Slow Down The Dolphins Hype

[corta765]

After last nights upset of the Patriots the media is now singing the praises of Miami and Bills fans are scared much more of games I think many saw or said would be easier against MIA. While Miami got a nice win against the Patriots last night I think people need to pump the breaks a bit. I am by no means saying Miami is a weak foe either, Gase has this team playing hard regardless of record and no team is a pushover for the Bills. Other then the Raiders games all of our wins have been close and even if the Bills sweep the Phins I would expect similar.

 

That said here are a few reasons I think we need to slow down the "Miami is going to roll Buffalo train":

 

Patriots suck playing in Miami:

Four of the last five games played in Miami the Dolphins have beat New England with two of those games being by 10 points or more. Since Brady took over for the Patriots Miami they actually are 8-9 in Miami one of the few teams that have beat the Patriots more often then not. Perhaps Tom has a beach house he gets smashed at before the game, the humidity really is a factor, or some other weird JuJu but the Dolphins have managed to be a decent thorn for the Patriots at home. If the Dolphins beat anyone not named the Patriots this would be a regular game, but the primetime slot mixed with the fact the Patriots name has an aura and the hype gets pumped.

 

Buffalo actually has a better point differential, have scored more points than Miami, and actually allowed less points on D:

These two teams are frankly far similar then what a lot of people will say, but the Bills actually have a much better PD despite being torched by the Chargers and Saints. Up until the last two weeks the Dolphins had allowed 28 pts or more for 6 straight weeks. Their defense has allowed 28 more points then the Bills defense. By comparison even the Bills with the nightmare 3 game stretch have fared better on defense.  The Bills offense somehow someway has actually outscored Miami 240-236. Obviously not sexy stats by any stretch on offense, but the Dolphins while they have better QB play are not some crazy dynamo either on offense. The Dolphins offense has been playing since Cutler returned to the lineup which cannot be discounted, but this is also the same QB who weeks 1-4 scored a whopping 41 points on offense so take that all as you can.

 

Dolphins Defense Not As Potent As It Seems:

Miami is kind of similar to the Bills on defense with a bend type break mantra. They like the Bills are decent on 3rd down defense, Passing D is upper half of the league, and run defense a little bit better then Buffalo in the middle of the pack. But while their defensive line gets a lot of hype they have a whopping 2 more sacks then the Bills with 23 overall. The point of attack/who wins the line will dictate the game Sunday, but Buffalo may have an advantage especially play at home against Miami. Also while Turnovers are far from predictable Miami ranks in the bottom 3rd of the league overall while the Bills have been pretty good at getting turnovers especially at opportune times.

 

Miami has not had a bye this season:

Because of the hurricane that delayed the Dolphins first game until later on in the season Miami has been playing now for 13 straight weeks. Also playing on Monday night they have one less day to rest their guys. While this may not seem like a major factor the war of attrition is undefeated in having an effect on a team. It will be a high of 34 Sunday with snow and wind for the game. I would not be surprised of the Dolphins get a little gassed as the game progresses given the shortened rest and overall fatigue on their bodies.

 

Overall this game I will expect to be very close in the end with Buffalo coming out. When we go down to Miami I would flip the script because the teams are both very similar in a lot of styles. For Buffalo to win though they will need a game that mimics what they did against Denver offensively and defense to get enough 3 and outs to be rested. The biggest threat to the Bills losing Sunday is Cutler getting hot and throwing all over. The only reason I am not more fearful of that is the Bills secondary is now healthy and has been the strength of the D all season allowing the least amount of TD's thrown on all year. It shall be a fun affair go bills!

[njbuff]

For people to tell us that Miami all of sudden is this juggernaut is downright laughable.

 

I have no idea which Bills team will show up Sunday, but don't tell us Miami is better than Buffalo when the Dolphins got shut out on multiple occasions this year.

[uticaclub]

It comes down to QB play.  Sadly, Jay Cutler is better than any of our QBs and Jay Cutler sucks. 

[SWATeam]

2 minutes ago, uticaclub said:

It comes down to QB play.  Sadly, Jay Cutler is better than any of our QBs and Jay Cutler sucks. 

Is that what it came down to last night?

