Dolphins ‘Murderers Row’ Begins With Bengals

Jimmy Bourbon

6 years ago

Dolphins must dig deep over the next 3 games to keep from going sub .500

The Dolphins 2018 Season isn’t over, but it could be if Miami tanks the next couple of weeks

The Dolphins are going into Week 5 after a cold dish of reality was served to them… with a side order of ‘kick to the nuts’ by the Patriots… and the refs

The one thing I feared was the Dolphins getting embarrassed in New England…. and sadly, that fear was realized.

Now Gase and Co. are in their ‘man-up or wimp-out’ portion of the season.

Next up: The Cincinnati Bengals.

At 3-1, Cincinnati has the added luxury of playing at home this week. Most of the best bookie services like ACEPERHEAD.com in the world are predicting that the Dolphins will have a tough time against Cincy’s offense. The Bengals ‘O’ has been averaging 31.5 points per game, which is good for 4th most points per game in the NFL.

Bengals have the weapons to make this a game of who scores the most points

The Dolphins will have their hands full this weekend. This will be especially true if they keep going with Raekwon McMillan as the starting Middle Linebacker. No way Phins survive with their MLB blowing plays and only offering a couple assisted tackles a game… N.O. W.A.Y.

McMillan is now being exposed on the ground and in the air.

Andy Dalton has really spread the ball around this season to all his offensive weapons. With Bobby McCain sidelined, Miami must get pressure on Dalton to compensate for a weakened secondary. If not, this could make for a very long day two-weeks in a row.

Last week the Dolphins brought up Jonathan Woodard at DE who ended up with more snaps than Charles Harris. PFF graded Woodard very high. Both players registered 4 tackles each and 1.5 tackles for a loss. One of these players must step up… preferably Harris since he’ s a 1st Round Pick. Quinn and Wake need relief or they’ll burn out.

The Dolphins moved Cameron Malveaux up to the active roster and Phinsnews likes that one a lot.

Week 5 will be a good test for Howard

Howard will likely be sent to cover AJ Green all game, one of the best receivers in the league. To be the best you’ve gotta’ beat the best. Batter up, Howard!

Green has been his usual beast self this season with 20 receptions for 297 yards and a whopping 5 touchdowns already. In addition, he has 4 catches for over 20 yards. Green lit the Dolphins up last time we played the Bengals. If Howard is really a Pro Bowl CB, then this game will show whether he’s worthy of that conversation.

The Dolphins will obviously need to do a lot better job against the run. If they can get the Bengals off schedule it will help them with getting pressure. Miami is coming off a game where rookie running back Sony Michel carved them up for 112 rushing yards. The Patriots ran for a total of a 175 yards on the ground last week. They purposely attack McMillan and exposed him as a weakness beyond just his pass cover issues.

The Defensive Line has done more than enough to stop the run

Phinsnews has been saying “McMillan’s Tape Is Scary” since Preseason. Gase and Co. thought different… it appears they were wrong.

Miami will face Bernard and Mixon, who are both shifty runners. However, Mixon missed the previous game with a knee injury and is currently listed as questionable. So knowing Miami’s luck he will be ok to play this week.

The ability to run the ball and stop the run is critical… almost as critical as team discipline will be. Maimi will be hard pressed to win a shootout. Will Gase finally wake up to the fact McMillan is a liability? With all the injuries on both sides of the ball, Miami can’t get in a hole early. If this sounds like a broken record… it’s because it is.

What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins News fans thoughts about the Dolphins Defense matching up against the Bengals Offense this upcoming week?