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Buffalo @ Miami - Week 2 - Game Thread!

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Galant, Sep 17, 2021.

  1. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    The Jills head over to the Miami heat for the Dolphin's home opener.
    The Bills are coming off a game one upset loss to Pittsburgh and will, without any doubt, be looking to destroy the Dolphins and leave Hard Rock Stadium in tatters.

    Miami, by all accounts, are looking to continue a fast start to the season, and prove themselves as the real deal, and both teams will certainly draw inspiration from their last meeting where the Bills took Miami down a peg and crushed them 56-26, ending their playoff hopes.

    So the Bills know they can win and Miami believe they are different. Maybe both those things are true, but which team is better right now? Sunday's game will see just what this Miami team can do, at home, in the famous Miami heat. If they don't beat Buffalo in Miami, odds won't be good that they do it in High Mark stadium.

    Fuller is out for Miami. Williams might be too. Technically that leaves the WR corp depleted, but not compared to last week. With Parker, Wilson, Grant, Gesicki and, of course, Waddle, it's hard to say Tua won't have weapons. Austin Jackson is back and will start at LT. The rest of the offense intact. On D, run stuffing tackle Raekwon Davis is out for a few weeks. John Jenkins will continue has his replacement.

    Buffalo might be mostly intact too. Last injury report suggested talented WR Gabriel Davis might be out, he was listed as 'Questionable', but I don't believe it. He'll lay. DT Star Lotulelei is also questionable, as it DE Efe Obada. Miami will likely prep for a full strength Bills squad.

    The rush will be different than with New England. Instead of complex, sneaky looks, the Bills look set to bring smaller, quicker rushers. A different test will give us a good look at what Miami's OL can do. Can Tua unleash more passes to this speedy WR corp?

    The Bills' D was the better part of their game in Week 1, and especially against the run.

    Buffalo's offense was the weak point, will that be the case this time around?

    This will likely be a tough match up but a win here would be an incredible result and a massive turn around from the slow starts of Flores' tenure.

    Go Phins!!!


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    Oddsshark.com Preview:

    Buffalo News & Notes
    After a breakout season last year, Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and the Buffalo offense had high expectations to start this season. In their 23-16 loss at home to the Steelers, Allen finished with 270 yards passing on 50-plus attempts and a QB Rating of just 79.7.

    However, last year against the Dolphins, the Bills scored 86 points in just eight quarters of football. Allen threw for over 400 yards and four touchdowns the last time he played in Miami.

    The Dolphins are known for their man-to-man coverage in the secondary and last year Diggs took advantage of that with 150-plus yards receiving and a touchdown in the Bills’ 31-28 win in Miami.

    Diggs is listed as a top-three receiver this week on most DFS sites and will cost a lot to get him into your lineup.

    Buffalo has beaten Miami five consecutive times and is 6-0 in its last six games against an AFC East opponent.

    Miami News & Notes
    Last year, Dolphins CB Xavien Howard led the NFL in interceptions with 10. In Week 1 against New England, the talented defender made the biggest play of the game by forcing and recovering a Damien Harris fumble in the fourth quarter, preserving a 17-16 win on the road.

    After an offseason that included rumors of Deshaun Watson being traded to Miami, Tua Tagovailoa will be expected to improve on his rookie season stats. Against the Patriots, the second-year QB had only 202 yards passing and Miami lost the time of possession battle by 14 minutes.

    In the 56-26 loss to Buffalo at the end of last year, Tagovailoa threw three second-half interceptions in only four possessions.

    Miami will hope to improve on its Week 1 running attack against the Patriots. The Dolphins put up 74 yards on 23 carries and had only 259 total yards of offense.

    Rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle had 61 yards receiving in his first regular-season game, including a 36-yard grab and a three-yard touchdown. Waddle is currently ranked outside the top 50 on most DFS sites this week and might be an interesting low-cost play in your lineup.

    Staff Betting Pick: Buffalo -3.5
    Buffalo put up a lot of points against Miami in both games last year. After producing a disappointing 16 points in Week 1, you would expect Josh Allen and company will want to prove they are still one of the offensively elite teams in the league. It’s hard to believe Tua will compete with Allen over four quarters on Sunday. Take the Bills -3.5 in this one.
     
  2. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Expert Picks

    The Athletic:
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    Pro Football Network: Dolphins 24, Bills 23
    Ben Rolfe writes: "None of the AFC East sides looked convincing in Week 1. But what we do not know is if they played tough opponents or just played poorly. The Dolphins forced a late-fourth-quarter turnover against the Patriots while a blocked punt beat the Bills. This game will lay down a marker for the division, and it’s in Miami — the Dolphins may not have a better opportunity all season to take a two-game lead over the Bills. The heat and humidity of Miami could be the downfall of the Bills."

