad and our offense is so stop start! That hasn’t been helped by disruption at QB and especially with the injuries piling up around the pitch. Even with Zach Wilson back, he himself is coming off a bad week, and task won’t be made easier by injuries to Elijah Moore, Michael Carter, and Tevin Coleman.
Yeah, those injuries must be so demoralizing. You have drafted two, young, exciting, and impactful players and even when losing, watching young draftees play well gives you hope as a fan. So to see those go down must have been a rough period.
But from those to your #2 pick rookie, you say Wilson is coming off a bad week yeah? What can we expect from Zack Wilson? It’s the first time we will face up against him, so what should we be expecting, and how does the offense function differently with him under center?
Yeah, coming off a bad week against Saints, Zach will feel he’s got a point to prove. The star quality is there but his poor footwork and inability to find a check down is frustrating. He does get some leeway with the extensive injury list he’s had to deal with this season on offense, as well as the niggles of his own. If he can start moving the chains consistently, that’s when his true talent emerges. Certainly, some rookie teething issues paired with some very unfortunate luck.
A team hoping their young QB threw more checkdowns… Wow! Haha. The way our QB gets roasted for his game management and perceived lack of downfield plays, we were starting to believe checkdowns were a sign of a poor QB!
You talk about his unfortunate luck in terms of the injuries, both Elijah Moore and Michael Carter made impressive plays against us at MetLife Stadium a few weeks ago. But with Moore out and Carter only just designated for return, how much do you think that will impact the game plan and who should we be looking out for instead?
It’s really disappointing, the offense is so one dynamic without them. Zach will have to rely on veterans such as Crowder and Cole, those names have been around the league for a few years now without ever setting the world alight, but really that’s who our offense is going to need to rely on with Moore out. The rookies have been really promising so for them to be out is a real blow, although the word coming out of practice is that Carter should be ready to resume his normal workload this Sunday, so that is a plus. My main worry at WR is that I believe it will definitely make the offense easier to predict. Hopefully, Zach can learn to get back to basics and at least put some decent yardage up.
Yeah names I recognize in Crowder and Cole but not names I fear, so I understand exactly where you are coming from. Carter looks good though and if it’s true that he could be back to full workload then that should be a concern. But we have looked better in run defense in recent weeks so hopefully, that continues.
But switching focus now, after what you said last time about our start to the season, how has our turnaround gone down in New York? Has it even made your radar? Is it just a phase or do you think we have turned a corner?
The turnaround in Miami has gone a bit under the radar in my opinion. I think Pats upward curve and the press around them and Mac Jones, along with the Bills struggles in that same time period have dominated the discourse in the AFC East. But, if you remember, I actually called the Dolphins turn of fortunes in the last Behind Enemy Lines, so while it is under the radar of most of the Jets fanbase, I feel like it’s something that should have been predicted more widely! I feel like it’s gone under the radar overall in the NFL but I admire the players and coaches pulling together to turn it around. I’m sure the Dolphins will want to build on this for next season, but the ghost of Deshaun Watson will rumble on in the spring I can only imagine…
Oh you had to bring him up, didn’t you. I do worry that this could very well be the case, but the optimist in me still hopes we win out with Tua under center and gives the organization a real issue in making that deal. Hopefully, Tua is now showing the form to potentially put that nonsense to bed.
In terms of going under the radar, GOOD. Haha. I am happy to be taken lightly and upset some people each and every week. As long as the week keeps ending up in Wins then I’ll happily stay below the radar haha.
We’re at 5 consecutive wins now; we’re feeling confident. It’s a sucker punch to lose Waddle and Holland to Covid protocols, but even still, we feel like we can keep this streak going this week. Are we overconfident do you think? What areas of our play do you think you can disrupt to end our good form? And in return, where should we get at you to continue our hot streak?
Not overconfident at all JMR, in all honesty, I don’t particularly feel confident about disrupting any part of the Dolphins game! However, on paper, our best unit is the D-line, but they’ve been very up and down, more frequently down recently too. The inconsistency comes due to injuries and poor form, but there is talent there and we will hope they have a good game. If we can get in Tua’s face and disrupt the rhythm early on then that’s when I would give us a chance. Basically, we can’t let him throw! That paired with a fast early start and we may have a chance.