[KD in CA]

4 minutes ago, SWATeam said:

Is that what it came down to last night?

 

Among other things.  Give Cutler his due, he played very well.

 

But anyone who's watched football on a regular basis knows that some games you are on and some games you are off.  There is no reason to believe a 6-7 Dolphins team is suddenly going to start stomping everyone in sight.   It's more likely they come to Buffalo and completely lay an egg, as they've done repeatedly on the road this season.   If that happens, we'll see if the Bills can take advantage.

[uticaclub]

6 minutes ago, SWATeam said:

Is that what it came down to last night?

Brady went 0-11 on 3rd down. Cutler played well and took chances down field. Brady did not look good against us either, we just have no offense

[H2o]

Cutler had a good game, Gase had a good gameplan, and the defense played well. It was easily their best game of the season. They aren't anything special though and we can beat them twice if we get the defense that showed up against Oakland, KC, and Atlanta. Especially if we can get any kind of pressure on Cutler then he will fold. 

[Boatdrinks]

Bills don't have a great matchup vs Dolphins. Their DL can be dominant, the defense is pretty good top to bottom. Cutler ( if on) is a better QB than anything the Bills can trot out there. Points will be hard to come by for the Bills O; the defense  is going to need to step it up tremendously. This has little to do with the Patriots game, mind you. The Dolphins allowed 20 points, and the Bills allowed 23. Pretty even considering that Gronkowski played and the Bills offense had one good drive in the game. 

Edited December 13, 2017 by Boatdrinks

[Real McClappy]

2 hours ago, corta765 said:

After last nights upset of the Patriots the media is now singing the praises of Miami and Bills fans are scared much more of games I think many saw or said would be easier against MIA. While Miami got a nice win against the Patriots last night I think people need to pump the breaks a bit. I am by no means saying Miami is a weak foe either, Gase has this team playing hard regardless of record and no team is a pushover for the Bills. Other then the Raiders games all of our wins have been close and even if the Bills sweep the Phins I would expect similar.

 

That said here are a few reasons I think we need to slow down the "Miami is going to roll Buffalo train":

 

Patriots suck playing in Miami:

Four of the last five games played in Miami the Dolphins have beat New England with two of those games being by 10 points or more. Since Brady took over for the Patriots Miami they actually are 8-9 in Miami one of the few teams that have beat the Patriots more often then not. Perhaps Tom has a beach house he gets smashed at before the game, the humidity really is a factor, or some other weird JuJu but the Dolphins have managed to be a decent thorn for the Patriots at home. If the Dolphins beat anyone not named the Patriots this would be a regular game, but the primetime slot mixed with the fact the Patriots name has an aura and the hype gets pumped.

 

Buffalo actually has a better point differential, have scored more points than Miami, and actually allowed less points on D:

These two teams are frankly far similar then what a lot of people will say, but the Bills actually have a much better PD despite being torched by the Chargers and Saints. Up until the last two weeks the Dolphins had allowed 28 pts or more for 6 straight weeks. Their defense has allowed 28 more points then the Bills defense. By comparison even the Bills with the nightmare 3 game stretch have fared better on defense.  The Bills offense somehow someway has actually outscored Miami 240-236. Obviously not sexy stats by any stretch on offense, but the Dolphins while they have better QB play are not some crazy dynamo either on offense. The Dolphins offense has been playing since Cutler returned to the lineup which cannot be discounted, but this is also the same QB who weeks 1-4 scored a whopping 41 points on offense so take that all as you can.

 

Dolphins Defense Not As Potent As It Seems:

Miami is kind of similar to the Bills on defense with a bend type break mantra. They like the Bills are decent on 3rd down defense, Passing D is upper half of the league, and run defense a little bit better then Buffalo in the middle of the pack. But while their defensive line gets a lot of hype they have a whopping 2 more sacks then the Bills with 23 overall. The point of attack/who wins the line will dictate the game Sunday, but Buffalo may have an advantage especially play at home against Miami. Also while Turnovers are far from predictable Miami ranks in the bottom 3rd of the league overall while the Bills have been pretty good at getting turnovers especially at opportune times.