    Sportsnaut: Bills 34, Dolphins 27
    Matt Johnson writes: "While neither of these teams made huge additions in the offseason, we can’t get Week 17 out of our mind. Buffalo cooked the Dolphins without even really trying. We certainly expect this matchup to be a lot closer, but Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs are just too good."

    International Business Times: Dolphins will upset Bills
    Anthony Riccobono writes: "The Dolphins could very well challenge the Bills, not just in this game, but for the AFC East title. Coming off an impressive 10-win season, Miami defeated the New England Patriots on the road in Week 1. The Dolphins gave up only 16 points, despite Mac Jones looking good in his NFL debut. After Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense was stymied by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Buffalo, the unit could struggle again against a good Miami defense."

    Sports World News: Bills will win, cover the spread vs. Dolphins
    It writes: "The Buffalo Bills headed into the 2021 season as one of the favorites to win Super Bowl LVI, but they were sent crashing back to earth on Sunday after losing 23-16 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1. It was a disappointing defeat for the Bills, who held a 10-0 advantage after the first half of play. This coming Sunday, the Bills will look to get their season back on track when they lock horns with the Miami Dolphins. For the Bills to record the much-needed win, they will need to get better performance from their offense. Even though Josh Allen threw for 270 yards and a touchdown, he also was sacked three times and lost a fumble."

    Sportsnaut: Dolphins 27, Bills 24
    Vincent Frank writes: "If teams like the Dolphins and Patriots are going to have a chance to compete with Buffalo in the AFC East, they will at least have to split. That means coming away with wins at home. Look for this to come to fruition in Week 2. During a surprising 10-win 2020 season, these Fins won five of their final six home games. That’s part of the process of head coach Brian Flores building a contender. Vastly improved heading into 2021, expect this to be taken to a whole new level."

    Bills Wire: Bills will win Week 2 game vs. Dolphins
    Nick Wojton writes: "We’re still not ready to think the Dolphins have caught up to the Bills just yet. Early in the year, especially. They’ve caught up, but still need some time."

    ESPN: Dolphins have a 52.3% chance to win
    The site's Football Power Index gives the Bills a 47.3% chance to pick up the victory.

    FiveThirtyEight.com: Both teams have a 50% win probability
    The site gives the Bills and the Dolphins each a 50% win probability in the game.
     
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  3. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    "Summary
    The Dolphins registered a fair few QB hits and the trends I’d note are all above. Stunts. Crowded lines. Individual efforts. Blitz. Blitz. Blitz. More blitz. I wanted to verify if my eyes were telling me the truth so I checked out pro-football-reference.com and their advanced statistics. Aaaaaaand...my eyes had it right. The Dolphins blitzed on 21 plays which was good for 52.5% of the game, the second-highest rate in the league (behind Tampa).

    Will Miami try this against Josh Allen or was it a one-week “trend” versus a rookie quarterback? Well last year Miami blitzed 40.8% of the time, which only fell behind Baltimore. So there could be some drop-off but realistically speaking this is the Dolphins being the Dolphins. They love that aggressive defense. The good news for Bills fans is the recent success Josh Allen and the offense has had against them. If the Dolphins are gonna Dolphin, that’ll be old news for the Bills." - Buffalo Bills opponent preview: Miami Dolphins pass rush - Buffalo Rumblings

    "The Bills dropped their season opener but it’s no cause for concern. Josh Allen registered 270 passing yards and the running game accrued 117 yards. Miami narrowly defeated the Pats last week however they surrendered 281 passing yards to rookie QB Mac Jones in his NFL Debut. Allen was dominant against Miami in 2020, amassing over 600 passing yards accompanied by seven TD’s, leading his team to a win in both meetings.

