Finsmob Unleashed

The Dolphins are relevant, 8-3, good for 2nd in the AFC East after last night’s Bills victory over the division rival New England Patriots. We’ve managed to get through the easier part of our schedule with a bunch of wins, as any good team does. We’ve won 5 in a row, but really none of those victories has anyone thinking the Dolphins are the AFC’s best team. I’m not belittling anything this team has accomplished by any means, like I said, you beat the teams you play, especially the bad teams. This week will be different. The SF 49ers were very aggressive at the trade deadline acquiring the super talented , do it all running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers. That trade incidentally helped our Miami Dolphins by making their former starter, RB Jeff Wilson Jr. available to us and Wilson’s former coach jumped at the chance to reunite and GM Chris Grier promptly traded for his services. While McCaffrey has elevated the 49ers offense, Wilson has done the same for the Dolphins.

Let’s call this game for what it is. This is a measuring stick game. The 49ers all of a sudden are being considered a power team, and now one of the favorites to take the NFC crown. The Philadelphia Eagles are 10-1, the Minnesota Vikings are 9-2, but the 7-4 49ers have thrust themselves into the elite., Having the #1 scoring defense can do that, especially in the new NFL, where the rules heavily favor scoring and the offenses. The 49ers are allowing a very stingy 15.7 PPG. For contrast, the Dolphins are few ticks worse than midpack and allowing 23.3 PPG. To be fair, I think our defense is trending upwards now, with the acquisition of LB Bradley Chubb. For clarity, our offense is scoring about 3 points per game more than the Niners, while they’re allowing nearly 8 points less. A high flying offense against a top ranked defense, somethings gotta give.

The Dolphins will be losing a major player for this game, LT Terron Armstead with a strained pectoral injury.. The 49ers will be gaining a major player, as DT Arik Armstead returns to the lineup after missing 9 games. This could potentially be a huge a loss for the Dolphins. Greg Little will take Armstead’s place at LT, in a very difficult spot, matching up against former DROY and 2X Pro Bowler DE Nick Bosa. Bosa on the season has 11.5 sacks and 30 QB hits. He also has 13 TFL. This guy spends a lot of time in the offensive backfield, so LT Greg Little will need some assistance from either a TE, FB, or both.

This is such a compelling game, it really is. The Dolphins have slid some in the Power Rankings, while the Niners are ascending. If we are somehow able to defeat the 49ers, this could go a long way to legitimizing both the Dolphins playoff chances and their standing as bona fide playoff team. The Niners have eclipsed the top 5, vaulting to #3, while the Dolphins have slipped to #6, after a BYE week and and a victory against the hapless Texans. What better way to climb the rankings than to beat the best defense in the NFL in their house? Next man up has been a rally cry all season long for our Dolphins. We have lost, or simply never had the services of a few big players. We have yet to see CB Byron Jones play this season. One of the top cover corners, his surgery in the spring ruined this season for him, and it’s looking less likely each week that he will ever return to the field wearing aqua and orange. We lost a dynamic player in S Brandon Jones in week 7. We lost CB Nik Needham in week 6. We lost DE Emmanuel Ogbah, who was never really fully healthy this season in week 9. If I told you the starting DB backfield would be LCB Xavien Howard, RCB Kader Kohou, SS Eric Rowe and FS Jevon Holland before the season, you’d likely laugh. These guys, however, have stepped up, and CB Kader Kohou, UDFA has been a huge positive for us. With Needham OUT, Keion Crossen and veteran Justin Bethel have stepped up and held their ground. With Terron Armstead OUT, Greg Little and others will have to do the same.

As I’m writing this sentence at about 11AM, RB Raheem Mostert is still questionable, his participation or lack thereof will spell out his availability this week. It appears that depth RB Myles Gaskin is also questionable, and did not practice yesterday. Mostert did practice in a limited capacity. It sure would be nice to have the 1-2 punch of Wilson and Mostert. Supposedly there is a small chance Armstead could suit up, but if there’s danger of that injury getting worse coming back to soon, I’d sit him and let him heal while we continue to scream NEXT MAN UP! Back to RB, if both Mostert and Gaskin are OUT, that would mean RB Salvon Ahmed would be next up. I’m going to guess Ahmed’s legs are fresh, he’s had 4 carries this season.I’ve yet to mention RT Austin Jackson, who just made his return to the lineup last week against the Texans, only to hobble back off the field with a high ankle sprain, so he is questionable this week, which signals the return of Brandon Shell at RT. Shell has held his own quite nicely this season. So we hope the NMU’s can lift us to victory in what looks like a very difficult matchup, the young HC (39YO) who learned an awful lot from the slightly older HC Kyle Shanahan (42YO). The Dolphins high flying aerial attack against the 49ers top defense. Can the Dolphins D stop CMC, Deebo and Jimmy G, and really don’t forget WR Brandon Aiyuk, who is much better than he gets credit for. He’s probably the 4th or 5th guy you think of in this offe3nse, but Aiyuk is a very strong WR having a very nice season, leading his team with 51 receptions for 652 yards (12.8 YPR) and 6 TD’s. I have yet to mention All Pro TE George Kittle. Here’s to hoping we measure up!!

#stangerstrong

GO DOLPHINS!!!