 

Miami has not had a bye this season:

Because of the hurricane that delayed the Dolphins first game until later on in the season Miami has been playing now for 13 straight weeks. Also playing on Monday night they have one less day to rest their guys. While this may not seem like a major factor the war of attrition is undefeated in having an effect on a team. It will be a high of 34 Sunday with snow and wind for the game. I would not be surprised of the Dolphins get a little gassed as the game progresses given the shortened rest and overall fatigue on their bodies.

 

Overall this game I will expect to be very close in the end with Buffalo coming out. When we go down to Miami I would flip the script because the teams are both very similar in a lot of styles. For Buffalo to win though they will need a game that mimics what they did against Denver offensively and defense to get enough 3 and outs to be rested. The biggest threat to the Bills losing Sunday is Cutler getting hot and throwing all over. The only reason I am not more fearful of that is the Bills secondary is now healthy and has been the strength of the D all season allowing the least amount of TD's thrown on all year. It shall be a fun affair go bills!

Nice post. I did not realize the Dolphins had so much home success against the Pats.  We do pair up well against the Dolphins but nether game will be a gimme. I have a feeling we will most likely split with them this year when we desperately need to go 2-0. That damn Panthers and Cincy games loom hardcore.

 

 

You realize the Bye weeks are only a way to make the NFL and it's owners richer by extending the season to 17 weeks?

 

"The effect of bye weeks has been studied before. Bill Barnwell did a good job covering it a couple years ago. He and others found essentially the same thing -- the effect of where a team's bye week falls is essentially nil. Teams perform mildly better during the weeks immediately before and after a bye, but not at a substantial rate. The effect on overall regular season win percentage is all but zero, and actually favors early bye weeks by an insignificant margin."

https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/9/26/6838463/nfl-bye-weeks-significance-effect

 

 

Edited December 13, 2017 by Real McCoy

[BuffaloBillyG]

2 hours ago, corta765 said:

After last nights upset of the Patriots the media is now singing the praises of Miami and Bills fans are scared much more of games I think many saw or said would be easier against MIA. While Miami got a nice win against the Patriots last night I think people need to pump the breaks a bit. I am by no means saying Miami is a weak foe either, Gase has this team playing hard regardless of record and no team is a pushover for the Bills. Other then the Raiders games all of our wins have been close and even if the Bills sweep the Phins I would expect similar.

 

That said here are a few reasons I think we need to slow down the "Miami is going to roll Buffalo train":

 

Patriots suck playing in Miami:

Four of the last five games played in Miami the Dolphins have beat New England with two of those games being by 10 points or more. Since Brady took over for the Patriots Miami they actually are 8-9 in Miami one of the few teams that have beat the Patriots more often then not. Perhaps Tom has a beach house he gets smashed at before the game, the humidity really is a factor, or some other weird JuJu but the Dolphins have managed to be a decent thorn for the Patriots at home. If the Dolphins beat anyone not named the Patriots this would be a regular game, but the primetime slot mixed with the fact the Patriots name has an aura and the hype gets pumped.

 

Buffalo actually has a better point differential, have scored more points than Miami, and actually allowed less points on D:

These two teams are frankly far similar then what a lot of people will say, but the Bills actually have a much better PD despite being torched by the Chargers and Saints. Up until the last two weeks the Dolphins had allowed 28 pts or more for 6 straight weeks. Their defense has allowed 28 more points then the Bills defense. By comparison even the Bills with the nightmare 3 game stretch have fared better on defense.  The Bills offense somehow someway has actually outscored Miami 240-236. Obviously not sexy stats by any stretch on offense, but the Dolphins while they have better QB play are not some crazy dynamo either on offense. The Dolphins offense has been playing since Cutler returned to the lineup which cannot be discounted, but this is also the same QB who weeks 1-4 scored a whopping 41 points on offense so take that all as you can.

 

Dolphins Defense Not As Potent As It Seems:

Miami is kind of similar to the Bills on defense with a bend type break mantra. They like the Bills are decent on 3rd down defense, Passing D is upper half of the league, and run defense a little bit better then Buffalo in the middle of the pack. But while their defensive line gets a lot of hype they have a whopping 2 more sacks then the Bills with 23 overall. The point of attack/who wins the line will dictate the game Sunday, but Buffalo may have an advantage especially play at home against Miami. Also while Turnovers are far from predictable Miami ranks in the bottom 3rd of the league overall while the Bills have been pretty good at getting turnovers especially at opportune times.