    Furthermore, the Bills defense should be able to contain Miami’s offense. Tua Tagovailoa has yet to establish himself as a strong NFL QB and has tossed six interceptions in his last five games overall. Buffalo also limited Ben Roethlisberger to only 188 yards last week and they should contain Tua as well. Prediction: Buffalo Bills -3.5" - Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 9-19-2021 (winnersandwhiners.com)

    "What to know: Despite a dominating defensive effort in the first two quarters, the Bills allowed 20 straight points to the Steelers coming out of the half and lost a commanding lead. The defense allowed Pittsburgh to put together three drives of nine-plus plays in the second half alone and failed to generate consistent pressure against a young offensive line. The Bills also had a punt blocked, which was returned for a TD. -- Alaina Getzenberg

    Can the Bills' offense replicate last year's success? Accuracy downfield proved to be a problem for Josh Allen in his first game of 2021, despite facing the lowest blitz rate of his career, per ESPN Stats & Info. He completed 30 of 51 passes, a career high in pass attempts, for 270 yards against the Steelers and had trouble connecting with both Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley. The offensive line, one of the team's biggest questions coming in, also struggled with Allen's limited movement, which played a part in the Steelers not needing to blitz. The line was also called for six holding penalties, four of which were accepted, something coach Sean McDermott called, "unacceptable." Allen improved on his accuracy issues last season, but the ability to build on last year's success will be something to watch going forward. -- Getzenberg

    Getzenberg's confidence rating: 6.3. There are clear issues to be corrected on both sides of the ball, and being outscored 23-3 in the second half is a telling statistic, but it's not enough for major concern for a team with such a high ceiling. -- Getzenberg" - NFL Week 1 takeaways - What we learned, big reaction questions and stat leaders for every game (espn.com)
     
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  4. JJ_79

    JJ_79 Well-Known Member

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    Would be nice if things have changed and we win a huge game to get things going for real this year.
     
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  5. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    From 3:14 -






     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2021
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  6. OwesOwn614

    OwesOwn614 Well-Known Member

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  7. Deus ex dolphin

    Deus ex dolphin Well-Known Member

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    Buffalo is the measuring stick for Miami to prove they are a better team than than the one that got kicked around last year. If they are not up to the task of at least splitting with the Bills this year -then I think we face another 10 win season and out of the playoffs once again.
     
  8. OwesOwn614

    OwesOwn614 Well-Known Member

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    PUP List Preston pops up on the injury report once again.
     
  9. OwesOwn614

    OwesOwn614 Well-Known Member

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    Buffalo was clearly better than we were last season. I didn't mope as much as some after the finale because IMO, that was a playoff game and if we couldn't dial it up when we needed to, we weren't good enough to be in the actual playoffs. With that being said, they weren't as good as we made them look in that game. It was one of the rare instances where Flo was outcoached. I don't expect to say that again after Sunday's game.
     
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  10. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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  11. OwesOwn614

    OwesOwn614 Well-Known Member

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    The U couldn't beat them but at least they laid a huge Gatorade bill on them.
     
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  12. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    I find a lot of these rules silly. Let teams do what they want with the rosters. Why limit it in any way?
     
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  13. OwesOwn614

    OwesOwn614 Well-Known Member

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    I'd suppose that sans restrictions, teams would be able to build relative super teams by stashing studs on the PS, intending to bring them up repeatedly. That would create 69 player teams, which sounds like a lot.
     
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  14. OwesOwn614

    OwesOwn614 Well-Known Member

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  15. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    There's been quite a bit of talk about the Steelers' success in pressuring Allen with only 3 or 4 rushers and lots of secondary zone coverage. If the Dolphins can't achieve that would you rather seem them focus on secondary coverage and let the pass rush be what it may, or reinforce the rush and leave the secondary more open?
     
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  16. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    This defense is built for the cover zero, which is where safeties and corners play man and everyone else drops into coverage or gets after the QB. So when you say, "Should we do either/or...", I don't think that's the right question. The right question is, "Is our secondary good enough to beat Allen in cover zero and turn the blitzes loose, or do we need to play zone like we did against NE?"

    Last week, we saw a lot of crossing routes with quick passes and it made man coverage difficult. This week, I think we get back to basics and get after Allen, forcing him to throw fast and eventually make some mistakes. I believe we stuck with zone last week so Allen and Buffalo's offensive line would prepare for it, only for us to "release the hounds" once it's gameday. That's the recipe for the big upset and I think it's been the plan all along.

    To answer your question- I don't think we can emulate what Pitt did because Buffalo's line really struggled last week and I doubt we get that lucky. So I think we throw the kitchen sink at the line of scrimmage as much as possible, get Allen off his rhythm and show a variety of looks the rest of the day. I really, really, really think the defense is the star of the show tomorrow and Tua does enough to make it an impressive win.
     
  17. OwesOwn614

    OwesOwn614 Well-Known Member

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    The season finale was one of the few instances where we lost because we got outcoached and I'm pretty sure Coach is aware of it. I think tomorrow will be a much different game. But I agree with KeyFin. IMO, Buffalo's not going to lose the same way twice, so it's up to the staff to figure out how to exploit their weaknesses with a different scheme.
     
