Copy Cat
This upcoming weekend the Dolphins have to travel up to mile high and play the Denver Broncos and Payton Manning. On a side note, it would have been very nice to have won the Manning free agent sweep stakes 3 years ago, which would have meant that Miami would be the perennial Super Bowl contender and the Broncos would be a team looking for an identity.
Denver is coming off its third defeat of the season, and most sports gambling fans would say it was their worst defeat this season, because the offense was completely handcuffed by the St. Louis defense the entire game. Manning was held to throwing only 1 touchdown, which ended a 15 game consecutive streak of throwing at least 2 touchdown passes. He threw for 389 yards, but the key was the Rams kept him out of the end zone. In addition they put a heavy rush on Manning all day, which caused him to throw 2 interceptions and get sacked 2 times.
If the Dolphins want to have any chance to beat Denver, then they are going to have to study that Rams tape very thoroughly, because they need to play the same way on defense. I believe that the Dolphins have the talent and the coaching capability to get the job done, but this is obviously not going to be an easy task. Denver is struggling to find the right offensive line combinations, so Miami’s defensive line, must strike early and often and not give Manning time to pick them apart like the carcass of a dead animal lying in the desert. The defense needs to be extremely physical against the Broncos offense, and prove why they are ranked as one of the best defenses in the league. If they want to be the best then they have to beat the best, and there is no arguing that the Broncos offense is one of the best offenses in the league.
One silver lining for the Dolphins is that the Broncos got hit pretty hard with the injury bug against the Rams. They lost three players in the Rams game that could not return to the game, those were Julius Thomas, Montee Ball and Emmanuel Sanders. Thomas suffered an ankle injury to the same ankle which side-lined him for the previous game, and there is a chance that he may not be able to play against Miami. Sanders suffered a concussion in the game, so he will need to pass all the necessary medical tests if he hopes to be active against Miami. Ball aggravated his groin, which was the same injury that kept him out the previous 5 games. So there is a chance that the Broncos may be missing a few key starters on offense. The Broncos have other players that have the capability to step up, however there is a chance for a little rust in the chemistry between Manning and whoever may fill in for these injured players.
I think this game comes down to the OL for both teams. Denver will have to run the ball more to offset the injuries.
The Rams played zone + 4 rush, and they played man/under cover 2 + 4 rush. The fins will have to get to Peyton by rushing 4 and just beating their OL. If we blitz Peyton it will have to be well disguised, Manning will read it and throw short.
Miami has to be able to run the ball and in particular our OT’s have to matchup vs Bronco DE’s. The inside OL must be able to get push open lanes, and force Denver to drop the S into the box.
I expect Manning to feature the run game early and then playaction but almost exclusively to the short passing game, so Fins need to sit in zones rolling up coverages and the LB’s have to be very active.
If only Coyle would play press/bump man under forcing Peyton to hold the ball and take away options 1&2 it could be a dominant D performance for the Fins.
I dont think he will do this. I am convince fins play soft zone, rush 4 and see how it goes in the first half then make adjustments in second half. This will be countered by the superior Broncos staff and PManning who will take what Coyle gives them and they’ll find a way to keep posession, and force the fins to be one dimensional on O.
I got Denver 24
Fins 20
What you said is pretty accurate and it is also supposed to get very cold so Manning would like to lean on his running game if he can. I think Miami’s D-line can be stout enough to make the Broncos one dimensional. However the Broncos passing attack is probably better then most teams running and passing game combined. I will be interested to see if Coyle is willy and creative enough to confuse and frustrate Manning’s ridiculously high football IQ. Even if the Dolphins can bottle up the passing attack for a half, that may not be enough, and Manning is excellent and diagnosing his opponent during the came, and solving the defensive riddle thrown at him.
I think this is going to be a close game, and even though the whole world thinks there is no way the Broncos will lose two games in a row, this is still football and wilder and crazier things have happened, so a Dolphins victory is not completely out of the equation
Sorry Jimmy, I have to disagree with you about the Manning sweepstakes. If we had Manning, sure we would probably be a perennial Super Bowl contender. However; that would have probably meant we would still have Ireland as our GM, which is probably one of the biggest reasons he did not come here in the first place. We know we wouldn’t have Tannehill (jury still out, good or bad thing???). Don’t get me wrong, we probably would have been in the playoffs each time, which would have been refreshing.
I really like the Miami Dolphins roster right now, though not perfect, closest its been in for ever!
As far as copying what the Rams did, not so easy. What I mean is, I believe Miami has a superior defense compared to the Rams. However; if you take out Ball, Thomas, and Sanders the game will drastically change in Miami’s favor and thus Miami should be able to repeat what the Rams accomplished. So to be able to repeat what the Rams did defensively depends on the personal Denver and Manning has on Sunday.
Believe that Manning and Denver knows that they need those players on Sunday to have a chance to beat Miami. Denver can afford the lose of Ball, but they can not afford the lose of the other two. So, I truly feel that Denver will have Sanders and Thomas on Sunday.
I still believe that Miami can have some defensive success on Sunday regardless, they have the personal to repeat the Rams success. But, it would be SO MUCH EASIER if Denver and Manning is without Sanders and Thomas on Sunday or at least one of the two. Should be interesting either way. The key will probably be how well the offense can move the chains and stay on the field and convert TDs in the red zone not field goals. Tannehill will have to step up again, another important road game with so few games remaining. We can all come away from this game thinking how fortunate we were that Manning did not choose Miami, cause even though Miami may be looking for its identity, identity is in the mirror and maybe it will be Denver coming away from this game starting to wonder what their identity is!!!
In regards to injuries, Sanders suffered a concussion, so there is step by step medical tests he has to clear, so the Broncos can do what ever they want to try to get him ready, but they can not cheat those tests if his concussion was serious. And any time a player gets a concussion and does not re-enter the game, then it is definitely a borderline serious concussion. Thomas also did not re-enter the game and this was the same ankle that kept him out of the previous game, and their is already talk that he may not be healthy enough to play against Miami. Time will tell but there is a chance 2 of the 3 players will not be active or at least limited.
I think our defense is better then the Rams, and I think we all know that our defense is going to approach the Broncos game with a chip on their shoulder, and these guys always seem to get up for top notch opponents. I believe Miami’s defense will be jacked up to have a chance to prove how good they really are, and no matter way to do that then against Manning.
In regards to missing on Manning, Im sorry but I would take Manning any day, and yeah we probably wouldn’t have Tannehill but we could have been drafting QB’s in the later rounds and let Manning groom them. Even if Manning does not win a Super Bowl with Denver, he has still made them relevant and a powerhouse again. Where as the Dolphins have their best team in probably a decade and we still may not make the playoffs.