Giants
(5-7) vs Dolphins (5-7) Last week against
Baltimore the Dolphins scored first after securing an interception and following
that up with a touchdown pass on the next play. Miami scored again twenty seconds
later when another interception was returned for a touchdown. That was enough
to beat the Ravens 15-13. The Giants let yet another game get away in their
matchup with the Jets. They were leading going into the fourth quarter, but the
game went into overtime. The Jets scored first and the Giants had a chance to
tie the score, but they missed on a field goal attempt and ended up with a 23-20
loss. Giants
- Jets Wrap-Up
The
Miami Dolphins The last time they made it
to the playoffs was in 2008. In the next two years they finished with 7-9 records
and head coach Tony Sparano was fired during the 2011 season. The Dolphins hired
Joe Philbin for 2012 and tried to secure free agent Peyton Manning for the quarterback
spot. When that didn't work they looked to Matt Flynn and Alex Smith, but in the
end stuck with Matt Moore. The Dolphins went to the draft and chose Ryan Tannehill
in the first round to be their future franchise quarterback. New head coach Philbin
brought on Mike Sherman to be his offensive coordinator and Sherman had coached
Tannehill at Texas A&M. Tannehill looked good in his first season and in 2013
the Dolphins were the biggest players in free agency. Among other moves, they
secured targets for Tannehill, wide receivers Mike Wallace and Brandon Gibson
and resigned Brian Hartline. That season included a bullying scandal. The Dolphins
finished with an 8-8 record, and for the 2014 season Philbin had new coordinators
on both offense and defense. Though they improved in those two areas, the Dolphins
still finished with an 8-8 record. This season, after Philbin got the team
off to a 1-3 start sustaining three straight
losses, tight ends coach Dan Campbell was named interim head coach. Then two weeks
ago, after play calling a 58-9 pass-to-run loss to the Jets, offensive coordinator
Bill Lazor was fired. Quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor has replaced him as the play-caller,
and now quarterback Tannehill has more input into the game plan. Overall, Tannehill
this season, has completed 61.4 percent of
his passes for 3,077 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and his backup
is still Matt Moore. The Dolphins are at 4-4 with Campbell running the show. Dolphins
Offense
They won their game last week with the Ravens, but didn't have a lot to brag about
on offense. Perhaps catching the Ravens defense flat footed after an interception,
Ryan Tannehill threw a 38 yard touchdown pass to DeVante Parker. That, followed
by a pick-six interception by their defensive unit on the next play, accounted
for all the Dolphins points scored in the game. Tannehill completed only 9 passes
out of 19 for 86 yards, and that one touchdown play was his longest successful
pass on the day. None of of his other completions went past 6 yards. It was by
far Tannehill's worst production on the season, but that's not his norm. Meanwhile,
running back Lamar Miller accounted for most of the offense, averaging over 5
yards a run with 20 carries for 113 yards. Tannehill's favorite target is Jarvis
Landry who played with Odell Beckham Jr. at LSU. Landry has 78 catches for 821
yards and 4 touchdowns on the season. Dan Campbell just
last week named a new offensive coordinator. Against the Ravens they had 19 pass
plays and ran the ball 26 times for 137 yards for a win. The game before this
one they had Tannehill throwing 58 times for 351 yards and 3 touchdowns (1 Interception,
3 Sacks) and they ran the ball only 9 times for 12 yards in the loss to the Jets.
It looks like they'll be be going with the run against the Giants. Dolphins
Defense Their best pass-rusher Cameron Wake
was injured in the New England game in week eight and is out for the season. Wake's
loss was big as he is still the team leader with 7 sacks. All-Pro defensive tackle
Ndamukong Suh has four sacks, 13 quarterback hits, and 13 tackles for loss.
Suh signed with the team during free agency to become the highest paid defensive
player in NFL history. Reports, later denied by Suh, were that he recently tried
to inspire(?) his teammates by telling them that only a handful were good enough
to play with him right now and they needed to follow his lead. Just last week
the defense held Baltimore to 13 points and came up with two key interceptions.
