Tua-O vs 2-0 next weekend

Barfalo looks formidable with a crazy good defense and tough offense. Will Tua have another stellar game and lead us out of irrelevance or does Miami stumble this week?

My heart says we can beat Buffalo in Miami - my mind says we have no chance.

I'd feel better if we had shown any semblance of a pass rush in either game so far, but the reality is we have generated almost zero pressure on the QB. That's a huge problem going up against Josh Allen. I don't trust our defense to slow him down. I think we have to sell out to stop the pass. If they then run all over us as a result, so be it - but to have a chance we MUST limit what Allen does.

I think we can score on Buffalo. We won't be able to run the ball, but we should be able to pass. Their secondary is banged up, and Hill has torched them in the past. The problem is, we likely need to score 45+ to beat them. No joke. And the only way that happens is if the OL holds up...which I'm not yet convinced it can do if Buffalo blitzes a lot, as they surely will.

I don't know...this feels like a loss, possibly a BIG loss, but part of me believes that we can pull out a victory. I'm not ready to commit one way or another!

BTW - I would urge all of you to ignore last night's game when you think about the Bills. The Titans are probably the worst team in the AFC IMO, and the fact that the Bills steamrolled them is not a surprise and does not mean that the Bills are unbeatable.

Another BTW: our defense MUST force multiple turnovers and our offense must be turnover-free, or we literally have no chance to win.

Too soon to tell, but there is a chance that the Bills will be without both safety Micah Hyde and WR Gabe Davis on Sunday.

The Bills secondary is really banged up and without Hyde we can definitely exploit it if our OL holds up.

Davis gives the Bills another dangerous weapon/playmaker on offense. Without Davis, you can key on Diggs (which didn't go well for the crappy Titans WRs) and hopefully slow him down.

JMP wrote:BTW - I would urge all of you to ignore last night's game when you think about the Bills.  The Titans are probably the worst team in the AFC IMO, and the fact that the Bills steamrolled them is not a surprise and does not mean that the Bills are unbeatable.

I'm trying my best. It's not working. The euphoria from the Ravens win has already worn off and now I'm in a sour mood

But yes, after my 40 years of watching/following the NFL I'm certain that some team, at some point will beat them. Not sure I can take another division rival roll into the Super Bowl undefeated though.

JMP wrote:The Bills secondary is really banged up and without Hyde we can definitely exploit it if our OL holds up.

Banged up secondary, you say? Okay that might help, I'm starting to feel a little less down already

Yeah, the Titans are one of those teams whose offseason was an obvious disaster even to the most homerific of their fans. I don't feel too bad for them though seeing how "woke" Nashville and that part of TN has become. It's essentially Hollywood Southeast now

Also, Tannehill is now 0-6 as a starter in Buffalo (but 6-2 against them in home games) so I knew the Titans would lose regardless. I hate to say this because it makes me seem like a mean, spiteful jerkass, but him getting hurt was the only reason the Fins won at Buffalo that season and made the playoffs as a result--and they set a franchise record for opponents' total yardage allowed in a win in that game

https://stathead.com/tiny/y6f3N

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201612240buf.htm

I'm thinking more and more that this will be the Fins' only path to victory--let the Bills roll it up and down the field and just outscore them. It seems weird to say, but it's no weirder than the "do absolutely nothing on offense and wait for the Jets to implode" strategy they were using to win multiple times in that series a few years back.

JMP wrote:Another BTW: our defense MUST force multiple turnovers and our offense must be turnover-free, or we literally have no chance to win.

I know it always seems like the heavy underdog needs to play the proverbial "perfect game" to beat the overwhelming favorite, but in practice it never works that way and yet teams stage huge upsets anyway.

The trick is not to be "perfect" but to drag the big, bad bully down to your level and play evenly with them until stealing it at the end. The Jags definitely weren't perfect when they beat the Bills last season.

Also it's a must to not be afraid. So many times, so many people are so intimidated in this situation that they literally are beaten before the game/match/fight even starts. Buster Douglas was nobody special, but everybody remembers him for beating Mike Tyson--because he simply wasn't terrified of him going in like everyone else at the time was.

DolFan 316 wrote:

Banged up secondary, you say?

Starting corner Dane Jackson had a nasty neck injury last night, and though he is supposedly OK I doubt he plays Sunday. If he doesn't go, they'll be starting two rookie corners (6th rounder Christian Benford and 1st rounder Kaiir Elam).

Hyde also left the game last night with an injury (I think also the neck??) and was replaced by career backup/special teamer Jaquan Johnson. If Hyde doesn't play, it is likely that Johnson and 2021 6th round pick Damar Hamlin would share free safety duties.

We'd still have to deal with a VERY tough front 7, but without Jackson and especially Hyde that back 4 looks ripe for Hill and Waddle to feast on.

DolFan 316 wrote:it's a must to not be afraid.

Yep, agreed. The Dolphins have to believe that they can beat the Bills, and they must realize that the Bills aren't the unbeatable juggernaut the media makes them out to be. Fact is, they won just two more regular season games than the Dolphins last season, and they have yet to make it to a Super Bowl (let alone win one) with Josh Allen.

The Biggest Difference I see is that Buffalo has to actually Prepare for our Offense this Year, Last Year's Offense nobody had to with the Elementary Offense we ran. It would actually be Nice to Score First against them always seem to Fall Behind so Early in the Games with them.

Allen has run circles around our defense and it's time for Boyer to "solve" their scheme once and for all.

I still believe Boyer is the weak link for us. We have tons of talent across all levels of the defense and typically we cannot even slow down high-powered offenses. That has to change. And I'm still convinced a coordinator like Fangio could work wonders with the talent on hand...

white1 wrote:Allen has run circles around our defense and it's time for Boyer to "solve" their scheme once and for all.

I still believe Boyer is the weak link for us.  We have tons of talent across all levels of the defense and typically we cannot even slow down high-powered offenses.  That has to change.  And I'm still convinced a coordinator like Fangio could work wonders with the talent on hand...

Look on the bright side. The Bills would have to score 64 points just to tie the Fins record for most points allowed in consecutive games. Surely that won't happen, right?

white1 wrote:Allen has run circles around our defense and it's time for Boyer to "solve" their scheme once and for all.

I still believe Boyer is the weak link for us.  We have tons of talent across all levels of the defense and typically we cannot even slow down high-powered offenses.  That has to change.  And I'm still convinced a coordinator like Fangio could work wonders with the talent on hand...

This has to be an "all hands on deck" effort from the defense. We need all our guys to show up. With Gabe Davis emerging as one of the best #2 receivers in the NFL, that passing offense is really dangerous. You can't just double up Diggs, because Davis will burn you.

I don't want to see any cover 0 this week...it simply won't work against this offense. I'd be tempted to use a 3-man front and just have 8 guys back in coverage most of the time. I don't care about their running game, at all. We MUST find a way to slow down their passing game, and I don't think blitzing is the way to do it. Their OL is too good and Allen will feast if we blitz a lot.

I don't expect the Miami D to be very effective against the Bills' O. That's not a knock against Boyer, because I'm not sure there's a coach in the NFL that can figure out how to shut them down. I think the best way to win this game is to do it on offense - we MUST score TDs early and often, from start to finish, to have a chance.

We have to slow them down and keep the Bills' offense off the field. Wear that defense down in the heat if we can. I think regardless of result Sunday this Dolphins team will be playing in January.