It will indeed be interesting to see how they respond to being favored for the first time this year.

 

St. Louis is a tough team. They have a stout defense and have beaten some teams this year. I wouldn't cross this one off as a W just yet. We have our hands full this week. This is the Miami Dolphins after all...it is ALWAYS a close game.

 

They haven't responded to success very well relatively speaking, during the last regime.

Lets just hope the home crowd doesn't let them down for their efforts and potential.

 

The Rams will make sure nothing is easy next week.

 

Expect a very low scoring game. STL offense doesn't scare anybody but their defense is very good.

I anticipate we win 13-6, 16-10, something of the sort.

 

Rams are tough, but I we can handle their pass-rush at home.

 

Shoulda won vs the Jets and Cards too. TOs have been our achilles heel so far, if we can keep those down we'll be OK.

 

It's not precisely the pass rush you have to be concerned about, it's the combination of pass rush and corner play. Janoris Jenkins is playing better football than Morris Claiborne as a rookie and the combination of he and Cortland Finnegan give them one of the best corner duos in football, even with Jenkins only a rookie. And then they bring in Bradley Fletcher who has also been fantastic.

We're not going to see easy and on time routes and catches against that secondary and that gives Chris Long time to abuse Jonathan Martin (not looking forward to that one) and last I checked Jake Long looked pretty beatable this year so Robert Quinn can definitely get some pressure of his own. You know Kendall Langford is going to be jazzed for this game too. Against the run, they're solid but beatable, yet we may have some issues because Reggie Bush has not been the same since getting hurt and the coaches continue to show a lack of faith in Lamar Miller.

This will be a game where the Dolphins will actually need Charles Clay to put aside his stupidity and actually contribute without dumb mistakes. The Rams linebackers are the biggest weak spot to hit and the safeties will also give up plays in coverage.

On the other side of the ball...it's hard to see them scoring on us, or even looking very competent in the passing game on a play for play basis. The problem is they do make big plays in the passing game and our secondary does also let up big plays. If our offense gets out to a lead then this one is probably over because that could be the worst pass protecting offensive line I've seen in quite some time. It's a collection of total garbage on the outside between Barry Richardson and Wayne Hunter, who along with Marc Colombo were the three worst OTs in football a year ago. The inside is better with Harvey Dahl (always solid) and a surprisingly solid Rob Turner, whose move to Center appears to be an inspired one. Essentially all this line can do is run block...but when you've got Steven Jackson and a quarterback who can hit you deep...that could be enough.

The Dolphins have a good chance at this one. They'll be home and that will be a big deal. However, health will come into play. Were there any new surprise injuries (aside from Daniel Thomas) that happened in the Bengals game? Is Richard Marshall coming back healthy? The Rams could receive health boons since essentially they're coming off something very close to a bye week. They played Thursday night. They'll be rested and they'll have a great game plan. But losing Danny Amendola is a pretty big deal.

 

I agree with you on the Chris Long vs Martin. That could actually prove to be where the game is decided right there. Tannehill has had pretty good protection this year and we will need it again this week. Also, you mention clay...I didn't see much of Fasano last week vs the Bengals. Was he injured or something and that is why clay was in? We should be designing these throws to go to Fasano over Clay IMO.

 

Jenkins has played well, but I think he can be had. I think he has a tendency too look in the backfield a little too much, and he can be over-aggressive as well.

 

So many rooks do this. Vontae was exactly this way. That just means that short route fakes and play action will kill him for deep completions.

 

They beat the Redskins, the Cardinals, and the Seahawks and lost to the lions on a last second TD and the bears because of a late mistake.
Also the Rams are averaging over 100 yards the last 3 games. (vs a great bears, seahawks, and cardinals defense)

 

No turnovers. If we can do that we can get another win. St.Louis is no joke and their defense looks just as good as ours. Especially their front seven. Got to pressure Bradford and make him run around and get out of his comfort zone. If we can't get to him he's going to kill us. Guy is accurate as hell on deep passes so we have to rattle him. I think it all starts with a pass rush. Keep it up.

 

I'm not hopeful about any game that hinges largely on that.

