Finsmob Unleashed

I’m sure some of you will be glad to hear that I’m actually a little excited to watch this upcoming matchup with the Dolphins traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s not because I think we’re on our way to the Superbowl or even heading towards making the playoffs. The Dolphins have won 4 in a row, and 5 of 6. Head Coach Mike McDaniel has decided to make some changes on offense, namely taking the ball out of his mistake prone QB’s hands and delivering it to a now potent rushing attack. It’s precisely the type of offense that can play well in cold weather, and while the offense is humming without Tua, the defense has also kicked it up a notch. Over the last 6 games, only 1 team has scored more than 20 points our defense, and that was the Baltimore Ravens back on October 30th. That’s winning football right there, although the opponents do have something to do with that.

Here’s the thing, it’s not that I think the Steelers are a great team, they’re not. Their defense is not the Steel Curtain Defense of the 70’s, but they do have a fearsome pass rush, but that might be hindered if star LB T.J. Watt can’t play. He was admitted to the hospital after having discomfort in practice and has a lung issue. Bad news for the Dolphins is that was yesterday (Thursday) and the game is Monday Night, so Watt still has time to get right. The Steelers defense even with T.J. Watt have been allowing more points than the Dolphins D at a sliver under 24.0 PPG, good for 19th in the NFL. The Dolphins are currently at 15th allowing a shade under 23 PPG. Steelers are #21 in rushing yards allowed, and #28 in passing yards allowed.The Steelers are 6th in sacks though with 36. The Dolphins are #10 in passing yards allowed and #24 in rushing yards allowed.

I’m really curious to see what this Miami Dolphins team can do. Again, the Steelers are not a top NFL team, but they’re not a bad team either, and we’ve been playing some bad competition lately with the Jayden Daniels-less Commanders, the Tyler Shough led Saints and then the Brady Cook led Jets (After the early departure of QB Tyrod Taylor). So you can see we caught a break in some of those games, although somehow Saints QB Tyler Shough managed to easily out play our QB Tua Tagovailoa, but we still got the dub. It’s going to be a cold game for sure, a night game in Pittsburgh in mid December is a guarantee for low temps, and Monday night is expected to be around 15 degrees and cloudy, but no precipitation is expected at the moment. Historically this team would wither like a flower in the winter would, but this iteration of Mike McDaniels offense can play in this type of weather.

The story for the Dolphins is how much abuse can RB De’Von Achane take with an rib injury (not a broken rib, just sore)? Jaylen Wright had a breakout game last week against the Jets, but the Steelers are atop the AFC North division and would very much like to stay there, so they won’t roll over like the Jets did last week. There has been talk about potentially letting long term HC Mike Tomlin go, or maybe Tomlin wants a change of scenery, but either way, he doesn’t want to lose a game like this in his house. Will they sell out to stop the run and make QB Tua Tagovailoa beat them? You’d have to think that’s in the cards, and then the question will be can Qb Tua Tagovailoa turn the switch back on? It’s been on OFF the last 4 games, throwing no more than 23 passes in all 4, while also not topping 175 yards in ANY of the 4 games.

RB De’Von Achane has been one of the best RB’s in the NFL. He leads the NFL with 12 rushes of 20+ yards, and is 4th overall. If you watch the games, he’s the most important player on our offense, he makes it go. Jaylen Wright is not the same type of player. Achane has amazing quickness and vision and zero hesitation. He sees the hole and is through it in a blink. While he’s not a physical runner, he’s very elusive with excellent body control and rarely takes dead on hits. He has an uncanny ability to not get leveled. Any time he touches the ball in the pass game, even if it’s behind the LOS as it is many times, and even if defenders see it, he still manages to get positive yardage, and he’s a dangerous receiver a few yards past the LOS as well. No other RB on our team can duplicate what he does, in fact not may RB’s across the NFL can. He’s in Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, James Cook, even Jonathan Taylor territory. We’re going to need a healthy Achane to win this one.

Back to my curiosity for this game. Let’s assume the Steelers sell out against the run, and let’s also assume that Steelers LB T.J. Watt is playing. Can the Dolphins rely on QB Tua Tagovailoa to win this game when both big games and cold games have been his ruination? It’s fascinating to me, it really is. If Achane is anywhere near 100%, I don’t think the Steelers can shut him down entirely and force us to pass more, I think Mike McDaniel can find a way to get Achane some room, whether it’s a 6th OL, or motion or fakes, Mike knows who gets the offense going. On the other hand, I’m interested to see if Jaylen Wright can put together another successful day. I doubt he gets 24 carries like he did against the Jets, but hopefully it’s not one carry and then off the field. Will RB Ollie Gordon be able to play his physical style and get some action. All questions that will be answered in 3 days time, so buckle up!

GO DOLPHINS!!!