On paper, the Miami Dolphins are a joke: A 3-8 record, a 24th-ranked pass defense, a 23rd-ranked pass offense and a quarterback in Matt Moore with a career completion rate of 59 percent.
So why are the Dolphins a three-point favorite to win today? Because Miami is not as bad as it looks on paper.
Since a 24-6 whooping by the Jets in Week 6, the Dolphins have been as competitive as any team in the NFL. They’ve gone 3-3 since the Jets game, and the Dolphins lost those three games by a total of seven points. The three games they’ve won have been routs, as the ‘Fins outscored their opponents 86-20. A break here or there, and the Dolphins could be 6-5; I guess there is a reason Tony Sparano hasn’t been fired yet.
Traveling cross-country to play a 1 p.m. game is never easy, and the Raiders have had plenty of distraction this week due to Rolando McClain’s arrest for alleged assault. They’re going to have to play a focused, smart game to beat the scrappy Dolphins; let’s break down how they can do it.
If you’re gonna start early, then start early
Often when a team travels coast to coast, players come out sluggish and start slow. The Raiders can’t afford to do that, because if they fall behind, it will limit their opportunity to use the run game. They’re already going to have a tough time rushing anyway, because the Dolphins boast the league’s seventh-best run defense and allow a paltry 3.7 yards per carry.
The Raiders struggled to get touchdowns on the board against Chicago, and their injury-riddled receiver corps may have contributed to that problem. When you can’t stretch the field as coach Hue Jackson likes to do, that causes pro...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
