Enjoy.
Here are two of the key matchups, courtesy of Silver and Black Pride:
Ryan Tannehill vs. Tommy Kelly
Tommy Kelly is the Raiders DT. Obviously they are hinting at him batting balls down. Here's what they had to say:
"I mentioned Tannehill had three interceptions on the day-- two were off of tipped balls at the line of scrimmage. That seems odd for a 6-4 quarterback to get tipped at the line but he apparently is not good about getting the ball high enough to clear the line. Kelly has always been pretty good at tipping balls at the line. He is 6-6 so when he gets his hands up, not much is getting over him. In fact, when the Raiders faced the Dolphins last season, Kelly tipped the first pass of the day."
Reggie Bush vs. Rolando McClain
These guys correctly assume that Bush is Miami's best weapon on offense, so this is obviously a big matchup in their minds.
"Bush has a very similar skill set to Darren McFadden. They both are very fast and catch the ball out of the backfield as well as they rush with the ball. In last year's matchup with the Dolphins, McClain was spying on Bush all day. The result was 22 carries for 100 yards for Bush including a big 29 yard run in which he faked McClain way out of the play. Also like McFadden, Bush is the Dolphins' number one weapon and therefore is McClain's top priority."
Here are some notes from S&B Report.
Carson Palmer must spread it out
Oakland used RB Darren McFadden a lot last week. Here's what S&B Report had to say:
"Quarterback Carson Palmer will also need to get the ball to someone other than star running back Darren McFadden for the offense to be successful. McFadden hauled in 13 of Palmer’s 32 completions last week. Though Jacoby Ford is expected to miss the year, it appears that Palmer gets back his play-making wide receiver Denarius Moore who has been out since mid-training camp with a hamstring injury.
It remains to be seen how limited Moore will be, but when healthy, Moore proved to be a play maker and have a good repertoire with Palmer last season."
Oakland needs to run the ball better
What they don't know is that Miami hasn't allowed a running back to run for 100 or more yards in a single game in the past 15 games. Here's what they said:
"Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp’s offense has typically relied on a solid run game in the past, something the Raiders were unable to establish last week. The Chargers held McFadden to just 32 yards on 15 carries, something the Raiders hope to improve on while in Miami."
So the conclusion that I got from surfing Raiders sites was that they see us as a much easier matchup than last week just like we see them as an easier matchup. Someone is going to be in for a rude awakening. Let's hope it's them.
Thanks for stopping by. Email me at paul@dolphinshout.com. I'm on twitter @PaulDSmythe.
This is Part 1 of the Behind Enemy Lines Segment. Part 2 is a forum post. Check it out by clicking here.