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  18. texanphinatic

    texanphinatic Senior Member

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    Part this and part just we are a different team. We aren't a zone defense, as evidenced by the NE game. We can technically run it, but it's not our strength or personnel fit. We also don't have TJ Watt.

    We paid X, we paid Byron, we paid NN. We signed McCourty. We drafted Jones and Holland. Let 'em do what we brought them to do and then send the rest after Allen's head. Force him to throw short, take the checkdowns or throw into tight coverage against elite DBs.

    I'm also gonna put this one on the offense a bit. The O side needs to step it up and start taking it to people. We aren't winning this game 16-12. Jump on them early and try to force Allen into playing catchup making risky decisions.
     
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  19. TheHighExhaulted

    TheHighExhaulted Well-Known Member

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    I have a weird feeling Miami is going to have to beat Buffalo and the referees tomorrow.
     
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  20. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    I hope you're wrong on that. We expect it in New England but at home? Hopefully it doesn't play out that way.
     
  21. The_Dark_Knight

    The_Dark_Knight Defender of the Truth

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    Time of possession is going to be key in defeating Buffalo. I don’t want to anoint Mac Jones, but the kid did do a great job at keeping our defense on the field. That’s not going to cut it against Buffalo. Defensively, we’re going to have to force the Bills into 3 and outs, but how?

    The pass rush is going to be key, but it’s the front four that’s going to have to do it…and keep Josh Allen in the pocket. We can’t let Allen scramble outside of the pocket. That’s HIS game. We need to make him play OUR game, Keep him in the pocket, take away his ability to extend plays and smother Deggs like a blanket. If we lose time of possession, we’re going to lose this game.

    On a side note, temperature at game time in Miami Gardens will be 87 degrees with a heat index of 97…UV will be a 10 out of 10. So will Bills will be facing the full brunt of the heat in Miami for about the 1st hour of the game. After that, the clouds and storms start rolling in so to quote Cobra Kai…

    “Strike first, strike hard, no mercy sir”
     
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  22. Irishman

    Irishman Well-Known Member

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    This is the kind of thing the Dolphins should to be able to do "on command" in order to be successful in the NFL. I feel they are up to it. We shall see. Maybe we are so good we can beat them playing "our game". That would be fine with me also.

    In the end, we need to be good enough with what we choose to do on the field.
     
  23. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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  24. Deus ex dolphin

    Deus ex dolphin Well-Known Member

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    Iggy being inactive is a bad sign for his career. Maybe the kid can figure it out this year, but that's hard to do from the bench.

    Also, Hunter Long being inactive is a surprise. Maybe that means they lean on Gesicki more in the passing game today?
     
  25. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    90 degrees and feels like 100 with the humidity. Lets wear down the Bills and send them home soaked in sweat and tears.
     
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  26. jdallen1222

    jdallen1222 Well-Known Member

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    Let’s goooo!!!
     
  27. JJ_79

    JJ_79 Well-Known Member

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    Good thing it‘s hot today, go Fins!!!
     
  28. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    How does Tua not see that guy coming...
     
  29. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Down goes Tua again... thats two free rushers basically in 3 plays. Not a good start at all.

    Now we give up a big punt return. Ouch
     
  30. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    What a pathetic start for Miami today. Wow. Are we sure Philbin isn't back on the coaching staff?
     
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  31. JJ_79

    JJ_79 Well-Known Member

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    What joke/shoke start…
     
  32. Berezo

    Berezo Well-Known Member

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    Worst start possible
     
  33. Destroyer

    Destroyer There for every play.

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    Same old Dolphins. 52-17
     
  34. Dolphin Dundee

    Dolphin Dundee Well-Known Member

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    I thought the Hurricanes played yesterday...
     
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  35. OwesOwn614

    OwesOwn614 Well-Known Member

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    Wow. Tua has to see those blitzes. They didn't even disguise them. This might be a good day to break out the good stuff.
     
  36. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Wow, killer penalty.

    What the hell was that on the screen Tua?

    What a terrible start, but Waddle almost picked u the first :pity:
     
  37. JJ_79

    JJ_79 Well-Known Member

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    Tua got the jitters…
     
  38. Destroyer

    Destroyer There for every play.

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    Bad play calling. Didn’t see that coming.
     
  39. brandon27

    brandon27 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Shouldn't that be a penalty on Epinesa for driving Tua into the turf?
     
  40. JJ_79

    JJ_79 Well-Known Member

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    We don’t get those…
     

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