Overall this defense ranks 30th in the NFL at stopping the run and though
they toughened up last week against the Ravens, they allow on average 134.8 yards
a game. This time they're up against the Giants who are struggling to establish
themselves in that area. This will be a test for both teams and the outcome could
decide this game. As far as pass defense goes, like other teams, the Dolphins
will be faced with the task of covering Odell Beckham Jr. Brent Grimes is their
best cover corner and safety Reshad Jones leads all safeties in the league with
107 tackles. Jones has four interceptions, two returned for touchdowns, and two
sacks. Giants offense What
can you say at this point in the season? Eli Manning has one solid receiver to
work with, Odell Beckham Jr., two if you count running back Shane Vereen. Rueben
Randle has the same number of catches as Vereen, but in the last two games he's
caught only three of the twelve passes Manning's sent his way, and some have ended
with disastrous results. Tight end Will Tye has become more involved and in that
same period of time has caught nine out of twelve. For
some reason the Giants have decided to go it with a pack of running backs and
continue to stick with it despite the results. Averaging 88 yards a game, they
rank 29th in the league for their efforts. They might have a shot this week as
Miami has trouble defending against the run. Without a running game the Giants
have become a one trick pony. Throw the ball to Beckham, covered or not, just
out of reach of the defenders and maybe even Beckham too, and he'll reach for
it while trying to duck a big hit. Just hope he stays healthy. Giants
defense With Jason Pierre-Paul back in
the mix, the pass rush has improved markedly and that's not good news for Ryan
Tannehill. He's been sacked 34 times on the year and he is the most sacked quarterback
over the past few years. Until the Dolphins offensive line can improve their pass
protection and provide more time for Tannehill, they'll continue to forgo the
deeper pass plays and stick with shorter passing routes. Tannehill has tried about
50 or so 20 plus yard passes and completed less than 20. The Giants may be able
to cheat more with their safeties to help shut down the running game. Talented
slot receiver Jarvis Landry is the Dolphins main go-to guy and makes spectacular
catches. He missed some practice this week, but is expected to play. Giants' rookie
safety Landon Collins will be called on to help keep Landry in check and make
plays in the run game. They'll also have to keep tabs on first-round
draft pick DeVante Parker. The Dolphins have used the rookie more in the last
two games and he's averaged just over 20 yards a catch. The Giants are lucky Parker's
still learning to be effective with his route running. The biggest thing overall
for this defense is staying tough in the fourth quarter. Nearly 40 percent of
the points scored against the Giants have come in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Overall Who
would have thought that this late in the season you'd be watching two 5-7 teams
duke it out in a prime time Monday night matchup? The Dolphins have seen a lot
of change over the past weeks and have lost
four of their last six games. They are at the bottom of the AFC East and that
won't change if they win or lose this game. The Giants were once on top of
the division and have dropped three straight. With a win they will still share
first place in the NFC East with two other teams. If the the Giants want to rise
to be the cream of this crop, if you want to call it that, they'll need to beat
an interim head coach who's still making changes on the fly. NFC
East Games Sunday at 1:00pm Bills (6-6)
at Eagles (5-7). Sunday at 1:00pm Redskins (5-7) at Bears (5-7) Sunday at
4:30pm Cowboys (4-8) at Packers (8-4) Monday at 8:30pm Giants (5-7) at Dolphins
(5-7) The Giants are the only NFC East team favored to win in these games.
Check out.
The Team
Giants Store, and see some of the really unique items we put together.
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out our site. Giants DVDs
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TeamGiants on Twitter. Notes. Giants
have lost their last 3 games. Giants
have lost six of their seven games by one score. Giants
have a 5-2 record with the Dolphins. Giants
Orleans Darkwa was on Miami's practice squad last season. Giants
Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry were LSU receivers drafted one round apart
in 2014. Dolphins interim head coach
Dan Campbell was drafted by the Giants in 1999. Dolphins
Spencer Paysinger used to play for the Giants. Dolphins
Ryan Tannehill will start in his 61st consecutive game. Dolphins
are 0-5 this year when Ryan Tannehill throws more than 40 times. Dolphins
are celebrating their 50th season and the fans, alumni and media selected an all-time
team. The 50 players chosen will be introduced at halftime.
Next Games
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