 

Hunter has yet to give up a sack since being a ram and vs the so called dominant seahawks and cardinals defenses who are both in the top 5 in sacks the Rams gave up a total of 3 combined sacks.

 

just let them melt away in the 4th quarter with the lead, i see the most glaring weakness just like it was against the cardinals, their oline vs our dline, wayne hunter.....ouch

 

both games in the comfort zone at home....lets show it on the road

 

Like I have said a few times haha as much as I did not want us to get Hunter, since becoming a Ram he has given up 0 count that 0 sacks again julius peppers, chris clemmons, and the cardinals lineman. Though he is a scrub IDK what jeff fisher has done to him but he has played lights out since moving to a new city.

 

Julius peppers was on the road

 

good luck that it stays that way....we are familiar with him from the jets

 

yeah but you just mentioned the cards and seahawks in that one post

 

Will Gaffney be activated or is it too soon?

 

would be dissapointing if he can't get ready for a game in 2 weeks

 

I can only site what I have seen and I know he is horrible, like I said in another post I am a florida native born and raised in Coconut Creek. I watch every single fins game every week (if it does not interfere with Rams and even then I will flip to see what is happening) I know all about Hunter and that is why I am shocked he has performed how he has, but he said in an interview this is the most he has clicked with a team and is glad to be showing his true ability....... Now lets see how long that lasts because in all honesty I say not very long. I will be at the game this week being that again from Creek and of course rooting for my team, I just do not completely understand why everyone thinks St.Louis is a joke. I am ok with it though being that we have many deep threats and a decent run game. Either way I expect a heck of a game and if we perform well again I figure respect will soon follow. This Sunday will show the majority of fans if the Rams are a real threat in the NFC playoff picture or if we just are a good home team, either way I am excited.

Plus our kicker has been hitting 70+ yard bombs in practice topping out at 74 yards so if we get past the 50 we are in FG range lol

 

i never said the rams are a joke, we as dolphins fan's know exactly what it means to be pushed through the media every freakin week, but i just checked from the 15 sacks bradford took, 10 of them came in 2 games on the road..so if its not hunter the problem is somewhere else and this is where i see our advantage, especially with our no huddle and heat advantage late in the game

 

Don't forget the advantage of the raucous crowd of 14,000!

 

Hunter was not on the squad yet we had just traded for him and also those games we had lost 6 lineman due to injury so players were being thrown in left and right. This line (of backups) has at least been able to play together for 3 weeks now.

Our biggest weakness by far is our LG so if your DTs can take advantage of him then bradford is doomed haha

 

:lol:

 

I was surprised he was not active this week. Teach the dude 5 plays and it's an upgrade on what we have at the #3 spot now.

 

Wayne Hunter and the term "lights out" never belong together, unless it's to say "Wayne Hunter is your new tackle. Lights out for your quarterback."

Don't go by someone else's numbers on a page for a position like an offensive tackle. First off, there's always going to be some other person's numbers on a page which disagree with this other fellow's numbers on a page. As a great example of that, Pro Football Focus plainly disagrees with the claim that Wayne Hunter has allowed "0 count that 0 sacks". They believe Wayne Hunter has allowed 1 count that 1 sack, and that he's also allowed 2 count that 2 quarterback hits and 11 count that 11 quarterback hurries. He's also drawn 3 count that 3 holding penalties.

I think overall you've just got to use your eyes and see how easily a guy is beaten especially in situations where they don't give him help, and especially in situations where Sam Bradford has to hold the football on a 5 or 7 step drop and wait for routes to develop. The Rams don't allow a ton of sacks because they throw the ball pretty short, about 67% of aimed passes under 10 yards. Bradford is pretty good at that. But crappy pass protection can't just be shoved under the rug with short passing. It takes its toll on the overall effectiveness of the scoring offense, which is averaging about 16.4 points per game (not counting 14 points off defense and special teams).

I stand by it, Wayne Hunter and Barry Richardson are the worst pair of pass protecting offensive tackles in football and it's not close. The Rams do a good job limiting the damage from them but they're still a big drag on the offense.

