This week's game against the Bengals should be another tough go for the Dolphins, but Ryan Tannehill will
give us hope. Don't expect another 400 yard performance, but we seem
to be able to convert some of those 3rd and hopeless
situations because of him. That in itself is a positive, unlike the
past.
So let's get to it. The Bengals have
Andy Dalton who has a touch over 1100 yards passing, 8 TDs, 4 INTs,
and a QB rating of 103.0. That's pretty good folks. Their rookie receiver Mohamed Sanu even has 1 TD pass from the wildcat that went for 73 yards.
Their wide receivers are led by AJ
Green who has accumulated 428 yards on 27 catches and 3 TDs. AJ
towers over the other receivers. He has nearly twice as many catches
and yards as his nearest teammate. Their other big target is
Jermaine Gresham, their TE. He has 1 TD for 22 yards,
so Dalton may look for him in the end zone when they are inside our 30.
Their rushing game is pretty much a one
man show. They have the law firm of BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who has 282
yards on 82 carries for a 3.5 yard average and 2 TDs, which is pretty pedestrian if you ask me. He also has 3 fumbles to date. He definitely left his Patriots mystique back in New England when it
comes to coughing up the ball. Hopefully the Dolphins can jar one
loose from him. Don't count on that happening the Dolphin just don't
do those types of things. Cedric Peerman has only 5 carries for 71
yards for a whopping 14.2 yard average.
Defensively they have 7 players with
double digit tackles, 17 sacks, and only 1 interception. Geno Atkins
leads their team in sacks with 5 followed closely by Michael Johnson
with 4 sacks. The Bengals have really been getting to the QB so far.
What is strange about those stats is they only have one pass
interception to show for that, which leads me to think the opposing QBs
are having time in the pocket. No picks equals very little pressure even though they have 17 sacks.
Special Teams. Their place kicker has
not missed this year. He is 7 for 7 (make a note on that Mr. Carpenter). Their punter has put 9 of his 17 punts inside the 20. Adam "Pacman" Jones has returned a punt for a TD. Over all they
have a good special team, but we will get an opportunity to
return their one and only kickoff.
The Bengals are giving up 234 yards a
game through the air and 131 rushing yards a game for an average of
a big 5.3 yards a carry. They are ranked 19th in team
defense, 2 spots below ourselves.
Cincinnati is tied for their division
lead with the Ravens with the Steelers 1 game back, and they're on a 3 game
winning streak. None of that is good for us. I don't like to see us playing teams that are on a roll.
Our best chance to win this game is to
contain AJ Green and Andy Dalton. We can't allow their pass rush to
sack Tannehill, and we have to make them go the length of the field to score. Doing those few things will greatly enhance our
chances of winning. We should be able to move the ball on them. Our
problem will be ourselves. We seem to be putting things together,
but our mistakes are killing us. Last week Sean Smith made a play
when it mattered. If we can get more plays like that we can beat the
Bengals.