Attacking our secondary will give Miami the win, as it’s so poor and lacking in depth. We saw in the first game that if Tua can air it towards our secondary then even your backup WRs have chances to make big plays with long TDs. So we have to stop him throwing the ball. Early offensive points by the Dolphins will put them in the driving seat for the game with us struggling in fight-back situations all year.
Yeah, I know what you mean, that Mack Hollins TD was a big moment in this resurgence. With Tua criticized for the constant checkdowns, him launching one from a collapsing pocket and it going long for a TD was a big moment for us fans and one we hope to see repeated against your secondary this weekend.
So you mention your DLine being talented, and lets be honest, our OLine is anything but that. So which names should we be looking out for? Who on your roster should we be worried about?
It’s a bit hard to be positive about any player really after the Saints performance! Similar to last time, Quinnen Williams and his DLine buddies have the ability to cause mayhem but you just can’t bank on them to show up, which is disappointing. CJ Mosley has been a real leader, but has understandably gotten lost in this really poor defense. Our offense gives me less optimism, but Cole/Crowder are decent veterans who can give Wilson a chance if he makes the right decisions for them. If Michael Carter returns the I expect a really run-heavy offense, hopefully with him re-finding his pre-injury form.
Well if your DLine come fighting, our OLine could have a tricky day, that is by far the most fragile part of our roster. I mentioned before that Carter is a worry to us, but also, that we feel more confident now than in the previous match up having contained the run heavy Ravens and Christian McCaffrey’s Panthers.
How about our roster? Do we have anyone who you are worried about stopping or who you feel could take the game away from you?
Tua has looked really good over the past few weeks. From a player’s perspective, it’s nice to see him gain a bit of consistency and look confident in his play. He will be extra confident coming in on Sunday. Your defense has pulled itself together, with Howard and Holland becoming a dynamic duo in that secondary. Flores has really changed things up and showed his ability to be adjustable. I’m not sure if Waddle will be able to play because of the COVID situation, but Gesicki once again will prove to be a mismatch on paper against our defense.
Yeah I think all those points would be agreed on by the majority of our fanbase, I think you have a pretty decent understanding on where our improvements have been. That said, Holland looks likely out for the weekend with the Covid situation, along with Waddle and they’re two major players in our team already.
Gesicki has been a strange one this year. He has played some fantastic football but his snap count and overall usage is really erratic, so it’s a really hard one to predict where he is concerned.
But yeah, I think we have a number of ways where we can feel confident for this weekend and I am feeling good for a win. But what’s your prediction? How do you see this one playing out?
We don’t have much luck on the road. I expect the Dolphins to ride their confidence at home and win comfortably. Hopefully, we can pull together as underdogs and be competitive, with Zach Wilson taking strides in learning the NFL game. I think we will just come up short, but the team with the better roster wins. 24-13 Dolphins.
Yeah me too, I think we win this one without too many scares but I do think the Jets could have a couple of moments. We are finding ways to win, but without looking like shutting many teams down entirely. I think we win by a couple of scores, Tua getting multiple TDs too whilst trying to dominate the clock wherever possible. I’m going to go for 27-17 in favor of the Dolphins.
Thanks again for being a part of this series. Can’t be fun talking about matchups in this way when you are not the favorite and you’ve come and done it for the second time this season. Appreciate you and wish you all the best for the season after Sunday and to your for the holiday season.
So there we have it. BYE week over and we’re back to confident predictions! There has been disruption and with Waddle and Holland missing I am sure that the impact on our game plan will also be visible. They have both become such crucial players in our game plan over their rookie year that missing both of them will no doubt lead to certain situational disadvantages.
But all in all, this is still a game we should be winning. This is a chance to get us back to 7-7 and an even win-loss record, leaving us with the Saints, Titans and Patriots still to play. What a position to be in, and after once being 1-7, it is almost unbelievable that this is possible.
If we can win this weekend, we have 3 more games, against three teams fighting for the playoffs. Three teams in the kind of quality bracket we are looking to be a part of. Getting back to 7-7 is the groundwork, but once we are there, we have an opportunity against those final three teams. We can continue to win and prove our legitimacy or we falter again and show that we still have issues in big games, against strong, competitive teams.
But I am getting ahead of myself. We have to get to 7-7 in the first place. This is a game we should win, that we are favorites to win and that we are confident of winning… but we still have to turn up for 60 minutes this coming Sunday and go and earn that win. Let’s do this! Roll on Sunday!
Fins Up!