 

I was going with NFL.com stats haha


and worst.... really? worse than the cardinals who have given up 16 sacks in 2 weeks?

 

Yes, definitely. Kevin Kolb holds onto the ball a lot and makes bad decisions, and the offensive play calling and design isn't neurotically getting the ball out of his hands early the way you see in St. Louis. Plus those two weeks Zona had to face Cameron Wake, Chris Long and Robert Quinn who has turned into a nice player.

Bradford is a lot better decision maker and better in the pocket, but when he gets in situations where teams can tee off on him then he's in trouble because those OTs aren't coming close to holding up.

 

well my buddy was there at the jets game, he said the noise was good

 

Opening line is -3.5 for the Phins and over/under of 38...

Looks like Vegas is thinking this will be a close, low scoring game.. I'm pretty sure that -3.5 will get up to -5 with all the hype surrounding Miami and the way we have been playing.

 

I wouldn't bet on the line moving much. The hype Miami is getting is baked into that -3.5 line. It's the first game all season where Miami has been favored, if I'm not mistaken. Remember that the Rams are also coming off a (more convincing) win against the previously undefeated Cardinals on prime time television.

I think the line will stay solid at around -3.5 and I'm not sure yet (really have to see the comparative health situations) which side of that I'd favor.

 

I don't know if you can compare it to the Oakland situation because the Raiders had a lot of circumstances working against them while the Rams have the benefit of a pseudo-bye week due to their last appearance being on Thursday Night Football (at home).

They're going to be well rested and well prepped, neither of which was the case with the Raiders. Will it matter that they're well rested and well prepped? Maybe not. Maybe so. I think a lot will depend on how the health situations flesh out this week. Are the Rams getting anyone back healthy now that they've had this pseudo-bye? Are we losing anyone that we're not aware of? Remember that Richard Marshall's injury and absence from this game came as a surprise to I think most of us.

Also what is the underlying temperament of the Miami Dolphins? Can they string together multiple victories or will they get complacent and "find a way to lose" the way they did against the Jets after they'd beaten the Raiders? I think there were some sneaky feelings of desperation running through the locker room this week that maybe not everyone was picking up on, and can best be summed up by Mike Pouncey's saying last week after the loss (paraphrasing) right now it's ok and we're not out of anything but we can't lose next week, if we lose next week that will be bad...something to that effect. Now that they've won this week, will they lose that edge of desperation?

And there's a flip side. The Rams hadn't been over 0.500 in a RIDICULOUSLY long time until this week. It had been something like 6 years. And that's saying something because simply winning your opener or going 2-1 at some point early in the season would've done it but they haven't even been able to do that. Getting over 0.500 for the first time in 6 years was a big deal. Are THEY going to be complacent, now that they did it?

 

I'm hoping that after Sunday, there will be no doubt that we lucked out when Fisher selected the Rams and we had to go with Philbin.

I hope this game is personal for Philbin and the team. And that Coach Philbin can use the near selection of Fisher as motivation for his players to prove that they are firmly behind him.

Nothing would make me happier than to see Fisher leave the field with his face down, wondering if Tannehill is more of a franchise QB than what excited him about the Rams.. I know he has a stockpile of picks to work with, but Miami isn't looking like the long term rebuilding project many expected.

 

My money is on Joe Philbin having no feelings whatsoever about the Jeff Fisher flirtation. Not only would it be somewhat out of character for him, you have to remember that:

A) Around the time the Dolphins were going round 'n round with Fisher, he was in the middle of trying to build a Super Bowl run in the playoffs, hardly paying close attention to what the Dolphins are doing

B) Right around that same time, he lost his son in that accident

Quite frankly I think the next person that tells him that Jeff Fisher was Miami's first choice, would not only be the first person to tell him that, the message would be met with surprise and skepticism. You can't just superimpose the perspective of Dol-Fans that live on every second and minute of the news cycle and flip out over every little thing onto a guy that was in the midst of a playoff run and lost his son in an accident. I doubt he knows anything about the Fisher situation, I doubt he's ever asked, I doubt he's ever even WANTED to know or ask, and I seriously doubt he cares. He's the man that was hired.