Finsmob Unleashed

The winless Carolina Panthers at 0-5 come to Miami to take on the 4-1 1st place Miami Dolphins this Sunday, A.K.A Fest Day! This is the best Dolphins team we’ve seen in some time. The offense is incredible, although we have lost rookie sensation RB De’Von Achane for a few weeks as he was placed on IR this week, meaning he’ll miss at least 4 games until he’s eligible to return the week of November 19th against the Raiders. Incidentally, Jeff Wilson Jr. is eligible to return from the PUP list but it has yet to be determined if Wilson will be active. RB Salvon Ahmed and Chris Brooks will most likely share reps with Mostert, with Mostert getting the majority of the touches.

I think the majority of us have a lot of positive feelings with this team. The Buffalo game was a sobering beat down, but the team came back strong against the beleaguered NY Giants. The defense especially made their presence felt last week. In place of Jaelan Phillips, backup LB Andrew Van Ginkel has been stellar. He has made his absence tolerable, although it would be great to have both og them available. Jaelan Phillps logged in a limited practice Wednesday, along with other limited participants WR Tyreek Hill, OG Robert Jones, RB Raheem Mostert, RB Jeff Wilson Jr., and nice to see the return of DB Nik Needham, one of my faves. CB Xavien Howard (veteran rest), FB Alec Ingold (foot), and OC Connor Williams (groin), did not practice. Ingold has said he’s playing Sunday, but Williams is one to keep an eye on, and maybe a late decision.

The Dolphins are the #1 passing team with 1681 yards. The Dolphins are also the #1 rushing team with 929 yards. That’s crazy! This offense, with the exception of the 2nd half of the Bills game has been nearly unstoppable. On defense however, it’s a different story. The Dolphins have allowed the 12th most passing yards, and the 15th most rushing yards. Not terrible, but not championship level either. Vic Fangio may have the Dolphins defense turning the corner, although even a strong showing against the Panthers will still leave the question as to whether this defense, and team in general, can play well against one of the better teams, like the Philadelphia Eagles. We’ll play them the following Sunday, and they will be a better gauge as to where this team is heading.

It’s a shame the Festers won’t get to see RB De’Von Achane who just eats up yardage so quickly, averaging an outrageous 12.1 yards per carry. I’m not talking 5-10 carries, it’s 38. Raheem Mostert is also having a great year rushing and is averaging a whopping 5.4 yards per carry, which is less than half of the magic man, De’Von Achane, but still impressive. We will get to see Tyreek Hill, who has also been magical this season. Hill has 651 yards receiving and is averaging 18.1 YPR, crazy considering all the extra attention he receives. Jaylen Waddle has 245 yards receiving, 14.4 YPR. Braxton Berrios has been great getting open finding soft spots in the zones or just beating coverage to get open.

The Panthers will be showing off their rookie QB Bryce Young who is having a decent rookie season. Young has been sacked 12 times so far this season. Young has 750 yards passing with 5 TD’s and 4 INT’s and a 77 QBR. In contrast, Tua has 1614 yards, with 11 TD’s and 5 INT’s and a stellar 111.9 QBR. It would be nice to have a healthy Jaelan Phillips back, but it’s still unclear as to whether he will suit up. In any case, AVG is on fire right now, so this defense is going to bring it whether Phillips is there or not. I do hope we activate Nik Needham, but I think we have until the 29th to activate him, so it’s probably not happening this week.

No matter what happens at the game itself, this is a special time getting together with a great group. It’s such a pleasure to see you all each year, and of course, we’re thankful for Stanger’s hospitality, Chef Warren, communications man Hulk, transportation man Toba, and everyone who attends and makes it such a special time. It will be great to finally meet Herd, looking forward to that! Looking forward to meeting up again and having a great time while we’re together. Cheers!

GO DOLPHINS!!!