 

Miami has not had a bye this season:

Because of the hurricane that delayed the Dolphins first game until later on in the season Miami has been playing now for 13 straight weeks. Also playing on Monday night they have one less day to rest their guys. While this may not seem like a major factor the war of attrition is undefeated in having an effect on a team. It will be a high of 34 Sunday with snow and wind for the game. I would not be surprised of the Dolphins get a little gassed as the game progresses given the shortened rest and overall fatigue on their bodies.

 

Overall this game I will expect to be very close in the end with Buffalo coming out. When we go down to Miami I would flip the script because the teams are both very similar in a lot of styles. For Buffalo to win though they will need a game that mimics what they did against Denver offensively and defense to get enough 3 and outs to be rested. The biggest threat to the Bills losing Sunday is Cutler getting hot and throwing all over. The only reason I am not more fearful of that is the Bills secondary is now healthy and has been the strength of the D all season allowing the least amount of TD's thrown on all year. It shall be a fun affair go bills!

THANK YOU!! 

[oldmanfan]

The Fish will walk out of the tunnel into the wind and snow and totally decompensate.  Especially Cutler.

[Steptide]

I remember back in like 2005 the Dolphins played new England on Monday night and beat them. At the time the Dolphins had like 2 wins and were terrible. For some reason the Patriots are just terrible against them 

[Gugny]

All season, has Buffalo looked even close to as good as Miami did last night?

 

No.

 

If the Dolphins play half as good as they played last night, they'll kill the Bills.

[njbuff]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

All season, has Buffalo looked even close to as good as Miami did last night?

 

No.

 

If the Dolphins play half as good as they played last night, they'll kill the Bills.

 

The Bills destroyed the Raiders and the Raiders destroyed the Dolphins.

 

Thank you.

[Gugny]

2 minutes ago, njbuff said:

 

The Bills destroyed the Raiders and the Raiders destroyed the Dolphins.

 

Thank you.

 

The Bills have consistently had one of the worst offense in football.  I don't know why you're thanking me.  We all know that the Dolphins are inconsistent - especially Cutler.  What I opined is that if they even play half as well as they did last night, they will be - by far - the superior team and completely kick Buffalo's ass.

 

 

[Bing Bong]

They blew their motivation load on Pats at home and on primetime. Who doesn't get up for that? Bills ofc. Anyways when they land that plane in buffalo and have to get up for a noon game they really won't have that same passion. Noon away is another day at the office.

[Ol Dirty B]

3 hours ago, njbuff said:

For people to tell us that Miami all of sudden is this juggernaut is downright laughable.

 

I have no idea which Bills team will show up Sunday, but don't tell us Miami is better than Buffalo when the Dolphins got shut out on multiple occasions this year.

 

This team didn't do much better than a shut out on multiple occasions this year either. 

It's a toss up, I would be surprised if Buffalo swept them.

18 minutes ago, njbuff said:

 

The Bills destroyed the Raiders and the Raiders destroyed the Dolphins.

 

Thank you.

 

And the Dolphins destroyed the Pats and the Pats destroyed the Bills.

 

You do see how dumb of an exercise this is, right?

Edited December 13, 2017 by Ol Dirty B

[Bing Bong]

I hope Kenyan Drake can be fantasy gold in my keeper league tho. Lead me to the promise Land next year Kenyan.

[BringBackOrton]

3 hours ago, SWATeam said:

Is that what it came down to last night?

Did you watch the game?

 

Cutler absolutely outplayed Brady from the jump.

 

Were you trying to be ironic?

4 hours ago, corta765 said:

After last nights upset of the Patriots the media is now singing the praises of Miami and Bills fans are scared much more of games I think many saw or said would be easier against MIA. While Miami got a nice win against the Patriots last night I think people need to pump the breaks a bit. I am by no means saying Miami is a weak foe either, Gase has this team playing hard regardless of record and no team is a pushover for the Bills. Other then the Raiders games all of our wins have been close and even if the Bills sweep the Phins I would expect similar.

 

That said here are a few reasons I think we need to slow down the "Miami is going to roll Buffalo train":

 

Patriots suck playing in Miami:

Four of the last five games played in Miami the Dolphins have beat New England with two of those games being by 10 points or more. Since Brady took over for the Patriots Miami they actually are 8-9 in Miami one of the few teams that have beat the Patriots more often then not. Perhaps Tom has a beach house he gets smashed at before the game, the humidity really is a factor, or some other weird JuJu but the Dolphins have managed to be a decent thorn for the Patriots at home. If the Dolphins beat anyone not named the Patriots this would be a regular game, but the primetime slot mixed with the fact the Patriots name has an aura and the hype gets pumped.

 

Buffalo actually has a better point differential, have scored more points than Miami, and actually allowed less points on D:

These two teams are frankly far similar then what a lot of people will say, but the Bills actually have a much better PD despite being torched by the Chargers and Saints. Up until the last two weeks the Dolphins had allowed 28 pts or more for 6 straight weeks. Their defense has allowed 28 more points then the Bills defense. By comparison even the Bills with the nightmare 3 game stretch have fared better on defense.  The Bills offense somehow someway has actually outscored Miami 240-236. Obviously not sexy stats by any stretch on offense, but the Dolphins while they have better QB play are not some crazy dynamo either on offense. The Dolphins offense has been playing since Cutler returned to the lineup which cannot be discounted, but this is also the same QB who weeks 1-4 scored a whopping 41 points on offense so take that all as you can.

 

Dolphins Defense Not As Potent As It Seems:

Miami is kind of similar to the Bills on defense with a bend type break mantra. They like the Bills are decent on 3rd down defense, Passing D is upper half of the league, and run defense a little bit better then Buffalo in the middle of the pack. But while their defensive line gets a lot of hype they have a whopping 2 more sacks then the Bills with 23 overall. The point of attack/who wins the line will dictate the game Sunday, but Buffalo may have an advantage especially play at home against Miami. Also while Turnovers are far from predictable Miami ranks in the bottom 3rd of the league overall while the Bills have been pretty good at getting turnovers especially at opportune times.

 

Miami has not had a bye this season:

Because of the hurricane that delayed the Dolphins first game until later on in the season Miami has been playing now for 13 straight weeks. Also playing on Monday night they have one less day to rest their guys. While this may not seem like a major factor the war of attrition is undefeated in having an effect on a team. It will be a high of 34 Sunday with snow and wind for the game. I would not be surprised of the Dolphins get a little gassed as the game progresses given the shortened rest and overall fatigue on their bodies.

 

Overall this game I will expect to be very close in the end with Buffalo coming out. When we go down to Miami I would flip the script because the teams are both very similar in a lot of styles. For Buffalo to win though they will need a game that mimics what they did against Denver offensively and defense to get enough 3 and outs to be rested. The biggest threat to the Bills losing Sunday is Cutler getting hot and throwing all over. The only reason I am not more fearful of that is the Bills secondary is now healthy and has been the strength of the D all season allowing the least amount of TD's thrown on all year. It shall be a fun affair go bills!

Your first paragraph boils down to, "Team about to play the Bills historically plays really well against the best HC/QB combo in NFL history, so the Bills have nothing to fear. Being a team that regularly challenges the longest dynasty in NFL history means nothing."

[corta765]

13 hours ago, Boatdrinks said:

Bills don't have a great matchup vs Dolphins. Their DL can be dominant, the defense is pretty good top to bottom. Cutler ( if on) is a better QB than anything the Bills can trot out there. Points will be hard to come by for the Bills O; the defense  is going to need to step it up tremendously. This has little to do with the Patriots game, mind you. The Dolphins allowed 20 points, and the Bills allowed 23. Pretty even considering that Gronkowski played and the Bills offense had one good drive in the game. 

 

There D line has 23 sacks on the year and has failed to generate a lot of pressure routinely. Second they have allowed more points then Buffalo. The belief that Miami's D and the line especially is some juggernaut is flat wrong and stems from the fact they have names in Suh and Wake not production.